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On Sunday, September 7th, 2025, The Plot In You brought chaos to New Jersey's Starland Ballroom. The tour was accompanied by Windwaker, Invent Animate, and Northlane as direct support.
Kicking off the night was Australian metalcore titans Windwaker. Windwaker is a band that formed in Melbourne, Australia in 2017. The band currently comprises of members Liam Guinane (vocals), Justin Keurntjes (guitar), Indey Salvestro (bassist), Chris Lalic (drums), and lastly Connor Robins (synths). This tour marks the third time the band has ever performed and been to America and lets just say, New Jersey was ready to give the band all they got. To kick off their set, the band opened with "SIRENS", which was one of the fan favorite releases from 'HYPERVIOLENCE', released in July, 2024. From my perspective in the photo pit, I haven't heard nor seen so many people on barricade go absolutely feral for a band, especially for the first band.
Windwaker always continues to blow me away with their incredible energy. Front man Liam Guinane loves to show fans his stunning dance moves and it makes me chuckle every time. The band continued performing tracks from their latest album 'HYPERVIOLENCE', including "Apathy", "Venom", "Tabula Rosa". During the performance of "Venom", the band called for a massive wall of death for the breakdown. I was over by the back of the pit and I honestly almost walked into the wall of death. The room split entirely and I was left in pure shock and excitement. Recently the band shared their brand new single titled "Victory Lap", which was the first release since the album. This tour was the songs' first ever debut to the track and the instrumentals, as well as the vocals sound so incredible; it feels that I was listening to it on Spotify.
Next to take the stage was progressive metalcore band Invent Animate. The band formed back in 2011 in Port Neches, Texas. They currently comprise of members Marcus Vik (vocals), Caleb Sherradan (bass), Keaton Goldwire (guitar), and lastly Brody Taylor Smith (drums). In 2024, the band has recently released the Deluxe edition of their album 'Heavener' titled 'Heavener (Definitive)'. Outside of this release, the band has also dropped an EP with heavy metal titans Silent Planet titled 'Bloom In Heaven'. As the band was about to take the stage, the lights went dark; building anticipation. Fans were roaring and screaming at the top of their lungs as the band approached the stage wearing their signature all white clothing. One thing that definitely threw me off was seeing Vik and Goldwire with short hair because all of the other times I've seen Invent Animate, they both had longer hair.
Invent Animate blew fans away with "False Meridian", which was released off their 'Heavener' album from 2023. I haven't seen so many crowd surfers come during the first song of a band and it was the most fun experience to witness. The band continued to perform tracks off their 'Heavener' album; including "Shade Astray", "Sleepless Deathbed", "Heavener", "Without A Whisper", and "Immolation Of Night". Fans were left in shock seeing that "Sleepless Deathbed" off their 'Heavener (Definitive)' album made the setlist for this run. There were so many people at the show who were left in tears on the barricade from hearing this song being performed live. If you haven't seen Invent Animate live, you are missing you. To those who have seen the band live, you know that every time they close their set with "Immolation Of Night", there is going to be extreme chaos that takes place. Towards the start of the breakdown, bassist Caleb Sherradan screamed into his microphone telling New Jersey to split the room down the middle. This was hands down the largest wall of death I've seen at an Invent Animate concert and I haven't ran out of that pit so fast in my life.
After Invent Animate finished their set, it was time for the direct support for the evening. Progressive Australian metalcore band Northlane was next to take the stage in direct support of The Plot In You. The band was formed in Blacktown, New South Wales in 2009 and currently comprises of members Marcus Bridge on vocals, John Deiley on lead guitar, Josh Smith on rhythm guitar and Nic Pettersen on drums. Last year, the band signed to UNFD and has released their EP 'Mirror's Edge' in April, 2024.
The band all walked to the stage in the dark and all you were able to see were the haunting red glowing eyes from guitarist John Deiley. Bridge was seen wearing an all red suit, which was different from the other times I've seen this band perform. To start off their set, they opened with "Carbonized", which was released off their 2022 album 'Obsidian'. The heavy synths that Northlane delivers is very astonishing and whenever I've seen this band live, people in the crowd wear glowing outfits and someone even wore glowing shoes. Northlane's sound is often layered with atmospheric synths and incredible drum work. At some points during their set, I was unable to see Pettersen because he was wearing a black mask and he blended in with the atmosphere of the stage. Front man Marcus Bridge is extremely talented from his transition from powerful cleans to his intense screams. The band has performed songs from 'Alien', which includes "4D", "Bloodline" and "Talking Heads" and from a crowd's perspective, fans went absolutely feral for these tracks and there was constant movement from the mosh pit. The band finished their set off with "Clockwork" and the movement in the pit was insane. If you haven't seen Northlane live, I would definitely check them out.
Last to take the stage was our headliner The Plot In You. The Plot In You is an American metalcore band based in Ohio. The lineup currently comprises of members Landon Tewers (vocals), Ethan Yoder (bass), Josh Childress (guitars), Michael Cooper (drums). The band is currently signed to Fearless Records and has just released a new single since the release of their 'Vol. 3' EP titled "Silence".
This is I believe my third time seeing The Plot In You live and they always never fail to impress me every time. The lights went dim and the fog and strobe lights flashed amongst the fans with their intro track, which leads into their first song of the night "Spare Me", which was released in November, 2024 off their EP 'Vol. 3'. Immediately, the band encouraged some crowd activity and there were people crowd surfing nonstop and I honestly was worried for the security guards but they were doing a phenomenal job making sure everybody was getting caught and remaining safe. The stage set up this tour was a lot different than the other times since they had a chair set up for a song later in the set. The atmosphere for their performance was set up so beautifully and I've noticed that there was incense burning. The instrumentals from Childress, Cooper and Yoder made the performance absolutely incredible; from the sounds of the intense drum beat to the powerful riffs.
Midway through the performance, the band performed their latest single "Silence", which was not released yet. There was a silhouette of Tewers sitting in the chair that I've previously mentioned and it was the most magical performance I've ever experienced. The crew and the band outdid themselves with their performance this tour. Once fans took a break from the chaos, they switched things up and performed one of their top streamed tracks "Forgotten", which was released in 2024 off the 'Vol. 1' EP. During that song, that was when the crowd went the most feral. Fans were screaming the lyrics as loud as they can and at some point it sounded like the crowd dominated Tewers' vocals. The Plot In You performed well-known tracks such as "Closure", "Left Behind", and many more. To close off the night, the band performed their top streamed track "FEEL NOTHING", which was released off their 2018 album 'DISPOSE' via Fearless Records. Fans were sobbing and screamed their lungs out for each chorus, leaving this night a one to remember.
