As I Lay Dying brings their Two Decades of Destruction Tour to an end with a momentous performance at Oklahoma City’s Diamond Ballroom.
Two Decades of Destruction arrived in Oklahoma in the middle of an intense heatwave, with temperatures reaching highs of 110 degrees, causing some power issues as soon as the crowd was let in. Due to this, the show was pushed back thirty minutes, but this allowed for anticipation to build and more time for fans to arrive at the venue. Various balloons were placed across the stage, assumably to celebrate the end of a successful tour.
As the show began, the Pokémon theme song could be heard over the PA system. The crowd erupted into singing and cheering along, and Brand of Sacrifice made their way to the stage. They started their set with their song “Fortress.” Their set was loud, fast, and heavy-hitting. Vocalist, Kyle Anderson, donned a bulletproof vest, adding to the intensity of their live performance. He captivated the crowd with his guttural low growls and pig-squealing highs. He fed off the crowd’s energy, and delivered that energy right back to them, encouraging the crowd to erupt into a circle pit. Though this was the first band of the night, blood could already be seen in the mosh pit as fans wildly thrashed about. They ended their set with “Eclipse.”
Next to take the stage was Shadow of Intent. Guitarist, Chris Wiseman, informed the audience that vocalist, Ben Duerr, would not be in attendance due to being hospitalized earlier that day. However, they would still be ripping through a full set instrumentally. Although Duerr’s vocals add a lot of impact to the overall sound, stripping away the vocals allowed for a unique opportunity for the crowd to really focus on the technical abilities of the instrumentalists. Each song was a melodic journey, filled with menacing guitar solos, epic piano backing tracks, and rhythmically powerful drums. Each song created the feeling of walking through a haunted house. As they began their third song, “Of Fury,” members of the As I Lay Dying crew brought out even more balloons and a table topped with various gag gifts. They shot confetti cannons into the crowd, and bassist, Andrew Monias, climbed atop a crew member’s shoulders while shredding through some bass riffs seamlessly. This really showcased how much fun the bands were having on tour together. This instrumental set left the crowd in awe and wanting more, as they chanted for an encore once the band left the stage. It was truly unique to experience the band performing an instrumental set. It was evident that fans will eagerly await the return of Shadow of Intent to Oklahoma City so they can experience the full line-up.
As Whitechapel arrived on the stage, a familiar face could be seen behind the drum set. Shadow of Intent drummer, Bryce Butler, filled in for this tour. Whitechapel’s fanbase showed up strong, as many members of the audience were sporting their merch. They started with “A Bloodsoaked Symphony,” “Forgiveness is Weakness,” and “Black Bear.” They played with high energy and tore through their set with a fierceness. As if their set wasn’t already heavy-hitting, vocalist, Phil Bozeman, states that they’re about to play an even faster song as they begin “Lost Boy.” It’s the first song of the evening that shows off his ability to sing with clean vocals, contrasting nicely with his punchy screams. Near the end of their set, Phil takes a moment to dedicate “Hickory Creek” to Trevor Strnad of Black Dahlia Murder, a death metal legend that passed away earlier this year. “Hickory Creek” is one of the slower songs of the evening which also showcases Phil’s ability to sing with clean vocals.
There was a lot of debate about whether this tour would happen due to two members leaving As I Lay Dying shortly before the tour kicked off, and one member leaving last year. However, As I Lay Dying was able to recruit a few very sought-after musicians from the metal community to fill in for the tour. This line-up consisted of Ken Susi on guitar and Nick Pierce on drums, both of who have played in the popular metal band, Unearth. The last piece of the puzzle was bassist and vocalist Ryan Neff from Miss May I, who only had three days home after Miss May I’s tour ended before As I Lay Dying left for this tour. Even though three members were new, the band played with such precision and conviction that you could not tell how little time they had to rehearse with this line-up.
As I Lay Dying led into their last set of tour strong, starting with “Blinded” and “Through Struggle.” During their fourth song of the evening, “Redefined,” Kyle Anderson of Brand of Sacrifice was brought back out on stage to scream alongside Tim Lambesis.
In the midst of their set, Tim Lambesis addressed the crowd to explain that due to the heat affecting the venue’s power, the band was left with a tough decision to make. The band had to decide to either cut their set short or limit the usage of air conditioning in the building. The band decided that they wanted to give fans a full set, and fans did not seem to mind the heat.
Ryan Neff’s clean vocals made a great addition to the line-up which was evident when the band played one of their newest hits, “My Own Grave.” The show came full circle when the band ended their set with “94 Hours,” the opening track from their very first album ever released. They came back out for an encore of two songs to close out their final show of the Two Decades of Destruction Tour.
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