Hello! I’m Ellery Higgins, a brand-new photographer for Keynote Music Collective!!
On February 17th, I had the pleasure of my first assignment with Keynote – capturing the Darkbloom tour at The King of Clubs in Columbus, Ohio with We Came as Romans as headliners and Brand of Sacrifice and Erra opening!!
Brand of Sacrifice took to the stage first and came out heavy, immediately opening up the pit with Dawn from their Lifeblood album, released in 2021. This was my first time seeing them…and they blew my face off. Their stage presence could only be described as unrelenting and intense. Everyone talks about Will Ramos and his pig squeals – but he has some serious competition with Kyle’s absolute BRUTAL breakdowns, goblin screams, and pig squeals….contrasted only by his deep gutturals backed by symphonic and intricate riffs and machine-gun blast beats. Lyrically, they draw their inspiration from mythology, literature, and the darkness of human nature to fully round out the deathcore experience. They’re a relatively newly-formed band (2018) hailing from Canada…but are incredibly talented and tight.
Erra was up next, and brought things back to earth…but just by a tiny bit. They opened with Pull From the Ghost – a single released in 2022 which added a lot of technical and melodic elements to the Darkbloom experience. The song ebbs and flows in waves of intensity with raw riffs, melodic hooks, and a mix of clean vocals and heavy screaming. J.T. (lead vocals) and Jesse (clean vocals & guitar) mesh well with each other in perfect synchronicity with Conor (bass) and Alex (drums). Their entire library is to be celebrated by metalcore and progressive metal fans alike. Their lyrics revolve around philosophy, existentialism, and self-discovery…shattering the House of Glass built to contain them both musically and lyrically. You can quickly hear the maturity of the band, as they were formed back in 2009 in Birmingham, Alabama.
Last, but far, far, far from least – We Came As Romans was the headliner of the Darkbloom tour (titled after their new album released in October 2022) hailing from Troy, Michigan. This is the first album that We Came as Romans has released since the passing of Kyle Pavone, their clean vocalist and keyboardist in 2018. Out of respect for his memory, they did not replace Kyle – but instead used previously recorded synths from Kyle, and Dave (lead “unclean” vocalist) took over for the clean vocals. Darkbloom is the 6th studio record and is purely metalcore. They opened with Daggers, a song about the inner battle we all fight and face. Not just about those battles, but conquering them, coming through the other side, and knowing your self-worth. It isn’t easy and you may be filled with fury and pain…but you’re going to be ready for it and breakthrough.
It was an emotional show – as Dave talked about the pain the band has endured losing their partner and best friend – how he felt completely helpless and had to fight the stigma of mental illness; and how important it is to surround yourself with those you love and can talk to and take care of yourself physically & mentally. He opened up about his journey of seeking help and talking to a therapist despite his own fears, how it saved him, and unraveled the knot in his heart not just with the passing of his friend, but through the unprecedented times we have all just come through.
They wrapped up the night with both Brand of Sacrifice and Erra joining them on-stage for the encore with Darkbloom and Black Hole for a powerful end to the night.
