So, once upon a time, there was a traveling tour that had some up and coming pop, punk and metalcore bands, and it was called the Warped Tour. That ship has sailed and with the exception of major festivals, with limited set lengths, you don’t really get to see a few of the mid-level touring bands doing headline sets together. Well, that is until the Trinity of Terror came thru Norfolk, Virginia at the 10,000 seat Chartway Arena on April 27th. Somewhere, someone thought it would be a great idea to get Ice Nine Kills, Motionless in White and Black Veil Brides to do a co-headlining tour rotating the band order each night. Well.. Now that was a really good idea.
Okay, we have three headliners, each doing a 50-minute set, so if their all headliners, then someone has to open this to get the festivities going in the right direction. For the Norfolk stop,
Fame No Fire
Fame No Fire stepped up to the challenge, and started their set at 6:30 PM. Most of us don’t even start to pregame that early. Fame On Fire is a band based out of Orlando, FL and are touring in support of their latest offering ‘Levels.’ Their 7-song set included their latest single, Plastic Heart, and also included a crowd-pleasing cover of Linkin Parks, Numb, before closing their set with Headspace.
Okay, now it’s time to see who was up next…
For this stop, and coincidentally, the last stop of this Trinity Tour, it was Ice Nine Kills. I’ve seen them before at some festivals, so it would be fun to see their headlining set. For those unfamiliar with this Boston, Massachusetts based band, let me try to explain. Take every horror movie you can think of, then put it to music, add stage theatrics to tie it all together and you have the horror metalcore music of Ice Nine Kills. With song titles such as ‘Let’s Bury the Hatchet… In Your Head,’ this may not be your mom’s favorite band. Or maybe it is. Opening their set with ‘Welcome to Horrorwood,’ and in INK fashion, started their set with proper formal attire and facemasks in place. As the night progressed, it was no surprise they’d become stained with the blood of their victims. I did mention theatrics. Every song performed telling a story. Paying homage to all the masters, be it Psycho, Freddy Krueger or Pennywise. Continuing their set with notable favorites Hip To Be Scared, Stabbing in the Dark, IT is the End, The Shower Scene before closing with a jaw dropping performance of The American Nightmare. While I have seen them before, this performance told me this night was going to be special and there were two more bands to play.
Ice Nine Kills are: Spencer Charnas – lead vocals; Ricky Armellino – backing vocals, rhythm guitar; Joseph Occhiuti – backing vocals, bass, keyboards; Dan Sugarman – backing vocals, lead guitar; Patrick Galante – drums.
Setlist: Opening Night, Welcome to Horrorwood, Wurst Vacation, Hip to be Scared, Stabbing in the Dark, Rainy Day, IT is the End, Take Your Pick, Ex-Mortis, The Shower Scene, Funeral Derangements, and The American Nightmare.
Next up was Black Veil Brides. I didn’t envy them having to follow INK, but someone had to. Black Veil Brides are a metalcore band based out of Hollywood, after forming roughly 15 years ago in Cincinnati, Ohio. Having a look of 80’s era Kiss, or Motley Crue, and are more of a straight, in your face rock and roll band, letting the music speak for itself. And it spoke volumes. For those not in the know, Black Veil Brides is a Roman Catholic term used for when a woman marries into the church giving up all the pleasures of life to devote her life to God. They are touring in support 2021’s The Phantom Tomorrow. Opening with Faithless followed by Coffn, including Scarlett Cross, before closing their 10-song set with In the End. The sincerity and respect that the band have for their fans is evident in the way that lead singer Andy Biersack thanks the audience for their applause. A class act with solid meanings in their lyrics and a hard charging melodic tone to their songs. Screaming guitars, played flawlessly, are a wonderful thing.
Black Veil Brides are: Andy Biersack– lead vocals, keyboards; Jinxx– rhythm guitar, violin, backing vocals; Jake Pitts– lead guitar; Christian “CC” Coma – drums; Lonny Eagleton – bass, backing vocals
Setlist: Faithless, Coffin, Crimson Skies, Shadows Die, Wake Up, Scarlet Cross, Knives and Pens, The Legacy, Fallen Angels, and In the End.
But wait, there’s, more… This is Trinity of Terror
Closing out the night was Motionless In White. This would be the first time I would get to see Motionless In White with no Pyro, just lights and music. MIW are touring in support of their forthcoming album, Scoring the End of the World, set to be released June 10th. Opening their Gothic Metal/Metalcore set with Disguise from the album of the same name. It was dark, there was smoke and beautiful noise. Quickly followed by Reincarnate and Necessary Evil. Then launching into Voices, and the crowd went wild. Wild enough that Chris Motionless stopped mid song to allow security/medical to get someone out of the pit. Then politely asked if they could start the song over? They did and the crowd picked up right where they’d left off. Following with New Numb. Playing new song Cyberhex off the soon to be released album, covered The Killers, Somebody Told Me, closing their 11-song set with Eternally Yours.
Motionless In White are: Chris “Motionless” Cerulli (lead vocals), Ryan Sitkowski (lead guitar), Ricky “Horror” Olson (rhythm guitar), Vinny Mauro (drums), and Justin Morrow (bass).
Setlist: Disguise, Reincarnate, Necessary Evil, Voices, Thoughts & Prayers, Rats, Cyberhex, Another Life, Somebody Told Me, and Eternally Yours.
This was a well thought out line up with different presentations of individual styles. But as with most multi band bills, there had to be a standout. I went to the show totally hyped to see Motionless In White. But at the end of the day, I have to say on this night Ice Nine Kills stole the show. The energy, the theatrics and the music. The Trinity of Terror is over, for now, but if you have the opportunity to catch any of these bands on tour, I would highly recommend it.
Review and Photo Credit – Michael Spencer Photography.
— Full Photo Gallery HERE —
