Concert Review: Invent Animate & Silent Planet, Bloom in Heaven Tour, Grand Rapids Michigan

ALLT

Starting off this jam packed lineup was the hard hitting Swedish newcomers ALLT. There performance was encapsulated by one simple word…THALL! “THALL” is the subgenre of metal coined by the Swedish legends Vildhjarta; who took it upon themselves to expand upon the complex Djent style of Meshuggah by adding elements of ambience and dissonant bends acting as an ear worm infecting your brain with new perspectives on music composure. ALLT has implemented that into their modern metalcore sound flawlessly. The crowd was eager for their performance and were left more than satisfied with just this opener as a lot of bands on this bill shared similar stylistic resemblances akin to the aforementioned bands. Vocalist “Robin Malmgren” was a force of nature on stage and the wall of sound behind him was nothing short of spectacular. Proving once again that the Sweeds always have their finger on the pulse of what’s innovative and tasteful at all times.

156/Silence

After enduring one of the hardest struggles any band could ever endure with the tragic loss of one of their beloved members: Bassist “Lukas Booker”. They made the strong and difficult decision that they would continue on with this tour and dedicate every last drop of blood sweat and tears they had in honor of their fallen brother. Their latest album “People Watching” is some of the rawest, heaviest, and abrasive projects to be released in the past few years. Vocalist Jack Murray is a certified powerhouse with an intimidating on stage presence that takes control of anyone watching. Songs like “Product Placement” and “Blood Loss” were essentially cues to raise the thermostat because the crowd exploded into moshing which instantly made  this venue get a bit steamy. This was a performance where you couldn’t help but feel every ounce of emotion pouring off the stage in what could only be described as musical catharsis. 

Silent Planet 

On a tour comprised of friends with tremendous chemistry, off the back of their recently released collaborative EP “BLOOM IN HEAVEN” ; one of the only times I’ve ever witnessed this, a true 50/50 split between co-headliners where on any given night, Silent Planet and Invent Animate would actually flip back and forth between which band would be performing last. On this evening Silent Planet was the penultimate band for tonight’s show. Set to play their entire SUPERBLOOM album in full, the crowd was treated to a few throwbacks from their discography sprinkled in between such as “Panic Room” and “Trilogy” to treat some of the older fans. Vocalist Garrett Russell was nothing short of incredible as his technique shows no flaws, his interaction with the crowd was stellar, and most important of all… He did the thing!(hanging from the ceiling) 

Invent Animate

Last but never least. Invent Animate closed out the show performing their critically acclaimed and my personal favorite album of 2023 “Heavener” in full, with a slight twist… They decided to change the order of the songs which threw a big curveball to me as this is quite possibly my most listened to album of my entire life. The band came charging forward starting with False Meridian which is another perfect encapsulation of how bands are adding “Thall” elements into their riffs and breakdowns. Vocalist Marcus Vik serenaded while simultaneously pummeling the audience with his angelic falsetto and bone crushing false chord screams which shake you to the core. Over the years of seeing them perform, Marcus’ hard work and dedication to improving his craft has shown every time as he is truly blossomed into one of the greatest live vocalists in any genre performing today. Guitarist Keaton Goldwire is highly regarded now as one of the most creative and influential guitar players of the genre with his truly out of the box way of constructing the most complex yet catchy guitar riffs to ever bless the human ears. Musical proficiency runs rampant through this band as Drummer Brody Taylor Smith has quickly made a significant name for himself as he takes on the mantle as their full time drummer learning the insanely complex parts written by previous drummer Trey Celaya while writing equally complex parts for their new music. Brody is truly one of the standout drummers in the scene today as he is one of the extremely small few of metal drummers who play live with absolutely no triggers, no samples, no BS! Standing in front of his kit while he blasts double bass kicks is one of the greatest musical experiences I’ve ever had the pleasure of enjoying. Bassist Caleb Sharraden is no slouch either as he himself is a killer on bass, a crazy good hype man, a pretty mean guitar player, and also has quite a lovely voice to accompany Marcus on stage together making this one of the most talented groups of musicians and individuals that you and I have the pleasure of listening to. If you have the chance to be one of the lucky few thousand that get to witness a show from this tour, I highly encourage you make whatever accommodations and arrangements necessary for you to be apart of this unforgettable experience.