Feb 17

Feb 17 Photos, Show Review: D.R.U.G.S. Bring New Hits and Nostalgic Favorites to Roseville

D.R.U.G.S.
w/ Varials, The Callous Daoboys, 156/Silence
Goldfield Roseville
Roseville, CA
February 11th, 2023

Photos by Jared Stossel
Review by Jared Stossel

It can often feel jarring when a band changes its lineup. Even though I’ve seen the current D.R.U.G.S. lineup (an acronym for Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows) in recent years, I’ll always remember them as the supergroup formed between members of Chiodos, Story of the Year, From First To Last, Underminded, and Matchbook Romance. In fact, I was quite surprised when Craig Owens, one of the most impressive vocalists in this scene, decided to move forward with a new D.R.U.G.S. lineup and release new music. Still, the results from the project’s 2022 sophomore follow-up Destroy Rebuild, proved to be strong, and the perfect reason to bring Owen’s emphatic brand of showmanship and vocal stylings to packed houses across the country. Returning to Roseville’s Goldfield last Saturday night, Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows brought forth a powerful headlining set to a delighted crowd, albeit one that I felt should have been a bit longer.

The show was opened with a powerfully heavy performance from 156/Silence, a newcomer to Sharptone Records - who I must say have been on a roll lately with their roster. Their thirty-minute performances commanded the room, unapologetically angry and unfaltering in their conviction to bring this kind of music to the masses. Their set was followed by my favorite act of the evening, The Callous Daoboys. It is hard to upstage a vocalist like Owens, and in my opinion, Daoboys owned the stage that evening and usurped the limelight. “If you have trouble pronouncing our name, just think of the shitty Texas football team. Go Birds,” the band’s vocalist, Carson Pace”, stated to a room filled with rowdy fans on Super Bowl Eve (The Birds would not go on to win.) Six members pack the stage, making the once-seemingly spacious platform at Goldfield look like that of a cramped dive bar. Fluctuating between musical references that range from mathcore, heavy metal, and an amalgamation of various other sounds, The Callous Daoboys are reminiscent of the bands that made this scene fun in the early aughts – six or seven people crowded together on a stage, playing unabashedly heavy music while still maintaining a sense of fun. This is a band for those that graduated from Rise Records' era of “scene music” and want something a bit more eccentric. They are a band that must be seen in a live setting, and I recommend you see them as soon as you possibly can.

Metalcore act Varials took the stage for an impenetrably heavy set, pushing the energy to another level as vocalist Mitchell Rogers screamed his way through the band’s main support slot. Varials is a band that has been going for nearly ten years, and they’ve really hit their stride with the material that makes up their most recent effort, Scars For You To Remember. I found them to be an excellent main support choice, bringing the energy in the room to its highest point before D.R.U.G.S. took the stage a little while later.

The last time I saw this iteration of D.R.U.G.S., they had opened for Crown The Empire in Berkeley, with a live lineup comprised of musicians from bands like All That Remains, I Killed The Prom Queen, and Rings of Saturn. To my surprise, none of these musicians were present this time around, with the members of Varials returning to the stage to help round out the live sound. The second that Craig Owens becomes visible, the crowd goes ballistic. This is a testament to how prolific of a figure Owens is in this scene, with being able to elicit a response like that from a crowd all these years later. The drumsticks battering against the rim of a tom-tom drum echo throughout the venue, and the full-blown attack of “If You Think This Song Is About You, It Probably Is” begins. The crowd erupts.

Songs from the self-titled debut like the anthemic “The Only Thing You Talk About”, the theatrical “Mr. Owl Ate My Metal Worm” and “Graveyard Dancing” prove to be the most significant moments of the night, with material from the sophomore Destroy Rebuild album eliciting enthusiastic responses as well. Personally, I’m not as familiar with this new iteration as I was with the original, but the material works. The most significant moment of the night, easily, came in the form of a Chiodos cover of “The Words ‘Best Friend’ Become Redefined”. The opening riff still has the ability to move mountains, and the audience begins to move as if it's 2007. My heart aches for a Chiodos reunion that will probably never happen (one of the few bands from this scene that I’ve never photographed) but this suffices for now. A cover of “Baby, You Wouldn’t Last A Minute On The Creek” appears towards the end of the show, but it doesn’t hit the same. The cover is stripped down to just vocals and clean guitar; while Owens’ voice is immaculate, it just makes me wish I was watching those six guys from Michigan together again on stage, losing their collective shit.

The show finishes with “Sex Life”, the explosive track which acted as a critique of the pre-social media era Internet and the habits of the people who populate it. It featured one of the most clever marketing campaigns for a song I’ve ever seen, and it’s still as vibrant and powerful as it was years ago. Despite the fact that I do miss that original lineup of D.R.U.G.S., Owens is doing well with keeping the music alive. My only big critique was that the show came in just short of an hour. With a headlining act, I want to hear more! Why not cover some other Chiodos songs or pull from the Cinematic Sunrise catalog? Isles and Glaciers? Owens has an extensive discography, and if D.R.U.G.S. is going to be his performance vehicle moving forward, I would love to see him embracing all the intricacies of his songbook. But if the biggest complaint I have from this show is that I left wanting more, maybe that means Owens is onto something. After all, this is show business: leave them wanting more.

D.R.U.G.S. Set List
If You Think This Song Is About You, It Probably Is
Graveyard Dancing
Mr. Owl Ate My Metal Worm
Destiny
The Only Thing You Talk About
The Words “Best Friend” Becomes Redefined (Chiodos cover)
The Longest Road
Gold
Untitled New Song
Laminated E.T. Animal
Baby, You Wouldn’t Last A Minute On The Creek (Chiodos cover)
Sex Life