The Studio at the Factory was jam-packed this Friday, as eager fans crammed themselves into the Dallas venue to see the first show on Dayseeker’s “The Dark Sun Protocol” tour. With a lineup band such as Kingdom of Giants, Catch Your Breath, and Alpha Wolf, fans were in for a great night.
The night was kicked off with a lively performance by California-based metalcore band Kingdom of Giants. Despite the fact that they were the first act to play, the crowd was already close to filling up the venue by the time the band stepped out on stage. The fans were ready for a show. After opening with the first live performance of their new song “Asphalt,” the band never let the excitement die down as they played banger after banger for the remainder of their 7-song set. By the end of their final song, the crowd was already starting to get warmed up for the rest of the night.
Following Kingdom of Giant’s set was the Austin, TX-based metalcore band, Catch Your Breath. Like the previous band, this was also my first time seeing Catch Your Breath, but it definitely won’t be my last. With their mixture of electronic hooks along with heavy guitar riffs, I was instantly intrigued by the music, and I wasn’t the only one. Fans showed the home state musicians some love as they opened with their song “Perfect World.” Many fans in the audience seemed to already know the majority of the band's songs, singing along to tracks such as “Dial Tone” and “21 Gun Salute.” The crowd got specifically excited when the band played their closing song, “Shame On Me,” which had fans banging their heads and swaying to the beat.
Catch Your Breath
Next up was Alpha Wolf. I have heard the band’s name being thrown around a lot over the last few months, but I haven’t gotten a chance to check them out yet. Needless to say, they made a very lasting impression. Alpha Wolf was without a doubt the most chaotic and ravenous performance of the night. Delivering a high-powered, aggressive set that sent the small concert hall into a complete frenzy after the first couple of songs. The number of crowd surfers that were carried to the front barricade during their set had to be somewhere in the 30s. All hell broke loose in the venue when the band began to play “60cm of Steel.” Being one of the final songs they played that night, the band gave the fans one more chance to go absolutely crazy. Before the last breakdown, singer Lochie Keogh had the crowd split down the middle, creating a wall of death. Soon after, the guitars and drums kicked back in, and the crowd erupted into pure chaos as fans slammed into each other from opposing sides of the venue. Thankfully, all the fans seemed to make it out of that unscathed, as the band bid everyone a goodnight.
Alpha Wolf
After being sufficiently warmed up by Alpha Wolf’s live-wire of a performance, fans waited excitedly for Dayseeker to take the stage next. As the lights went down and the LED screen onstage began to flicker, fans screamed loudly in anticipation. Opening with 2022’s “Dreamstate,” the band made their first appearance of the tour. The setlist consisted of a majority of songs off of the band’s most recent album, “Dark Sun,” but had a few classics and fan favorites sprinkled in as well, such as “Sleeptalk” and “Burial Plot.” At one point the band asked the audience to raise the flashlights on their phones into the sky, and when they did, it illuminated the venue and showed just how full the concert hall was. Fans were standing shoulder to shoulder, back to back, and singing along at the top of their lungs together. It was really awesome to witness. As the night continued, more crowd surfers made their way to the front, more mosh pits erupted in the center of the floor, and fans stacked their friends and significant others onto their shoulders to sing along to all their favorite songs. The first night of the tour ended on a high note, as the band closed out the performance with the popular track “Neon Grave."
As previously mentioned, “The Dark Sun Protocol” tour has thankfully just begun at the time of this being written. It will cover the majority of major cities throughout North America and will go through November 2nd, giving Dayseeker fans from all over the country a chance to see this fantastic show.
Dayseeker
