Through Shadows Tour: Born of Osiris/ The Browning/ Vctms/ Axty/ Lost in Separation
- Phantom Light Media
- Oct 17, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 27, 2025
Treefort Music Hall, being one of Boise’s newer venues, has always intrigued me as a potential spot to catch a good metal show. Previously, it had only hosted a variety of lighter acts, mostly indie rock and hip hop. However, as Duck Club, the company that runs and promotes shows through the venue, began to branch out into heavier, more alternative genres at both the local and touring level, I kept a closer eye on show announcements. When I saw the poster for the Through Shadows Tour roll across socials earlier this summer featuring Born of Osiris and The Browning (two bands I’ve been dying to see live for some time now), I knew it was my chance to see what Treefort was truly capable of.
First up in this doozy of a lineup was Texas-based Lost in Separation. Their more melodic leanings served as a great introduction to what would be an absolute thrasher of a night. Frontman Milad Parsa and bassist Jake Lewis split the clean vocals, with Parsa also delivering raging harshes to punctuate their harder-hitting tracks. Parsa was all over the stage throughout the set, interacting with the crowd and building the energy, getting a few enthusiastic moshers before their short 25-minute set ran its course.
Next in line was Axty out of Brazil, and it’s hard to overstate just how much of a vibe shift they brought with them to the stage. There would be no clean, soaring choruses here. In fact, lead vocalist Felipe Hervoso’s downright gnarly screams, growls, and roars offered a range of vocal tones that I hadn’t heard come from a human at a live event before. To call them snarly would be an understatement when I’m pretty sure I heard an actual animalistic snarl at one point. While the band was less dynamic on stage than their predecessor, they held a commanding presence that got most of the growing crowd in the pit banging their heads and raising their fists.
Bringing us through the halfway point was Illinois-based Vctms. After the extreme change in energy between the first two acts of the show, Vctms, led by vocalist John Matalone, served as a somewhat comfortable middle ground. That’s not to say there wasn’t plenty of energy to go around, with Matalone’s more psychotic stage presence matching the band’s dark subject matter, getting right down at eye level with the crowd to deliver some gut-wrenching screams. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention drummer Meredith Henderson’s truly unique playing style as well. I’ve seen Academy Award-winners deliver career-defining performances with less of a range of facial expressions than what I saw behind the kit on that stage.
The Browning came in as the penultimate act of the night. If you’ve never seen The Browning throw down a set live, you’re missing out on a truly one-of-a-kind experience. With their mix of electronic backing tracks and grungy heavy metal breakdowns, the set felt equal parts rave and concert. Vocalist Johnny McBee knew how to command the crowd, getting the whole house jumping, moshing, and singing from the outset. Trading vocals with guitarist Akeem Bivens gave a nice variety to their tracks that you don’t always hear in the studio cuts. Their reliance on a stage-set light rig enhanced the EDM-like atmosphere, with multicolored strobes beaming into the crowd and giving their set a much more edgy, almost brooding atmosphere.
It was nearly 10 P.M. by the time our headliner took the stage, and the crowd had grown noticeably weary. What Born of Osiris delivered, however, was a shot of adrenaline that pulled everything the crowd had left out into the pit. Between vocalist Ronnie Canizaro’s unparalleled performance and hype-factor, their hard-hitting yet fast-paced instrumentals, and the same frantically bright light rig from the previous set, what felt like a mellowing-out in the evening was revived into one last hurrah from those that still remained. Their dueling lead guitar solos brought an extra layer of flavor to the typical, bass-heavy guitar crunches we’d heard throughout the night. Playing at the tail end of a 5-band lineup isn’t easy, but Born of Osiris pulled it off with a practiced finesse that was a treat for all who witnessed it.
Overall, the Treefort venue suited this style of concert remarkably well. Sound was on point no matter where I stood after shooting photos, and the on-site pizza stand proved to be a lifesaver for me between the third and fourth sets. My one complaint, if any, would be the lighting. I know it’s currently in-vogue for heavier bands to rely on backlighting to give them a more moody, silhouetted appearance. However, I feel as though there’s an element to the performance that’s lost when the artists’ faces are constantly shrouded in shadow. Being able to read the emotion they’re pouring into every song enhances the experience even more, especially for those in the front row. Still, I understand that it’s largely an artistic choice, and if that’s how the bands want to be presented onstage, then far be it for me to tell them otherwise.
There is still about half of the Through Shadows tour remaining at the time of writing, and if you live near any of the upcoming shows, I’d highly recommend catching these bands for a marathon of high energy, chest rattling, head banging chaos!
Photos & Review By: Eric Gibson
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