LIVE PHOTOS: Parkway Drive, Killswitch Engage, Beartooth, I Prevail, The Amity Affliction, The Devil Wears Prada, Alpha Wolf, Dark Divine
—
Review and photos by Greg Maki
—
Summer of Loud is the best metalcore tour … ever? No exaggeration there; just look at the bill with its four rotating headliners. While not the first metalcore band, Killswitch Engage was the one that broke out and put the mashup of metal and hardcore on the map in a major way in the early 2000s. Parkway Drive, another giant of the subgenre with a spectacular live show (more on that later), doesn’t often make its way over to these shores from its native Australia. Beartooth and I Prevail, both of which still feel new but have matured into veteran acts, are very much the present of metalcore, quickly ascending festival lineups and burning up the airwaves of Octane with each new single. And then there are four support bands—two well established, two up and coming.
If the stacked lineup weren’t enough on its own, the headliners all brought fire to the stage—literally. I’ve never seen so much pyro in 35 years of going to shows. Writing this a day later, it’s almost like I still can feel the heat, and I may or may not have checked a time or two to make sure my eyebrows remain accounted for.
Not quite what the founders of the York State Fair—which is the oldest U.S. fair, dating to 1765—had in mind, but luckily for us, times have a tendency to change.
With eight bands on the bill, Summer of Loud is a mini festival, a welcome throwback to the 2000s and 2010s when massive packages such as Ozzfest, Mayhem and Uproar were the highlights of the warmer months. While many, oblivious to the events of the grandstand, came to the fair for the rides, games and food, the music kicked off at the early hour of 3 p.m.
Three bands have shared the opening slot of the tour, with Orlando, Florida’s Dark Divine taking over for the final stretch. The band, with its spooky sound and even spookier, makeup-heavy look, is like a Tim Burton movie come to life onstage—if Danny Elfman threw an occasional crushing breakdown into his musical scores. Midafternoon under the summer sun isn’t the most natural setting for Dark Divine, but these songs and stage presence translate in any setting. Recently released singles “Make Me Disappear” and especially the brand-new “Better Start Digging” suggest a heavier, darker direction may be in store as the band turns toward its second full-length—following 2023’s “Deadly Fun”—and were highlights of the too-short 25-minute set, along with its set-closing, signature song, “Halloweentown.”
DARK DIVINE SET LIST: “The Reaper,” “Dancing Dead,” “Make Me Disappear,” “Deadly Fun,” “Cold,” “Better Start Digging,” “Halloweentown”
Alpha Wolf, the first of the day’s three Australian acts, brought its full-throttle attack to the stage next. The band, which released its third full-length, “Half Living Things,” in 2024, kept the energy level at maximum throughout its 30 minutes, and its set list included the single “Sucks 2 Suck,” which features none other than Ice-T on the studio version.
ALPHA WOLF SET LIST: “Mangekyō,” “Pretty Boy,” “Sucks 2 Suck,” “Sub-Zero,” “Haunter,” “Creep,” “Akudama”
I’ve seen The Devil Wears Prada a handful of times over the years, and this performance felt a lot different from all the others I’ve witnessed. While admittedly I haven’t followed the band religiously, I don’t recall such a strong focus on melodic vocals in the past. For this set at least, guitarist Jeremy DePoyster seemingly spent as much—or more—time centerstage behind the mic as lead vocalist Mike Hranica. It led to a brighter, more upbeat sound and show—an interesting development, especially if it’s a sign of things to come from the band.
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA SET LIST: “Watchtower,” “Danger: Wildman,” “Salt,” “Broken,” “Ritual,” “For You,” “Chemical”
The Amity Affliction, also from Australia, put even more emphasis on the melodic side, with guitarist Dan Brown and touring bassist Jonathan Reeves—filling the role vacated by the early 2025 dismissal of longtime member Ahren Stringer—showing some serious pipes. With the two of them stuck behind their mics and frontman Joel Birch mostly stationary due to a broken foot sustained earlier in the tour, the set was a little low energy compared to the others of the day. But just getting onstage was an impressive feat for Birch given the circumstances.
THE AMITY AFFLICATION SET LIST: “Pittsburgh,” “Like Love,” “Drag the Lake,” “All That I Remember,” “All My Friends Are Dead,” “Death’s Hand,” “I See Dead People,” “It’s Hell Down Here,” “Soak Me in Bleach”
Today, the quartet of headliners kicked off with I Prevail, which recently made its split with singer Brian Burkheiser official and announced its fourth full-length album, “Violent Nature” (Sept. 19, 2025, Fearless Records). Taking the stage in facepaint—a Mike Tyson tattoo for vocalist Eric Vanlerberghe, Insane Clown Posse for guitarist Dylan Bowman, a tiger for drummer Gabe Helguera, etc.—that never was explained, the band immediately ripped into “Bow Down” followed by “Body Bag.” In Burkheiser’s absence, the heavier songs, including the new record’s title track, were the clear standouts. While Vanlerberghe took on more of the melodic vocals than he has in the past, most of the clean singing fell on Bowman, who has played that role on previous tours Burkheiser sat out due to health issues. The band is lucky to have him because even if he doesn’t quite have Burkheiser’s range, he can pull off a song like “Hurricane” without a significant dropoff. Some fans might be skeptical, but I think with a little recalibration, I Prevail is going to be just fine as it moves into its new era.
I PREVAIL SET LIST: “Bow Down,” “Body Bag,” “Self-Destruction,” “There’s Fear in Letting Go,” “Violent Nature,” “Blank Space,” “Into Hell,” “Bad Things,” “Choke,” “Hurricane,” “Gasoline”
With its giant snake, Beartooth gets the award for coolest stage set of the day, while mastermind Caleb Shomo was the most energetic performer to grace the stage. Having fully embraced a healthy lifestyle a few years ago, he was a nonstop ball of energy, constantly running and bouncing around the stage while sounding better than ever, too. Beartooth has piled up an impressive collection of hit singles with its past couple albums, although with those being the more accessible songs in its catalog, that means the live show isn’t nearly as aggressive as it once was. Of course, those are the songs that fans, especially on a package tour like this, want to hear, and Beartooth delivered the goods. “The Past Is Dead,” surprisingly the second song of the set, was a showstopper, and closer “In Between” generated an impressive call-and-response singalong.
BEARTOOTH SET LIST: “The Lines,” “The Past Is Dead,” “Sunshine!,” “ATTN.,” “Disease,” “Doubt Me,” “I Was Alive,” “Might Love Myself,” Drum solo/“The Last Riff,” “You Never Know, “ “Riptide,” “In Between”
One could make an argument—a convincing one—that none of the other bands on the bill would exist without Killswitch Engage. That said, this is no nostalgia act. Even songs that are 20-plus years old felt vital, urgent even. The career-spanning set featured three songs from the band’s excellent, recently released new album, “This Consequence,” and all the classics fans have come to expect. The band remains one of the tightest around, and it’s past time we recognize Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz as one of the great guitar duos in heavy music. Their tones were ferocious, their riffs monstrous and their lead playing incendiary.
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE SET LIST: “Rose of Sharyn,” “In Due Time,” “This Fire,” “I Believe,” “Hate by Design,” “Forever Aligned,” “The Signal Fire,” “My Curse,” “Aftermath,” “The End of Heartache,” “My Last Serenade,” “Holy Diver”
While the four headliners are rotating slots throughout the tour, this show saved the best for last. Put simply, Parkway Drive’s set was one of the best I’ve seen in recent memory. From the opening notes of “Glitch” from 2022’s “Darker Still” to the newly released single “Sacred” to the closing flames of “Crushed,” the Aussies’ performance was absolutely enthralling. Frontman Winston McCall was all smiles and clearly overcome with emotion at several points. The band was in complete lockstep at all times, which shouldn’t come as a surprise with a consistent lineup since 2006. (Though far from a household name, lead guitarist Jeff Ling is a star.) The aforementioned closer was a spellbinding spectacle with a spinning drum kit and seemingly the entire stage set aflame. WOW.
PARKWAY DRIVE SET LIST: “Glitch,” “Prey,” “Sleepwalker,” “The Void,” “Vice Grip,” “Sacred,” “Bottom Feeder,” “Wild Eyes,” “Crushed”
LINKS:
www.parkwaydriverock.com
www.killswitchengage.com
www.beartoothband.com
www.iprevailband.com
www.theamityaffliction.net
www.tdwpband.com
www.alphawolfcvlt.com
www.darkdivineofficial.com
Leave a Reply