Dark Divine and The Funeral Portrait could reasonably be considered the hottest acts in rock music. When you add some of the quickest-rising stars in metalcore, Not Enough Space, you concoct a brew of incredible music, stage presence, and energy. I was blessed to photograph and review this sold-out tour stop in Dark Divine and Not Enough Space’s hometown of Orlando, put on by the premier metal promoter in Florida, 152 Productions.
For local support, Until I Die kicked off the evening’s festivities. Similar to the other acts on the bill, Until I Die showcases the melodic side of metalcore, featuring crushing riffs, growling verses, and soaring choruses. Some favorite tracks of mine that I urge readers to give a spin include "Scattered," "Dilemma," and their newest release, "New Flesh.”
Not Enough Space took the stage to begin the tour package. It is a bit of ancient history, but Anthony Martinez, vocalist of Dark Divine, was one of the original vocalists for Not Enough Space; this tour must feel like a full-circle moment to everyone involved. Not Enough Space features two female vocalists: Lizzie Kristina and Liv Mitchell, a rare sight for live bands in general, much-less metalcore acts. The band, as a whole, features an incredible stage presence of nonstop energy. They performed a mix of new songs, unreleased tracks, and their greatest hits (as seen on TikTok). Their set featured their pivotal “Don’t Be Scared’, their newest release, "Primitive," and they closed their set with “No Way Out.”
The first of the two co-headliners, The Funeral Portrait, followed. I have been a massive TFP fanboy since I watched them at Crowbar nearly two years ago, another 152 Productions show. Since then, they have exploded onto the scene. Their song “Suffocate City (ft. Spencer Charnas of Ice Nine Kills)” is the No. 1 rock song on the radio, making TFP the first No.1 rock artist to feature queer members. Vocalist Lee Jennings stopped their set toward the end to alert the sold-out room of the news to a roar of applause. While this may have been Dark Divine’s hometown show, most of the room seemed there for the Atlanta emo-rock standouts.
I always describe The Funeral Portrait as Gen-Z’s My Chemical Romance to new listeners. Their aesthetic, sound, imagery, and theatrics carry the same torch while touching on the topics of fitting in and identity crises of gender and sexuality. They started their set with a bang, one of their biggest singles, “Generation Psycho." This is such a fun opener; TFP is unlike any band I have photographed or witnessed. I could be taking a picture of Lee doing a cartwheel while Caleb (guitarist) and Rob (bassist) are balancing guitars on their heads. If you spend too much time watching one event transpire on stage, you will miss another; they have nonstop movement. As a headliner, TFP performed a stacked setlist, performing all of my favorite tracks by them, including "Voodoo Doll," “Dark Thoughts," “Blood Mother” (a criminally underrated song), and “Stay Weird," while closing with an OG track: “Holy Water.” The Funeral Portrait is without a doubt my favorite band to see live, and I cannot recommend them enough.
The hometown skeleton crew, Dark Divine, closed the evening. I last saw this spooky group as direct support for Crown The Empire at Jannus Live. They stole the crowd’s attention and provided an unforgettable spectacle. However, this night at Conduit, they felt a little flat. Vocalist Anthony Martinez and drummer Triston Blaize did their best to keep the crowd involved, yet the guitarists sort of wandered around looking bored most of their set. Every artist has an off night, yet it felt especially disappointing after the nonstop party that preceded them in TFP.
Regardless of stage presence, Dark Divine makes great music for emos, goths, and lovers of all things Halloween or spooky. They primarily performed tracks from their 2023 release Deadly Fun, throwing in a mix of older tracks for the hometown OG fans, as well as their 2024 singles, “Burn The Witch” and “Digital Numb." Their heavy mosh track, “Grave Digger,” got the crowd’s attention, opening the pit and encouraging carnage. Favorites of mine from the set include "Cold," "Circles," and "Halloweentown." They finished their set with the back-to-back bangers of “Paper Crown” and "Dead." While the stage presence may have left something to be desired, Dark Divine still put on a great show and sent their fans, friends, and family of Orlando home happy.
