Canadian melodic hardcore maestros Counterparts brought their crushing mix of technical riffs and brutal screams to Dallas this past Monday. They’re touring across the country for their hard hitting ep “ Heaven let them die. ” This new ep builds off of their last and it shows the worst and hardest parts of frontman Brenden Murphy's life and inner battles. The band initially formed in Ontario, Canada back in 2007. now with a total of 7 albums, four EPs and over 200,000 monthly listeners just on spotify they have had a steady rise in popularity with their Melodic and Hardcore sound bringing in a large range of listeners.
The band with the nonstop tour effort (no, seriously how do these guys do all these tours?!) Malevolence came out swinging, hitting us with “Karma” off their latest album Malicious Intent. Hailing from South Yorkshire England, this Sludge thrash Metal Band made their debut in 2010 with the Album “reign of Suffering. ” with over 800,000 views on some of their songs on youtube, they have made their mark in the metal scene. Their genre bending sound fits in perfectly on this tour. Where Pain of truth blends hip hop and hardcore, counterparts blends hardcore, emo, and metalcore, malevolence has an awesome blend of almost bluesy southern rock and straight up metal. Guitarist Josh Baines and vocalist/guitarist Konan Hall brew up something akin to that New Orleans metal sound on every song.
Next up we see Pain of Truth, with their early 2000s hardcore sound bringing nostalgia with NewYork HipHop style. In September 2023 they dropped their debut album “Not Through Blood. ” Having toured with big names such as Kublai Khan, Harm’s Way, & A day to remember, their fanbase just keeps getting bigger. with over 100,000 listeners on Spotify they are slowly climbing the ladder with their newest split EP with sunami “Coast to Coast” just coming out on March 3rd 2025. Their set brought the first crowd surfers of the night and got the crowd properly warmed up for counterparts. With vocalist Michael Smith’s taunts of “Where the hardcore kids at?!?!” the crowd was really amped for the headliner about to take the stage.
Church pews, beautifully lit stained glass windows, rows of candles, ominous chimes of bells over a hazy blue glow on the stage. This is the cue that counterparts is about to take the stage. The anticipation builds as lights start to flicker and the bell tower like chimes get louder and louder. Vocalist Brendan Murphy and guitarists Jesse Doreen and Tyler William appear through the blue haze to give us our first taste of their new EP live with “A Martyr Left Alive”. Perfectly mixing older classics and new songs, they kept the energy in the room at an absolute maximum. Showing why they are a staple in the metalcore scene they ripped through 17 songs ending with “Heaven Let Them Die” and returned for an encore to play “Love Me”, and the eternal dedication to Brendan’s beloved cat who sadly passed “Whispers Of Your Death”.
Catch Counterparts on one of their upcoming Heaven Let Them Die tour dates which will be going across the country until March 22nd
