Five Finger Death Punch and Papa Roach bring metal to Indy

The metal community is just that- a community and a family. At a show, it doesn\’t matter how small or how large the crowd is, everyone is united and together for one cause. There\’s no better example of that than when Five Finger Death Punch hits the road and their current tour with Papa Roach, In This Moment and From Ashes To New hit Indianapolis recently.

From Ashes To New started the night off early, taking the stage just after 6 p.m. for a set that proved exactly why they\’re one of the most promising young bands around today- with a full-length debut hitting stores in 2016, things are getting started for the band and it\’s been exciting to see them grow in popularity as much as they have already.

After a short set changeover, In This Moment took over and kept the energy going. If you\’ve seen In This Moment in the last few years you know they aren\’t the band they once were. While they were once pure metal and fit well on a Mayhem Festival bill, Maria Brink and company have shifted gears to a more theatrical, industrial and electronic approach with a maximized sexual theme.

Although longtime diehard fans have been disappointed by the style change, ITM have grown a whole new group of fans to go hand in hand with the many diehards who have stuck with them. Their set in Indianapolis was no different from any other ITM set recently but yet they still found a way to blow the crowd away. Maria Brink doesn\’t move around a whole lot but her synchronized dance moves accompanied by her two sexual bankup dancers know exactly how to work the crowd.

Their set was, as always, short and sweet but featured pretty much any major song from their current record- Black Widow and their previous album- the smash hit Blood. Now if they would just play a few songs from their earlier albums, they would have a complete set that appeals to new and old fans alike.

Not long after they wrapped it up, Papa Roach took the stage for their first Indianapolis show in almost five years.

Jacoby Shaddix, Jerry Horton and Tobin Esperance have been together as Papa Roach for over 20 years and they\’re still going strong. With Shaddix finding spirituality, their latest album- F.E.A.R: Face Everything And Rise shows one of the most positive sides of the band we\’ve seen yet and has found some of the most success since Metamorphosis. The band is riding high on a new wave of popularity and the new life shows through clearly when they hit the stage.

They balanced their setlist perfectly, playing a good amount of new songs but still playing songs the longtime fans love- not alienating their diehard veteran fans like some other bands do who find new success after a long career.

They opened with the title track from F.E.A.R. but launched right into “Between Angels and Insects” and even treated the crowd to an acoustic version of “Scars,” which was almost as good or better than the electric version of the classic. At almost 40 years old, Shaddix is still as energetic as he was in the Infest days, not standing still for more than a few seconds and running around stage like a man possessed. Hell, he even took the rock and roll to the people, making his way through every side of the crowd at one point. They were even joined by Maria Bink halfway through the show for “Gravity,” the song she accompanied them on F.EA.R., which, naturally, was met with an overwhelming response from the fans.

It\’s so good to see Papa Roach still going strong and there\’s no signs of them stopping any time soon so get used to it.

After Papa Rocah wrapped up, it was time for Five Finger Death Punch to obliterate what was left of the crowd and they did just that.

Here\’s the thing about a Five Finger Death Punch show- it\’s always the same show. With the exception of a new song or two at the beginning of an album cycle, you can expect to hear the same songs every show, Ivan Moody says the same stuff in between each song and you know exactly what you\’re going to see. The thing is, you just don\’t give a shit- you keep wanting to see it again and again and again. They know exactly how to put on a show that makes you come bank and that\’s the sign of a great live band.

This time around, they opened with “Lift Me Up” rather than “Under And Over It,” which was the encore opener for this tour. New songs “Jeckyll And Hyde” and “Got Your Six\’ found their way into the set and they packed a punch with “Never Enough” and “Hard To See\’ being the second two songs- kicking things off with sheer power.

After welcoming drummer Jeremy Spencer back to his home state and letting the crowd know how special it is whenever they come back to Indiana for him, Spencer blew the crowd away with an explosive drum solo which led to “Burn MF,” during which FFDP was joined onstage by children from the crowd, ushering in the next generation of metal.

After wrapping up with “Under And Over It” and “The Bleeding,” the night was over and the crowd went home broken, exhausted and ready to see the band again.

-Reggie Edwards

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