For those of you who were able to make it out to The Paramount in Huntington on Wednesday March 20th, you got to witness one of the best metalcore shows of the year.  With a solid line up of bands and each band providing good performances, this concert was one that was not to be missed.  The concert lineup consisted of all Christian metal bands, with The Chariot opening followed by For Today.  As I Lay Dying was slated to headline the show but since they are doing a co-headlining tour, The Devil Wears Prada actually headlined this show.  Although The Devil Wears Prada technically headlined the show, both them and As I Lay Dying played hour long sets, with each band coming back out for an encore as fans cheered “one more song”!!

As I Lay Dying absolutely destroyed it from the time they hit the stage to the time their set was over.  They were on fire, and in essentially stole the show.  They sounded about as sharp and polished as any band I’ve ever seen and kept the crowd into it from start to finish.   You could not have asked for a better set as singer Tim Lambesis told the crowd that “for every newer song we’ve got for you, we’re going to play an older one for you also”.   And he kept his word as the set featured songs from they’re debut album, Frail Words Collapse, which was released in 2003 all the way through they’re newest 2012 release Awakened.  Their set list included songs such as “94 hours”, “A Greater Foundation”, “Whispers In Silence”, ”An Ocean Between Us”, “Wasted Words”, “Sound of truth”, and “Nothing Left”, amongst other songs.  I thought they really put together a solid playlist and the entire band was hitting on all cylinders, particularly lead guitarist Nick Hipa, who was absolutely shredding.  Overall I’d give they’re performance easily a 10 out of 10, between the set list they played, how well they played, and most importantly, how they sounded.  This isn’t a band that only plays together when they’re making a album, or when they’re getting ready to go on a huge tour; no, this is a band that is consistently practices together and it shows through their performance on the stage.

The Devil Wears Prada took the stage after As I lay Dying finished their set.  Now don’t take this the wrong way, The Devil Wears Prada’s set was killer in and of itself, but it was almost unfair for them to have to follow up As I Lay Dying’s performance even with putting on a hell of a show in their own right.  Like As I Lay Dying’s set, The Devil Wears Prada played a set consisting of songs both old and new.  They started off their set with a few songs off they’re new album Dead Throne which was released in 2012.  They opened with “Untidaled” followed by “Mammoth” and “Vengeance.”  Other songs they played off they’re newest release included “Born To Lose” and “Chicago.”  They played they’re biggest hits off of their 2008 album “With Roots Above And Branches Below” including songs like “Assistant To The Regional Manager” and “Sassafras.”  They played a few songs off their 2006 debut album Plagues, but for the most part concentrated on their more recent and well-known material.  The highlight of their set was when they played “Outnumbered” off they’re Zombie EP that was released in 2010, which in my eyes, has some of their heaviest stuff on it.  Overall I’d give their performance about a 8.5/9 out of 10.  They played tight together, picked a good set list, and overall delivered on all fronts.

All in all it was a very great show, with both of the big bands delivering everything you’d expect and then some.  And while The Devil Wears Prada played an absolutely awesome show, As I Lay Dying stole took the prize with their performance.  Both bands put on incredible performances, sounded extremely tight, and simply throw down with some high energy playing.

-Ben Gold

As I Lay Dying “Whispering Silence” (sick guitar solo at 3-minute mark):

The Devil Wears Prada “Outnumbered”: