The Trinity Of Terror Tour Brings The Hits And Horror To The Fillmore In Philadelphia
Horror and metal have always gone hand in hand. And what better way to represent both then to have three of the biggest names in metal that are also known for their own unique darker stage shows to hit the road together. Black Veil Brides, Ice Nine Kills and Motionless in White along with the chart climbing Lilith Czar have had shows selling out days after tickets became available as their incredibly faithful fans blitzed box offices and online venders. For those who were fortunate enough to get tickets would no doubt be blown away by the show they would embark on. And tonight at The Fillmore in Philly would be no exception.
Once you find yourself on the floor in front of the stage, it was not hard to notice that the building was almost full close to an hour before Lilith Czar was to even make her way to the stage. If that wasn’t an indication of how much the fans were looking forward to this show, I don’t know what is. But when she did grace the fans with her presence they greeted her with cheers and screams of excitement. Lilith and the band hit them with their heavy handed anthem Feed the Chaos, setting tempo and energy of the show and their set off on a soaring high note.
After the band reached back to Julia Simms 2019 single 100 Little Deaths, I began to hear a very familiar guitar riff. As the guitar chugs out, Lilith Czar grabs the tambourine off of her mic stand and starts to sing one of Fleetwood Mac’s classics Edge of Seventeen. When the fans realized what was coming they erupted with applause and began to sing along. I’ve seen Lilith Czar a couple of times when she toured as Julia Simms and I never heard her voice sound so bright and powerful as I did tonight.
It’s always a cool experience to see a band cover someone else’s songs live. But this cover really blew away everyone in the room and was truly an amazing rendition. Lilith Czar would swing the focus back to her newest album Created From Filth and Dust with a moving acoustic performance of Lola that had Drummer Lindsay Martin leading the crowd in the wave while stage lights illuminated the entire room. Following Lilith’s pop fused power cry King, we got to hear the amazing single that has been burning up radios and streaming services with Anarchy. The fans belted out every work right with Lilith as the band ended their set as strong as they started it.
Coming up next would be Lilith’s talented husband Andy Black as he leads the charge with Black Veil Brides. While the projection panels behind the stage and under the drum riser light up the venue red, they soon drip with blood and take us on a trip through an abandoned town then up to an ominous castle. All while the cheers and yells are at a piercing level. They get louder as each member hits the stage until Singer Andy Black walks through the shadows and to the front of the stage, bringing it to a deafening roar.
As the buildup was taking place, the beginning sounds of Faithless were starting to take shape until its double bass barrage was unleashed on the fans. The band’s newest album The Phantom Tomorrow is riddled with crushing tunes, moving lyrics and great melodies from start to finish. One of the highlights of the record was the hard hitting Crimson Skies. I’m a bit of an old school Thrash Metal fan and that opening riff makes me want to join the fans in the massive mosh pit that opens up.
Scarlett Cross would be another highlight off their latest release and would be another in the laundry list of fan favorites from their set. Those in attendance could be heard loud and clear as they shouted and screamed every word as if they were on stage themselves. Black Veil Brides would keep the fans interest at heart and roll out one of their biggest songs and the only song of the night from their debut We Stitch These Wounds with Knives and Pens.
The band jockey positions around the stage as images of pages from a journey rotate around the massive screens. The song’s breakdown provoked waves of head banging and compressed air detonation around the stage. Soon Jake Pitts and Jinx would meet up on the center riser and play back to back as they shred through the song’s melodic guitar solo with blistering speed and flurry of pinch harmonics. At the song’s end the applause carried on well into the start of The Legacy. Black Veil Brides would finish out an amazing set with two more killer songs Fallen Angels and In the End. And judging by the fans’ reaction at the conclusion of their set, I’d say that BVB certainly made their impression on everyone at The Fillmore.
No one has embraced and incorporated the Horror genre into their music more than Ice Nine Kills. But their live performances really show you the level of not only their commitment. But the ingenious ways that they integrate it to bring their shows to a whole other level. And tonight would be no exception. As every light in the building goes out the echoing cries of “ICE NINE KILLS” make you feel like you’re in a stadium, rather than a venue of this size. After the scrolling narration on the screen closes, the band casually hit the stage sporting the American Psycho outfits and slash their way right into Welcome to Horrorwood.
Eagle eyed fans might notice the impressive custom work on Patrick Galante’s drum kit turning every piece into tubs of movie popcorn. Again. You have to admire the dedication. Wurse Vacation would be riddled with appearance from gruesome characters from the movie Hostel complete with blood soaked aprons and with plenty of knives and chainsaws. Singer Spencer Charnas even got a couple of wacks in on a would-be tourist strapped to a chair. It’s hard to ignore the vocal abilities of Spencer as his voice just flows from stunning melodies to rapid fire screams and deep growls. And a perfect example of that was during the brutality during the Halloween themed Stabbing in the Dark.
Following Rainy Day the room would once again go dark. That is until a single spotlight reveals the iconic sight of a person in a yellow rain jacket holding a lone red balloon and paper boat. The crowd goes nuts when they realize IT is the End is up next. Soon Pennywise the Clown steals the show and lets out a blood curdling scream through a thick cloud of smoke. I don’t care how many times I’ve seen them play live. I still can’t help myself but laugh every time I hear that clown horn honk. It just plays such a great contrast to the brutal music surrounding it. Alfred Hitchcock’s voice is one of the most recognizable in all of cinema. And what better way to start off the Ice Nine Kills’ homage to his classic Psycho than with The Shower Scene.
The large “Vacancy” sign begins to glow under the drum riser as the band jumps right into this grizzly tale. Guitarist Ricky Armellino’s screams and Bassist Joe Occhiuti’s harmonies really steal the spotlight while Spencer stalks the Janet Leigh look alike around the stage before recreating that infamous shower scene behind a white curtain and a battlefield of crushing breakdowns. Soon Spencer asks the crowd “Do you have room for one more?”. And at the sound of their reaction start into their renowned American Nightmare. The screen across the stage begins to put us in front of a movie cinema and through the smoke floating across the stage we can make out the notorious shape of a fedora and razor blade glove.
As the band kicks things off you notice that multiple pits begin to open up across the floor. But as the song carries on they start to die down and Spencer wants a little bit more out of them. During the break he tells them “Open up that fucking floor. Spread that shit Philly!”. And just as Freddy’s nightmarish lullaby finishes in the background Ice Nine Kills unleashes their savage breakdown, making the majority of the floor look like a human forming twister. Every time this band takes the stage they blow away any expectations new or old fans may have had before they walked in. And as we now cross off the third band of the night. That only leaves us with one more.
It’s time for the last part of the Trinity of Terror to take the stage. The crowd showed their excitement by chanting the previous band’s names before they came out. This time, the shouts of “MO-TION-LESS” cry out to the band. But instead of the chants pulling them out. It instead triggers a guitar through the darkness. As red lights start to flicker across the stage as Motionless in White are met with a rounding ovation. But when Singer Chris Motionless makes his way to center stage he counts off “1, 2, 3. GET. UP!”. On queue the band exploded into Disguise. There wasn’t a person standing still as the entire floor began to bounce like it was a trampoline.
Fans may have noticed that Bassist Justin Morrow wasn’t present for tonight’s show. Justin is home spending time with his wife and newborn. We all wish them all the best! But like everything in the music industry. The show must go on. MIW would continue to keep the adrenaline going as they would present the devastating track Necessary Evil. When they drop into this crushing song the whole stage looks like an inferno as green and red lighting shoot off all around. It was one of the most intense parts of the entire show and it even had me considering putting my cameras up in the bag and joining in the action of the mosh pit.
At one point Chris would give a heartfelt thank you to all the fans who came out and have supported the band over the years. This would serve as a sort of homecoming show for the band who are originally only a couple hours away in Scranton. You could definitely sense a bit of a home court advantage which only fueled their performance tonight. MIW would lay down some new music for the fans with their first single off their upcoming June 10th release Scoring the End of the World with the futuristic juggernaut Cyberhex. The song is a heavy precursor of what could be expected from the new record. And is setting up to be a vicious addition to their resume.
As I was walking around the 2nd floor the band was starting up another song and the intro immediately grabbed my attention. Before I could put two and two together Chris starts the opening line of The Killers notable Somebody Told Me. Looking out over top of the crowd it was just a sea of hands in the air. It was a crazy surprise for the fans and it’s no shock that they absolutely killed it. Afterwards Chris tells the crowd “We got one more left for you this evening.”. Through the blistering acclamation you could make out Eternally Yours. From the first words the fans gave it everything they had until the last not as it would serve as an emotional send off to Motionless in White for a simply incredible show.
I have no problem saying that this was one of, if not, the best tour I’ve seen this year. Every band put on an unbelievable performance every second they were on stage. This tour has been selling out almost every date and the fans definitely got their money’s worth and so much more. With only four dates left there are only a few chances left to catch this amazing tour. And even if you have to pay a little more on ticket resale sites, I promise it’ll be worth it!
