Bring Me The Horizon @ The Kool Haus - Photo by Jon Teigesser

The AP Tour came through town in full force Sunday night, filling Toronto’s Kool Haus to capacity with the most diverse all-ages crowd the venue has probably ever seen. The annual tour, known for combining bands with elements of hardcore, metal, pop and punk, featured a collaboration of five fairly well-known groups. Co-headlining the tour was metalcore heavyweights August Burns Red and Bring Me the Horizon which made for a rowdy mass of perspiring and bloody show-goers.

This is Hell, a hardcore-punk band from Long Island, NY, started off with a mediocre set yet still managed to get people into it. Constant microphone wind mills and the vocalist’s lack of stage presence unfortunately took away from their overall performance.

The energetic Polar Bear Club took the stage next, executing a post-hardcore sound that was both catchy and entertaining. Vocalist Jimmy Stadt was engaging and his voice was very consistent live. The rhythm section sounded tight, however a lack of instrumental solos or extended sections denied opportunities for other band members to showcase their talents.

Third to the stage was the warmly welcomed Emarosa. This band provided a distinct sound dissimilar to the rest of the tour’s line up that mainly stemmed from the vocals. Jonny Craig’s melodic, poppy voice and large range maintained the undivided attention of fans as they loudly sang along with the front man.

The repetitive chanting of “A-B-R” finally came to an end when August Burns Red entered to the dance-techno song “Everybody Scream.” Without waiting for the music to cut they exploded into a song off their second album, “Composure.” The band’s undeniable appeal immediately took effect as the entire building began wreaking havoc on the floor of the Kool Haus. Expectedly, ABR was breakdown and riff-heavy while vocalist Jake Luhrs growled and screamed sternly at the crowd. The performance included a good variety of songs off of various albums including two songs not normally played on tour, “Escape Artist” and “Back Burner.” Wrapping up with an insane two-minute drum solo and a one-song encore, August Burns Red left no face unmelted.

With hearts still raced from ABR’s performance, Bring Me the Horizon took the reigns to demand the last bit of energy the crowd had left. Starting off with “It Never Ends,” off their most recent album There Is A Hell, Believe Me I’ve Seen It. There Is A Heaven, Let’s Keep It A Secret, Oliver Sykes tore across the stage causing a reaction that could only be described as an orderly-chaos. Amid the heavy bass drops and perfectly orchestrated drum performance, Sykes managed to captivate fans both through his vicious vocals and seemingly tortured stage movements. After playing an array of songs off their two previous albums, BMTH was joined by Toronto’s own Lights to perform “Don’t Go” which is also featured on their newest album. The contrast between Sykes’ overbearing screams and Lights’ delicate vocals further evoked the emotion you can sense in their lyrics. Finishing off with “Chelsea Smile,” the crowd surfed, sang and released the last of their aggression before Sykes threw himself into the pit.

Overall the AP tour was a cohesive mixture of high-energy genres and performances that blended well together. However, there is no doubt that August Burns Red and Bring Me the Horizon outshone their touring counterparts. When a co-headlining tour features two of the largest metalcore bands with the understandably largest current fan base, this does not come as a shock.

To see photos of Bring Me The Horizon click HERE
To see photos of August Burns Red click HERE
To see photos of Emarosa click HERE
To see photos of Polar Bear Club click HERE