I don’t even remember exactly why, but I needed Danny to try to get tickets for BMTH when they announced the second leg of their North American tour. Their new album has been out for a while now, and I feel like I’ve been drowning in anticipation ever since. Obviously, the tickets were insanely expensive, so we didn’t get them at first. I think Danny gets way more hesitant about buying tickets than I do. Meanwhile, I’ll recklessly type in my credit card number if the seat looks decent and it’s not all the way up in the nosebleeds.
Even when I bought these tickets a week ago, he still acted like they were too expensive for the band, and I started accusing him of not being a real BMTH fan. He hasn’t accepted that BMTH has reached the level where their ticket prices are basically on par with Korn and Slipknot now. Also, I’m convinced MSG charges extra just because it’s MSG.
I genuinely could not accept not seeing BMTH at Madison Square Garden. I was going to force my way into that building one way or another. So here I am: a little more in debt and a little bit happier lol.
What’s funny is that this concert was actually in jeopardy because of the Knicks playoff run. It’s absurd that I bought the tickets and somehow never reconciled the fact that Game 7 and the concert were scheduled at the exact same venue. Like… obviously you can’t have two massive events happening at MSG on the same day. And let’s be real, the Knicks take precedence over literally anything else happening at the Garden.
Luckily, the Knicks pulled it together and won Games 4 through 6 against the Hawks, so the concert stayed locked in for Saturday. I was weirdly nonchalant about the whole thing, though lol. I had absolutely no anxiety about it. In my head, the concert was happening no matter what. I think other BMTH fans were probably sweating, but they don’t believe in the Knicks the way Danny and I do.
Now that I had bought tickets, I could finally pay more attention to the rest of the bands on the tour lineup.
First up was Amira Elfeky. Unfortunately, we missed her set because I apparently cannot put on mini wispies to save my fucking life. Why are smaller eyelashes somehow harder to glue down? I wanted to rage. I also made the genius decision not to prep or set out my makeup, hair stuff, or outfit the night before, so by the time I was done getting ready, the room looked like a complete disaster.
I was disappointed because I always want to support the girlies coming up in rock and metal. I’ve listened to a few of her songs, and she has this Deftones/shoegaze/nu-metal vibe that I really appreciate. She’s still a relatively new artist who started gaining traction after some of her songs blew up on TikTok. Of course, there are already the usual “industry plant” conversations surrounding her, especially because she was previously making pop music before pivoting into metal.
But honestly, Poppy started out as a pop artist too before making her transition into heavier music, so I don’t really see that as a dealbreaker. More than anything, I just think it’s an exciting time for discovering more diverse acts and more women in metal, regardless of where they started.
Setlist:
1. Will You Love Me When I’m Dead
2. Take Me Under
3. Death of Me
4. Forever Overdose
5. Tonight
6. Hold Onto Me
Up next was A Plot in You. I remember Danny sending me songs from them a while ago because he’s definitely more of a fan, but at the time, it never really clicked with me. Honestly, I didn’t get much out of their live set either. That’s not me saying they were bad live, just that I’m not familiar enough with their material, and none of the songs really stood out to me in the moment.
From what I’ve read, they started as a much heavier, more aggressive metalcore band in the early 2010s, but over time they’ve shifted toward a more melodic sound that some people describe as “pop-influenced.” As someone who actually listens to a lot of pop music too, that description always makes me laugh a little because it’s really not that poppy. To me, they seem to be on a similar path to The Devil Wears Prada. The sound has matured, become more polished, and isn’t quite as heavy as it once was.
I’ve gone back and listened to quite a few songs since then, and I think only time will tell if they fully grow on me. I do think I appreciate some of their newer material more, especially the atmospheric and modern style they’ve leaned into recently. But like I say all the time, I’m just not really a metalcore fan.
Setlist:
1. Don’t Look Away
2. Divide
3. You Get One
4. Spare Me
5. Forgotten
6. Silence
7. Left Behind
8. FEEL NOTHING
Next, Motionless in White! I honestly don’t know how I’ve gone all these years without ever catching them on tour. Surprisingly, this was my first time seeing them live. I thought they sounded great, but their set wasn’t quite as impressive as I had envisioned for Motionless in White. At the same time, they weren’t the headliner, so I think part of my slight disappointment came from that factor. You just associate Motionless in White with a much bigger visual presence compared to bands like The Plot in You.
I also don’t really know much of their music. They have more of a generic metalcore sound that never fully enticed me, and despite all the Marilyn Manson comparisons, I honestly don’t really hear it. The only song that’s consistently been in my rotation is “Necessary Evil” because it features Jonathan Davis. Put Jonathan Davis on any song, and I’m going to listen to it. It’s honestly smart marketing for bands in my opinion.
That song is actually pretty old now, since I remember hearing it constantly back during my days of suffering through whatever Octane was playing every morning during that era. Even without really knowing the songs, I still enjoyed their set.
Setlist:
1. Meltdown
2. Sign of Life
3. Afraid of the Dark
4. Voices
5. Hollow Points
6. Slaughterhouse
7. Scoring the End of the World
8. Another Life
9. Eternally Yours
Finally, Bring Me the Horizon! It had been four years since we last saw BMTH at Barclays, and the setlist was such a perfect balance of classic songs and tracks I hadn’t gotten to hear live yet from POST HUMAN: NeX GEn. Last tour, we only got to experience “DiE4u” and “sTraNgeRs,” so hearing more from the new era felt special. The rush I felt when they walked onstage and opened with “DArkSide” while confetti exploded through the air instantly reminded me why I needed to be there.
I knew this show would be healing for me because BMTH has helped carry me through my grief these past few months. When my brother died, I replayed “Can You Feel My Heart” over and over until I cried. These days, it’s “Teardrops” and “DArkSide.” What’s funny is BMTH has been there for me longer than I even realized. I first heard “Happy Song” on Octane back in 2015 (lol it wasn’t all bad), and that became my introduction to BMTH. That song has always helped me through tough times.
Honestly, they weren’t the kind of band I would’ve naturally discovered on my own if I hadn’t heard them on the radio every morning during that time. Fast forward to POST HUMAN: Survival Horror, when Danny and I were bonding over bands, and he inspired me to actually listen to more of their discography. “Kingslayer” instantly became one of my most-played songs of 2021, and I was already scheming back then to see them live.
I love how BMTH fully commits to these dystopian, video game-inspired immersive visuals during their shows. POST HUMAN: Survival Horror and NeX GEn both have this huge overarching story and lore built around post-apocalyptic survival, cult indoctrination, AI control, and drug-induced submission. The cyberpunk survival-horror aesthetic is definitely there lol.
They also use live camera footage of Oli onstage and layer these technological graphics over him in real time, almost like the audience is analyzing him through robotic vision. I’m still not fully caught up on all the lore and trying to wrap my head around everything going on, but it all feels intertwined throughout the concert experience. I’m also trying to figure out what exactly “Angeldust” is after that terrifying bald demonic angel graphic appeared during “Kool-Aid.” LOL.
Every song from BMTH was on point, and Oli’s drawn‑out screams were next level. Honestly, it was music to my ears. They mischievously snuck in a rendition of Korn’s “Blind” before going into “AmEN!” because Oli has that iconic mic stand reminiscent of Jonathan Davis’ legendary setup. I loved the tribute. Korn somehow follows me everywhere, even when I’m not actually at one of their shows.
For as massive as BMTH has become, they still know how to make the crowd feel part of the performance. Oli even pulled a girl from the audience onstage to perform “Antivist.” LOL. I honestly applaud her bravery. Oli told everyone to support her “even if she’s shit” lmao, but she actually killed it up there! How absolutely insane is it to perform a BMTH song with the band at MSG?!
They also had really sweet moments during “Follow You,” where Oli went all the way down to the barricade to hug and sing with people in the front row. I’m pretty sure one girl even got a kiss on the cheek.
The crowd was absolutely explosive. There were nonstop mosh pits, circle pits, full on walls of death. By the end of the night, the entire arena erupted into cheers. I have never heard MSG that loud in my life. You could see the tears in Oli’s eyes.
I know plenty of artists get to play Madison Square Garden, but I do not think people understand how monumental it is for a metal band to sell out that venue. The media loves to say rock is dead, but that is not what I saw that night. It is alive and thriving, and these bands have poured their blood, sweat, and tears into earning just 90 minutes on one of the biggest stages in the world.
It makes me proud to be a New Yorker. Our stage will always be the pinnacle, and having the convenience to experience moments like this is a blessing I will never take for granted. Watching bands like BMTH live out their dreams and getting to share that accomplishment with them feels pretty special.
Setlist:
1. DArkSide
2. The House of Wolves
3. MANTRA
4. Happy Song
5. Teardrops
6. AmEN!
7. Kool-Aid
8. Shadow Moses
9. YOUtopia
10. Kingslayer
11. Antivist (with a fan on vocals)
12. Follow You
13. LosT
14. Can You Feel My Heart
Encore:
15. Doomed
16. Drown
17. Throne
16. Drown
17. Throne
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