Continuing to hit as much of a global audience as quickly as possible, Hanabie. returns for their third US tour in a year’s time. While the last two runs were headliner shows, this time the group was enlisted by Jinjer to be the direct support – a clear sign that the band has been making some waves over the last year. Jinjer themselves have showcased no signs of decrease either, with this fall tour continuing a larger movement by the act with the band opening for big name acts Disturbed and Breaking Benjamin last fall.
Starland Ballroom – September 20
Somehow never hitting the Starland Ballroom before, I made the trip through the often disgusting NJ Friday night traffic and successfully arrived just at 7pm to the site of a massive line outside the venue with fans waiting to get in still. Shockingly, walking in a few minutes later, Born of Osiris was just starting up their set. An act that never personally got too much attention despite their long tenure in the scene, they made a quick impression as a good fit for this tour, with their brand of metalcore being more of the catchy, progressive style of metalcore with the right amounts of groove and electronics.
It was a fun mix that was both heavy in its djent grooves and offering some entertaining bits with the electronics and clean vocal hooks. They hit the ground full of energy too, with all members performing their due diligence and vocalist Ronnie Canizaro pumping up the crowd as he moved about the stage. The group mostly stuck to some newer material, with a few cuts from 2017’s The New Reign, among others, sprinkled in among three new cuts “A Mind Short Circuiting,” the groovy electronic-laden highlight “Elevate,” and the recent single “In Desolation.” All in all, a nice opening set that showed the act really winning over the crowd in the pit and priming the audience for the evening to come.
Unlike Born of Osiris, Hanabie. has been hitting the US for only the last year and doing headline tours, so unfortunately that means that unless people were actively seeking them out (which many have been), they may not have been on say, Jinjer fans radar for long. You could see some of that ‘puzzled’ look come across some audience faces as the band walked out onto the stage with some of their most elegant and colorful stage outfits so far. That said, as soon as the band opened into their aggressive recent single “Metamorphose!” the crowd realized the band meant business. The pit began moving around and by the second song, “We Love Sweets” you could see things in full swing with the usual crowdsurfing antics beginning to start. With a shorter set time than the recent headline runs, they only had time for one more cut from Girls Reform Manifest in “Reiwa Dating Apps Generation,” before switching over to a number of cuts from Reborn Superstar! and their more recent 2024 singles.
Their live game continues to up the ante each tour session, this time with a heavier dose of electronics in their interludes/build up, and even more audience engagement. Vocalist Yukina got the crowd riled up for “NEET GAME” by teaching the “yeah, yeah, yeah” parts to the crowd before ripping into it, and Hettsu provided her usual chugging intermission during the band’s set. Despite the shorter run time, their ability to interact with the crowd seemed stronger, and they seem to be more comfortable in delivering more English between songs. That said, they didn’t have to do much of an announcement before live staple “Tousou,” in which Yukina simply urged with her hands to part the pit in half for the wall of death and impressively the night’s largest pit formed and provided a visceral thrill for those witnessing it for the first time. It’s worth mentioning just how much of the crowd Hanabie. won over, in looking at the group’s first song and their closing number in “Pardon Me, I Have to Go Now.” The crowd soared in their reactions, elevating the crowdsurfing and the pit, as well as the sheer number of fans moving along to the frenetic Yukina, Hettsu, and Matsuri antics as they weaved across the stage. In terms of winning fans over with this support run, you really couldn’t ask for a stronger performance than what was seen here.
And the show was far from over, with Jinjer hitting the stage to close out the night. Not having seen the band live since late 2019, it had been some time for myself. With the primed audience, they hit the stage hard, with some killer cuts from King of Everything with “Just Another” and the frantic “Sit Stay Roll Over,” arguably one of the group’s best cuts over the years. Vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk continues to elevate her performances, frequently engaging with the crowd while really hitting those vocal marks that have earned the band quite a few fans over the years. The band sounds incredibly tight live, there’s no mistaking it. Tonight’s performance was a heavy one too. The opening two cuts set the tone for their set, with other crushing, groove-heavy songs like “Call Me a Symbol,” “I Speak Astronomy,” and “Ape” impressed with their punchy riffs and the band’s very smooth dynamic changes between punishing and melodic.
Not only did they provide a strong musical performance, they made some great use of visuals behind them. Flashes of color were the norm, almost trippy at times (reminding me much of Spiritbox’s live approach occasionally). It gave fans something extra, and did so in a way that didn’t interfere with fans ability to watch the band for those that dig that – given Jinjer’s musical pedigree shining in the live setting. The band also played some new cuts too, including “Someone’s Daughter,” “Fast Draw,” and the just released “Rogue.” All of which sounded fantastic in the live scene, prompting the thought of when a new full-length might come about and really showcasing that heavier, intricate edge while maintaining a high degree of melody. Also impressive was their ability to keep things moving through the 15-song set with few pauses, and even the break before encore “Vortex” was pretty limited. They certainly held onto the crowd, who was grooving, headbanging, and singing along with the act from note one through the final one, abuzz with the music’s energy.
Metal Injection Festival Day 1 – Brooklyn Monarch – September 21
After a short night’s sleep, it was back on the road again into NJ before jumping onto the train and eventually the subway to reach Brooklyn Monarch for Day 1 of the Metal Injection Festival. With three stages and 17 bands, there was a lot to digest and choices to make. Though thankfully not too many choices as the stage times were incredibly effective at getting people to move from one point to another and you could essentially go all day with barely a break in things if you so chose. An impressive and commendable feat for a festival.
Getting into the venue just as Carbomb was finishing, I managed to catch the last two songs of the mathcore act before going outside to the Backyard Stage to go catch Hath, a group I’ve been trying to catch for a few years now. While it was only a 30-minute set, the band brought their progressive death metal hard. Despite the early day time slot, they urged everyone forward to pull in that intimate crowd energy and they had successfully launched quite a pit before the end of their all-too-short set. Moving back to the main stage, I caught most of Born of Osiris‘s set, which was quite well-received as it was the night prior, before exiting for a Hanabie. interview outside. On my return, I was able to catch the last song from Revocation, who continued to bring all of the high-energy death/thrash vibes in all their glory.
Then it was right back to Hanabie. time! Knowing the band’s performance the night before, there was a curiosity to see how well they’d perform in front of a very death metal/extreme metal crowd, and it turns out I wasn’t the only one to have that thought. The audience filled in quite quickly beforehand, and a look back at the growing crowd, tightly packed into the space, seemed to be full of that same sort of anticipation and eagerness to see the band. As the band confidently walked on-stage, the energy was palpable and it was nothing short of an eruption when they broke into “Metamorphose!” this time. Out of the four times I’ve seen Hanabie. live, this one easily claims the spot as ‘best performance so far.”
The setlist hit the same songs as the night before, with the exception of cutting “Girls’ Talk” due to the short set-time and stage prep seeming to take a few extra minutes, but the energy was massive. All four of Hanabie.’s members seemed to be at 150%. Yukina’s usual jumping, running, and screaming seemed to be even more furious than the night before. Hettsu was all beaming smiles when she wasn’t encouraging the crowd directly and encouraging participation, and her interactions with Yukina were even more playful and fun than I’ve seen in previous settings. The same could be said for Matsuri, who was having a blast with interactions with the two members as they all moved across the stage. Chika, behind the kit, was also at her most furious in pounding the drums while smiling away.
Hanabie.’s infectious energy swept over the crowd and held them captive for the entire set. There was a near constant amount of pit movement and headbanging away during the songs, with the obligatory “Tousou” wall of death erupting with a fury that lasted almost the entire song. “NEET GAME” had a very audible sing-a-long from the audience, and “Be the Gal,” elicited an enthusiastic jump after the track’s quiet break that got the audience into full-on dance mode (along with the pit antics). If there was one shining example of how much they won over the Brooklyn crowd, it had to be the look on one particular security guard’s face. At the start of their set, you could see a very puzzled look as they came out, but when they started playing, his look completely changed over to a big smile and was moving along with the crowd (when not helping out a few crowdsurfers). As a final testament to their presence, Yukina was literally down on the ground by the end of “Pardon Me, I Have to Go Now,” seemingly having spent her last bit of energy on the finale.
There was a certain energy that I hadn’t felt since seeing them at the Gramercy almost a year earlier, but it was there again without question. As I went to head outside to catch some of Wretched‘s set, a similar vibe of listening to people’s conversations about Hanabie. was overheard, with some remarking about the impressive set and winning them over as a fan. As for Wretched, it was nice to finally catch them as well, considering their emergence back into the scene as well as a new album on the horizon for next year. The band played a punchy set that included cuts from four of their last previous albums delivered through their melodic death metal-esque filter with plenty of high-energy and technicality. Their particular brand has been missed, and it sounds like the band hasn’t lost a step in the last decade, which has the makings for a strong release next year.
Another big highlight of the day was that of God Forbid. Playing the underrated metalcore classic Gone Forever in its entirety to celebrate it’s 20th anniversary, it was great just to see the act up on stage and playing together again after calling it quits a decade ago. While they tended to get tossed into the whole ‘metalcore’ debate back in the early 2000s, there was always something more unique (and more metallic) about the act. Gone Forever being one of their strongest albums in the discography, hearing tracks live again such as “Force-Fed,” “Antihero,” and the title track elicit some strong nostalgia but also showcase how fantastic those songs truly were. Plus getting to hear a less-played groovy song like “Soul Engraved” and hear all these songs really aided in reminding what a fantastic act God Forbid is.
The band was on point as well, firing on all cylinders. Frontman Byron Davis made some jokes about having to get back into playing on the stage, but you’d be hard pressed to notice that the band has only just started to do these reunion shows. They all looked to be having an absolute blast, and that carried over to the crowd as well, who matched the band’s energy and all seemed to be just as joyous about the act’s return. One can only hope they keep up some momentum, given their initial spark back to life back in 2022.
A return back outside to finish up the evening, Pallid Veil played some of their technical, avant garde metal, which was a bonafide supergroup consisting of Revocation’s David Davidson, Gorguts’ Luc Lemay, and members of Dillinger Escape Plan and Carbomb. Angular, jagged death metal to close out the evening (since I couldn’t stay for Jinjer due to subway and train-hopping) proved a head-exploding way to go in the best way, and it was an intriguing finish and a very rare treat for those in attendance. All in all, the festival day was quite an enjoyable one, with near constant music and little down time. The high caliber of bands present was a great treat even if it made for two nights of exhaustion.
The Jinjer/Hanabie. package continues to roll on at the moment, and given the two acts different live showcases, with Jinjer’s technical prowess and showmanship and Hanabie.’s infectiously fun and outside the box approach, it’s one that fans of either act shouldn’t miss. Hanabie. in particular continues to grow and shine, worthy of the increasing spotlight shown on them – catch them now and join in the fun. As for Jinjer, they’ve continued to show how they have also managed to catch the world’s attention and become one of metal’s biggest acts of today.
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