After driving in what felt like a monsoon to Albany and enjoying the vegan delights of Wizard Burger by the venue, it was a thrill to witness a top-notch deathcore show and check out Empire Underground finally. The venue is literally hidden down what feels like a back entrance tunnel of a complex and we weren’t sure if we were about to be robbed. It adds to the charm because soon you find yourself in a secret bunker for metalheads that feels like it is out of Cloverfield Lane.
Despite feeling like a rebel alliance hide out, the sound was excellent. People were in great spirits and openers Beast gave the best set of the night sound-wise besides the headliner. Dudes really paid attention to their tones and the drummer reminded me of a younger Ken Schalk. Props to the singer for rockin’ a The World Without Us hat. Very cool. 
Assault On The Living really gave their all. The band’s dual vocalist attack worked well at hyping the crowd and they just felt fueled by a genuine working class anger. Since they aren’t as well known and don’t get to play as much as some of the bigger bands you could also tell they really were venting it all out in a scary way. Plus one singer looked like deathcore Hank from Breaking Bad, which obviously rules.
Worm Shepherd had some of the best use of dynamics of the night, ambient creepy and suspensful moments peppered amidst the band’s more malignant barrages. One thing I also missed about metal and hardcore shows was seeing bands representing different races and reminding us we all have a place in the metal family, especially with how hateful the world can be.
Entheos had the most stage energy of the night and were mind blowing. Their drummer Navene Koperweis is one of the craziest live drummers I have ever seen, just beyond intimidating and makes it look like breathing. Chaney Crabb was a blur of chaos across the front of the stage, channeling the dizzing stringed arrangements through her tortured yet psyched screams.
Oceano are back and certainly showed the crowd why they are known for their formidable live presence. The band played plenty of gargantuan old songs, but new song “Mass Produced” exploded with just as much if not more energy. Their breakdowns are so legendary that you also forget how many relentless and pounding barrages of technical speed they can haul out as well. Adam Warren remains one of the most imposing death metal vocalists, looking like he just benched a car while defeating attempts at exorcism at pretty much all times. Adam promised much more on the horizon from the deathcore giants. Welcome back, lads.
Extra metal af shout out award to photographer Nicole who it turns out shot the whole show with a broken foot and in flip flops. She hurt it at home pre show and didn’t realize how bad it was until later in the night. At Oceano!!! She would not leave and was dedicated to shooting all the bands. I tried to make her! It was not easy body blocking huge bearded men from crashing into her, but the shots paid off.
WORDS BY MORGAN Y. EVANS
PHOTOS BY NICOLE TERPENING