The Word Alive, The Funeral Portrait, and Melrose Avenue are supporting Ice Nine Kills this spring on their Silver Scream-A-Thon Tour. INK will be playing two nights in each city, and the other three are appearing on the first evening. So what will the trio of bands do with themselves on nights they aren’t opening for INK? Why, play a rock show of their own, of course! Tickets can be bought at thefuneralportrait.com or wearethewordalive.com!
4/29 – Richmond, VA – The National*^
4/30 – Raleigh, NC – The Ritz^
5/6 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater^
5/9 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave/Eagles Club^
5/13 – Minneapolis, MN – The Fillmore^
5/15 – Omaha, NE – The Admiral*^
5/18 – Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre^
5/20 – Grand Rapids, MI – GLC Live at 20 Monroe^
5/21 – Lakewood, OH – Mahall’s*#
5/23 – New Kensington, PA – Preserving Underground*#
Killswitch Engage has shared eight dates for May alongside Shadows Fall, Fit For a King, and Boundaries! Tickets and VIP are on sale at killswitchengage.com.
5/8 – Columbus, OH – Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival 2025*
5/10 – Indianapolis, IN – Egyptian Room
5/11 – Memphis, TN – Minglewood Music Hall
5/13 – New Orleans, LA – Fillmore
5/14 – Birmingham, AL – Avondale Brewing Company
5/16 – Daytona Beach, FL – Welcome to Rockville 2025*
Robbie Ekblom, Jr., is a Finnish/American guitarist who focuses on lead and has influences ranging across the metal and metalcore landscapes. Philadelphia-based Hall of Lost is a hard rock/alt-metal project put together by singer and guitarist Jeff McAllister.
And when the two acts come together, listeners are gifted with a track like “Darkness Befalls.”
I had the chance to chat with Jeff and Robbie about their collaboration – how the artists met, how the song came to fruition, and what the odds are of them making more music together in the future.
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Mostly Music: Okay, so tell me how this came together. I’ve talked to artists who have worked on a track from different places, but I’m not sure they’ve ever been from different countries!
Robbie: Long story short, we were able to get acquainted on Instagram and combined our appreciations for artists like Breaking Benjamin, Tool, Seether, and create our own track using our studio setups from across the Atlantic. That’s how our collaboration came to be. I think this story could motivate people who want to work together but don’t live near one another. You really can come out with some pretty cool stuff, and you can get pretty creative these days when it comes to recording.
MM: How did you and Hall of Lost handle writing “Darkness Befalls”?
Robbie: I had come up with an instrumental track for “Darkness Befalls,” and Hall of Lost contacted me on Instagram after hearing some of my other music and said that they’d be interested in doing a collaboration. So then Jeff and I started messaging each other and he said one of your tracks is something that I really wanna work on and beef it out with some lyrics and his own instrumental additions.
For the recording itself, we both have our own setups. I have a home studio, and he has his setup over there in the U.S. So we just combined sounds and sent one another the music files and kept adding bits and pieces until the final version was fully edited.
It’s been a first for me working with somebody as talented as Hall of Lost. Jeff is a phenomenal musician and really has an incredible appetite for creating music and creative arts in general.
MM: That’s a great segue into Jeff’s side of the story. Ha ha! Jeff, what was your inspiration for “Darkness Befalls”?
Jeff: Sure thing, Melia. This track was a fun one to work with because Robbie had all of the instrumental completed, and most importantly, he had a title for the song. So many songwriters attempt to write a tune without first having a title, and there’s nothing wrong with it…I’ve done it myself, but what you typically find is that if you have a solid title, that drives the whole process forward. Needless to say, with a title like “Darkness Befalls”, I had a lot to work with!
Those riffs Robbie plays on the song emote plenty of feelings, so the inspiration came pretty naturally. I wanted to capture a sense of an alter ego, an anger hidden inside, being taken to a place you don’t want to go. When the anger takes over, that’s when darkness befalls.
MM: This question may sound almost naive, but how different is it writing and recording a song remotely as opposed to physically being in a room (or the studio) with those you are creating with? I imagine it requires a change to your normal approach?
Robbie: From my perspective, being in a studio or in a recording space together has the advantage of being able to adapt or change things on the fly because you’re all together and can discuss recording, or certain segments of a song, lyrical changes, whatever it might be, in person immediately. Whereas doing it remotely like this has sort of a time lag between making the changes, especially given the distance between Jeff and myself. We have a 6 hour time difference. That means anything we want to discuss has a one day, or at least one night, lag. But what is really nice about this is, because we both have our own studios and equipment, and are familiar with our own recording infrastructures, it – at least, for my part – has been very comfortable, because I know exactly how to use my stuff. There hasn’t been a need for any gear changes or adjustments to any of the actual tech we’re using. I do imagine, depending on how much we continue to work with Jeff, it would be cool to get into a room and just jam out and make music in person.
Jeff: I think Robbie said it well. This really worked out very smoothly, and I think what it came down to mostly was faith. I had complete faith in the musical track Robbie laid down. In fact, upon hearing what he crafted, I knew I wanted to be a part of it. It was such a big sound. Conversely, he allowed me a lot of creative freedom with his baby, allowing me to suggest a few arrangement suggestions and modifications to fit the lyrical delivery. From there, I would run the lyrical ideas by him and send him some samples, and we would go back and forth on any edits needed, volume changes, etc., but all in all, those were minimal. The fact that Robbie doesn’t seem to sleep also helped.
It would be great to eventually get in a room together. We’ve become great friends throughout the process, so beyond the creative chemistry, I’m sure he and I would down some beers together and come away with another great track.
Robbie: 100% on the downing of some amber lager and making magic happen! That day will come eventually, guaranteed! Haha!
As for the sleep; I had to get myself into somewhat of a routine of maximizing the time to keep in touch and to discuss music with the time difference. Now I’m in this loop where I stay up late, but it doesn’t bother me much because I’m so excited about the music and our project.
MM: So y’all are definitely working together again in the future? Can we expect another collab anytime soon? Because I would be 100% behind that.
Jeff: I can go on record saying that is definitely going to happen, especially if you’re making a request, Melia.
We have something in the works right now, actually. Schedules have been a bit tight, but the process has started, so it won’t be long. We really appreciate the support.
I imagine that won’t even be the last of it. Robbie is a riff machine. He has probably pumped out 2 songs before eating his morning Cheerios today.
MM: If I’m making a request? Okay! Consider this my request. And y’all are very welcome! I’m excited to hear what’s next!!!
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Y’all be sure to check out “Darkness Befalls,” and then do a deep dive into both artists! I’ve shared links to their socials below.
Also, this is not my only conversation with Jeff and Robbie. I will be back with a second interview in which we discuss their respective musical journeys, and maybe some off-the-wall topics as well, so please keep your eyes open for that!
Horror-inspired metal outfit Ice Nine Kills has a lot of their plate this spring. Having already booked dates supporting Metallica, the band has now scheduled The Silver Scream-A-Thon Tour, in which they will be playing two nights in each city. Night one will feature The Silver Scream in its entirety, while the second evening will be dedicated to the entire The Silver Scream 2:Welcome to Horrorwood record. Support for night one will be The Word Alive, The Funeral Portrait, and Melrose Avenue. The opening acts for night two will be Hail the Sun, Tx2, and Dark Divine.
British metalcore band While She Sleeps is hitting the road in North America this April alongside their peers in Bury Tomorrow. The tour features support from nu metal act Vended, who boasts two sons of Slipknot as members. Tickets are available at whileshesleeps.com!
Spiritbox has announced a North American trek this spring. Alongside Loathe, Dying Wish, and Gel, the Canadian metal band will start the US/Canadian leg of the tour promoting their latest record – Tsunami Sea, out March 7th – in Dallas, Texas. Tickets are available at spiritbox.com!
4/3 – Dallas, TX – South Side Ballroom
4/4 – San Antonio, TX – Boeing Center at Tech Port
4/5 – Houston, TX – Bayou Music Center
4/7 – Atlanta, GA – Coca-Cola Roxy
4/8 – Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live
4/11 – Oxon Hill, MD – The Theater, MGM National Harbor
4/12 – Moon Township, PA – UPMC Events Center
4/14 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore
4/15 – Montclair, NJ – The Wellmont Theater
4/18 – New York, NY – Hammerstein Ballroom
4/19 – Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway
4/21 – Montréal, QC – M TELUS*
4/23 – Toronto, ON – Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto
4/25 – Chicago, IL – Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
4/26 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee
4/27 – Grand Rapids, MI – GLC Live at 20 Monroe
4/29 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
4/30 – Waukee, IA – Vibrant Music Hall
5/2 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
5/3 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex
5/6 – Vancouver, BC – PNE Forum
5/7 – Tacoma, WA – Temple Theatre
5/9 – San Francisco, CA – The Masonic
5/10 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium*
5/11 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium (Added date!)
Staind and Breaking Benjamin are teaming up for the “Awaken the Fallen” tour. Alongside special guests Wage War and Lakeview, these two titans of modern rock will be traversing the U.S. The spring run kicks off April 26th in Brandon, Mississippi, and after stops in such places as San Antonio, Tampa, and Green Bay, wraps June 1st in Kansas City, Missouri.
Ice Nine Kills and In This Moment are teaming up once again for an epic summer Tour! Bringing along special guests Avatar and Tx2, the bands will hit the road August 6th. Snag your tickets today at iceninekills.com or inthismomentofficial.com!
8/6 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Broadview Stage at SPAC
8/7 – Buffalo, NY – Buffalo Outer Harbor
8/9 – Green Bay, WI – Capitol Credit Union Park
8/10 – Dubuque, IA – Q Casino, Backwaters Stage
8/11 – Springfield, MO – The Shrine Mosque*
8/13 – Tulsa, OK – Tulsa Theatre+
8/14 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
8/16 – Omaha, NE – The Astro
8/17 – Waukee, IA – Vibrant Music Hall
8/18 – Sioux Falls, SD – The District*
8/20 – Bismarck, ND – Bismarck Events Center
8/21 – Billings, MT – Downtown Billings Skatepark
8/23 – Calgary, AB – Grey Eagle Events Centre
8/25 – Seattle, WA – Moore Theatre*
8/27 – Idaho Falls, ID – Mountain America Center
8/28 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Great Saltair
8/30 – Airway Heights, WA – Northern Quest AMP
8/31 – Portland, OR – Alaska Airlines’ Theater of the Clouds
9/1 – Boise, ID – Revolution Center*
9/3 – Sacramento, CA – The Backyard
9/4 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Palladium
9/5 – Las Vegas, NV – The Theater at Virgin Hotels, Las Vegas
9/7 – Grand Junction, CO – Amphitheater at Las Colonias Park*
Mostly Music 