CONCERT REVIEW: Beartooth, Motionless In White & Stray From The Path Raise The Roof In Tilburg

After Beartooth’s massive set at Jera on Air last summer, Beartooth are back in Europe to play some of the biggest shows of their careers overseas. The tour included a stop in the massive Wembley Arena, but in The Netherlands it ‘merely’ and humbly sold out the Poppodium 013 with a capacity of 3000 fans.

Beartooth’s tour has been on the books for a while, and luckily the openers have remained even after the rescheduling, which meant we got to enjoy Stray From The Path as opener on this fine evening. The band are known for their political lyrics and hardcore music, a blend they deliver extraordinarily well. With their new album Euthanasia under their belt, there was plenty of new material being played this evening, including the popular III, the third in a series of songs surrounding police brutality. Vocalist Drew York does not shy away from speeching mid-set, highlighting the importance of unity and community. Check some of the photos in the gallery right below.

Stray From The Path:

As direct support, Beartooth brought along Motionless In White. Especially in the States, this band is absolutely massive, and the fact that we got to witness both Beartooth and Motionless In White on the same tour is honestly such a treat. MIW’s music combines various elements of metal, gothic rock, and industrial music to create a unique sound. Motionless In White’s music often explores themes of darkness, horror, and the macabre, drawing inspiration from horror movies and literature, in both their music as well as their appearance. The band released their popular most recent album Scoring The End Of The World in 2022, which was heavily featured on the setlist.

Two songs in, Motionless In White performed the heavy track Slaughterhouse off of the aforementioned album. The studio version of the song features Bryan Garris (vocalist of Knocked Loose), and the fans tonight were in for a treat when Beartooth frontman Caleb Shomo came on stage to perform Garris‘ part live. Check out some photos from the band’s performance, as well as the surprise guest feature in the gallery below.

Motionless In White:

I’m a sucker for a great inspirational story so bare with me as I briefly take you back to April of 2014, where I would see Beartooth for the first time, as the opening act for Of Mice & Men in a sweaty 600 capacity room in Amsterdam. Beartooth played songs off of their debut EP, and would release their debut album later that year. Fast forward to 2023, where Beartooth have played absolutely massive venues as headliner and are now taking Motionless In White on tour with them to take on Wembley Arena, and more humble in The Netherlands, the beautiful Poppodium 013 in Tilburg.

At 21:15, the lights went out for the last time, as Beartooth put a huge banner up, blocking the view of the stage from the audience’s perspective. The banner helped to set the tone and atmosphere for the performance and create a memorable experience for the audience. Little did we know, especially after the show at Jera on Air in the summer of 2022, that ‘show’ wise, we would not get much more than that.

Even before the curtain dropped, frontman Caleb Shomo immediately launched into the band’s title track song Below, and the crowd erupted into a frenzy of jumping and headbanging, with a moshpit of epic proportions opening up. Shomo’s powerful vocals echoed through the venues, even if his voice did sound a bit worn out from the packed touring schedule, no doubt.

Beartooth are now 4 albums in, but the setlist catered to the most recent album Below, which released back in 2021. In addition, of course the fan favourites from throughout the years were played, including Beaten In Lips, Hated and the most popular among them: In Between, from the band’s debut album Disgusting. The band sounded great as ever, and Shomo is becoming increasingly comfortable on stage, often chatting with the audience, asking them to participate in sing alongs or open circle pits. It does have to be said that in comparison to the band’s epic Jera on Air performance last summer, the pyro, confetti and fireworks were painfully absent tonight.

Not to worry though, even without the gimmicks, Beartooth are greater than ever with no sign of slowing down. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, Beartooth are on the fast track of becoming a festival headliner. With a strong discography and an ever-growing live presence, Beartooth are rapidly becoming a cornerstone of the alternative music scene. Get a glimpse of what the show looked like in the gallery below.

Beartooth:

Glenn van den Bosch

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