The blurry result of attempting to capture a moment in a chaotic yet reverent metal core set!

Please welcome Marco Castro, a valuable “behind the scenes” partner of  I AM TUNED UP to our group of contributing writers! He weighs in today on the recent Dayton stop of  For Today’s Unshakeable Tour.

Last Saturday “The Attic” in Dayton OH received one of the best tours of the year, as For Today passed through with an array of big-name acts of great caliber under the metal/hardcore machinery: Sleeping Giant, Impending Doom, Texas In July and Hundredth. While The Chariot was not on this leg of the tour, the line up was still very impressive.

The Attic always prides itself by having a good amount of local opening acts, and for this Unshakeable Tour they had Beneath the Destruction, Witness, Spirit and The Bride and The Rose Hill.

They started warming up the place as people were coming in and they all were fantastic.

The local scene is always worth checking out as such amazing locals are rising up and growing up, and it’s our duty to support them.

The Rose Hill finished with a very worshipful set, showing their heart to the crowd. For Today’s frontman Mattie Montgomery would later give a shout-out to them, pointing that out and encouraging them to keep going.

Hundredth would follow with a very solid performance that included songs like “Remain & Sustain”, “Hurt” and “Live Today.” Texas in July came next to shake things up with hits like “Hook, Line, and Sinner”, “Magnolia” and “Cry Wolf.” Very good live technical work that has that “Lancaster PA” trademark sound for sure.

“They try to silence my voice, they try to hold me down

But I’m still screaming out(x2)

YOU BETTER PRAY!”

– Eyes Wide Open, Sleeping Giant

There are bands that pour their hearts out when they take the stage… and then there’s Sleeping Giant. Tommy Green and his crew are definitely the one of the most emotional and direct acts on the scene. The band started out with tunes like “Gang Signs” and “The Army of the Chosen One” as Tommy cried out for a scene free of fake “Christian” bands trying to use Jesus’ name to sell themselves.

They would then perform Jehova Shalom and Brook Reeves from Impending Doom would take the stage to share vocals on “Blame It On The Holy Rollers” As you can expect, the crowd went crazy!

Tommy also shared some of his story and struggles with a very personal and a very deep subject matter. He explained how his story of abuse affected his life and how angry he was at the person that damaged him. Very emotional fragment of the night! He then explained how Jesus’ love and grace came to his life, and he was able to forgive and heal. “Eyes Wide Open” would close that note with the lyrics above, a battlecry-like song against the injustices of this world. They ended with “Tithemi,” a very worshipful set full of dancing and joy.

Things got heavier and heavier from this point on…Impending Doom would go next and for those who don’t know anything about them, their name says it all. Their style has evolved notoriously throughout the years and they have become one of the best acts on the scene. Songs like “There Will be Violence,” “Deceiver or Murderer” exploded on the crowd’s ears as Brook Reeves share some of his heart while modestly pointing out that he feels like the lettuce on a sandwich where the two buns are “Mattie” and “Tommy” – whom having fame of being great speakers made him feel not as eloquent as them. However his sincere delivery and humbleness spoke for themselves. Don’t miss out on these guys.

The show was long, and the people was almost out of sweat, but the main course of evening was just about to start.

“We will not… We will not… We will not be afraid (x4) We are FEARLESS!”

It’s safe to say that For Today is one of the best (if not the best) metalcore act nowadays. I’ve been to so many shows of different type of bands, but when For Today takes the stage the atmosphere in the room changes and suddenly you are not just in a concert anymore. The fact that you are on a hardcore show doesn’t matter anymore, whether you like this music or not, you know these guys are up to something bigger than music.

They bring it like no one else.

“Fearless” opened up with “The King” intro, same as in the album, while the background lights started to function for their set. Mattie’s voice is just so clear that you don’t need to “read along” the lyrics while listening, and live is no exception. Songs like “Saul Of Tarsus (The Messenger)”, “Seraphim” or “The Only Name” resonated and then Tommy Green from Sleeping Giant would come to share vocals for “Under God”.

Mattie is a singer by profession but a preacher by vocation… when he starts speaking you feel you are in a revival tent. That’s they way to explain it. He preaches salvation, he preaches Jesus Christ, and every time his mouth was opened was to show why this is so important.

He felt the need to even do an “altar call” type of thing (something he says doesn’t do on all shows), but the need was there, and he did it.  People raised their hands, people were getting to know Jesus at a hardcore show. I was suddenly at a church service. A very heavy one.

They ended with “Foundation” and people of course weren’t satisfied. As the “one more song” chant almost faded due to everybody having no energy anymore, “The Breaker’s Poem” started to come out of the speakers, which was the sign that “Devastator” was the choice for encore. Mattie’s last words were really emphatic on salvation, asking people to not to leave the concert without it and prompting everybody to check on the person next to them about it and pray for each other.

What? All this happening at a underground-heavy sounded concert full of tattooed kids dancing like crazy. Good stuff.

PS:

I always appreciate when parents come to the shows, the same way I appreciate kids going to grown-up concerts with them. It’s so cool seeing them in the back sporting a For Today or an Impending Doom T-shirt double their size, headbanging slowly or just trying to appreciate the music and nodding when the vocalist has something profound to say. All this while their kids are ruling the pit. Awesome sauce 