On Wednesday night, Atlanta’s heavy music scene packed into Purgatory at The Masquerade for a sold out stop of The Hounds of the Underground Tour featuring Colorblind, If Not For Me, and Windwaker. Instead of leaning on nostalgia or longtime legacy status, the tour showcased three newer bands all bringing completely different sounds to the stage. From start to finish, the energy in the room never really dropped, turning the Atlanta date into one of those rare weekday shows where the crowd stayed fully locked in between every set.
Up first was Windwaker, whose mix of metalcore, hyperpop, and electronic elements immediately brought a chaotic energy to the room, but in the best way possible. Opening with “SIRENS,” the Australian band wasted no time throwing the crowd into their genre-bending world. Songs like “Reject” and “Fractured State of Mind” hit with massive heaviness, while tracks like “Click” and “Dopamine Freestyle” leaned into the glitchy electronic side of the band that makes them stand out from a lot of other acts in the scene right now. Their set constantly shifted between crushing breakdowns, huge choruses, and electronic passages without warning, keeping both longtime fans and first-timers completely engaged. Live, Windwaker’s sound somehow feels even more aggressive and unpredictable than it does on record.
Next, Colorblind proved exactly why the band has been gaining so much attention over the past year. Opening with “Way Out,” the band quickly pulled the crowd into their emotionally driven mix of alternative rock and post-hardcore while also highlighting the vocal range of frontman Travis Moseley. Tracks like “Car Crash” and “Letdown” led to some of the biggest singalongs of the night, while heavier songs like “Needle Eye” and “Pressure” brought an intensity that kept the momentum going throughout the set. Even in the band’s heavier moments, there was still an emotional weight behind everything they played that made the performance feel personal rather than just heavy for the sake of it. By the time they closed with “God Complex,” nearly the entire room was screaming lyrics back at the stage.
Closing out the night, If Not For Me opened with “Retrograde” before immediately diving into the crushing energy of “Broken Throne.” Blending polished melodies with explosive breakdowns, the band showcased exactly why they’ve become one of the fastest-rising names in modern metalcore. Songs like “Alone,” “No Thanks to You,” and “Tragedy” gave the crowd massive choruses to scream back while still keeping the heaviness front and center. The balance between emotional vulnerability and nonstop aggression gave the set an intensity that never let up. Closing with “Blameless” and “Feel Me Now,” If Not For Me ended the night at its loudest, sending the Atlanta crowd out on a high note.
What made the Atlanta stop work so well was how balanced the lineup felt. No set blended into the next, and each band brought something completely different to the night: Windwaker’s experimental chaos, Colorblind’s emotional atmosphere, and If Not For Me’s polished heaviness. Despite those differences, the flow of the show never lost momentum, which ended up being one of the tour’s biggest strengths.
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