ONE HIT WONDER Tour: Attack Attack! Feat: Savage Hands, Versus Me, Hard Pill

Phantom Light Media
Sep 10, 2025
5 min read

Metalheads, like any community, love their inside jokes and scene memes. There are things you can bring up in conversation with any heavy music fan and get a laugh out of them. One of those things just happens to be the term “crabcore”, coined in 2009 when Attack Attack released the infamous “Stick Stickly” music video that would launch their career to new heights. Though the band undertook a five year hiatus on making music, their legacy stuck around well after the amps had quieted. That legacy was shown off in full force as a sizable crowd turned out to the Nova last week, eager for another dose of crabcore on the live stage. Attack Attack’s ONE HIT WONDER Tour was in town with Savage Hands and Versus Me in tow, and though the crowd was smaller than other Nova shows, the enthusiasm and good vibes were infectious as early 2010s throwback tunes welcomed showgoers to the venue.

To my understanding, every show on this tour featured local opening bands to get the night started, and I can proudly say that the Portland opener was none other than Hard Pill, a personal scene favorite of mine and some truly unique musicians. Their latest full-length album, “Confusion Range,” blends the swagger of 2000s skate rock with some truly crushing riffs for a genre-defying sonic experience and a live show that I can only describe (lovingly) as “mind-boggling.” Less than ten seconds into the first song, there were glowsticks thrown into the crowd and light-up balloons being dumped across the dance floor as the band kicked things into high gear as though their lives depended on it. Hard Pill are no strangers to the Nova stage, having opened three shows there as of this tour, and they put on a spectacular performance as more and more concertgoers trickled into the room. The highlight of their set was a blistering cover of “New Noise” by Refused, which is slowly becoming a staple of their shows, and it was clear from the crowd buzz that they’d won themselves some new fans while also preparing the room nicely for the touring package to arrive.

Versus Me was the second band to take the stage and I could tell that they were absolutely raring to go the second the lights came down. I’d heard good things about their stage presence from friends who’d seen them on other tours, but it was truly something to experience in person as the band ripped through a tight-as-hell 7 song set against a backdrop of strobe bars and cascading riffs. Lead singer James Milbrandt was especially eye-catching, bounding across the ego risers, conducting the crowd in song, and just generally having a really good time with his bandmates. I’m fully aware that touring can be grueling on some bands, especially as the final shows come around the corner, but seeing the energy and positive attitude that Versus Me brought in full force really sold me as a fan. The music was good, the vibes were good, there was even a nice little first pit of the night at Lee’s request (their bassist). It just doesn’t get much better than that - and I got to tell them as such at their merch stand as well! The best part, though, was that Portland fans clearly knew their stuff when it came to Versus Me’s discography - crowd participation was near-constant throughout the set, and you could tell it really fueled the band’s desire to deliver a good show.

Savage Hands were my personal most-anticipated of the support lineup for this tour, as I’d missed them this past spring on their tour with Magnolia Park. It was clear that a large number of the fans in attendance were rabid to see these guys as well, based on the crowd’s reaction the moment that the opening notes of “Blue” blasted from the stage amps. I wasn’t sure how Versus Me’s stage energy could be beaten, but frontman Mike Garrow proved me completely and utterly wrong within seconds. Their set production was much more intricate than that of Versus Me and that seemed only to up the ante of their post-hardcore stylings, driven by a deliciously crunchy guitar tone from lead guitarist Justin Hein. All of the stage-front-facing members of Savage Hands also participated in the vocal harmonies, and we got a chance throughout the set to hear each of them really show off their pipes in spectacular fashion. Maybe I’m just a huge post-hardcore fan, but these guys sounded absolutely massive during their 8-song tenure onstage, and the crowd were beyond into it. This was a group of people who knew Savage Hands were coming and prepared accordingly, double-checking all the lyrics and memorizing all the mosh calls. You would’ve thought the room was at least twice as full from the sheer energy that permeated the dance floor as the band crashed through standout final song “Reload, Repeat” and promised a return show in the near future. It was a phenomenal showing from the Maryland crew, and I really hope they come on a headlining run sometime soon so I can see their full potential firsthand.

But at last, the new blood had had their say, and it was time for the past to come crashing in once more. Building hype for their set intro with “Welcome to the Black Parade” (among other 2000s darlings) got everyone crowding to the stage as the A-shaped light frames of Attack Attack’s stage plot began to glow deep red. With legacy drummer Andrew Wetzel as the only remaining member of the original lineup, I was curious to see how the band would sound after such a long hiatus, and honestly - I wasn’t disappointed. I never got to experience Warped Tour or any of the great 2010s metalcore tours of legend (Bring Me The Horizon with Parkway and Architects, anyone?) but for the next 90 minutes I could honestly convince myself that it was 2012 all over again. The synths were perfectly front-driven, the chorus chanting of the crowd was on point, and the rave pit opened up within seconds of the first song “Dance!” kicking things off. Guitarist Ryland Raus was even sporting what I believe to be an early-era Markiplier muscle shirt, which honestly was just a cherry on top. New singer Chris Parketny certainly brought the fire onstage as well, spinning and bouncing across the ego risers with zero abandon as fans crabwalked and windmilled alike beneath him. It was a very interesting set with regards to the song choices - about half new and half old material, which was honestly more focused on new than I had been expecting. Both self-titled albums (the 2010 and 2025 releases) were the core of the night, but fan favorites “Smokahontas” and “AC-130” brought some of the biggest responses of the night. Not the biggest, though - that honor was, of course, reserved for “Stick Stickly,” during which I found myself rave-moshing alongside a Hatsune Miku backpack, several brightly-dyed emo swoop haircuts, and one particularly enthusiastic crab hat complete with flailing legs. It was beautifully chaotic, and ludicrously fun to the core - exactly the kind of description I would give to Attack Attack’s overall sound. I imagine the experience was a little different for anyone who had seen the original lineup in their heyday, but I think I can safely say that the new musicians do the core members justice and they delivered the familiar and new songs with equal aplomb. Overall verdict - the ONE HIT WONDER Tour was just a damn good time, and it proved definitively to me that Attack Attack still have many more than just one hit up their sleeve.