Hatebreed brought their 30th Anniversary Tour to The Diamond Ballroom in Oklahoma City for an awesome Friday night show. They were supported by Crypta, Harms Way, and Carcass. From the sight of the fans lining up outside the door, OKC was more than ready for a night of metal!!
Up first was the Brazilian band Crypta. These ladies are completely new to me, but I had heard alot about them prior to the show from fans on social media, so I was excited to see what they were all about. These four ladies blew me away!! Vocalist, Fernanda Lira thanked the fans for coming out early to catch their set. She also informed us this was their first ever stop in Oklahoma City. She then managed to transform into this raw, evil, death metal machine. Lira, along with her bandmates, Tiana Bergamaschi – guitar, Jessica di Falchi – guitar, and Luana Dametto – drums, delivered one of the most viceral, tight, and fierce sets I have seen in a long time. I now understand what all the raves I saw were all about. I could not take my eyes off of this band. The bar for the night was definitely set high with Crypta as the opener.
As the fans started to file back into the building from their smoke break and the lights went down, the Chicago hardcore band Harm’s Way took their spot on the stage. The band consists of James Pligge – vocals, Casey Soyk – bass, Bo Leuders – guitar, Nick Gauthier – guitar, and Christopher Mills – drums. Harm’s Way took the energy created by Crypta and kept it going during their performance. Their dark and brutal performance also included a Sepultura cover that Pligge told us was a special treat since it was a Friday show. The bands energy level radiated into the crowd and the sick mosh pit that engulfed half of the crowd. I’m telling you, this is more proof that OKC was ready for some metal!
Liverpool, UK’s very own Carcass was the next band to deliver their extreme metal to the venue full of sweaty and eager fans. known as the pioneers of grindcore and melodic death metal, Carcass consists of Jeff Walker – vocals and bass, Bill Steer – guitar and backing vocals, Nippy Blackford – guitar, and Daniel Wilding – drums. There was not alot of small talk during the Carcass set, as other than thanking the fans for their support and attendance, the band delivered an intense thrashing of in-your-face metal while playing a variety of songs that span the entire catalog of songs from the band’s decades long career. The fans ate up every minute of it.
After the last set change for the evening, the time of the night has finally arrived for Jamey Jasta and the boys in Hatebreed to deliver their face melting metalcore to the fans who have been eagerly awaiting this time of the night. Joining Jasta were bandmates, Wayne Lozinak – lead guitar, Frank Novinec – rhythm guitar, Chris Beattie – bass, and Matt Byrne – drums. Hatebreed always bring an exciting, heavy, and raw performance when they head out on tour, and Oklahoma City sure loves these guys. The Diamond Ballroom was populated by loyal fans of the band who brought their own insane level of energy to match what was being given to them.
When you have a career spanning 30 years, it is no easy task deciding which songs to add to the set list, but the band managed to give the crowd a perfect variation of the songs that they wanted to hear. While waiting for the set to begin I overheard a conversation between a couple gentlemen on the front row discussing what songs they wanted to hear and the excitement in their voices when they talked about how much they loved these songs. These are the kind of fans every band hopes to have, and I am glad these guys made it to the front row to witness the band they were speaking so fondly of. The fans of OKC thank you for bringing the 30th Anniversary Tour to The Diamond Ballroom and giving us a night we won’t soon forget.
