SiM, who we last saw live at Crunchyroll Expo in 2022, is embarking on a world tour in support of their latest album, the PLAYDEAD World Tour.  They'll be spanning the United States starting on April 19 in Seattle, WA, and ending on May 24 in Boston, MA.  

There are plenty of dates to choose from, including San Francisco's August Hall (April 22) and Los Angeles' The Belasco (April 23).  They'll be making an appearance at the Welcome to Rockville Festival in Florida in mid-May.

American band Fame on Fire and Slovenian band Within Destruction will be supporting SiM throughout the tour.

UPDATE: Japanese metalcore Crystal Lake has just signed on to take part in the PLAYDEAD tour as well!

You know what, this tour is looking pretty damn good. Let's go over each band.

Fame on Fire, founded in 2013, is an example of a band that has grown by leaps and bounds. Originally a cover band, they've gone so much farther than that. The first few years were plenty of covers, and by 2017, the band released the Transitions EP which had five original songs. This was followed by 2020's album Levels, and 2022's Welcome to the Chaos. In 2022, they toured in support of ONE OK ROCK along with You Me At Six. They've been playing more and more live shows over time, with 2023 by far outstripping the rest in number of concerts played.

They've held the original lineup for all of their eleven years with Bryan Kuznitz on vocals, Blake Saul on guitar, Paul Spirou on bass, and Alex Roman on drums.

The band still regularly releases cover songs that cross a variety of genres. I really mean crossing genres, because you're going to find things like NSYNC, Taylor Swift, and the Backstreet Boys amongst Linkin Park, Lil Nas X, and Post Malone, all with Fame on Fire's spin.

Their most recent single "Nightmare (The Devil)," was released in February of this year.

 

 

 

 

Slovenia's Within Destruction may be the heaviest band on the tour. Nominally, they're metalcore, but definitely lean harder into the growling side of things for some deathcore flair.

You might not think it but they've got a big dose of Japan, as their album Youkai might suggest. The single"NO WAY OUT" went as far as to feature Kimetsu no Yaiba in its music video, and for "B4NGB4NG" they teamed up with Kamiyada+ and Japanese rapper TYOSIN. Honestly, all of Youkai had a lot of eastern influence. "HARIKIRI" had Death Note, "NO MERCY" had Hellsing, and "Alone" had Final Fantasy VII. On their most recent album, Lotus, they even threw in some Cyberpunk Edgerunners for "Neo Yakuza."

Within Destruction currently consists of founding members Luka Vezzosi and Rok Rupnik, and Howard Fang, who joined in 2020.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the topic of heaviness, Crystal Lake will definitely give Within Destruction a run for their money. I'd say they're more of a melodic metalcore/death metal sound, and that's also more to my liking.

Formed in 2002, Crystal Lake quickly Asia by storm and performed internationally right from the get-go. They released split albums with the bands Extinguish the Fire, Risen, Unboy, and Cleave. When vocalist Ryo Kinoshita joined in 2012, Crystal Lake truly became a force unto itself. They found quite a bit of international fame and had multiple international tours.

Lead guitarist and founding member Yudai Miyamoto performs alongside bassist Mitsuru, long-time touring drummer Gaku Taura, rhythm guitarist Hisatsugu "TJ" Taji. John Robert Centorrino from The Last Ten Seconds of Life joined the band in 2023 after the departure of Ryo Kinoshita in 2022. Kinoshita revealed he was suffering from adjustment disorder and could not continue (he has since returned with a new band, Knosis).

The band's most recent studio album is 2018's Helix but they've released a few singles between now and then with "Watch Me Burn" in 2020, "Curse" in 2021, and "Denial/Rebirth" and "DYSTOPIA" in 2023.

 

 

 

 

SiM was first formed in 2004 and made their debut with Sony Music Entertainment in 2006. The band consists of vocalist MAH, guitarist SHOWHATE, bassist SIN, and drummer GODRi.  This has been the band's lineup since 2009.  Their music can be described as a mix of nu-metal, reggae, and ska, and they combine it to good effect.

SiM is probably best known for their theme songs from the final season of Attack on Titan.  "The Rumbling" was used as the opening for the second part of the final season and currently has over 61 million views just on YouTube alone. It's a song that in all honesty surpasses just being an "anime song." It both fits into Attack on Titan's world (The Rumbling being a major point of contention later in the story) and can stand on its own. SiM's success with "The Rumbling" convinced producers to bring them back for the ending theme of the Attack on Titan: The Final Chapters with the song "Under the Tree."

Most recently, the single "Red" was the opening for the second season of the fighting anime Kengan Ashura.  

Their latest album, 2023's PLAYDEAD, was released on September 23 under Pony Canyon. It includes the abovementioned "Under the Tree," "Red," and an orchestral version of "The Rumbling."  

On a side note, their 2020 album, THANK GOD, THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF WAYS TO KILL ENEMIES has one of the best album names I've seen.

 

 

 

 

 

 Tour dates as follows:

4/19/24 Seattle, WA - The Neptune
4/20/24 Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theater
4/22/24 San Francisco, CA - August Hall
4/23/24 Los Angeles, CA - The Belasco
4/25/24 San Diego, CA - House of Blues
4/26/24 Phoenix, AZ - The Nile Theater
4/28/24 Salt Lake City, UT - Soundwell
4/29/24 Denver, CO - Summit
5/1/24 Dallas, TX - Echo Music Lounge
5/3/24 Lawrence, KS - Liberty Hall
5/4/24 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line Music Cafe
5/5/24 Chicago, IL - Concord Music Hall
5/7/24 Nashville, TN - Basement East
5/8/24 Louisville, KY - Mercury Ballroom
5/10/24 Charlotte, NC - The Underground
5/11/24 Atlanta, GA - The Buckhead Theater
5/12/24 Daytona Beach, FL - Welcome to Rockville Festival
5/14/24 Philadelphia, PA - Brooklyn Bowl
5/15/24 Silver Spring, MD - The Fillmore
5/16/24 Columbus, OH - Sonic Temple Festival
5/18/24 Detroit, MI - St Andrew's Hall
5/20/24 Toronto, ON (CA) - Danforth Music Hall
5/21/24 Montreal, QC (CA) - Theater Beanfield
5/23/24 New York, NY - Irving Plaza
5/24/24 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club