It’s December and for every heavy music aficionado that can only mean one thing – It’s time for Christmas Burns Red. This two day music festival has fans of breakdowns and blast beats flocking to Lancaster, PA to see some of the biggest acts in metalcore and other heavy genres (I can’t keep up with all the sub-genres anymore). Every year the lineup has been impressive and this year was no different. Night one of Christmas Burns Red set the bar pretty high, but before I spoil night two let’s breakdown night one. 

Once Nothing

Kicking off Christmas Burns Red was Once Nothing from Pittsburgh, PA. The current line up consists of Todd Lowry on vocals, David Burkes on lead guitar, Josh Branas on rhythm guitar, Steve Lucarelli on bass and Joey Capolupo on drums. Despite not being very active over the last few years, Once Nothing definitely had an impressive crowd for their set. The crowd was signing along with Lowry to songs like “Whiskey Breath”, “The Dust of a Town”, “Avoid Me Like the Plague” and “For Memories”. Once Nothing did an amazing job opening up Christmas Burns Red and I hope this was the start of a more active run for these guys. 

Crystal Lake

Crystal Lake filled the second spot on night one of Christmas Burns Red and put on an intense and technical show. Drummer Gaku Taura took the stage for a sound check and drum solo that got the crowd ready to go. Taura was then joined by guitarists Yudai “YD” Miyamoto and Hisatsugu “TJ” Taji, bassist Mitsuru and vocalist John Robert Centorrino. Crystal Lake is a fast band, both in their playing style and their stage presence. The pit was spinning throughout their setlist which opened with “Mephisto” and continued on with “Sleep Awake”, “Disobey”, “Rebirth”, “Watch Me Burn”, “Lost in Forever” and ended with “Apollo”. 

Spite

Despite recently losing two members, Spite came out and completely tore the place apart. Guitarist Alex Tehrani and bassist Ben Bamford create a huge wall of sound with their downtuned riffs. Vocalist Darius Tehrani’s on-stage antics make for a unique experience. It’s fun, it’s crazy, it’s insane, it’s Spite. Spite’s setlist included songs like “Judgement Day”, “Caved In”, “IED”, “Thank You, Again” and “Kill or Be Killed”. And yes, I used ‘despite’ on purpose when I opened this paragraph. 

Brand of Sacrifice

Brand of Sacrifice haven’t been around for that long, but they’ve already left their mark on the deathcore scene. Hailing from Toronto, Brand of Sacrifice brought an electronic twist to Christmas Burns Red. While deathcore at their roots, Brand of Sacrifice added extra layers of sound to the night with their unique style. Vocalist Kyle Anderson, guitarists Liam Beeson and Michael Leo Valeri, bassist Dallas Bricker and drummer James Knoerl played an eight song set which included “Demon King”, “Lifeblood”, “Exodus” and “Eclipse”. 

Texas in July

August Burns Red weren’t the only hometown favorites at Christmas Burns Red. Originally from Ephrata, Pennsylvania, Texas in July are no strangers to the Lancaster area heavy music scene. It still blows my mind every time I say ‘Lancaster’ and ‘heavy music’ in the same sentence. Are the Amish behind this movement? Who knows, but whatever it is it’s working. Texas in July kept the pit going with songs like “False Divinity”, “Bed of Nails” and “Aurora”. Original vocalist joined guitarists Christian Royer and Chris Davis, bassist Ben Witkowski and drummer Adam Gray to sing “Elements”. Vocalist J.T. Cavey then continued on through “Nooses”, “Bloodwork” and “Hook, Line and Sinner”. 

August Burns Red

What would Christmas Burns Red be without August Burns Red? The crowd had already been through an impressive evening of heavy music, but August Burns Red wrapped this night up perfectly. Night one had vocalist Jake Luhrs, guitarists JB Brubaker and Brent Rambler, bassist Dustin Davidson and drummer Matt Greiner playing “Rescue & Restore” in its entirety. Crowd favorites were definitely “Provision”, “Spirit Breaker”, “Beauty in Tragedy” and “The First Step” during the “Rescue & Restore” playthrough. August Burns Red then played an encore, which some would consider an entire set of its own, which included, “Carol of the Bells”, “Bloodletter”, “Revival”, “Composure” and “White Washed”.

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