Show Review: Orthodox Bring The Heat to Sacramento's Midtown With Sold Out Show
Orthodox
w/ Mugshot, Omerta, Fromjoy, Crowd Control
Goldfield Midtown
Sacramento, CA
July 18th, 2025
Review and Photos by Jared Stossel
On Friday night, downtown Sacramento’s Goldfield played host to one of the heaviest shows of the year, as Nashville, TN’s Orthodox took to the stage for a sold-out headlining show in support of their brutal new album A Door Left Open. The band has been packing houses all across the country since embarking on the tour, and Friday’s Sacramento was no exception to this statement.
Crowd Control and Fromjoy kicked things off with heavily punishing sets before leading to a scorched-earth nine-song performance from Omerta. Main support was provided by the always-powerful Mugshot, who are currently touring on their new album, All The Devils Are Here. The reason I combined all of these into one paragraph, rather than presenting them individually, is that the energy and intensity were consistent across the board: heavy, in-your-face, and constantly in motion. I could sit here for hours and point out all of the minutiae that differentiate each band from one another, but that’s not the point of seeing these acts live. The point is to jump off the stage, hardcore dance, and move to the music.
By the time that Orthodox took the stage, vocalist Adam Easterling was out for blood. This isn’t a band that is playing into the image of what a hardcore band is supposed to be - they are the image of modern day hardcore. For an hour, the band ran through tracks from A Door Left Open (a majority of their set), along with tracks from Sounds of Loss and Learning To Dissolve. There was even a cover of System of a Down’s “Prison Song” that could go toe-to-toe with the original.
By the end of the night, the crowd - baptized in sweat and blood - poured out into the streets of downtown Sacramento having played witness to some of the truly best acts putting out heavy music in hardcore (or metalcore, whatever you want to call it). If you’re a fan of this music, I implore you to check out each of these acts. The music and the attitude might be more somber and violent than traditional rock fare, but it’s fun as shit to watch people stagedive and crowdsurf to sickeningly heavy breakdowns like the ones being dished out by these acts.
Orthodox Set List
Sacred Place
Body Chalk
Searching For A Pulse
Head on a Spike
Dread Weight
Blend in With The Weak
Godless Grace
Keep Your Blessings
The Anticipation
Prison Song (System of a Down cover)
Panic
Second Best
Body & Soul
Waiting
Cave In
