Review: Story of the Year at Metropolis Fremantle

Story Of The Year’s 20 Years of Page Avenue Australian Tour at Metropolis Fremantle
w/ Senses Fail, Behind Crimson Eyes
Sunday, August 4, 2024

Spawning a global legacy and critical acclaim for over two decades, American rockers Story Of The Year returned to Perth to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of their debut album Page Avenue. 

The added draw of support acts Senses Fail and Behind Crimson Eyes had clearly ignited Perth fans’ excitement, as a lengthy queue formed outside Metropolis Fremantle.

With a distinctive sound that welds heavy rock elements with screamo and pop, Behind Crimson Eyes brought a high-energy opening to the evening. Despite the backup vocals being very soft in the first couple of songs and some issues with one of the guitars, their tight thirty-minute set showed why they’re one of Australia’s favourite post-hardcore acts. Vocalist Josh Stuart was very interactive with the audience between songs, high-fiving punters close to the stage, and dedicating the song Revenge to the year 2003, “when screamo and skinny jeans were cool." Towards the end of their set, the band spoke about their plans to retire after the release of their new EP and subsequent tour, which led into their latest single, DEAD.DROP.DEAD. Before launching into their closing track, Shakedown, they paid tribute to Story of the Year for having them on the night, drawing roars of approval from the audience. 

After a short break, the stage went dark, and prerecorded music began playing through the speakers as Senses Fail entered the stage. As punters called out for the music to begin, vocalist Buddy Neilsen ran onto the stage to start their set. Blending emo and screamo elements, Senses Fail were celebrating a milestone of their own as the tour marked 20 years of their album, Let It Enfold You, and its iconic hits, Buried a Lie, Bite to Break Skin, and Rum Is for Drinking, Not for Burning. 

Story of the Year helped shape the landscape of post-hardcore across the world, blending their loud guitars with sing-a-long choruses and infiltrating positivity into their enduring creations. Their set opened with a lightshow and Good Vibrations blasting out of the speakers as they made their way onto the stage one by one. Celebrating 20 years since Page Avenue’s release, the American rockers played all the songs off the album, including the standout singles Anthem of Our Dying Day and Sidewalks.

During Sidewalks, the lights went out, and the band asked the audience to take out their mobiles, turn the light on, and face them toward the stage, turning the venue into a spectacular light show. Vocalist Dan Marsala and bassist Adam Russell provided plenty of banter with each other and the audience between songs. Before starting to play the song War, Dan was cracking jokes with the audience and attempting to set up the guitar tech with somewhere to live.

Prior to playing Swallow the Knife, a song that has never been played in Perth, Adam spoke about how Perth is the furthest location the band has played from their home town in St. Louis, Missouri. He also expressed how humbled he was to hear fans singing along to their songs.

In the lead-up to the end of the show, Dan asked the audience if they remembered how to do a circle pit. In doing so, a small circle pit was created by the crowd, smack bang in the middle of the mosh.

Leaving the most well-known song to last, Story of the Year ended their set with Until the Day I Die, which saw the whole crowd singing loudly and moshing. It capped off an epic night in which Story of the Year showed off their layered instrumentals, candid lyricism, and infectious hooks and melodies.

ALEIGHSHA GLEW

Photos by Stu McKay