Concert Recap: From Ashes to New - The "Still Panicking" Tour, Jacksonville, NC (April 8, 2022)
With a solid support lineup, From Ashes to New brings a night of hard rock and nu-metal that refuses to disappoint
On the road in support of their 2020 album Panic, Pennsylvania nu-metal band From Ashes to New brought their “Still Panicking” Tour to Hooligans Music Hall in Jacksonville, North Carolina this past weekend on Friday, April 8. Their first headlining tour since the summer of 2019, the band has covered a lot of ground since then and pulled out all the stops during their performances on this latest jaunt. In the time since they’ve last topped the bill, not only did they release a new full-length album, but they also stayed busy throughout 2021 by releasing a three-volume EP series entitled “The Quarantine Chronicles,” featuring covers, reworked versions of previously released songs, and new original singles. In a way, this series turned out to reflect what fans would be seeing in the setlist for this current tour, with the concert feeling like a celebration of the band’s past and present, along with a look to the future.
However, before I continue talking about From Ashes to New, I do want to take some time to talk about all the other bands that performed Friday night because the band brought a stacked support lineup with them and they didn’t disappoint. I am, however, disappointed in myself a little bit because I normally try to familiarize myself with all the support bands for a concert before I end up seeing them, and I just didn’t do that this time around. Now that the show’s passed, I’m kicking myself for not doing it because every band killed it on stage, and I wish I did my due diligence beforehand so I could appreciate their performances even more. Hey, there’s always next time, right?
The first band to play was Waking Tera, a local metal band that provided support for the touring bands. I’ve known of this band for a while because I’ve seen them on flyers as support for when other national bands would play in Jacksonville (All That Remains, Mushroomhead, and Saliva are the first ones that come to mind), but they were never at any of the shows I attended and I never heard their music until I finally saw them over the weekend. This’ll be the theme of this whole article, but I really wish I checked these guys out sooner. With them being a local act, I really have no excuse, but I’m glad I finally got exposed to their music, nonetheless. I’m honestly wanting to try to go to more local shows just to see them again, because they really impressed me and the hometown pride in me is so glad that a band like them is from Jacksonville. They had me hooked from the start with their opening song, ‘Forgotten Lore,’ but my favorite song of their set was probably ‘Edify,’ almost for the intro alone. The song starts out with one of those riffs you can’t help but bob your head to, and it grows into something completely different. It was cool to see people in the crowd that were already familiar with them, wearing their shirts and knowing all the words to their songs, and I’m happy to say I’m finally on board with them too and hope they do well.
Waking Tera Setlist:
2. Nothing
3. Edify
4. Break Stuff (Limp Bizkit cover)
The first touring band to take the stage was Above Snakes, a nu-metal band from Boston, MA. If I’m being honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect from them when they first stepped on stage, but I wasn’t disappointed once they started playing. Musically, I loved the balance between their heavy riffs and melodic choruses, and vocalist Johnny Skulls was clearly in his element on stage, getting the audience excited and keeping the band’s performance energetic. While their set was short, they made great use of their time on stage because they definitely left a lasting impression. A few days removed from the concert now, I still have their songs stuck in my head, especially ‘Nothing to Lose’ and ‘Never Alone.’ By the end of the night, they made a fan out of me, and I’m interested to see what they do next.
Above Snakes Setlist (*Incomplete/Out of Order):
1. Adrenaline
3. Never Alone
Next was Kingdom Collapse, and this band was my favorite of the support acts. As soon as vocalist Jonathan Norris introduced the band by saying, “we are Kingdom Collapse, from San Antonio, Texas,” my expectations were set. They hadn’t even played a single note at that point, but I was expecting a lot because there are so many great bands from Texas (Seldom, Post Profit, and Rockett Queen, just to name a few), and after hearing Kingdom Collapse was also from that neck of the woods, I was hoping to find another band to get behind. Needless to say, I was anything but let down.
With my interest already piqued, their first song, ‘Uprise,’ solidified me as a fan right then and there. I love that kind of hard rock music, and there were moments they reminded me of bands like Three Days Grace and Skillet. Their two most recent singles, ‘Unbreakable’ and ‘Save Me From Myself,’ are so catchy, and they had such a big sound in a live setting that it was hard to believe that it was coming from a new self-sustaining band. Other than the headlining band, this was my favorite performance of the night.
For an independent band, it was awesome to hear that these guys have had success by having some of their singles appear on SiriusXM Octane, which was always one of my favorite channels when I used to listen to XM Radio. I can’t even imagine how hard it must be for a band to get any airplay from a big station like that and to stay at the top of their charts for several weeks in a row with the help from a record label, let alone being an independent band without that kind of assistance, so for this band to accomplish that is no small feat. I really hope that kind of momentum continues for them after this tour, and I hope they end up coming back to Jacksonville at some point.
Kingdom Collapse Setlist:
1. Uprise
2. Payback
5. Suffer
6. Unbreakable
Following Kingdom Collapse was a tough task to follow for any band, but on Friday night, the responsibility fell on Blind Channel, a self-proclaimed “violent pop” band from Finland. Now I’ve never heard the term “violent pop” before, but it’s honestly a great way to describe Blind Channel. Sure, there are obvious elements of nu-metal in their music, but it’s hard to solely categorize them there. It’s almost a little too much on the electronic side to really consider it nu-metal (in my opinion, anyway).
The best way I can talk about it is to make a comparison to Linkin Park, a huge influence for most, if not all, bands in the nu-metal scene. Most bands in that genre (From Ashes to New, for example) are in line with the style from Linkin Park’s first two albums, “Hybrid Theory” and “Meteora.” Blind Channel, however, fits more with the mid-career Linkin Park albums “Living Things” and “A Thousand Suns.” There’s still an edge there, but there’s more experimentation with electronics and some songs are more fit for raves than rage. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, obviously, but it was very different from what I was used to hearing. That being said, the band was insanely energetic on stage, and some of their songs were wicked catchy. The two songs by them that have been in my head since the concert are ‘Balboa’ and ‘Bad Idea,’ with the latter being my favorite of the two. Their set felt like it went by quickly, probably because of how fast-paced most of their songs were, but they definitely kept the audience’s attention and got them excited for the next band and the headliner.
Blind Channel Setlist:
1. Balboa
5. Bad Idea
7. Dark Side
The direct support to the headliner came from Fire From the Gods, a heavy nu-metal band from Austin, Texas. While I had a great time watching them, there seemed to be a very different energy between the other bands and these guys. Every band was upbeat and playful to a certain degree, but Fire From the Gods felt heavier and more intense than the rest of the supporting bands. It could be because Fire From the Gods was musically the heaviest and that played a part in their energy on stage, but I obviously don’t know for sure. I liked their songs, and vocalist AJ Channer was a great frontman.
Normally, I’m not a fan of singers getting on a soapbox halfway through their set and trying to inspire social or political change, mainly because there always seems to be some kind of bias with the message they’re trying to push (as if we’re not already divided enough as a society) and a rock show just isn’t the place for that. However, when Channer would have his banter between songs, he made it clear that his message was only about unity and nothing more, which I respect. He said what he had to say, and he said it in a fraction of the time most singers would while still having it mean twice as much as whatever rant other vocalists would’ve gone on. It’s something more frontmen should probably take note of, but more importantly, their music was solid. I hope they gain more notoriety and keep that same energy as they become more successful.
Fire From the Gods Setlist:
2. Truth to the Weak (Not Built to Compete)
5. American Sun
7. Composition
8. Victory
9. Right Now
10. Excuse Me
The finale that was From Ashes to New couldn’t have been better. They have such a lively stage show that perfectly complements their dynamic music. While this was a tour that was in support of their “Panic” album, their setlist couldn’t have been more eclectic. Of course, a chunk of the set was dedicated to their latest album, but every era of the band got some recognition Friday night. Opening with the title track to the band’s most recent LP, they followed it up by playing their first single as a band, 2013’s ‘My Fight,’ from their self-titled debut EP. Hits from 2018’s “The Future” obviously couldn’t be scrapped from the set either, but they also played a decent amount of songs from before Danny Case even joined the band as the lead vocalist, such as ‘Breaking Now’ and ‘Stay This Way.’ There was also a taste of something new, with a few “Quarantine Chronicles” cuts making an appearance.
The highlight for me happened halfway through their set, where vocalist Danny Case and guitarist Lance Dowdle took center stage and played acoustic versions of ‘Lost and Alone’ and ‘Scars That I’m Hiding.’ Halfway through the latter, vocalist Matt Brandyberry and drummer Mat Madiro returned to the stage and finished the song with the rest of the band, giving it a much bigger feel by the end in contrast to the acoustic beginning. It was one of those things you had to have seen for yourself, because I can’t do it justice by just writing about it. There are so many reasons this was my favorite part of the show, with the transition in ‘Scars That I’m Hiding’ being a big factor. More than that though, these are two of my favorite songs by the band. As much as I love the hard-hitting and energetic stuff like ‘Broken’ and ‘Nothing,’ I’ve always loved these two songs because of their mix of heavy lyrics and subdued musicality. ‘Lost and Alone’ was also a song I never thought I’d hear live, and while I was hoping the whole band would’ve played it, I love the acoustic version too and I’m just glad they played the song at all.
All in all, From Ashes to New brought everything to the table with this show, featuring a career-spanning setlist, flawless musical execution, and unmatched energy and excitement. It was a perfect show for both hardcore fans and new listeners. I was lucky enough to see them in 2019 when they came to Jacksonville on a co-headlining tour with Ice Nine Kills and they were great then, but to see them headlining Friday night was something else. My only complaint is that their set was still not long enough, but again, there’s always next time. Hopefully they continue playing in Jacksonville, I’d see them every year if I could. They’re on an upward trajectory, but I still think the band deserves so much more attention, and I can’t recommend their music enough. It’s always a guaranteed blast to see them in concert too, whether you know every word to every song or haven’t heard a single note from them.
From Ashes to New Setlist:
1. Panic
2. My Fight
3. Enough
4. Broken
6. My Name
7. Breaking Now
8. Lost and Alone (Acoustic)
9. Scars That I’m Hiding (Partial Acoustic)
10. Stay This Way
11. Wait for Me
12. Nothing
13. Crazy
Encores
14. Bring Me to Life (Evanescence cover)
15. Through It All
To see videos I took at the show, click here
Support From Ashes to New and all the opening bands by checking out the links below:
- Waking Tera: https://linktr.ee/wakingteraband
- Above Snakes: https://www.abovesnakesmusic.com/
- Kingdom Collapse: https://www.kingdomcollapse.com/
- Blind Channel: https://www.blindchannelofficial.com/
- Fire From the Gods: https://www.firefromthegods.com/
- From Ashes to New: https://www.fromashestonew.com/
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