Fans were definitely ready to “FACE IT”, the show with Nothing More, Veil Of Maya and Of Virtue, that is! Concert-goers were lined down the sidewalk and around the block in anticipation of the concert at Kemba Live in Columbus, Ohio.

Of Virtue got the party started for the evening! Hailing from that “state up north” as Ohio State Buckeye fans like to say, the four piece metal band is from Lansing, MI. The band is composed of Tyler Ennis [vocals], Damon Tate [guitar/vocals], Michael Valadez [guitar] and Ryan Trinh [drums]. I had been wanting to catch these guys for awhile and was happy to see they hopped on this stop of the tour while Wage War and Sleep Theory stepped away for the evening due to festivals. They came on stage hard hitting and didn’t let up during their entire set. The singer even sang the hit song “Cannibals” from the crowd. They had lots of energy and they seemed to have a lot of fans in the crowd, which is always great to see!

Second in the lineup was Veil Of Maya, a metalcore outfit formed in Chicago, Illinois in 2004. They are made up of Lukas Magyar [vocals], Marc Okubo [guitar], Sam Applebaum [drums] and Danny Hauser [bass]. They came out and rocked their set from start to finish. A pretty consistent flow of crowd surfers began to come over the barricade by this point, which included the bands photographer, Meredith [drummer in the band VCTMS]. I looked up and realized she had her camera in hand and just got the biggest kick out of that! I was very impressed overall and I will definitely be adding them into my regular rotation of listening. I live for the breakdown and they check that box 100 percent!

After Of Virtue and Veil Of Maya, the crowd was totally amped up at this point and more than ready for Nothing More to take to the stage. The band originated in Texas and the current lineup consists of Jonny Hawkins [vocals], Mark Vollelunga [guitar], Daniel Oliver [bass] and Ben Anderson [drums]. I had high hopes for seeing Nothing More, and it was beyond what I had expected. Music can be a therapeutic and an emotional experience, and this was one of those cases. They are an energetic band, they connect with their fans during the set. Both Jonny and Mark sang/played at the barricade right in front of me during the first 3 songs that I got to photograph. Again, a steady stream of crowd surfers was going on during their set. The circle pit (which I stay away from!) was pretty crazy! There is a balcony at Kemba, and I was able to observe from above and it was gnarly! The one thing I love about this band is that their lyrics do provoke you emotionally. I knew I would cry at some point and it was during Fadein/Fadeout. I didn’t even try to stop it! That’s the great thing about music and that healing piece of it, even at a metal show, we can allow it to heal us a little bit at a time. I was blown away like I had fully anticipated, which means I am looking forward to seeing these guys again!!