Posted May 7, 2018 by Kyle Smutzki Concert Reviews & Galleries

Wisdom In Chains – New Dodge Lounge – 04.27.18

Wisdom in Chains, Steel Nation, Ante Up, Bitter Truth, Vile Mentality & Bar down
New Dodge Lounge – Hamtramck, MI – 4.27.18
Photographer: Kyle Smutzki

Despite the last minute venue change, fans still packed the New Dodge Lounge for a stacked evening with Wisdom in Chains and support from Steel Nation, Bar Down, Vile Mentality along with Michigan natives Bitter Truth and Ante Up.

Bar Down from Sarnia, Ontario opened the show, starting the mayhem that would follow. As they powered through their set, the band adding a cover of Foundation‘s, “Devotion III“.

Vile Mentality, trailing out from Columbus, Ohio was up next. The band is a practically a supergroup with members formally of Bone Head and Dementor. It was recently announced that they will be back in town for Motor City Fest on July 14th at The Sanctuary (formerly Paycheck’s Lounge) alongside All Out War, Sworn Enemy, Advent, Purgatory and many more bands.

Grand Rapids hardcore group Bitter Truth brought full emotion with their performance. The small stage didn’t stop frontman Mnasse Tekle from performing some of the best jumps I’ve seen in any band. I highly recommend keeping your eye out for this band.

Detroit Beatdown superstars Ante Up was up next and frontman Chris (Critter) didn’t miss a beat storming the stage from beginning to end. This was the bands’ first show since returning from their Europe tour last month.

I was able to catch up with the band before the show before the show and chat about their experience on tour. Bassist John Bell described his time on tour as “life changing.”

The band has only been moving forward as their progression since their 2017 release, Needles To Nails launched from Fast Break! Records last summer. Ante Up will also be playing Motor City Fest.

Steel Nation is known for their face-smashing tracks “The Harder They Fall” & “Without You”. The band lived up to the excitement behind their name. The riffs were hard, the drums were smooth and the vocals were harsh. The bands 2015 release, The Harder They Fall is one to check out.

Pennsylvania hardcore punk legends Wisdom In Chains headlined the evening at The New Dodge. Their songs “Someday” “Songs To My Killer” and “When We Were Young” caused the crowd to go crazy.

The band closed with “Chasing The Dragon” off of their 20019 album Everything You Know. It seemed as if everyone in the front had their arms resting on the shoulders of the person next to them as they sang every note with frontman Mad Joe the entire set.

You can stream Wisdom in Chain’s album The God Rhythm here. Check out the gallery below!

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