I’m very picky when it comes to seeing concerts. It usually takes more than two bands I want to see for me to crawl out of my house, but I’m glad I made an exception. I hadn’t seen The Ghost Inside or Every Time I Die before their show at Soma on Nov. 13. Now, I can die happier knowing I’ve finally crossed them off my list.

I missed half of Backtrack‘s setlist from what can only be described as spontaneous traffic in the San Diego area, but from what I heard, they did solid job at opening. The New York hardcore band brought their A game, with all the high pitched screams and breakdowns you associate with the genre. Although, they may have been too trusting with the crowd taking the mic every other minute.

  Hundredth went up next. They sounded like a more composed version of Backtrack, in a good way. Slowing down and changing pace makes the heavy parts seem that much heavier. They had clean vocals, but those were drowned out by the rest of the band. However, Hundredth had a very short setlist because of their lead vocalist’s migraine.

Architects brought the life out of Soma once they took the stage. If bass is your thing, then Architects would’ve made you happy. Bass and drums were the dominant instruments. You could still hear the vocals, but the guitars were barely audible. It was a little disappointing because there were some interesting guitar riffs. Other than that, they played a pretty good show with amazing breakdowns and vocals.

Every Time I Die drum sound check
Apologies for the bad quality. You’d think since we can put a man on the moon, we’d be able to make a camera that takes good pictures indoors.

As you can probably guess, Every Time I Die came up next and stole the show. Listening to them live is like riding on a train without brakes being conducted by a clown. From start to finish, they had a sense of humor and never slowed down (until the encore). I absolutely lost my mind when they played The New Black, We’rewolf and Underwater Bimbos From Outer Space. Having so many good songs released made for a setlist that wasn’t boring in the slightest. Everything sounded tight and no instrument was quiet. All-in-all It was chaotic and a blast.

Finally, The Ghost Inside took the stage and also did a great job. The started off with Avalanche which sounds infinitely better live than recorded. Instruments and screams were heavy and made for some brutal breakdowns. However, the singing was a little off pitch and quiet. It didn’t make too much of a difference considering how the entire crowd was singing along. Most of their setlist came from Get What You Give with a few from their now released Dear Youth and older work. It was a great balance considering so many songs, such as Engine 45, Dark Horse and White Light, are on one album.

The headliners are what made this concert. Their two performances back-to-back made for an concert that still has my body aching and ears ringing in the best way possible.