On the night before the prestigious New York City Marathon was set to take place, a marathon of the deathcore persuasion unfolded in the heart of East Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Signs of the Swarm’s tour in support of their new album, To Rid Myself of Truth, stopped at The Meadows with an incredible undercard of Mental Cruelty, ten56., Carcosa, and Face Yourself.
Doors were at 5PM, and the show was over before 10PM — the elder millennial in me loved this. During that window of time, the steady stream of deathcore was literal music to my ears, as every band reminded me in their own ways why I love the genre so much.
I got to cover Face Yourself last year, but vocalist Yasmine Liverneaux Belkhodja was absent at the time. I loved their set then, but the moment I heard Belkhodja’s vocals, I couldn’t help but let out a “holy shit” in mesmerized amazement. The band was on fire and kicked off the evening on the right note.
The band recently put out an excellent EP, Fury, which they drew from during their set. I came into the show stressed for a variety of reasons, but their performance erased my stress instantly. I was locked into the present and ready for the night of metal ahead.
Carcosa was up next, and I was pumped. After first becoming a fan about three years ago, I’d missed the chance to see them live until now. The band is on a fresh album cycle as well, with The Axe Forgets, The Tree Remembers being released just a few weeks ago.
Opening with “Excerpt/Hypnos,” they began their set the same way I’d first discovered them — through the Anthology compilation of their earlier releases, which I listened to on repeat during a long drive from Virginia Beach down to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I couldn’t get enough then, and I still can’t now.
I’ve had the new album on repeat since its release and was thrilled to hear the new material live. So thrilled, in fact, that I shot photos for quite a while before realizing my shutter speed was only 1/13 — all but guaranteeing a gallery of blurry photos. Still, after a performance like Carcosa’s, it was worth it. I caught the issue in time and still walked away with a decent amount of solid shots.
ten56. marked the midpoint of the night and they gave a commanding performance, demanding we give them their mileage’s worth for flying across an ocean to be there. Judging by the passion and energy in the room, the crowd delivered. I can speak from experience — I took a roundhouse kick to the back during their set that put the “core” in deathcore and reminded me of the lack of strength in mine.
In the chaos of the pit — a level of beautifully reckless violence where I even witnessed one fan attempting to reset another’s possibly dislocated shoulder just to jump back in — there was still a sense of respect, even protection. Especially when there were young kids present. A young girl had a front-row seat for the entirety of the show, at one point getting on stage and being scream-serenaded by Aaron Matts before bassist Steeves Hostin carefully lowered her back into the crowd.
My introduction to Mental Cruelty came by way of their performance, which was in-your-face both musically and literally. Vocalist Lukas Nicolai constantly interacted with the crowd, getting up close and personal to deliver his brutal vocals.
More than once, I pulled my camera away only to find him right in front of me, making the experience surreal and the already explosive music feel even heavier. It didn’t take long for me to become a fan — I was left picking up the remnants of my mind after their set, melted beyond repair.
I picked up the pieces of my mind, only for them to be blown to smithereens again by Signs of the Swarm’s sheer brutality. The energy in the room had been at a fever pitch all night, but the band somehow managed to crank it even higher. The circle pit was spinning, a crowd surfer made it onto the stage only to backflip himself back into the mosh pit; suffice it to say, the contagious energy of Signs of the Swarm’s riffs were on full display.
Signs of the Swarm’s set drew heavily from their new album, To Rid Myself of Truth, including the crushing lead single “HELLMUSTFEARME.” Their previous record, Amongst the Low & Empty, was featured prominently as well, with the band closing out the night with the album’s title track.
It was the perfect end to an incredible marathon evening of metal.
