Trivium Brings Their Deadmen And Dragons Tour To The House Of Blues Orlando
Orlando Fl. (October16, 2022)
If there has ever been a band that the underrated moniker has been attached to it’s been Trivium. Long a critics darling, and deservedly so, they steadily built up their fan base by putting out quality record after quality record. Coincidentally with the arrival of new drummer Alex Bent and the release of the album The Sin And The Sentence the band seemingly entered a new era of popularity. With their latest effort In The Court Of The Dragon Trivium has hit a high watermark in their career. Along with the critical success of the album, the band embarked on some high profile tours such as the Metal Tour Of The Year and Opening up for Iron Maiden. Now it was finally time for the guys to hit the road on their own on the Deadmen And Dragons tour.
The House Of Blues Orlando was packed to the rafters with a sold out crowd. But this shouldn’t come as a surprise as Orlando is Trivium’s hometown. On this tour Trivium would bring along three bands to get the crowd good and warmed up. The first band to hit the stage was Khemmis. This doom metal band out of Colorado played a tight high energy set. From the beginning of their time on stage they reached out and grabbed everyone’s attention. There would be no passing the time and looking at your phone during their thirty minute performance. With everyone head banging to their music it was obvious that they were a great choice to kick start things.
Next up to take the stage was Knoxville Tennessee’s very own Whitechapel. With a reputation for delivering a heavy bone crushing set, all the fans were primed to bear witness to their onslaught. From the moment they launched into “I Will Find You” it was clear that this night they would definitely live up to their reputation. Lead singer Phil Bozeman was intensity personified. With his head down he would unleash fierce growls as he delivered the lyrics. Indeed the whole band also matched his intensity, which spilled out into the audience with mosh pits opening up on the floor.
The final opening band for the night was Between The Buried And Me. For those that aren’t familiar with the band, they have a unique conglomeration of styles. Over the course of their time on stage the band would switch between thrash, jazz and just about any style you could name. Without question, these guys are very talented musicians.
Finally it was time for the band that everyone was here to see hit the stage. With the house lights dimmed, and the stage covered with a curtain, the Iron Maiden classic song “Run To The Hills” was pumped into the PA and immediately every voice in the venue was singing along at the top of their lungs. To loud cheers the curtain dropped, and guitarist Corey Beaulieu, bassist Paolo Gregoletto, and drummer Alex Bent took to the stage playing the instrumental “IX”. As the song wound down singer and guitarist Matt Heafy came out and the band immediately launched into the hit single “What The Dead Men Say” off of the album of the same title. From the very first note, it was obvious that the band was on their ‘A’ game. Every once of Trivium goodness was on display for all to see. Matt was sounding great, he and Cory’s guitar work was as impressive live as it is recorded, and the rhythm section of Paolo and Alex were locked in tight and playing as if they have been raised together.
Instead of going the route of playing a setlist heavy on the new material, they decided to take things back all the way to the 2008 release Shogun for “Into The Mouth Of Hell We March”. What was so impressive during this song was how locked in Matt and Corey’s guitar work was. It didn’t matter if they were right next to each other or on opposite sides of the stage, every note was perfectly placed and if anything sounded better than the original recording. This would be the pattern of the night. They would play songs from across the spectrum of their career. They reached all the way back to the Ascendancy album to play “Pull Harder On The Strings Of Your Martyr”. Of course they also played their recent single “In The Court Of The Dragon”.
Throughout the night Matt would take a moment to thank everyone for supporting the band and showing up. He would also take time to recount how he was growing up and came to join the band. Of course Matt would also get the audience to scream when he said that this was the craziest crowd of the tour. After all this was a hometown show for the band and no less would be expected. Unfortunately, during “The Heart From Your Hate” Matt had to stop halfway during the song as a fight had started and told them to cut it out that we are all family and friends here. He also said you don’t want to do that here because there are twenty five people that know Jiu-Jitsu and this is the wrong show to do that at. Things quickly calmed down and the band got right back into their groove.
For the last song of the night, Matt got everyone to get down low and said, “when we tell you to, get up and scream In Waves and give us all you got”. When the band kicked in with “In Waves” the audience leapt to their feet and screamed In Waves. The best kind of pandemonium followed. Between the mosh pits, crowd surfing, and everyone screaming along with the band, the sold out crowd was having the time of their lives. As the song ended, Matt was center stage arms out raised holding the horns up high, with his head back and tongue out enjoying all the energy the crowd gave back to him.
For those that managed to get a ticket to this sold out show, they got more than their moneys worth. From three quality bands warming things up, to a stellar show by the hometown boys Trivium this show was an incredible night of music. With each album and subsequent tour that Trivium has done, they have raised the bar for themselves, and this show proves it true.
Trivium:
Whitechapel:
Khemmis:
Between The Buried And Me:
House Of Blues Orlando: