Through Fire and Like A Storm brought their 'Firestorm Tour' to Count's Vamp'd with

On a scorching Saturday night in August co-headliners Through Fire and Like A Storm brought their Firestorm Tour to Count's Vamp'd, and despite the heat they packed the house. Rounding out the lineup were Detroit rockers Wilson, and the LA based Stitched Up Heart.

Getting the ball rolling, Stitched Up Heart took the stage to the theme song from the Netflix hit Stranger Things, and rolled into "This Skin". Stitched Up Heart was founded in 2010 by vocalist Alecia 'Mixi' Demner, and has released three EPs and one full-length studio album, with their second due out early 2020. This night was all about showcasing their new music, with five of the songs performed coming from the forthcoming album, Darkness, and two from their debut, Never Alone (2016). For the final song of their set vocalist Mixi invited Through Fire front man, Grant Kendrick to sing the duet, Lost. On the album version of the song, Godsmack vocalist Sully Erna performed alongside Mixi, but Kendrick handled the spot well and it made for a very memorable moment in the Vegas show.

Up next was Wilson, a band that I was first introduced to on Shiprocked 2014. In fact, the first time I saw the guys they weren't even performing, they were running down a beach in the Bahamas wearing bikinis! That sort of made an impression on me and my wife so we made it a point to see them when they performed on the ship later that night, and yes, they were still wearing the bikinis, although the tops soon came off and were thrown out into the audience. Wilson is a party band, and they live up to the name with their fun-loving demeanor both on and off the stage. Their music is hard-hitting, edgy, and fun. It's heavy rock with a bit of hip-hop thrown into the mix. For this Vamp'd show they played mostly newer music from their third LP, Tasty Nasty (2018), with seven of the nine songs coming from that album, leaving much of their harder music behind. They finished off their set strong however with one of the harder jams from their latest album, "House Of Fuckery". If you like hard rockin' fun music I highly recommend this band. Their music stands on its own, but their live performance is a must see.

Originally from New Zealand, brothers Chris and Matt Brooks from Like a Storm now consider Las Vegas their hometown. They have released two EPs and three LPs, the latest being Catacombs (2018), and have shared the stage and toured with some of the biggest names in modern rock including Godsmack, Shinedown, Korn, Three Days Grace, and Sevendust. One of the unusual features of their music is that they incorporate a didgeridoo into many of their songs, an unusual instrument for a metal band and sets them apart. Their hits like "Love The Way You Hate Me", "Become The Enemy", "Break Free", and "The Devil Inside" get regular airplay on music stations throughout the US, and they also do a cover of Coolio's "Gangster Paradise", and on this occasion they invited Grant Kendrick from Through Fire to join them for it. I've seen them several times and they are always great, putting it all out there every time. Not to mention that all four members are nice guys and very approachable. Check them out on Spotify HERE .

Closing out the night was Through Fire, a hard rock band out of Omaha, Nebraska. Their hit songs "Breathe" and "Stronger" rocketed to the top of the mainstream charts and have been played on rock music stations worldwide. Those two songs alone have almost ten million plays on Spotify! They were scheduled to play here a few months back but had to cancel at the last minute, so when I saw them on this billing, I was ecstatic. I had the pleasure of seeing them live about a year and a half ago, in this same venue, and they blew me away. This performance was no different. Grant Kendrick is a great front man and really commands the crowd. Grant Brooks is one of the more entertaining drummers to see, all arms, elbows and flying sticks, he's hard not to watch. The band performed a solid 40-minute performance that left me wanting more, but thoroughly pleased by what they did. They are a fantastic rock band and judging by the release of their new 2019 sophomore LP, All Animal , they will be around for a while and are only getting better.