On November 29th, 2025, in Garden City, Idaho, just on the edge of Boise, Idaho, three insanely talented bands took the stage to put on a performance to remember. Heriot, Jinjer, and Trivium almost sold out the venue and played their hearts out to a crowd who was fully engaged and invested the entire night. As the venue became more and more full, the energy began to rise before the first band took the stage. It was palpable and exciting to be a tiny blip in the sea of it all.
Heriot began the night. This thrashy, metalcore band out of England took control of the crowd and not only warmed them up, but also left a big impression. Members Debbie Gough (vocals, guitar), Jake Packer (vocals, bass), Erhan Alman (guitar), and Julian Gage (drums), showed they were there to bring it, and did they ever. I was immediately captivated by Gough’s vocal range. Between her harsh vocals and incredibly beautiful cleans, mixing with Packer’s harsh vocals was a dynamic that worked perfectly. The entire set brought so much intensity, I simply couldn’t look away. This was their first trip to the States, and I certainly hope it was not their last. Highly recommend seeing Heriot!
Jinjer took the stage second, and I will be completely transparent, they have been a gigantic bucketlister for me. So this one I was buzzing over bigtime. Sometimes, when you have high expectations of a band, they can disappoint you because of your own ideas of what it should be. This was not the case with their set. Tatiana Shmayluk (vocals), Roman Ibramkhalilov (guitar), Eugene Abdukhanov (bass), and Vladislav Ulasevich (drums) were so brilliant, I wanted to weep the entire show. With their heavy progressive style, Shmayluk’s insane vocal range, and their lyrical importance, it was definitely a show that will stick with me forever. They have an ambience about them that is difficult to match. They played many songs from the latest album Duel, as well as “Teacher, Teacher” and, of course, ending their set with the massive song, “Pisces”.
Trivium ended and headlined the evening with a stellar set, as always. The crowd was already ignited with the first two bands, but they definitely turned it up even more when Trivium took the stage. Band members: Matt Heafy (vocals, guitar), Paolo Gregoletto (bass, clean backing vocals), Corey Beaulieu (guitar, harsh backing vocals), and Alex Rudinger (drums), put on a hell of a performance starting with a crowd favourite, “In Waves”. They presented with a high magnitude, and people quickly began banging their heads and throwing their bodies around in the pit. The flawless showmanship and tightness of their music show that they are not only pros, but also put a ton of work into what they do both on and off stage. They also dove into new songs from the recent EP Struck Dead, with songs “Bury Me With My Screams” and “Struck Dead”.
Here are some pics by the incredibly talented photographer, Katarzyna Cepek!
