TDP Review: Emmure’s Eternal Enemies Tour

Emmure and The Acacia Strain have had a feud that has lasted a few years now. Not too long ago, the hatred between the bands’ frontmen, Frankie Palmeri (Emmure) and Vince Bennett (The Acacia Strain) resulted in a physical fight between the two. After their scuffle, they decided to put their differences behind them and stop being childish. Now, in 2014, they are shocking everyone by announcing the Eternal Enemies  tour together (named so for Emmure’s new album). I attended the kickoff show of the tour at the Worcester Palladium and was very pleased with the overall experience. The venue opened the doors to the side stage at 4:00 p.m. to let local bands play, but I’ll skip to the popular bands who are doing every show of the tour.

To start off the permanent lineup of the tour, rap-metal band Sylar from Queens, New York hit the stage and did an excellent job at opening the night with high energy and catchy breakdowns, rapping, screaming, and turntable scratching. The lead singer had an energy to him that really made it obvious he cares about what he does. The backup clean vocalist, however, did not really shine too well with his screechy, untrained vocals. After Sylar, metalcore/hardcore band Kublai Khan hit the stage with a high string energy that made the crowd explode with great feedback. People were jumping around, moshing, and crowdsurfing. For a somewhat uninteresting band with not much variety in their sound, they really know how to get a crowd to go wild. After Kublai Khan, Fit for a King took the stage with a very solid performance. Not being familiar with them, I didn’t really engage in their set as I did with the other bands, but needless to say, they still put on a great show.

Finally, it was time for the first headliner, The Acacia Strain, to start. As we waited, the people around me all told me to watch my back, as people “lose their minds” to The Acacia Strain, and being their home show (they’re Massachusetts natives), people were going to “go nuts” even more. The moment the band started started, a mosh pit the size of the entire floor broke out, and didn’t stop until they walked off stage. Having a love for moshing, I always participate in the pit, but for the first time ever, the pit was far too violent to join. While The Acacia Strain blessed the audience with their low-tuned, breakdown-filled, brutal music, I watched as people left the pit covered in blood, sweat, and black eyes. Frontman Vince Bennett’s growled vocals shook the room the entire set with its low pitch, hatefully wonderful sound, while the guitarists, bassist, and drummer completed the absolutely brutal ensemble.

After The Acacia Strain, it was time for the main headliner, Emmure to start. The moment they entered the stage with their controversial new track, which is too offensive to name in this review, the room resonated with their breakdowns, screams, and offensive lyrics. Their blend of deathcore with nu-metal and hip hop influence made it a truly fun set. Although they receive a lot of negativity for their offensive lyrics and lack of complexity in their music, they really know how to set an audience off and receive high energy feedback from a crowd. Their set covered classics from their early albums, all the way to songs off their newest release, Eternal Enemies. The vast collection of songs they played caused an energy that lasted from beginning to end. The tired, sore, and ear-ringing, hour long drive home on the mass pike was definitely worth the great night of moshing, crowdsurfing, and going wild.