Fire from the Gods – Underground Music Venue – Minneapolis, MN – February 15th, 2026

Fire from the Gods with For the Fallen Dreams, VRSTY, and Divide the Fall – Underground Music Venue – Minneapolis, MN – February 15^th, 2026

Review and photos by Kate Klaus

Fire From The Gods “The Human” Tour rolled into Minneapolis with a stacked metalcore lineup, bringing along For The Fallen Dreams, VRSTY, and Divide The Fall on this winter run,  and the show flowed perfectly from melodic to crushing over the course of the night.

Divide the Fall opened up the night to a large crowd of local support since this was their hometown show of the run.  Fronted by lead singer Ethan Wineaug, their modern metalcore leaned heavy on groove and intensity, bringing the crowd off the walls and closer toward the stage to take in the energy.  By the second song the pit had already formed, which honestly set the tone for the rest of the night. They struck a balance between clean choruses and aggressive riffs that made them feel bigger than the room they were in, and it was great to see so much local energy for the hometown crew of the night.

VRSTY were up next, and they shifted the texture of the evening, creating an atmosphere and vibe in the room with their R&B-infused metalcore.  Based in New York City, their incredible sound lives in this emotional space between heavy and smooth, and instead of hitting the crowd with constant aggression, they pulled everyone in first, captivated by lead singer Joey Varela’s vocals.  Varela has a voice that stands out immediately in a heavy lineup with soulful runs and melodic phrasing layered over metalcore grooves, influenced by pop and R&B singers as much as heavy bands, that was almost reminiscent of Michael Jackson at times in the set. The powerfully emotionally raw delivery of thoughtfully crafted lyrics and introspective songwriting adds to the vulnerability of their music, and it was clear that this touched the crowd, as the room filled wall to wall and drew closer to the stage.  Paul Gregory provided depth to that soul on bass, and Jordan Gallant’s guitar flowed back into airy chords and textures and would then come back in with palm-muted punches in the breakdowns.  Their set included recent release “Heartbreak Blues”, which has all the perfect elements of a huge hit, and hopefully helps elevate these guys into bigger stages, because they succeeded in not only increasing the energy in the room but adding volumes to the intensity and emotional depth of the night.

After VRSTY had set the atmosphere, For the Fallen Dreams detonate it, with immediate and driving metalcore that hit in waves.  The moment they walked on stage the room changed from movement to impact, with every breakdown landing heavier than the last, and the crowd jumping around in chaos and even a decent attempt at a circle pit.  What stood out live was how deliberate their pacing felt. Instead of stacking breakdown after breakdown, they alternated energies, with faster parts pulling the crowd into motion, and then the heavier sections landing harder because everyone was already moving. Chad Ruhlig’s veteran vocals carried a sharper edge than the bands before them, cutting through the mix instead of sitting on top of it, with shout sections getting instant participation, and he even leaned on members of the crowd to participate in some of the screams.  They played like a band that knows exactly what their songs are supposed to do live, not just sounding heavy, but controlling the room. By the final songs, circle pits had opened and collapsed multiple times and the energy never dipped. For The Fallen Dreams didn’t just keep the momentum going, they flipped the switch from excitement to chaos right before the headliner hit.

After what had already been a long and intense night, Fire From The Gods took to the stage, and instead of opening with chaos, they opened with presence. Their intro built tension more than noise, and you could feel the room reset its energy instead back into a more introspective and thoughtful vibe. However, once the first groove kicked in, the entire floor started bouncing and nodding in unison, with the heaviness moving sideways out through the crowd. New frontman Myke Terry fits right into that energy, working the stage less like a metal vocalist and more like a hip-hop performer. He doesn’t just shout over the band, he rides the rhythm, locking his cadence directly into the drums. He was quick to pick up that the crowd was younger, and not everyone may be as familiar with their older catalogue but capitalized on that opportunity to introduce them to some of their best songs, while creating moments on stage, like donning a cowboy hat for the latter part of the set.  Fire From The Gods didn’t just headline a full night of great music, they unified the vibrant and talented chaos the rest of the lineup created and turned it into a single pulse and closed the night with a mysterious and yet powerful finale.