Silent Theory
the Foundry Concert Club
Lakewood, Ohio
Oct. 17, 2024
by Andrew Latshaw
Thursday night, I made the drive from Canton to Cleveland for a show at the Foundry Concert Club in Lakewood, Ohio! Before I get too far with this, if you have not been to the Foundry, you need to hit his venue at least once! Their burgers are amazing! It is a fun and very intimate venue with some seriously kick ass food!
When I got there, the bands were wrapping up sound check, and setting up their merch tables. As I was walking around and saying hello to everyone, I saw the vocalist of Discrepancies first, and he was quick to give me a “bro-hug” and we exchanged hellos and formalities! That guy has a genuine smile that makes you want to buy this man a beer! He is such a down to earth person, and that is a very welcome attitude that is much needed in the world today!
Shortly after that, I bumped into Mitch Swanger the drummer first, I think? He verified that I was there to cover the show, and he went to get Dakota Jerns, the lead vocalist who I was set to interview prior to the show starting. Dakota came up to me, and offered the friendliest of hellos and a very stern handshake! We agreed to head to the tour bus where we could sit and proceed with the interview.
As time passed on, I was permitted to sit and hang with the guys on the bus, and then I realized that it was 5min passed the time for doors, and being that the Foundry is a smaller club, it does not have a photo pit, and so I thanked the guys in Silent Theory for the gracious hospitality and excused myself so that I could go grab my standing spot for the evening that was to come! It was show time! The first band to kick off the festivities was a local band by the name of Ground State from Bay Village area. These guys were not bad at all! They struck me as being relatively new, they sounded like they have an idea where they are going with their sound, but I felt that they have some room to grow! I tried to find them on social media and found nothing. I was hoping to tag them and share their pages to get them some traffic, sadly I found nothing
Next up was Dizasterpiece from New Jersey, and the bio on their page fits them to a T!
“Covered in tattoos, and usually sporting a band shirt from the early 2000’s hardcore scene, DIZASTERPIECE is a passionate, creative, realism-driven lyricist and Hip-Hop Emcee from New Jersey, with strong roots in the punk and hardcore community.”
Watching this group was a challenge! They were such high energy and just all over the stage! It was a challenge to catch any of them standing still long enough to get a good pic! The irony of that is, this is the kind of band you want to see! You want that high energy, you want that entertainment value! This was a problem that I was happy to deal with!
I highly recommend Dizasterpiece! These guys, honestly took me back to the 90’s and 2K’s with their sound, and a couple of their tunes took me back even further! The sound that resonated with me the most, it was like they took the collaborations of Aerosmith and Run DMC, with the Beastie Boyz mixed in! Not kidding, that felt nostalgic and energizing!
The third band of the evening was Discrepancies from St. Louis, MO. I have missed these guys the last two or three times that they played Cleveland, and we were both happy to see each other in person finally!
Antonio Metcalf, the vocalist before the show saw me standing at the stage and he reached out with another “bro-hug” and thanked me for making it out, and told me that he really enjoyed the work I have done. That was an amazing compliment and was absolutely appreciated! Just a quickly as that exchange happened, Antonio started their set and the people in the audience went nuts! I do not recall a mosh pit opening up prior to Discrepancies, but I remember getting slammed into the stage repeatedly during their set!
Antonio was ripping through his vocals and the rest of the band were shredding like the pro’s they are! I am still processing their sound! Their concoction of rap and rock was on point to say the least! Their sound was aggressive, but still quite uplifting! You could tell that Antonio was commanding the room at the time, but as mentioned before he would smile and light up that room once again, and I swear I could hear the hearts of the ladiws in the room melting! He would chat with the crowd and engage often, talking about how he was wearing his favorite shirt from a spaghetti place in Detroit, horrible food but he loves the shirt! Great times were had!
As the night was drawing to a close, it was time for the headliner, the reason we were all there… Silent Theory! They were on their 2nd stop of this leg of their tour to promote their newest CD: Visualizer
Sun, OCT 20 Dingbatz – Clifton, NJ
Tue, OCT 22 Lovedraft’s Brewing Co – Mechanicsburg, PA
Wed, OCT 23 The Brooklyn Monarch – Brooklyn, NY
Thu, OCT 24 Taffeta – Lowell, MA
Sat, OCT 26 Hooligans Music Hall – Jacksonville, NC
Sun, OCT 27 The Rooster – Gastonia, NC
When I was sitting on the tour bus and chatting with the guys, primarily with Dakota, but as we were joking around and such, it was great to see these guys on a more grounded and level playing field, before they took the stage and they were hoisted up onto that platform as performers.
They were very relatable, and I had to get it out of the way early on, I asked about their hometown, and the metal scene there in Moscow, Idaho. They laughed when I asked, they said that they could not name two other metal bands from Idaho, let alone their hometown. I laughed, literally laughed at that! I told them that when I think of Idaho, music in general, not even metal, just music does not even come close to what populates my mind. They all chuckled and asked me what I think about when I hear Idaho. I answered immediately: Potatoes! That is the only thing that I can think of when it comes to Idaho, that they are geographically located next to Washington and Oregon.
As I mentioned before, it was time for Silent Theory to take the stage! As it happens, with a lot of headliners, the rush of the people to the stage, and I knew it was time to feel that push and get sandwiched into my spot for the remainder of the evening!
Over the years, I have hear Silent Theory pop up in random play lists, and suggested videos on YouTube, and such… never have I been able to hear them, and remember to go back to find them till I was asked to cover this show. Let me tell you, I am eternally grateful for this, because having had time to listen to their catalog, and learn more about their background and understanding their efforts, I can sincerely appreciate the work that they have given us!
Their newest CD, it is already a smash hit in my mind! Dakota mastering the vocals, and there times in his vocals that he channels the sound of the late and great Chester Bennington in my opinion! Please know that is purely my opinion, and that is what this is, nothing more. When Dakota hits certain keys and octaves, I have had to look and make sure I am listening to Silent Theory, and not my Linkin Park playlist!
There are certainly some better known songs to their following, Fragile Minds, Shaking Cages, Made Me This Way to name a few! These are some seriously slapping tunes! If you have not heard Silent Theory yet, hit YouTube, hit your streaming services and check these guys out!
The interview will go more in depth with the guys of Silent Theory, and how they feel about life, the industry, and their climb from Idaho to the limelight of the metal scene!
I will close with this thought… while these guys are not yet a household name, if they keep writing and performing like they are, it is only a matter of time before they are! If they are playing near you, trust me when I say that you will regret not seeing them live! These guys are going places, figuratively and literally!
Silent Theory Website | Facebook | YouTube | TikTok | Twitter | Instagram |
