Concert Review: 10 Years & Conquer Divide Rock Spokane
Last night, I couldn’t have been more excited to show up at the Knit for one of a few remaining shows of the year. I’d seen Conquer Divide before with Electric Callboy in Seattle in 2023 and was super impressed by just how hard the group could shred and scream. So, naturally I was excited to see them again. And, as for 10 Years, I’d heard their music as early as 2002 or 2003 when I was in high school, and upon revisiting their discography before the show, found myself recalling the majority of the lyrics from their hits of the time. I was stoked, to say the least.
Conquer Divide
First up: Conquer Divide. The all-female metalcore band is exactly what the world needs. Proof that women can (and will) scream at the top of their lungs as well as anyone, all while shredding on guitars and absolutely slaying a drum kit. And, frontwoman Kia Castillo’s vocals hit like a truck. By the time Conquer Divide ended their set, I was wondering if my ears were going to survive the night. Spoiler alert: they didn’t. But hey, who needs hearing when you’ve got memories of songs like Paralyzed, Chemicals, System Failure, and Welcome 2 Paradise, right?
10 Years
Then came 10 Years, the seasoned rock veterans. Touring off and on for over 20 years is no easy feat. Lead vocalist Jesse Hasek still has that voice—the one that can go from haunting to primal screaming that makes you wonder how someone can belt like that for over two decades and not end up with vocal cord damage like their rock colleague Matt Shadows from Avenged Sevenfold. For a band that’s been at it for more than two decades, 10 Years still has the energy of a group playing their first gig besides. Throughout the show, Hasek took breaks to thank the crowd for coming out, noting how Spokane has always been good to them. It’s one of those moments you pretend to be too cool to care about, but secretly, you’re like “aww, thanks Jesse, Spokane loves you too.”
Their set ended with “Wasteland”, one of their most memorable songs from the early 2000’s, and if you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to simultaneously want to rage and bask in the nostalgia of being an angsty teenager, that was the moment. My photographer duties barely kept me from joining the pit! All in all, the night was a headbanging, heart-pumping, unapologetically loud show. Conquer Divide proved that they’re a force to be reckoned with, and 10 Years reaffirmed why they’ve stuck around for, well, 20+ years.
If you missed it—I’m sorry for your loss. Grab your earplugs and mark your calendar for next time, because you won’t want to miss this again. But if you did make it, congrats—you’ve officially experienced a killer night of rock at the Knitting Factory, and if you’re like me, your hearing and back aches are probably still recovering…
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Check out more reviews from Stereofade, including our review of Boyz II Men’s concert in Raleigh.
