The Apollo X Tour, the hottest metalcore tour of the fall, slammed into Charlotte this past Wednesday evening at Amos’ Southend. Co-headlining the tour are two very metalcore but very different bands in The Devil Wears Prada and Motionless In White. Fans were lined up around the block awaiting entry into the venue in anticipation of what would be an outrageous and energetic night of metal madness.
The tour brought not one but three opening bands to get the crowd warmed up and kick off the action. The posthardcore group The Color Morale was up first and put in a solid set but things really started to heat up when The World Alive took the stage. The crowdsurfing quickly was getting out of control and security asked lead vocalist Tyler “Telle” Smith to ask the crowd to slow things down so they could keep up. There were simply too many bodies going over the barrier too quickly for them to handle. The crowd complied with his request and began jumping instead and starting the beginnings of what would become a pretty large circle pit by the end of the night. The band was full of energy that fed the crowd and really got them going. Frontman Danny Leal and the deathcore band from San Antonio, Texas, Upon A Burning Body was next up and they put in a stellar performance and the crowd surfing erupted as they ran through crowd pleasers like “Sin City” and their cover of DJ Snake and Lil Jon’s “Turn Down For What.”
While the crew was preparing the stage, the chants of TDWP began in earnest. It was clear that the fans were pumped and could not wait for The Devil Wears Prada to take the stage. As the lights dimmed, the TDWP logo lit up the screen at the back of the stage as the band made their appearance ripping into “Assistant to the Regional Manager.” In his TDWP varsity jacket, lead singer Mike Hranica pushed the frenzied pace of the music as he ran, jumped, and spun all over the stage. The light show was intense with constant strobes adding to the chaotic effect. The band was in top form with bassist Andy Trick and drummer Daniel Williams driving the beats and former guitar tech and new guitarist Kyle Sipress putting in an impressive performance as he slung and spun his guitar around all night long. After tearing through a few more TDWP favorites, the band did what I was hoping for and performed their newest EP “Space” in its entirety. The visuals changed on the large screen as well as the smaller screens on each side of the stage to celestial images to accompany the space theme of their newest songs as they began “Planet A.” This was a highpoint of the show for me as Jeremy DePoyster’s cleans were phenomenal and in such counterpoint to the growlings of Hranica that the powerful, hardcore music took on a rather beautiful and ethereal quality. Closing out the “Space” section of the set was the thought provoking “Asteroid” with lyrics displayed on the screens to drive the point of the song home. Hranica took a moment out to speak to the crowd and reminisce about the band’s past performances in Charlotte and to say a quick God Bless You All to the fans. TDWP was not done and they treated the crowd to four more blistering songs including “Mammoth” and their set closer “Danger:Wildman.” The performance was both punishing and profound and the sheer power of the music was immense. If the evening ended now, everyone would have went home utterly satisfied but to the delight of the fans there was one more band left.
For Motionless In White, everyday is Halloween and the imagery is as important as the music. Their stage set up really adds to their overall gothcore vibe with lighted jack-o-lanterns and a haunted house set. A MIW flag girl appeared waving a huge MIW flag to welcome the band to the stage and get the crowd pumped. As the band members took the stage, they were in makeup and masks with bassist Devin “Ghost” Sola taking it to a whole new level performing as Leatherface from “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” movie. Frontman and leader of this horror show Chris “Motionless” Cerulli ripped into their newest song “Death March” from their latest album “Reincarnate” much to the approval of the crowd. The lights were eerie with a lot of fog adding to the overall spooky effect of their set. In addition to the mind blowing metal, the show itself was a spectacular sight. At times throughout the set, the flag girl made more appearances including dressing like a clown blowing feathers into the audience, becoming a goth cheerleader and throwing candy into the audience and squirting the audience with a giant water blaster. Keyboardist Josh Balz was situated above the band on a riser that rotated at different points of the set and even played the theme from the movie “Halloween” as a short solo . But the band is not all show and no substance. The music is solid with guitarists Sitkowski and Olson hammering out riff after riff and bassist Sola and drummer Vinny Mauro keeping the pace. Chris Motionless is a master showman leading the crowd through rousing versions of “A-M-E-R-I-C-A” and a cover of Linkin Park’s “One Step Closer.” The fans were getting into it as the circle pit got larger and more and more bodies were surfing toward the stage as Chris high-fived as many people as he could. The energy was palpable as MIW tore into “Immaculate Misconception” and they would not let the band leave before an encore of “Reincarnate” finished off a perfect night.
With stellar performances by both The Devil Wears Prada and Motionless In White, the evening was one that Charlotte metal fans will not soon forget. Whether you prefer the blistering metalcore of TDWP or the Halloween horror of MIW, the Apollo X Tour should be a must see for metal fans everywhere.
The Devil Wears Prada setlist:
Assistant to the Regional Manager
Born To Lose
Escape
Outnumbered
Sailor’s Prayer
Planet A
Alien
Moongod
Celestial Mechanics
Supernova
Asteroid
Mammoth
Hey John, What’s Your Name Again
Reptar, King of the Ozone
Danger:Wildman
Motionless In White setlist:
Death March
Devil’s Night
Unstoppable
Fatal
Abigail
Undead Ahead
A-M-E-R-I-C-A
Hatef**k
One Step Closer (Linkin Park Cover)
Break the Cycle
Dead As Fuck
Immaculate Misconception
Sinematic
Scissorhands (The Last Snow)
Encore:
Reincarnate
We would like to thank Heidi Ellen Robinson Fitzgerald from Herfitz PR and Kim Schon for the credentials to review the show.
