There was a nice two or three-week window where seeing shows outside in Florida was a wonderful experience. The weather was amazing, the humidity was nonexistent, and it was honestly starting to feel like Fall up North. Somewhere in between the end of October and the beginning of November, we’ve entered Summer 2, and it is absolutely miserable again.
To make matters worse, the entire population of Tampa and St. Petersburg showed up to welcome Trivium to Jannus Live as they kicked off their headlining North American tour. Along with the homegrown favorites, they brought along Frozen Soul, Fit for an Autopsy, and In Flames for the ride.
FROZEN SOUL
Opening the night were Frozen Soul out of Fort Worth, Texas. They play a unique mix of traditional death metal and hardcore, and were heavy as hell. They had an imposing stage set with impaled skeletons flanking both sides of the stage, and played the kind of set that you’d impale some skeleton to. Vocalist Chad Green hyped up the crowd and got them circle pitting early, including sending bodies over the barricade.
It’s always fun catching an opener to these types of shows because the band's job is primarily to wake the crowd up and rile them up into a complete frenzy, and Frozen Soul performed that job perfectly. I was a big fan of these guys coming into the night, and seeing them live cemented their status as a band to keep your eyes on.
FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY
Deathcore titans Fit for an Autopsy took the stage next, and they came out ready to crush. It’s always fun seeing the ‘heaviest’ band of the night play when they are not the headliner, because it’s always a coin flip how the crowd responds. Their sound was huge, their riffs were heavy, and the St. Pete crowd indeed responded. It was around this point that the venue was reaching its full capacity, and navigating around the venue became completely impossible.
The crowd continued to circle pit, crowd surf, and wall of death along to Fit for an Autopsy, and they sounded great until the end of their set. These guys have been doing this for a long time, and it’s amazing to still see them expertly command the crowd and deliver performances that are headline-worthy.
IN FLAMES
Next up were Swedish metal legends In Flames, bringing the fire since I was in diapers. The crowd was clearly made up of a large portion of In Flames fans, as they went berserk when these guys hit the stage, and they kept the energy up the entire set. For a band that has been around since the early 90’s, they’re still bringing a tremendous amount of energy to their live shows, and that is evident in their performances. I thought vocalist Anders Fridén sounded a little rough at times, but overall, he put in a really strong performance. Founding guitarist Björn Gelotte was ripping solos and sounded great, but was one-upped by thrash legend and recent addition to the band, Chris Broderick (formerly Jag Panzer, Megadeth), who absolutely hammed it up on stage, and was super fun to watch perform.
Another notable thing about In Flames was the absolutely huge production rig they brought with them. Their crew was running around before, during, and after the set, and the number of road cases they brought along with them was mind-boggling. I’ve never seen the side stage of Jannus look so cramped and busy, but this show really made me question if this was the right-sized venue for this tour, both in room to work for the crew and room to move around the venue for fans. This could have probably very easily have been at the Yuengling Center down the road, which comfortably fits double the number of people, and it would have been just as packed. Regardless, the energy was absolutely buzzing at this point
TRIVIUM
Finally, Florida’s favorite sons took the stage to kick off their headlining tour, and they kicked it off with their lead single from their upcoming album, ‘Crown In The Grave’. Right away, I was blown away by how good Matt Heafy sounds live, both on guitar and on the mic. Maybe the most impressive part was how each instrumentalist had a mic stand in front of them, and Heafy made a point to bounce between all 3 mics on stage throughout each song.
Trivium’s stage setup looked like it could barely fit in the 18-wheeler parked in front of the venue. The stage was packed with tons of lights, which was great for me because the band was well-lit the entire set. I was worried for a minute that the venue would not be able to handle the power needed to drive the four 20-foot-tall light pillars, but the light show went off without a hitch.
Trivium is the kind of band that I have enjoyed in passing, but they never made enough of an impression on me to really care one way or another. I had ‘aged out’ of metalcore by the time they really made their mark, and my only real interaction with them was mostly in passing or in Guitar Hero II, in which my thoughts were always ‘yeah, this is fine’. As with most bands, you can really only ‘get it’ when you see them perform live. It really was like that It’s Always Sunny GIF, I finally got it. Trivium rips.
With a newfound love and appreciation for Trivium unlocked, the rest of the show was a treat to watch. At one point, Heafy removed his jacket to play the rest of the set shirtless, showing off his pretty ripped physique as well as his colorful, traditional Japanese tattoo work that covered most of his upper body. It was a sick look that was fun to photograph. It’s always fun when a band is able to pull off both an impressive sounding live performance as well as a really good looking one, and Trivium nailed both.
The St. Pete crowd were as rowdy as I’ve ever seen for Trivium’s set, and it was safe to say that a good time was had by all. As far as tour kickoffs go, this was about as strong as you could ask for. It’s always a good sign when you show up for the first tour date and every band comes out absolutely swinging, sounding like their in mid-tour form. The tour runs through mid-December, so if the tour is making a stop in your city, you should absolutely be circling that date on your calendar.
TRIVIUM SETLIST
Jannus Live, St. Petersburg, FL (11/05/2026)
Crown In The Grave (Live debut)
Down From The Sky
The Sin and the Sentence
Rain
Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr
Strife
Until the World Goes Cold
Entrance of the Conflagration
Fugue (A Revelation)
Vengeance Falls
Like Light to the Flies
Dead Inside of Me
The Heart From Your Hate
Throes of Perdition