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Earlier this year, metal fans everywhere could not contain their excitement when the first-ever Summer of Loud was announced. Making stops at amphitheaters across North America, Summer of Loud is a massive festival-like tour featuring eight metal bands, with four headliners that are beloved within the metal community. With Beartooth, I Prevail, Killswitch Engage, and Parkway Drive headlining, fans knew they would be in for a day full of nonstop metal madness. On July 23, Summer of Loud stopped at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden, NJ, one of the final stops of the tour. Throughout a nearly 8-hour long day, the energy among the Camden fans never wavered for a second during this unforgettable show.
At approximately 3pm, the first band of the lineup took the stage. Dark Divine, a horror-themed metalcore band based in Orlando, almost immediately warmed up the crowd. With their intricate costumes and makeup and palpable energy on stage, the audience quickly became immersed in the performance. After performing a few heavier tracks like “The Reaper” and “Make Me Disappear”, they slowed things down a bit with the somber track “Cold”, and also included some crowd participation with vocalist Anthony Martinez getting the crowd to wave their arms back and forth. The band then went into their newest single “Better Start Digging” which encouraged a singalong for the crowd, finishing the second half of the chorus, “There’s a long way to hell so you better start digging”. Not only was the crowd singing along, a circle pit formed as well, which also continued during the band’s final track of the set “Halloweentown”. Despite Dark Divine having only a 7-song set, they quickly and effectively raised the crowd’s energy preparing them for the rest of Summer of Loud.
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About 20 minutes after Dark Divine’s set, Australian metalcore band Alpha Wolf hit the stage. Touring with major names like Motionless in White and Dayseeker within the past two years, Alpha Wolf has had a meteoric rise within the metal scene, and their live performances prove that this achievement is very well deserved. Vocalist Lochie Keogh’s brutal screams and explosive energy instantly ignited the crowd, getting the first crowdsurfers of the day. The mosh pit never stopped for a second during their set, and before they played the headbanger “Creep”, Lochie encouraged even more chaos, saying “I better see everyone moving, if you’re on the barricade, you better be headbanging, and if there’s someone next to you who’s not moving, make them move”. To conclude their set, Lochie urged everyone to crowdsurf during their brutal hit “Akudama”, and the audience surely listened; crowdsurfers were coming through one after the other. Alpha Wolf arguably had the most active pit of the day, which is a massive feat with such a stacked lineup.
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The third opener of Summer of Loud was 2000s metalcore trailblazers The Devil Wears Prada. Starting the set off with hits such as “Danger: Wildman” and “Salt”, it did not take long for chaos to ensue yet again. Throughout the set, many crowdsurfers made their way through the pit. Vocalist and guitarist Jeremy DePoyster thanked everyone for coming to a metal show at 4:30 on a Wednesday, and asked how many people called out of work to make it. Needless to say, many hands went up in response. The band also played their most recent singles “Ritual” and “For You”, their first releases since their 2022 album Color Decay. At the end of the set, guitarist Kyle Sipress and bassist Mason Nagy turned their guitars around and held them up in the air, both featuring the message “Fuck ICE”, ending their set with great impact.
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
Summer of Loud’s fourth and final opener was Australian metalcore pioneers The Amity Affliction. As soon as they started playing the first few notes of their hit “Pittsburgh”, crowdsurfers already started making their way to the front. Even with a broken ankle, vocalist Joel Birch’s unrelenting energy quickly revitalized the crowd, with constant moshing and crowdsurfing happening throughout the set. During the third song, “Drag the Lake”, the crowdsurfing got so intense that multiple people were surfing at once. After a set full of fan-favorites, the band concluded with “Soak Me in Bleach”, and the crowd’s voices spread throughout the amphitheater as they sang along to every word.
THE AMITY AFFLICTION: Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok
Soon after, Parkway Drive kicked off the first headlining set of the night. Having been formed back in 2003, the Australian metal icons proved that they still remain one of the biggest influences in the metalcore genre to this day. Starting the set off with a bang, they performed their 2022 track “Glitch” as bursts of pyro blasted from the stage. The band’s electrifying riffs, dynamic rhythms, and frontman Winston McCall’s powerful vocals had the crowd completely immersed in the performance, with tons of moshing and crowdsurfing happening throughout the set. Winston even pointed out that a mosh pit was forming on the lawn and was even more intense than the one on the floor.
After playing 8 fan-favorite tracks, Parkway Drive ended their set with a spectacle that would sear the experience into the entire audience’s minds, and established them one of the most commanding live bands of the metal scene. As they started performing their song “Crushed”, the risers on the stage became engulfed in flames and drummer Ben Gordon’s drum kit began to rotate. Throughout the song, Ben would be performing while spinning upside down, much to the amazement of the audience. To top it all off, the front of the rotating drum kit also became framed with pyro. No matter if they were familiar with Parkway Drive or not, every single member of the crowd had the time of their lives watching such an impressive set.
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The next headliner to take the stage was yet another legendary early 2000s metal band, Killswitch Engage. Right when they started playing their first song of the night, the 2004 track “Rose of Sharyn”, fans already began to crowdsurf again. Throughout the set, the band had many great moments of crowd interaction, such as vocalist Jesse Leach jumping off stage to the barricade to high-five fans during their second song, and guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz going all the way up to the seats to perform. While performing their biggest hit “My Curse”, Jesse even walked through the middle of the pit for the majority of the song. As the band played many fan-favorite tracks that span their whole discography, the audience’s energy was still unwavering; even the mosh pit on the lawn was still active and going strong.
Towards the middle of the set, Jesse thanked the crowd for supporting live music, even on a Wednesday, to which he asked the crowd how many of them had to work the next morning. He also emphasized the importance of seeing bands face-to-face in an era where AI threatens all forms of art and even humanity itself, and denounced AI saying “Fuck that bullshit”. Before they went into their final song of the night, Jesse acknowledged the legacy of metal legend Ozzy Osbourne, who passed the day prior to the show. As the crowd chanted Ozzy’s name, he dedicated the last track of the night to him, which was their cover “Holy Diver”, concluding the set with a memorable impact.
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE: Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
The third headliner to perform was I Prevail, one of the biggest names in the modern metalcore scene. Walking onto a stage with massive risers and towering pillars, the band opened with the headbanger “Bow Down”, with vocalist Eric Vanlerberghe standing on a riser singing into a barbed-wire covered mic stand. After the song ended, he jumped down from the riser and went into the high-octane “Body Bag”. Crowdsurfers were coming one after another as the band consistently ramped up the energy within the venue. As the band delivered vicious breakdowns and fiery riffs, Eric Vanlerberghe’s brutal screams complimented the cleans from guitarist Dylan Bowman. Later in the set, the band went into the brutal new single “Violent Nature”, encouraging even more moshing and crowdsurfing. After seeing how active the crowd was during the song, Eric commented “So you like the heavy stuff?”. Ironically, they went right into their cover of Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space”, the song that put I Prevail on the map back in the mid 2010s. Luckily for the heavy music enjoyers, Eric mentioned that they added a new, extended breakdown to their cover to further intensify the performance.
After performing the popular cover, they went into another one of their newest singles “Into Hell”, in which Eric shows off his clean vocals for once, and the catchy “Bad Things”, to which the crowd sang along. Towards the end of the set, Eric dedicated the track “Hurricane” to Dave Shapiro, a booking agent who granted many opportunities to I Prevail and countless other popular bands within the scene, who tragically died in a plane crash back in May. The crowd lit their phone flashlights and sang along as they honored Dave’s memory with the band. To conclude their set with a bang, I Prevail performed the vicious “Gasoline”, one of their heaviest tracks.
I PREVAIL: Website | Facebook | Instagram | X | YouTube | TikTok
At around 9:50, the lights dimmed for the final time that night for one last band. Walking onto a stage adorned with a giant inflatable snake was Beartooth, another band that is already becoming known as a household name within the metal scene. With dynamic vocals from frontman Caleb Shomo and the combination of catchy rhythms and heavy breakdowns, it’s no wonder why Beartooth has been experiencing a meteoric rise within the past few years. Opening with their 2014 track “The Lines”, accompanied by bursts of pyro, the crowd made it known that even after such a long day, they still had plenty of energy left. Crowdsurfers started coming through as soon as the set began. After a few heavier tracks, the band played their most recent single “ATTN.”, a catchy pop-rock track that deals with resilience and self-acceptance. In recent years, frontman Caleb Shomo has been emphasizing themes of self-love in his music after many years of writing songs about dealing with inner demons. The band then went into the anthem of confidence “Doubt Me” and the self-reflective track “I Was Alive”, which deals with the idea of living life to the fullest without any regrets.
Keeping up with these themes of positivity, the band played “Might Love Myself”, to which Caleb encouraged the crowd to sing along, saying it feels great to say you love yourself. The voices of the audience resounded throughout the venue as they sang along, creating a great communal moment of self-love. Afterwards, drummer Connor Denis performed a drum solo as guitarists Zach Huston and Will Deely performed the instrumental “The Last Riff” as more bursts of pyro surrounded them. After a few more tracks, Caleb thanked the crowd for coming to the show and supporting live music, especially on a weekday, and acknowledged how difficult it is to go to concerts these days between possibly having to call off of work, getting reliable transportation, and other responsibilities. The band then went into their biggest hit “In Between”, and the crowd kept moshing and crowdsurfing until the very end. After a nearly 8 hour-long show, the fans still gave it their all, and left Summer of Loud with an irreplaceable memory of a day full of unfiltered heavy metal.
