American heavy metal band Trivium, love them or hate them, has been breaking molds left and right since their debut album ‘Ember to Inferno‘ in 2003. Beginning their career as a young and angry thrash/metalcore outfit, the boys have evolved both their attitudes and their sound to continue staying fresh and relevant across multiple metal genres. The four-piece has spent the year traveling the world playing shows and multiple festivals, but on Thursday, September 22nd, The Summit Music Hall in Denver, CO was honored to host Trivium, Sweden’s power metal giants Sabaton, and California’s playboy-model-fronted heavy metal band Huntress for the Silence in the Snow Tour. This two month long trek across the United States, ending in mid-October in Trivium’s homeland of Florida, has already shown itself to be a huge success.
I’ll be totally honest, I came to this show for one reason and one reason only, Sabaton. Huntress has never been my style; and although I loved Trivium in high school, I haven’t followed them since the release of ‘The Crusade’. Although I saw them when they came through Omaha years ago, and absolutely loved the show, they just completely fell off my radar. My pessimistic self walked into this show half expecting to be bored out of my mind for Huntress, enjoy the hell out of Sabaton, and watch the crowd leave and completely die after wards. Rest assured, I was totally wrong.
Starting with Huntress, while no, the music is not at all for me, they put on one hell of a show. Front-woman Jill Janus came out in a vintage leather jacket, her powerful vocals wailing throughout the Summit. Throughout the set, her outfit got crazier and crazier (along with her facial expressions) and by the end, she was in a spiked leather overcoat, dominating the stage with her hair flying everywhere. The music of Huntress is relatively generic, but the vocals and her performance really made up for it. Needless to say, Sabaton ruled the night. They took the stage after their rendition of “In the Army Now” and played a few tracks from their brand new album, ‘The Last Stand’. Between the jumping around the stage, engaging with the audience, and smiles all around, these guys put on the best, most high energy show that you can find in the heavy metal world. After they finished their set, the crowd was still screaming for “Sabaton!” as if they were the headliners. I know a lot of the crowd was there for them, but you could tell they won over all of the Trivium fans as well. I’ve said it before, and I will say it again, Sabaton needs to headline the States. They could easily sell out this venue!
Trivium was up next, and hit the stage right after Iron Maiden’s “Run to the Hills” which kept the energy in the crowd high. With a set list for the old and new fans alike, including some of my favorites like “A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation” and “Pull Harder on the Strings of your Martyr” (or “Boat Rudder Strange Mountain” if you know what I’m sayin’). Seeing these guys live again was a great trip back in time to being 16 again. Matt Heafy has one hell of a stage presence, smiling and sticking his tongue out between nearly every verse. I take a lot of concerts for granted, since I am seeing major acts once or twice a week now, but this one really grounded me again.
Know that I am not lying when I say that this is a tour you can’t miss. This is coming from someone who didn’t really like two of the three bands on the bill, and I still had a total fucking blast. Huntress put on one hell of a live show, Sabaton killed it as always, and Trivium completely blew me away. I honestly couldn’t stop smiling for hours. Check out the tour poster – if this stops anywhere near you, go! If you’re a Sabaton fan like me, and are saying to yourself “I’d go if Sabaton was headlining” or “I don’t want to see those other bands anyway” shut the hell up! Get out to this tour, it’s absolutely worth it.