Break Down the Walls Tour

March 28, 2014

Club Zoo- Pittsburgh, PA

Friday March 28, 2014 Pittsburgh was home to a sold out show at Club Zoo featuring one of the most epic lineups to ever exist. All under the same roof for the Break Down the Walls Tour was Born of Osiris, August Burns Red, Crown the Empire, We Came As Romans and the badass’ themselves Asking Alexandria headlining the whole thing. It’s definitely no wonder this tour has been sold out for most of its stops.

            Starting off the night was Born of Osiris, who we unfortunately didn’t get to photograph or even see due to the line to get in. We spoke with some kids who were already inside and they told us that Born of Osiris had a great set. Coming out full force playing Machine and ending their set with Exhilarate. Anyone who did make it through the line to see them definitely got a good show.

            Next up was Crown the Empire. Pittsburgh had a lot of energy for these guys and they gave it right back. With the intro to Makeshift Chemistry starting to play, out came the band. Everything from Bennett Vogelman shredding the guitar to Andrew Velasquez’s melodic vocals, these guys were all on point that night. Of course what would be a Crown the Empire show without them playing one of everyone’s favorite Voices. Due to the amount of bands each opener was able to play an average of 6-7 songs per set, and Crown the Empire chose to end theirs with The Fallout.

Up next was We Came As Romans who we’ve undoubtedly all heard of and have a favorite song from. With no time to spare they jumped right into the show with Tracing Back Roots. Immediately all attention seemed to be drawn to the bassist in a Batman outfit. Apparently their bassist Andy Glass was unable to perform that night for an undisclosed reason. By the end of the first song someone else seemed to be missing, Kyle Pavone. But with the start of the second Ghosts he came running out and of course every girl in the crowd went crazy. Almost as crazy as the whole place went when they performed Glad You Came from the Punk Goes Pop series. They ended their night with the older, but still amazing hit To Plant a Seed.

Following them were August Burns Red. With the bar set from the other bands and also being last opener, these guys came out with the room shaking with energy. Coming out swinging into the microphone, Jake Luhrs and the guys started the set with Internal Cannon. This guy was literally everywhere on stage, barely taking a breath between songs. They definitely had one of the best stage presences of the night. They played hits such as Provision and Poor Millionaire then eventually ending their night with White Washed.

Around 10:30pm it was time for the one and only Asking Alexandria. These English party boys know how to put on a good time, with hit records and sold out shows around the world, no one can deny it. As the lights went dim and they let the momentum from the more than ready and ear shattering loud crowd build up you could hear the beginning of Don’t Pray For Me starting. As each of them individually made their way on to the stage starting with drummer James Cassells, the crowd became louder and louder. There’s no doubt everyone in the city of Pittsburgh could hear Club Zoo. Singer, Danny Worsnop made sure to let everyone know exactly what he expected from them: sex, booze and mayhem. I couldn’t really tell what was louder between Danny’s intense vocals, or the screams every girl made every time guitarist, Ben Bruce came to the front of the stage. They played everything from old, A Prophecy to new, The Death of Me. Like every performer, Worsnop told them they had 3 songs lefts but then immediately told them that was of course a lie like always and that they were going to play three more after grabbing a beer. No more than 10 minutes later they came back on to Welcome and performing Closure right after. As they were about to end the night Worsnop started talking about how it all started for them and how he knew one day they’d be up on stage in front of all of us. He then said he knew it was going to happen when they came up with one riff, as Ben Bruce started playing One Step Closer by Linkin Park. Worsnop and everyone started singing it but he stopped by jokingly saying we were idiots and that wasn’t their song. He then did the same thing with Walk by Pantera. After that he got to the real song and riff that changed everything for them and ending their night with The Final Episode (Let’s Change the Channel).

At the end of the night there was no denying all of these bands themselves were headliners, and that this was by far one of the best tours to ever take place.

Review by: Anthony Powell

Asking Alexandria