The Spring Horizons Tour in Baltimore

On Friday, May 15th, the Spring Horizons Tour made its penultimate stop in Baltimore, Maryland, at Nevermore Hall. The tour featured co-headliners August Burns Red and The Amity Affliction, with support from Boundaries and Heavensgate for a sold-out show that many described as a powerhouse lineup for the metalcore genre.

There is usually the sentiment that the first act of the night serves as a means to ‘warm the crowd up’, and then there is Heavensgate. Formed in 2020 durung the COVID lockdown, the band out of Melbourne Australia, took this notion as ‘kick the door in’, raucous and bringing the energy from the very second the lights went off, and the energy was felt; the room felt every bit of a sold out show as soon as the lights went off, no fans meandering to the bar or the merch line or slipping in after the openers. They were ready, wall to wall bodies from the first chord, and this band understood the assignment with tracks like “GINSICK”, a delightful mix of classic hardcore and numetal.

Boundaries, a metalcore band from Hartford, Connecticut, has been on one hell of a trajectory as of late, from 2013 through the present. On the heels of arguably their biggest release yet, 2024’s Death is Little More, and show no sign of slowing down anytime soon, between signing with Sumerian Records earlier this year and the release of the single “Death Will Follow Me” and the promise of a new album, Yearning: the unbeautiful after, is set to release in July. If anything, they’ve established themselves as one hell of a force and underscored it on the stage, commanding the chaos in the pits, bringing stage antics like Grimace and Santa Claus, reminding everyone of the roots of their music – something held near and dear, especially in a city like Baltimore, which has a rich history in hardcore and heavy music.

Frontman Matt McDougal addressed it, stating:

“Hardcore is bigger than it’s ever been. Here tonight, in Baltimore, one of the oldest, richest hardcore scenes — Keep that **** alive! Bring your friends, your family, your coworkers, go on a weekend. Go on a weeknight. Go when nobody else is ****ing there. That’s what makes this amazing. Keep that alive.”

And especially on that night, it was very much alive, fast-paced, and unapologetic.

This tour stop, August Burns Red took the stage ahead of The Amity Affliction. Formed in 2003 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, August Burns Red has solidified itself as a staple of the modern metalcore landscape, especially on the East Coast. They opened their set with “Meddler”, and from the very beginning, security had their work cut out for them as the band did what they do best: deliver a stellar, high-energy performance that makes them a must-see band whenever they are in a lineup. The set also featured a full-band drum solo, with the band members joining drummer Matt Greiner for something unique; even frontman Jake Luhrs played a triangle.

There is something so special about seeing a band thoroughly enjoy performing as much as the crowd enjoys watching them, and this connection was alive and electric, and it was easy to tell Luhrs felt that too, as he pointed out how much work the security had cut out for them so far in the night with the number of crowd surfers….right before prompting everyone to keep going, stating “The security here is doing such a great job catching everyone…and we’re about to make their jobs ten times harder. If you’ve never crowd surfed before, tonight is your night. Get up here!” before they launched into their closer “White Washed”.

Though many bands with a similar tenure might lean into the nostalgia trend, The Amity Affliction stands on their own and holds steadfast in their identity while ever evolving musically. They delivered a performance that was in equal parts emotionally raw as it was cinematically gorgeous. With a setlist that was a perfect balance of new and old and a stage setup that provided visuals to complement without an over-reliance on the pomp and circumstance of the look, when it has always been about their sound, the way every song is about something visceral to the point that one doesn’t just listen to The Amity Affliction, they feel it. They identify, sit inside, and resonate.

Like on their newest album, House of Cards, frontman Joel Birch is the force delivering both the clean and screaming vocals in a fashion that is just as much emotional delivery as it is a display of power in this direction the band has taken.

Standouts from the setlist were “Kickboxer”, “It’s Hell Down Here”, “Chasing Ghosts”, and, as always, the closing encore “Pittsburgh”.

Finally seeing this band live on the heels of their release of House of Cards last month has only solidified the notion that they are a cornerstone of the modern post-hardcore and metalcore for a reason, and that they will continue to keep experimenting, evolving, and creating songs about the human condition in their own trademark way.

Make sure to keep up with the artists on their socials listed below!

Heavensgate: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | Youtube

Boundaries: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | Youtube

August Burns Red: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | Youtube

The Amity Affliction: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | Youtube