By Tiffany Detzel
Edited by Morgan Kohler
On a blistering hot Saturday night, a sea of people sweating in black t-shirts could be seen wrapping around the block to the Royal Oak Music Theatre in Detroit, Michigan. We were all eagerly waiting to see Architects, Of Mice & Men, and While She Sleeps melt off what was left of our faces for the last show of the Seeing Red tour.
First up was While She Sleeps—AKA my favorite band. Though they are not typically what one thinks of when the term “opening band” is used, since they already have a bit of a following. They were the perfect way to start the night. From note one, everyone in the band was bouncing back and forth at high speed and the crowd quickly responded with moshing and crowd surfing. Singer “Loz” never stoped interacting with the crowd between his high jumps and long leaps. At one point during the song “You Are We,” he decided to have the audience hold him up while he sang and at its conclusion he gracefully surfed back to the stage. Their sound is heavy, of course, but what gives them that unique edge is their mesmerizing and beautiful guitar melodies. To my delight, the guys announced that around this time next year they will not only be coming back to the U.S., but they would be doing so as the headliner. I urge everyone to listen to this band if you haven’t already, and to definitely buy tickets to their next tour.
Next up was Of Mice & Men. As if they are the headliner, the crowd immediately erupted in singing along and never let up. I can’t blame them. The tunes are quite good and catchy. Emo meets metal with some sweet hair whips thrown in from the singer. Halfway through the set, their drummer had a mini solo and encouraged the crowd to scream between beats. Like WSS before them, the crowd also continued to mosh and surf the entire time. Check these guys out next time they perform near you; they are a damn good time.
On to the main event: Architects. Everyone in the venue was pumped and ready for these guys to take the stage, myself included. During the opening number “Seeing Red,” it was fun to hear a few people yell out ‘Blegh’ while singing along. Though the band was split between two graphic displaying LED screen levels, most of the members roamed about during the set. The usual moshing and surfing was turned up to 11 and, like during OM&M, everyone could be heard screaming along, especially during the closing song ‘Animals.’ This is metal music at its best and is not to be missed. I know I cannot wait until they come stateside again.
Pittsburgh Music Magazine 