October 9th, 2025

Venue: The WC Social Club - West Chicago, IL

#metal #concertreview #silenttheory #ovtlier #majormoment #wcsocialclub #chicago

The WC Social Club is always a cool venue to visit. I’ve been lucky to see many great bands there over the last few years. 

This particular day, I got to the venue early so that I could interview ‘Silent Theory’, we had a great conversation and an overall good time in the short time I had with Dakota (vocals) and Bob (guitar). More on all of that in an upcoming interview that will be released in the near future (as of this writing). 

When we got to showtime, first up was ‘Embers Rise’. I hadn’t seen ‘Embers Rise’ prior to seeing them on this show, being around Rockford though I have seen the name. I have also seen the bass player in a couple of other local (Rockford, IL) bands. He’s absolutely phenomenal and great to watch on stage. 

When it comes to their tunes, they’re pretty solid when it comes to their composition and overall quality. Do they sound like other hard rock bands these days? Sure, lots of bands do. I don’t think it’s a hindrance for them though. You can feel the passion in their music emanating from the stage. They had the opening slot, so they didn’t have a long set like usual for openers though. 

They sounded great though, and with the quality of their music and stage presence, I think we will all be seeing them around the Chicagoland area much more often.

After a short 15 minute changeover, which by the way, the WC seems to run a tight ship when it comes to change overs between bands. It would be great if more of the smaller venues would operate the same way to keep the show moving and people engaged in what’s coming up. I’ve been to plenty of smaller venues where the bands and crew just mosey and dawdle, and changeovers taking 30 plus minutes in some cases. Which I feel is a disrespectful gesture to the bands and show attendees. Enough of that though, that rant is for another time. 

BACK TO THE SHOW!

‘Blanks Peak’ caught the 2nd opener slot on the bill (I write these in the order the lineup appeared on stage if that isn’t obvious by now). I didn’t know anything about this Chicago area band prior to this show. Which is generally how I prefer it, that way I can make a fair and un-biased observation. I thought these guys were great. They are definitely taking lots of influence from some of the older emo bands, reminds me alot of when those bands were just coming to prominence. Bands like Senses Fail, Taking Back Sunday, Underoath, etc. 

The influences are pretty obvious when you combine to vocals, and the music that it is paired with. These kids have definitely spent some time working to get that influence in their songwriting, while also keeping it original and fresh. Looking forward to seeing them are more shows in the future!

Next up is a ‘Major Moment’....well, the band ‘Major Moment’.

This Boston band is out on their first proper tour. They’ve done runs up and down the east coast, but this was their first, of hopefully many times, in Chicago! I’m really glad that they were chosen to be part of this tour package. I loved their tunes and their overall presence. It was a highly energetic show for their Chicago debut, and they no doubt made more fans before they left for the next tour stop. 

They call themselves ‘pop-metal’. I would say that’s accurate, but it’s not pop like you would normally think. There are some pop sensibilities in the vocals, but the marriage with the heavy music and the pop-style lyrics and other electronic elements really mesh well. When I heard them I actually thought a lot about the Australian band ‘Redhook’, who has a somewhat similar style of music. 

I chatted with their singer Sasha after the show, and they’ve been having a great time out with ‘Silent Theory’, and she also said there have been fans at each show singing the lyrics to one of their brand new songs that hasn't been released publicly yet. Some fans know the lyrics because they have only released the new song to their Patreon subscribers. Which really goes to show the work that they have put in. They also released many music videos and have been very active on social media. Now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure I remember seeing a sponsored ad for them pop up in my personal social media pages.

They’ve really worked hard for the following that they are amassing all over the country, and their efforts have been paying off. They’re on there way up, so make sure to catch them in these smaller venues, before they upgrade to the next level. You won’t be disappointed. 

‘Ovtlier’ was direct support for ‘Silent Theory’. I’ve seen ‘Ovtlier’ previously, it’s been a few years though. In that time they have gained a lot more success and visibility. Their music has begun entering rotation on ‘Sirius XM Octane’, and their music still hits hard. Jesse is an entertaining and engaging front man, keeping close to the gates for most of the set to engage with the audience on a closer level. 

‘Ovtlier’ is a pretty solid band when it comes to live performance. They also bring with a pretty cool light show that actually helps the music with how it moves and operates. It really adds to the experience, some bands don’t put a lot of thought or care into their stage lights. ‘Ovtlier’ has, choosing lighting and colors that really show the identity of the band. A pretty sleek and slick light show really added to their performance. 

Most of the crowd was pretty familiar with the band, and their music. There was lots of lyrics being sung back to the stage, including some of their newest tunes that just entered the Octane rotation full time. Which, if I remember correctly, is their new track ‘Creature of the Night’. They’ve also collaborated with Chris Motionless from ‘Motionless in White’ on their track ‘Warriors’ from 2024.

‘Ovtlier’ pretty much continues to kick-ass musically, and also in the live performance space. 

Now we move onto the headliner, the reason for this tour, and really for this write up. ‘Silent Theory’.

I’ve been listening to ‘Silent Theory’ for a while after ‘Sticks and Stones’ randomly popped up in a recommendation while streaming other music. I thought the song was great from the get-go, and from there became a fan. 

If you haven’t heard the band, they blend various elements of rap, and metal into a cool package that is unique and stands out amongst all the noise of the bands out there trying to break through. The singer Dakota’s rap skills are pretty great too, he has actually been quoted as saying he “can rap pretty fast”. If you go and see them live, you’ll find out that isn’t a lie.

When they perform songs like ‘Before the Storm’ and ‘Made Me This Way’ Dakota’s delivery is quick and super crisp. No studio magic on those vocals, he’s the real deal and his vocal delivery and timbre are a perfect fit for the sound they have curated for themselves. 

The band also projects some pretty cool visuals across 4 LED panels that are the size of your standard 4x12 guitar cab. The visuals help lend to the topics being discussed in the music and lyrics. 

Earlier in the evening I had the chance to chat with Dakota and Bob from the band. It was a fun interview, we covered lots of topics from the origin of the band name, how many bands use words like “silent” or “theory” in their names these days, how they stay mentally healthy out on the road, the lentil festival back home in Moscow, Idaho, and many other topics. Keep an eye out for that interview to drop in the near future (from the date of this writing). 

It was a great night overall, the bands all brought the energy and the tunes. All of these bands, not just the tour package bands, all five that were on the bill, are definitely on paths to do great things. So make sure to check all the bands out, and go out to support them when they’re in your area, and make sure to buy some merch and listen to their music anywhere you can find it!

-Furious

Silent Theory:
https://linktr.ee/silenttheorymusic

Ovtlier:
https://linktr.ee/ovtlierband

Major Moment:
https://linktr.ee/majormoment

Blanks Peak:
https://linktr.ee/BlanksPeak

Embers Rises:
https://linktr.ee/embersrise