IN FLAMES / ALL THAT REMAINS / ALL HAIL THE YETI / BOUNDALIVE – Starland Ballroom, NJ – 2/27/19

In Flames – All That Remains – All Hail The Yeti – BoundAlive – Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ – 2/27/19

Review and Pictures: Tara Lakatos

In Flames torched the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ on February 27^th.  They brought BoundAlive, All Hail the Yeti and All That Remains along for the party.  For an early Wednesday evening show, the house was pretty packed and ready to rage.  

I arrived about 15 minutes into BoundAlive’s set because rush hour in NJ resembles the apocalypse.  BoundAlive was formed in NJ in 2006 and released a full- length album, “Esprit De Corps” in 2011.  They were quiet for a bit and came back with a single, “Fake” in 2018.  With this release they have regained traction and have had some local shows to get back into the live scene.  BoundAlive consists of Bryan P. (vocals, guitar), Jorge Avila (bass), Michael Scardino (guitar) and Robert Ciesla (drums).  What I caught of their set was good; strong vocals, ripping guitar solos and a solid rhythm section.  

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All Hail The Yeti

Next up All Hail the Yeti.  They were formed in Los Angeles, CA in 2006 and have 3 studio albums, the latest being “Highway Crosses” which was released in 2018. 

All Hail the Yeti consists of Connor Garritty (vocals), Alan Stokes (guitar), Nicholas Diltz (bass), Ryan “Junior” Kittlitz (drums). 

This was my first time seeing these guys play, and I was totally blown away.  The vocals from this band were so good; Connor is killer.  Something I rarely say; the backing vocals were out of bounds.  Nicholas has the most amazing voice.  They didn’t have a super long set but managed to cover tracks from all of their albums. 

My favorite song of the night was “See You Never”.  This song mixed the best of the vocal stylings, had a great guitar riff, an over-pronounced bass line and a drumbeat that didn’t over power the rest of the music.  Their next dates are in Germany this summer, I highly recommend seeing them while they are there.  

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All That Remains

All That Remains rounded out the support for In Flames.  All That Remains consists of Phil Labonte (vocals), Mike Martin (guitar), Jason Richardson (guitar), Aaron Patrick (bass) and Jason Costa (drums).  

They formed in 1998 in Springfield, MA and have been on the metal scene ever since, releasing 9 albums to date with one on the way this year.  I was so excited to see these guys’ get up and play, and heart broken at the same time.  Their guitarist and founding member, Oli Herbert, passed away suddenly on October 17, 2018.  The amount of love in the room for this band was overwhelming.  During the beginning of the set Phil took a few minutes to talk about Oli, he was choked up and the crowd cheered in support.  Phil also introduced Jason who stepped up to play lead guitar, he fit right in and did such a great job.  

All That Remains opened their set with “Chiron” from their 2008 release “Overcome”.  This song came blazing out of the gates with shredding guitars, heavy vocals and a pelleting rhythm section.  The crowd was instantly into it as feet where flying over my head into the photo pit.  For me this is equal parts exhilarating and scary as I’m trying to not get knocked out.  The next track they performed was “Whispers” from their 2006 release “The Fall of Ideals”.  This song was more melodic then the opener, but still had ripping guitars.  A bit later in the set they play “F*ck Love” a song I was patiently waiting for.  This is off of their current release “Victim of the New Disease”.  This track features rapid-fire vocals and a drum beat to match.  This song literally made my heart race and the crowd rage.  

All That Remains played 9 songs in total and were the best compliment to open for In Flames.  They put on a hell of a set; I can’t wait to see them again.  

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In Flames

Last but definitely not least, In Flames.  They played a blistering 17-song set that left all of the fans sweaty and exhausted from crowd surfing and moshing.  In Flames were formed in 1990 in Gothenburg, Sweden and consist of Anders Friden (vocals), Bjorn Gelotte (guitar), Bryce Paul (bass), Tanner Wayne (drums) and Chris Broderick (guitar) filling in for Niclas Engelin who was unable to make the tour due to personal reasons.  They have 13 studio releases under their belt and show no signs of slowing down any time soon.

In Flames opened their set with “Voices” off of their album “I, The Mask” which was released two days after this show.  This song is equal parts heavy and melodic.  The guitar riff for this song oddly enough encourages the audience to dance; it has a cool rhythm to it.  Their next track was “Everything’s Gone” for their 2014 release “Siren Charms”.  This one got the crowd off of their feet and one again flying over the barrier.  This song was heavier than the first. 

Anders had a lot of heavy screams over melodic guitar riffs making for a very unique sound.  The third song performed was “Pinball Map” off of 2000’s “Clayman”.  It was cool to hear 3 songs opening the set that were released over a 19-year span.  Hearing them this way, you really got the sense of how the band has developed over their career, yet remained true to their roots.  

In Flames played a few more tracks from the new album with my favorite being “(This is Our) House”.  What a great song this is.  Anders vocals were amazing, the guitar solos were transient and the chorus was just huge.  This song is definitely an anthem that every one will sing along to now that the album has been released.  They closed their set ironically with “The End” off of their 2016 album “Battles”.  The lyrics from this song truly hit home for me.  “When we were young was this the dream we had?  We’re celebrating nothing, we need to find our way back.” These words ring so true in these times.  Thank you In Flames for reminding me during this short time of what really matters before we hit, the end.  

This show was great from beginning to end.  Each band brought their A game with them.  In Flames is currently on a short cross-country tour with Within Temptation and All That Remains is currently out on a headlining tour with Attila.  Catch them while you can.  

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