Concert Recap: Deadlands + Renesans in Jacksonville, NC (November 1, 2024)

Discovering new music has been one of my favorite activities for a long time now, and I always love seeing up-and-coming artists succeed and advance in their careers – just a handful of some recent examples that stick out to me include Post Profit signing to Sharptone Records, Makes My Blood Dance getting a direct support slot on a major national tour supporting Tommy Vext of Bad Wolves, Mirrorcell signing with InVogue Records, The Funeral Portrait playing their first amphitheater tour over the summer supporting Five Finger Death Punch and Marilyn Manson, and Deadlands signing with Spinefarm Records. Being in my mid-20s myself, I really enjoy seeing young new bands climb their way to the points of success that they’re able to reach – to say the least, it’s an awesome feeling to be a fan of a band from an early point in their career and to be around for all the big things that come their way. 

An even more fun experience is finally getting to see these bands hit the stage, whether it’s as an opener for a bigger show or a headlining set of their own. Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of being able to see Deadlands live in my hometown of Jacksonville, NC as part of the Long Island-based metalcore group’s first national tour, and whether you’re a longtime fan or this is your first time hearing of them, I can’t recommend seeing them enough – if you’re not already, you will definitely become a fan by the end of their set.

I first heard of Deadlands in the fall of 2022 when vocalist Kasey Karlsen joined Motionless in White on stage for their performance of “Slaughterhouse” at the Madison Square Garden stop on the final leg of the iconic “Trinity of Terror” Tour, but really dove into their work in the spring of 2023 after it was announced that Karlsen would be the touring vocalist for Nita Strauss. After seeing videos of her live work with Strauss, I immediately checked out their EP Sentence of Myself and was quickly enamored with songs like “Shallow Breath” and “Black Hole,” and equally impressed with Karlsen’s vocal ability. Long story short, it didn’t take long for me to become a fan, and I instantly knew they were going to be a band to keep an eye on because it was very clear they were going to achieve big things. Seeing them live for the first of hopefully several times only strengthened those thoughts that they are well on their way to becoming a common name in the genre in the very near future.

Before the show, I interviewed Kasey Karlsen and discussed the band’s recent milestones with the release of their latest single “Villain” and concurrent announcement of them signing with the illustrious Spinefarm Records, as well as the current tour and Karlsen’s work with Nita Strauss – I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with many great musicians and bands, whether they’re from the local scene like Defile the Crown and To Begin Anew or personal heroes and lifelong favorites of mine like Joe Bouchard from Blue Öyster Cult or Art Alexakis from Everclear, and I would put my conversation with Karlsen up there with some of my favorite interviews I’ve done. Even while coming off of being sick a couple days prior, she was really fun and easy to talk with both on and off camera, before and after the show, and there were even moments in which it felt like she was just as excited to talk with me as I was to be interviewing her. I easily could’ve talked with her for twice as long as we did, I was even thinking of new questions as the conversation went on (and remembered ones I meant to ask after it was over), but it was a great time regardless and I’m extremely happy that it all worked out. I’m very lucky to have always had positive experiences with everyone I’ve interviewed and have always been taken seriously even as an independent interviewer, and this one was no exception — big thanks to Tim from Atom Splitter PR and the band’s TM/FOH engineer Andrew Gaudio for their help in making it happen.

After the interview, I made it into the venue just in time to see the local legends in Death of Uriah take the stage. With this show taking place the day after Halloween, the quintet was appropriately dressed for the occasion, donning similar masks that can be seen in the music video for their song “Death of Celebrity,” which was also their set-closer. While their set was brief, they always know how to make the most of their time on stage, fitting as many songs into their setlist while still having time to engage with the audience. Drummer Brian Gibbs looks locked in at all times, rhythm guitarist Sam Klocko and bassist Matt Johnson have a similar demeanor as well while keeping the pace with Gibbs, and vocalist George Barrows and guitarist Chris Vance are phenomenal at keeping the energy up during their performances. I’ve seen this band a handful of times this year, and while their time was short, this was probably my favorite set of theirs that I've seen.

Direct support for this show came in the form of the co-headlining metalcore group Renesans, fronted by the legendary David Benites, vocal coach and owner of the Extreme Vocal Institute. Supporting the release of their debut record, Born From the End, the band played every song on the album and had time for even more songs, including the live debut of their new single “Less Than Nothing” and a cover of Killswitch Engage's “My Curse.” Having been well aware of Benites’ vocal abilities for a while now I was really excited to be able to hear him in a live setting, and he didn’t disappoint – while he’s known for his harsh vocals, his cleans are on the same impressive level, with his broad range being on full display throughout the set. Additionally, he's just as captivating a frontman as he is a wildly talented vocalist, and to be able to hear someone of that caliber perform live is simply an awesome experience.

As a band, Renesans is a tight unit, with guitarist Dave Dunsire, drummer Luke Green, and bassist Ron Bernhaut being in perfect unison with each other from beginning to end and never missing a step. They had the same focused yet enthusiastic energy on stage as well – I don’t think I ever saw Dunsire standing still, Bernhaut’s long hair was almost always in motion and covering his face, and Green was a pro a multitasking without losing focus as well. Having only been familiar with a handful of the band's songs, I definitely left that show adding the rest of their music to my playlist, and I imagine they won over a lot of other new fans that night as well.

Deadlands wasted no time getting their set started, promptly kicking things off with their latest single, “Villain,” and it was off to the races from there. One thing I love about getting to see bands live while they're still early in their career is the fact that there likely won't be a lot of songs, if any, that get left off the setlist, and that was the case with Deadlands’set — they played all of their songs and then some, with their setlist consisting of the entire Sentence of Myself EP, their latest singles “House of Cards” and “Villain,” and even their collaboration with Rockit Music, “Misfit” and a post-Halloween treat in the form of a cover of Motionless in White's “Slaughterhouse,” featuring David Benites. While my favorite Deadlands songs are almost always changing, some of the highlights of the set were getting to hear “Shallow Breath,” “Deadweight,” and “Black Hole” — of course, being a huge Motionless in White fan, the “Slaughterhouse” cover was a crazy surprise too.

The great thing about live music is also getting to see the band's passion for what they do, especially with newer groups like Deadlands, because that's the main thing that drives them both creatively and professionally. It's a lot of fun to see how much they enjoy being on stage and performing together — drummer Kyle OBraitis has a similar energy behind the kit as Aaron Rosa from Palisades, in the sense that he's enthusiasm is plastered on his face the entire time (not to mention the sick stick tricks from time to time), Reisistor bassist Anthony Conti is a fantastic fit in the band from the perspective of both musical prowess and personality, guitarist CJ “NO SHADE” Arey is constantly moving and locked in at all times, and vocalist Kasey Karlsen is just as skilled at interacting with the audience as she is at singing. The stage banter is always fun, but what made this show special was that it took place on the band's monitor engineer Joe DiGregorio's birthday, and they successfully got him on stage so the room could sing “happy birthday” to him — granted, it was by pranking him into thinking there was a technical issue on stage, but it worked and it was fantastic.

Much like with Benites, it's a completely different experience when you hear such an impressive vocalist live in comparison to on their recordings — in a live setting, you can feel the power in their voice even more, and just like a mic’d up bass drum, it's one of those feelings that hits you right in the chest. When I first got into Deadlands’ music, I felt like Karlsen was one of the most talented young vocalists in the scene today due to the way she's able to balance the sheer ferocity of her harsh vocals and the emotional range in her clean singing, and hearing her live only confirmed that opinion. Not to mention the fact that she was coming off of being sick and still sounded incredible, to the point where it was impossible to tell she was ever under the weather.

Deadlands Setlist:

1. Villain

2. Shallow Breath

3. Misfit

4. Deadweight

5. Black Hole

6. Final Judgement

7. Slaughterhouse (Motionless in White cover)

8. Crushed

9. House of Cards

Long story short, this was a show I personally had been excited for since the summer, and it delivered on all levels. Every band that night brought it and tore up the stage, and everyone in the bands were a lot of fun to talk with before and after the show. I've seen a lot of great shows this year, from the Creed reunion to Sebastian Bach's post-Rockville stop here at Hooligans, to Marilyn Manson's first headlining show in half a decade, to Everclear's free show right on the boardwalk of Virginia Beach, and I would put this show up there as one of the most memorable concert experiences of the year. The post-show blues hit like a rock and the temptation to hit up the show in Greensboro, NC the following night was real, so needless to say, I'm very excited for the next time I see these groups live again.

Support the bands:

Death of Uriah

Renesans

Deadlands

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