Knocked Loose hit the road this fall to celebrate their latest release, You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To and The Dome at Toyota Oakdale was not ready for the maelstrom of two-steppers, moshers, and crowd surfers that ensued. It was no surprise to see that security had tripled compared to typical shows at The Dome given the insane line-up of metalcore, hardcore, and punk bands which included a surprise set from Connecticut metalcore legends Hatebreed.

It was a sold-out show and to say the least, an endurance test for anyone who found themselves in the front half of the venue, including security staff. With crowd surfers on repeat and a gigantic pit that never subsided, many fans were catching their breath before Knocked Loose even reached the stage.

Site: https://militariegun.com/ 
Formed: 2020 – Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres: Alternative rock – hardcore punk
For fans of: Angel Du$t – Drug Church – Fiddlehead – MSPAINT

Militarie Gun opened with their single “Pressure Cooker”, an alternative rock song that initially had crowd members thinking they were at the wrong show, but that tone quickly changed as they moved on the rest of their set. Once the aggression turned up and the breakdowns started coming crowd members found themselves jumping along and forming small push pits to hits like “Do It Faster” and “Very High”. 

While Militarie Gun’s tempo may not have completely matched the rest of the lineup, their inclusion was certainly a refresher compared to tours that consist of four different bands playing the same style of music. They succeeded in warming the crowd up and finished with “Gun Under The Gun (MFG)”, a one-minute hardcore breakdown disguised as a song that had the crowd-killers hyped.

Be sure to catch them next February at the Roadrunner in Boston!

Site: https://drain831.com/ 
Formed: 2014 – Santa Cruz, California, United States
Genres: Hardcore punk – thrash metal
For fans of: Dead Heat – Incendiary – Mindforce – Power Trip

DRAIN’s set started by preemptively taking the bar set by Militarie Gun and throwing it through the roof. The front rows were warned by frontman Sammy Ciaramitaro that they were in the “splash zone” (and to get out while they still could) followed by the statement that there were no rules for the next 30 minutes. 

What initially seemed like an effort to hype the crowd further, turned out to be the last chance many had before finding themselves lost in the churn of bouncing bodies as Sammy threw himself off of the stage for their first song “Feel the Pressure”. Crowd surfers launched toward Sammy hoping to join in on the chaos that formed in the first few rows, but it wasn’t long before security pulled him ashore. While the crowd-killers had originally claimed the center of the crowd, Sammy had them put their spin kicks aside for their third song “FTS (KYS)” and formed a massive circle pit.

In the 25 years that I have attended shows, I have never experienced the level of crowd engagement that DRAIN brought to The Dome. From start to finish, every audience member had a blast.

Site: https://www.hatebreed.com/ 
Formed: 1994 – Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States
Genres: Metalcore – hardcore punk
For fans of: Born from Pain – Chimera – Lionheart – Terror 

Connecticut metalcore legends Hatebreed were a pleasant surprise to many attendees at The Dome when their banners appeared on the stage instead of The Garden’s (who had been in this slot for the rest of the tour). Fans cheered and horns raised as dramatic background music welcomed each member of the band into view. Frontman Jamey Jasta screamed at the crowd that nobody should be standing still and the second “Before Dishonor” started, they obliged him. The energy of the audience shifted and a battle commenced between the two steppers and the rest of the crowd as they began moshing in response to the raw aggression of Hatebreed.

Throughout the set, fans found themselves drowning out Jamey’s vocals and bouncing in unison as they chanted along with hits such as “Destroy Everything” and “I Will Be Heard”. It must have been a nostalgic experience for fans who started their metal and hardcore journey with Hatebreed and they were fortunate to get a setlist packed with their greatest songs. One might also expect a wall of death to take place at a show like this, but Hatebreed instead brought their “Ball of Death” – a massive inflatable ball with the band’s logo on it that bounced its way from one end of the venue to the other for the last few songs of the set.

Hatebreed signed off with the promise of a new album and fans should expect to see them again in 2025.

Site: https://knockedloose.com/ 
Formed: 2013 – Oldham County, Kentucky, United States
Genres: Metalcore – hardcore punk
For fans of: Boundaries – Counterparts – Kublai Khan TX – Thrown

The lights went out and willow trees became illuminated by a crucifix behind the drumkit. Things became ominous as fog machines filled the space and the clanging of metal from the intro of Knocked Loose’s song “Thirst” echoed. Exhausted eyes were trained on the stage anticipating the band’s entrance which arrived with an eruption of cheers. Each member took their spot in the mist and paused before vocalist Bryan Garris’s fist shot into the air on beat with an onslaught of screams, blast beats, and down-tuned 7-strings that is the first 5 (musical) seconds of “Thirst”. The song switched to more of a hardcore groove that had the crowd headbanging together and back once again to high-octane metalcore causing pits to form. 

This would set the pace for the rest of their set, as Bryan moved back and forth across the stage belting out lyrics in his unique style. It was incredible to witness the excitement in the crowd after surviving the last three acts – everyone appeared to gain their second wind and if they weren’t jumping or in the pit, they were crowd surfing. When asked to turn the crowd surfing up for “Don’t Reach for Me”, it may have been a record for total crowd surfers at one time at The Dome. Even with security increased, this must have been intense for the staff as they carried audience members one after another out of the crowd.

Knocked Loose also shared the news for unaware fans that their second last song of the night “Suffocate” had been nominated for a Grammy in the Best Metal Performance category the day before. Well-deserved and great news as they reach the end of this tour. Their set ended as Bryan joined the rest of the band on his guitar and chugged a dirty riff over a calm melody for the outro of “Sit & Mourn”. A beautiful end to a night of carnage.