The Last Ten Seconds of Life 04/06 @ Photo City Music Hall

ROCHESTER, New York – Photo City Music Hall saw some of the most influential groups in heavy music on April 6, as members of the city’s alternative music community congregated for deathcore legends The Last Ten Seconds of Life. 

Right from the opening moments of the show, it was clear that this evening would be an energetic one. Amatera kicked things off early with a bang. Playing through the majority of their discography—including the title track of their new EP, Shadows in the Dark—Amatera set the mood for the evening. The local deathcore sensation produced an extremely professional performance that kept the crowd on their feet.

Next to the stage was 9MM Mouthwash. Despite it being the band’s debut performance, their set could not have been more in opposition to their recency. Armed with only the band, a set of strobe lights, and a backlit LED wall of John Pork, 9MM Mouthwash performed exceptionally well. They played several songs off of their upcoming EP, including Carbombbbb and Hitmarker. The dark physical environment was extremely fitting with their heavy-hitting tracks, setting an ambiance that felt as dangerous as the music.

Massachusetts heavyweights Nailed Shut MA took to the limelight next, signalling the halfway point of the evening. The show was just truly beginning, however. Nailed Shut MA set the precedent for how the rest of the evening was going to be - violent. The band carried themselves with an insane level of energy, performing in an almost unhinged capacity. It felt like not a single member ever truly stopped moving. 

This was doubly true for the vocalist Asher Thomas, who crossed the stage an uncountable amount of times, even entering the pit himself at one point mid-song. It was a special experience to watch the band tear up the stage. Songs like Heaven Below Earth and Centipede had the audience jumping off their feet within their first few seconds.

In case anyone thought the audience wasn’t moving enough, Traitors set out to turn the room into a veritable battleground. No place was stationary as the legendary act showed Rochester that deathcore is still alive and well. Cries of “get the tables,” a reference to a famous World Wrestling Entertainment moment, only proved how excited the audience was for the band’s performance. 

From the opening strains of the first song to the closer, Menace, it was clear that Traitors were more than happy to oblige. Their performance was as tight as one would expect from the veteran band, creating a controlled heaviness onstage that led to intense moshing every single song.

The Last Ten Seconds of Life took the stage soon after. This tour served as a preview for their newest record, The Dead Ones, out on April 17. If this show was anything to go off of, the album will be incredibly exciting. The band played several unreleased songs, as well as singles Make it to Heaven and The Dead Ones. Older hits such as Pain is Pleasure also featured on the dynamically heavy setlist. Throughout the whole act, both the headliner and crowd were bursting with energy. 

The band played with an almost studio-level quality, bringing fantastic vocals and instrumentation to the table. On the flip side, the audience almost never stopped moving for this set, either. The Last Ten Seconds of Life will go down as a must-see deathcore band. Not one second of their set felt out of place, and the band carried themselves extremely professionally and to a remarkably skilled degree. 

Most memorably unique about this show was the artist and crowd interaction. Photo City has no barricade, making an intimate setting where members of the crowd were constantly crowdsurfing, stagediving, and generally near the band. There were countless mic grabs throughout the night, and it was often the case that a band member would lean down directly in front of an audience member and perform directly at them. 

Throughout the night, there were even a few moments where members of the bands actually entered the crowd and played from within the audience. These intimate moments took this show from another deathcore performance to a personal, fantastic, and unforgettable experience.