
Story and Photo: Spencer Fleming
The Admiral was the place to be for all things metal last night (5/30) as the Trivium & Beartooth co-headline tour rolled through Omaha. Playing to a packed house, four bands turned up the heat and gave the Omaha music scene a show they won't soon forget.
First on the bill was Archetypes Collide. The metal-core group got things started with some bouncy rhythms, crunchy guitars, and melodic vocals. Their radio-friendly tunes worked well with the crowd and had everyone smiling. Towards the end of the set the lead singer said "We did our research and this next one should get everyone singing along". For some reason I was thinking he meant the band researched bands from Omaha, so maybe they would bust out a song from 311 or possibly Through Fire. Instead it was a cover of "One Step Closer by Linkin Park. He was right in that it did get the crowd singing along. The crowd gave Archetypes Collide a lot of energy and left the band thankful for the response.
During Archetypes Collide I saw these two guys starting the circle pit and just having a blast. They said they work haunted houses a lot and like to go to shows dressed up in make-up and masks. It definitely made for awesome people watching. Much respect!

After Archetypes Collide, I received a nice surprise in the band Malevolence. For some reason I thought Malevolence was a radio-rock band, but as soon as I saw their outfits I knew it was time to get ignorant. Any time you see the band dudes coming on stage wearing jogging shorts, white socks, and running shoes, know you are about to die in this pit. That's right, Malevolence is a UK hardcore band.

Right from the start Malevolence kicked the energy up with their call outs for circle pits and general chaos. I told their drummer after the set, I really don't listen to hardcore music on my day-to-day playlist, but when I go to a show there's nothing better than seeing the crowd react to the super heavy riffs, and scream along choruses. As soon as those nasty riffs started you could see a giant circle pit forming. Malevolence's lead singer asked that for the next 30 minutes the crowd give everything they had, and they did. The place went off! I can't wait to see Malevolence again, possibly at the Slowdown with no barricade so I can capture all the stage diving mayhem.
Beartooth was the first of the two co-headliners and they came out strong. Lead singer Caleb Shomo rushed on stage in his trademark bandana with no shirt ready to show Omaha no mercy!

Like Malevolence, I was a bit surprised on what we got when it came to Beartooth. I wasn't super familiar with their music beyond the singles I had heard on the radio, but they sound a lot different live. While they played all the radio-friendly hits, they also took it back to some of their earlier songs which go really hard. The pit opened up and there were crowd surfers everywhere. Beartooth has some shredders! For a solid hour Beartooth treated the crowd to a good mix of their catalog and even played a brand-new song. Towards the end of the set Caleb parted the crowd and made his way through the middle of the floor to shred on top of the soundboard at the back of the room. It was pretty wild! I had a lot of fun watching Beartooth's set and hope to catch them again soon.
After a super long stage setup it was finally time for the closing set. I stood in the photo pit waiting with anticipation. I looked up to see a giant Trivium logo shining across a white sheet. As the sound of shredding guitars began the curtain dropped to reveal the band everyone was waiting for.... The mighty Trivium had arrived!! Matt Heafy and crew launched a sonic assault of heavy metal and the crowd ate it up. Matt is like the Micheal Jordan of metal. I know there's plenty of front men who stick out their tongue, but it's Matt's go-to expression.

I tracked as Matt moved all over the stage and jumped up and down, trying to capture that perfect shot. He's a ball of energy! If you don't know, Matt stays in shape by practicing martial arts, particularly Brazilian jiu-jitsu. In March of this year he received his black belt in the discipline. So any wayward stage divers beware, Matt will kick your butt!
In addition to being a black belt, Matt is a great entertainer. After the first two songs he addressed the crowd, "Omaha this tour has been amazing, but the best show we've had so far has been Indianapolis. If you guys want to take the title of best crowd you gotta bring the energy. I want everyone singing along on this next one." As Trivium kicked into "Strife" from 2013's Vengeance Falls the crowd gave it their best and sang their hearts out. I'm not sure if Omaha got the award for best crowd, but the fans in attendance were going wild for Matt and the boys.
Over the next hour Trivium melted our faces and left us good and thrashed! I've seen Trivium several times going all the way back to 2009, but this was hands down their best show yet. I hope they keep playing for years to come because they absolutely rip. If you haven't seen them live, put it on your bucket list.
Trivium Setlist:
Rain
A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation
Strife
Feast of Fire
Built to Fall
Down from the Sky
The Sin and the Sentence
Until the World Goes Cold
No Way Back Just Through
The Heart From Your Hate
In Waves
Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr
Huge thanks to Trivium management and Mammoth productions for the photo access. Check out the galleries below.
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Trivium
Beartooth
Malevolence
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