18 Visions make some noise at Laga

18 Visions, Throwdown, Underoath, Terror

Tomorrow, 6:30 p.m.

Club Laga…

18 Visions, Throwdown, Underoath, Terror

Tomorrow, 6:30 p.m.

Club Laga

$10 Advance/$12 Door

(412) 323-1919

If there was a better time to hear some metal, it has to be before Thanksgiving. Just before you kiddies return home to eat dinner with your families, several wonderful shows are happening in Oakland. One of the heaviest ones for the autumn season is tomorrow’s 18 Visions show.

Featuring the Orange County, Ca., metalcore maniacs, along with hardcore legends Throwdown, who also hail from Orange County, as well as hard-hitting Underoath and the undeniably heavy styles of Terror, this show proves that you really can bring hardcore and metal together in one evening.

The band 18 Visions is fresh off the release of one of this summer’s surprise hits, Vanity. The poster boys of Trustkill Records, 18V is no longer just one-dimensional. Well known in the past for its deadly chugga-chugga metalcore stylings, Vanity really shows how much the band is capable of. Borrowing sounds of rock ‘n’ roll, hardcore, metal and even emo, 18V disproves any critics who thought the frontman, James Hart, couldn’t sing. His vocals bring an interesting lead to the record, alternating from deep growls to soprano-ish melodies. But don’t be fooled; they’ll still make you swing around in the mosh pit.

Indecision Records powerhouse Throwdown will also bust out a groove onto the town. While the band used to heavily preach about sXe – or being straight edge, which entails no drug use, no alcohol and no promiscuous sex – Throwdown has really backed off the soapbox. Well-known for its members’ strong beliefs, the latest release, Face the Mirror, shows the band’s lyrical diversity and instead speaks more about the unity of the hardcore scene.

Two members from 18 Visions are also in Throwdown. If that doesn’t tie these two bands together, nothing really does. Teeming with success, Throwdown and 18 Visions sacrifice themselves every single night in order to fulfill their musical mission to the fans: rocking out.

As if the two bands alone were good enough to make you get in line, Underoath and Terror will also bring live shows to the tour, exemplifying that this show does really promote unity in the scene. Rock out.