Stick To Your Guns and Emmure have been tearing through the country on their Fall co-headling tour, and last weekend the excitement hit the Cat's Cradle stage in Carrboro NC. Along for the ride, in support of the headliners, was Wage War and Sanction.

This all out onslaught of moshing and two-stepping was one of the heaviest shows of the year to come through the area and really one of the can't miss tours for the metalcore/hardcore scene. 

EmmureEmmure performing at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro NC

Kicking off the night was a pleasant surprise from a band that I had not listened to or heard of before. Sanction was heavy and and the crowd was really into it. I guess I had been left out of the loop on this band. They played a pretty short set or I just enjoyed it so much that if felt shorter than it actually was and their set really set the tone for the remainder of the show. Crowd surfers, stage dives, huge moshpit; it's like I had been transported back to 2008 at The Brewery in Raleigh. 

Next up was one of the most noteworthy metalcore/post-hardcore bands right now. Wage War hit the ground running a few years ago and have quickly made their way to the top of active bands right now. Their debut full-length Blueprints gained them major attention and their follow up album Deadweight added onto that already solid fanbase. And their fans were out in full force for this show, they had an awesome set and it was actually great to see the band members' faces when something would happen in the crowd or a stage diver would jump out and there would be a look of shock or excitement on their faces that they were getting the incredible response from the crowd. 

First up for the headliners on this night was Stick To Your Guns. Now you could say that this tour brought in bands from two completely different spectrums of the metalcore/hardcore genre. Stick To Your Guns, while still very heavy, has a very positive outlook while Emmure is more aggressive and 'hate' filled. The energy on stage is also vastly different. 

Stick To Your Guns had the most energy that I have seen at a show in a very long time. There were high kicks and jumps galore, while running around in circles on stage while the crowd ran around in the circle pit. Vocalist Jesse Barnett slowed down the set halfway through to perform a more poetic song and afterwards he spoke about the lack of action people take in their lives to really determine the path they're on. He encouraged everyone to take their life into their own hands and make something of themselves rather than waiting around for something to happen for them and complaining about it. 

Stick To Your GunsStick To Your Guns performing at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC

Stick To Your GunsStick To Your Guns performing at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC

They ended their set with one of their older and more popular songs"This Is More". The song features a bridge into a breakdown that invites the crowd to climb and crawl over the front of the crowd to grab the microphone and join in chanting the words "rest assured, that with a heart thats pure, we'll be victorious, and not let our hate get the best of us." Barnett handed the microphone off to someone in the crowd and a group of people jumped on stage to join in 

Stick To Your GunsStick To Your Guns performing at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC Stick To Your GunsStick To Your Guns performing at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC
Stick To Your GunsStick To Your Guns performing at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC Stick To Your GunsStick To Your Guns performing at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC
Stick To Your GunsStick To Your Guns performing at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC

The final act of the night was of course Emmure. The band is known for their heavy breakdowns, aggressive lyrics, and being a guilty pleasure for a lot of people (myself included). While they don't play really anything from their first couple albums, their most recent album Look At Yourself was a departure from the rap filled style of the previous album and was much more positively received by fans of all the different eras of Emmure. During their set there were images projected onto the stage and the band members that brought an extra element to each song. While not as active as Stick To Your Guns, they bring their own enormous energy through the bone crushing heaviness of their music. Every breakdown and two step riff created mass chaos in the pit and fans at the front reached over the stage screaming the lyrics right back at vocalist Frankie Palmeri. The band would have an evil look in their eyes during the heaviest portions of the songs, even they couldn't help but to break a smile at the active crowd an appreciation of the movement they were receiving. 

EmmureEmmure performing at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro NC EmmureEmmure performing at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro NC EmmureEmmure performing at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro NC EmmureEmmure performing at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro NC EmmureEmmure performing at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro NC

There are only a few days remaining on this tour and even fewer featuring Wage War, so be sure to get your tickets for any remaining dates in your area and get to this show! 

11/06 – Fort Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
11/07 – Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum
11/09 – San Antonio, TX @ Alamo City Music Hall (no Wage War)
11/10 – Houston, TX @ Scout Bar (no Wage War)
11/11 – Dallas, TX @ 2513 Deep Ellum (no Wage War)