Stats
Biography
Following the death of a close friend in a car accident, high-schoolers Ahren Stringer and Troy Brady formed The Amity Affliction named in tribute of their friend. The band started out by playing school concerts and lunch breaks before releasing two self-titled EPs, one in 2004, with new screaming vocalist Joel Birch, and another in 2005, the latter of which was followed by an Australian East Coast tour.
2007 brought a change of personnel with Troels Thomasson coming in on drums, who would be replaced by Ryan Burt a year later, Chris Burt on guitar and Trad Nathan playing the keyboard. Shortly after The Amity Affliction released a new five-track EP named “High Hopes”, which introduced the band to a wider audience and paved the way for their debut studio album “Severed Ties” (2008). The album reached No. 26 on the Australian Albums Chart and was followed by a tour across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
After a headline tour across Australia in 2009, Christopher Burt left the band with Clint Ellis of The Getaway Plan taking tenure. The Amity Affliction’s second album “Youngbloods” was released on June 18, 2010 through Boomtown and Shock Records. “Youngbloods” outperformed its predecessor, reaching No. 6 in the Australian Album Chart. Towards the tail-end of 2010 The Amity Affliction released a compilation album entitled “Glory Days” of b-sides and old demoes, signed the the label The Artery Foundation, and announced a UK tour with Asking Alexandria.
After another headline Australian tour with Asking Alexandria and various local bands in each city, the band signed to Roadrunner Records for the foreseeable future, and headed to Florida, U.S. to work on their third full-length album. Produced by Michael Baskette, “Chasing Ghosts” (2012) was released on August 15, 2012. The album art featured an image of a boy who has committed suicide and received much criticism from social media and fans, despite the album’s theme towards seeking help and support.
Prior to joining the Warped Tour 2013, the band announced Dan Brown had joined the band on guitar, and who played on the European Tour alongside Chelsea Grin and Stick To Your Guns. In anticipation of their fourth studio album, The Amity Affliction released a demo titled “Cave In” which proved to be a red herring and didn’t appear on the album. “Let the Ocean Take Me” was released on June 6, 2014, to positive reviews and marked the departure of lead guitarist Troy Brady, leaving Ahren Stringer the only original member of the band.
Live reviews
Post-hardcore music isn’t a genre that I am usually into, I find it a little heavy, but from the moment I heard The Amity Affliction back in 2008, I was converted into a fan of their music. Although the band haven’t been around that long, they have seen several changes of members over the years, seeing guitarists, vocalists, and percussionists come and go. This, however, has not weakened their sound, but every new member who comes along brings a fresh and exciting twist to their music.
“We are young, we are young, we are young” rang out through the auditorium acapella before the guys began smashing it on their instruments. They played through a variety of their older hits from the back catalogue of albums, and then played their new single, which everyone went crazy for. It was awesome when everyone was singing along, and they were encouraging us all to jump around and really get into it.
Their dedication to the music and their performance is incredible, and their enthusiasm for every track radiates around the room. It was a pretty long show, and they didn’t stop dancing around once, and their vocals didn’t waver at all. 10 out of 10, for every single song.
My experience, I was waiting for them the whole night. It was great, they are great performers and it’s amazing how they grasp the crowd, I just hated the crowd surfing all of those sweaty immature guys who couldn't stay still. Like I get it you’re angry, can’t someone just enjoy the damn music, sing along and harmonize ourselves. I love rock bands, I want to go to as many shows as possible, but the crowd isn't the kind I enjoy dealing with, other than these amazing people, there were a few concerning beings which made this experience phenomenal. But Joel and Ahren are so (bleeping) amazing, sad that the guitar player dipped 3 that left me shocked. The sound quality is great, I just wished that people would have stopped crowd surfing, I was pushed so far back, I was in the front, none the less, I enjoyed singing along and watching them perform. Those guys are all about the fans and that’s beautiful.
There was definitely a sense of exhaustion coming from the Amity guys at their Brisbane show, I think a lot of it had to do with being the last show on their tour after touring for seven days straight. The first few songs were definitely lacking a lot of energy, however a few songs in (probably up to the awesome I Hate Hartley/Youngbloods mix) it definitely got up and running again.
In terms of the entire show, I think having Beartooth followed by Pvris and finishing with Amity was a huge mistake. The crowd was pumped for Beartooth, and Pvris's slightly more chilled relaxed tones definitely created a bit of a lull. Having Beartooth lead into Amity would have improved the show tenfold.
We were blessed to attend the Heaven and Hell festival with Amity headlining. The whole event was so well done. The bands playing in the lead up to Amity were all spot on musically and made for the best atmosphere for when Amity walked out and preformed one of the best concerts yet. They were so humble, thanking their old and new fans alike. They interacted with the crowd and threw some gear out to the fans. The lighting and sound were great not over done and we could see the band clearly. What a great concert, one to remember.
What can I say??? These guy's NEVER disappoint. From when the came onto the stage to their final song, they have an aura, and a presence that I dont seem to get with many other bands.
They mixed some new songs with some of their older stuff, Open Letter always getting the crowd going.
Just a pity they were supporting Beartooth and not the headline, as this means only 40 mins of this fabulous foursome... Thsnk you again, for a memory I will never forget..
it was a really good show! most of the pits were filled with big men, they had a wall of death, but it was really cool, the fans are super nice and people watch out for each other and pick each other right up when they fall in the pit! i saw someone’s phone fall out of their pocket and gave it back to them when i saw them come out of the pit and they were super grateful!!!!!
Absolutely amazing performance by TAA. Hellions and Ocean Grove pulled a huge response from the crowd and definitely had some die-hard fans in the pit! Highlights from the gig: getting to hear the awesome performance of Thresher by Hellions, and hearing TAA boys dominate with Open Letter/All Fucked Up/Bring the Weather with Me - the entire room was jumping in unison.
Amity Affliction was great! They played quite a few songs from Misery and also a few from some of there older albums. Overall their performance was great, there were lots of mosh pits and a couple wall of deaths aswell. The crowd was very energetic when they came on. I'll definitely be going to another concert of theirs.
Sound was perfect energy was amazing! This is a band, i would continue to see live. Vocals were so crisp, it is evident this band is grateful for their supporters.
Thank you for being real!
Only downfall which isn’t the bad, was the crowd. “Youngsters” that didn’t know how to work the floor.
I had high hopes for this concert, and these hopes were certainly finished with aplomb. All four bands that played were amazing live. So great empathy and commitment to the music that these bands had, made this a fantastic night. The audience was all-in from start to finish and had so much fun!