PHOTO GALLERY: Landmvrks’ Unforgettable First Headliner

Oct 14

Saint Andrew's Hall | Detroit, Michigan | October 11

The night was a whirlwind of energy, starting strong with French band Resolve. They were naturals at working the room and it was awesome watching as countless crowd surfers came over the barricade and the band was right there to high-five every one of them.

Their momentum carried straight into the next set with Silly Goose, whose stage presence brought the energy level even higher. It was hard to say who was more amped: the never-ending stream of crowd surfers or the band themselves. The energy peaked when the lead singer came right to the barricade and jumped into the crowd.

Novelists were welcomed by a wall of applause and screaming as they came out and kept the crowd jumping with their impressive technical metalcore. Camille delivered such strong and beautiful vocals, and the band provided an incredible backing. To top it off, Flo from Landmvrks came out to perform a song with Novelists, giving the crowd a tease of what was still to come.

Finally, it was time for Landmvrks. Their album The Darkest Place I've Ever Been was one of my most anticipated releases of the year, and with 11 unskippable songs, it absolutely did not disappoint. A new album meant a highly-anticipated tour and Landmvrks delivered. The moment the lights flashed and the band walked out the crowd erupted, the band not even playing their first song before the crowd surfers started flying over the barrier. The band kicked things off with "Creature" - which is, in my opinion, one of their best opening songs. During "Sombre 16," the crew brought out a canvas, and Flo tagged it with some graffiti—a cool, unexpected touch before the lights cut out and they came back out ripping into "Say No Word," really switching up the beat and picking the pace back up. They continued at full throttle up until a few songs later when they played a shortened acoustic version of "Suffocate" only to finish it up in its normal, heavy fashion.

The band saved my personal favorites for last, coming back for the encore with "Requiem," "Blood Red," and "Self Made Black Hole," putting a perfect, crushing end to an unforgettable night.