I took a ride over to the Gramercy Theater in NYC to catch the Brothers In Arms tour featuring Drowning Pool and Ill Niño with support from HED.PE and Evolution Empire. While I have been long time fan of Drowning pool, this was my first time seeing them and any of the bands on this bill.

Hard rock band Evolution Empire featuring former members of Hellyeah, Danzig and Fear Factory, opened the night. Filling in on lead vocals was Travis Neal, formerly of Divine Heresy. With a great sound and stage presence, they were able to bring an exciting start to the night.

HED.PE brings a truly unique sound representing the skater, rock, funk and rap found in the SOCAL area. This group brought a vibe to the room that had patrons pumped and ready to rock while relaxed and ready to roll as the sweet skunky smell of marijuana filled the air, almost as if it was a party favor handed at the door. Even though this was my first experience with HED.PE, I would strongly urge everyone to prioritize seeing this band whenever given the opportunity. I can guarantee you will be a fan within the first five minutes of the set.

Next up was Drowning Pool, who delivered an amazing performance and you would expect nothing less than that based on the band’s historical high energy and hard sounds. It was only natural for the circling to begin and mosh pits to form. The bodies were doing nothing less then moving as the bands popular “Bodies” was performed exciting an already ecstatic crowd.

While the night’s headliner was setting up, the crowd showed they were clearly ready for more music, moshing and energy. Ill Niño, now a seven piece Latin metal band who hails from northern NJ, brought an incredible, gas fueled performance that I haven’t experienced on a Monday night in a long time. A steady stream of crowd surfers kept security on their toes as I sat back and watched the hair flying, heads banging and the horns raised high. I found myself standing in the corner of the photo pit wearing a shit eating grin remembering why I do the work I do.

 

As the night came to an end, fans were coming off the adrenaline rush, the stage crew began to pack up and prepare for the ten- plus hour drive to the next show in Indiana, I ended my night with a simple text home “Please feed the dog, I’ve run away with Ill Niño.”

 

Buy Ill Niño music here: https://amzn.to/3wU477N

Buy Drowning Pool music here: https://amzn.to/3IYOm20

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY MELISSA STILES

 

 

 

 

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