Photo: Janice French
The Rialto is sold out. The line to get in stretches down the street and around the corner. We finally make it inside and elbow our way to the photo pit whilst 2 Cents plays. They’re not the usually metal cookie cutter band. They’re diverse, bold and unchecked. Vocalist and drummer, Adam O’Rourke announces ‘The Wedding Dress’ and the crowd howls. This addictive piece has been getting airtime on the radio. Live it’s incredible. Adam pounds, roars and drives this song harder, harsher and louder until it crashes full force into our senses. They assault us with ‘Fucked In The Afterlife’ then the packed house sings along and holds up their lighters in respect whilst the poignant ‘A Song For Darrell Abbott’ pays tribute. They finish their set to a cheering mob as the three guitarists’ line up and perform metal magic with ‘Pop Music Is The Enemy.’
Moshcore reigns supreme with Bury Your Dead. Mat Bruso dives onto the crowd and continues his brutish vocals whilst he surfs back up onto stage during ‘Dragged Out And Shot.’ The audience jumps and beats the horns as ‘Top Gun’ rages. Slim B. and Eric Ellis lean back to back, hold their guitars high in the air and power out a righteous wicked riff. The whole band puts out as ‘The Outsiders’ gets the circle pit churning. They break us down and finish us off with ‘Mosh And Roll.’ The audience goes insane, the pit flies and everyone shouts “Bury your 
fucking dead!”
We haven’t seen the Rialto this packed since My Chemical Romance last year. It’s a thick sea of wall to wall bodies, black T’s and sweat. All That Remains raises the room temperature even higher with their own brand of melodic death metal. Phil Labonte stands high on a speaker whilst his vocals rage during ‘Become The Catalyst’ and sets off spontaneous cheers and whistles from the mob. “This Song Is For The Ladies” Phil states then grins, charges forward and slams us with ‘Tattered On My Sleeve.’ All hands are in the air, everyone is on their feet and ‘This Calling’ is met by a thunderous din. Phil pays strict attention to the fans, leaning out over the rail, slapping their hands and thrashing in their faces.
Killswitch Engage takes to the stage with a crowd that is already on fire. The atmosphere is supercharged as the audience lets loose and rocks out. They perform ‘As Daylight Dies’ from their new album of the same name. Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiwicz come together at the front of the stage and shred a serious riff during this awesome song. At 
some point during the first few songs Howard Jones, the vocalist, sustains a cut above his eye and blood runs down his face as he laughs, jokes, sings and screams his heart out.
Drummer Justin Foley pounds out a maniacal and memorable bridge during ‘My Curse.’ Adam runs around in circles, the mosh whirls and heavy crowd surfing begins during the choice intro to ‘The End Of Heartache.’ Howard Jones stands on a barricade whilst people shout the words and strain to touch him. ‘Take This Oath’ finishes the night off right well. This particular tour is selling out at almost every venue and with good reason. All the bands are exceptional, polished and mean. It’s a phenomenal lineup indeed.
