"This is my second metal show, and my first one with big bands," said a young concertgoer, "do you think the moshpit will be heavy? I hope it is!" Surely for this budding headbanger, and for even the most battle hardened thrashers, the night ahead would be one to remember as metalcore titans As I Lay Dying stormed Irving Plaza to deliver a churning setlist of anthemic choruses and crushing breakdowns.
Joining the San Diego quintet were Salt Lake City sluggers, Chelsea Grin, and the Santa Cruz prog powerhouse Entheos. Together, this three headed beast of a lineup would push the dancefloor of the venue to its limit and keep venue security on their toes, literally, over the course of the evening.
Still hot on the heels of last March's Time Will Take Us All, Entheos set the night off spacy and techy with their iconic blend of polyrhythms, beatdowns and enigmatic undertones. Though heavily cloaked in shadows and red lighting, vocalist Chaney Crabb's roar indicated the power lurking the darkness, broken only by her haunting clean voice in songs such as "I Am The Void".
Joining stellar, recent cuts, "An End to Everything", "Life in Slow Motion" and opener "All for Nothing" served as new offerings and a sign of the next chapter of Entheos. With Crabb noting this show as the band's best time in New York, the excitement from the crowd and the bodies in motion proved that the Big Apple can't wait for what's next from the California tech-gurus.
Setting the stage on fire with their uncompromising brand of brutality, Chelsea Grin laid down the hammer opening with fan favorite "Recreant". Demanding the crowd lay waste to the venue, vocalist Tom Barber didn't need to ask twice before New York sent bodies flying over the barricades as the band charged into "Sonnet of the Wretched".
Though having released Suffer in Heaven last year, the second half of a double album split with 2022's Suffer in Hell, only one song from each album graced the stage. That said, with five other stellar releases under their belts, there were still plenty of outstanding material to bring to life as the crowd brought down the house.
With the devastating chugs of "Dead Rose" and "Hostage" representing 2018's Eternal Nightmare, the title track of 2011's My Damnation, and "Playing With Fire" off Ashes to Ashes - an album celebrating its tenth birthday this month - whether one was a fan from the days Chelsea Grin was a six piece band, or became one in recent years, there was something for everyone to throw down to.
At nearly a quarter of a century deep in their career and boasting some of the most essential and influential albums in the metalcore genre, As I Lay Dying need no introduction. With some members in the audience at an age where their children now joined them in the moshpit, all voices rang loud along side front man Tim Lambesis for "Nothing Left", "Parallels" and "The Sound of Truth".
Turning the clocks back to Frail Words Collapse and Shadows Are Security, albums that turned 21 and 19 this years respectively, the former was represented with "Falling Upon Deaf Ear" - making its first appearance in the setlist in 15 years, and "94 Hours". The latter came to life with the neck snapping groove of "Through Struggle", "The Darkest Nights" and closer "Confined". Following the show, one veteran fan commented "I don't care how much I hurt tomorrow, I kicked ass for the old school stuff and my 16 year old self is happy I did!"
With a history of serving as a moment for Lambesis to be joined onstage by a guest vocalist during its performance, it was Chaney Crabb's turn to take the mic for "Redefined" to the delight of fans of both bands.
Also making its debut in New York was "Burden", the premier single from As I Lay Dying's next album, whose name and release date have yet to be made public. On what will be the first album to feature Lambesis and guitarist Phil Sgrosso joined by bassist Ryan Neff (also of Miss May I) and Unearth alumni Ken Susi and Nick Pierce on guitars and drums respectively, all of whom joined in 2022, the iconic AILD sound is pushed to new heights with the combining of such expertise.
When even the venue security loses count of the crowd surfers and the pit is a battlefield from start to finish, there's no question that the stage is occupied by some of the very best in the genre. And considering how many modern bands owe much to them, As I Lay Dying is undeniably among the greatest.
Ticket & photo pass courtesy of Napalm Records
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