Heaven Let Kansas Die: Counterparts Brings Their Headlining Tour to Lawrence
March 17th, 2025 - Lawrence, KS
On November 7th, 2024 Ontario based melodic hardcore band Counterparts released their newest EP, Heaven Let Them Die, then five days later dropped the announcement for their first headlining tour since 2023. The doors of The Granada opened at 6:00 p.m. and the line to get in was almost all the way down the block.
The first thing I noticed when we got into the building were the stage decorations. Pulling heavily from the EP and Tour name, there were huge stained glass windows, candles, and even wooden pews on stage for all four bands, really making the connection to the religious undertones in this EP specifically, and Counterparts music as a whole. The stage production and lighting was one of my personal highlights of the evening, I truly believe having a visually interesting set to perform on elevates a show from good to great. The moment I saw photos being posted from prior shows I was even more excited to not only attend with my friends, but also photograph the lineup.
Foreign Hands was a perfect addition for this tour, as them and Counterparts are two sides of the same musical coin. Effortlessly switching between singing and harsher screaming vocals makes Foreign Hands played a set that was easily enjoyable regardless of if you were throwing spin kicks in the pit or listening from the upper level. All three times I’ve seen them, the five piece has put on an incredible performance, and this show was no exception. They are a band that sounded just as huge in the 800 cap Granada as they did in the 200 cap venue I saw them in prior. The setlist for this tour contained mostly tracks from the band’s first full length album, What’s Left Unsaid, that came out in June of 2024, and other popular singles like “Separation Souvenir,” & “Tearing Down Your Reality”.
This was the first time I’ve gotten to see Malevolence live and they didn’t disappoint in the slightest. Hailing from Sheffield, this metalcore band brought a heavy dose of chunky guitar riffs and powerful vocals that helped round out the sound of this tour package in my opinion. The band as a unit had a very commanding stage presence that the audience responded to exceptionally.I was familiar with a couple of their songs from my partner being a huge fan, but my favorite song of their set was “Keep Your Distance.” If you like bands like Bleed From Within and Guilt Trip I highly recommend checking them out ahead of their new album, Where Only The Truth Is Spoken, coming out on June 20th of this year.
Pain of Truth was easily the most Hardcore leaning band on this bill and the audience reacted as such. Including a whole fight breaking out, and someone getting tossed outside. If you like that type of music and don’t listen to them you definitely should. I know one song by this band and it’s “Actin’ Up” and it got the whole audience off their feet as well. Both times I’ve seen this group they have had such fun, high energy, stage presence and that’s one of my favorite things about them
I don’t talk about Counterparts as much as I do my other favorite bands, but they’ve been one of my top five most streamed artists for the last couple years for a reason. I’ve seen them live four times and each time I see them they’re consistently fantastic. One of the things that Counterparts does extremely well that sets them above other bands for me is the deeply heartfelt and emotional lyrics that pair with musical parts that make the audience want to mosh, stage dive, and crowdsurf. A Eulogy For Those Still Here is one of the best albums of its respective genre and a big part of that are its lyrics. I will cry every single time I hear “Whispers of Your Death” live. I think the newest EP builds on the band’s strength in that regard.
Each member of the band is fun to watch perform, each one being locked in to the show, but my favorite part of seeing Counterparts is front man Brendan Murphy’s stage banter. Especially this time when he shouted out my favorite place to eat in Lawrence, Burger Stand, and their marshmallow sauce for the sweet potato fries.
This show had my favorite Counterparts set that I’ve seen to date. It had a mix of fan favorites like “Monument”, “Bound To The Burn”, and “Love Me” and slightly deeper cuts like “Choke” and “Cherished” along with most of the tracks on the newest EP. Some of my favorites, “Unwavering Vow,” and “Your Own Knife” were also included in the setlist. Just to touch on it again, this tour has the most beautiful set design that I’ve probably ever seen for a band this size. Thinking about getting able to photograph this show had me absolutely ecstatic every day prior to my date because all of the media coming out of the tour was gorgeous. I left The Granada monday night smiling so hard my face hurt because there’s truly nothing better than seeing one of your favorite bands play a fantastic show.
