WE CAME AS ROMANS TEAR DOWN THE WILTERN WITH CURRENTS, AFTER THE BURIAL, AND JOHNNY BOOTH
PHOTOS BY STEPHEN BROWNLEE
The Wiltern was pure chaos on Saturday night as We Came As Romans brought their “Bad Luck World Tour” to Los Angeles. A sold-out crowd packed the floor and balcony, ready for a marathon of breakdowns, soaring choruses, and unrelenting energy. Four bands, four different flavors of heavy, and not a single wasted moment.
Johnny Booth wasted no time setting the tone for the night. Their set was pure adrenaline — jagged riffs slicing through the mix, vocals delivered like a bare-knuckle punch, and a rhythm section that felt like it was trying to crack the floor in half. For an opener, they played with zero restraint, locking in the crowd’s attention and earning every headbang, fist pump, and early circle pit.
Currents followed with a set that felt like emotional therapy wrapped in punishing metalcore. The contrast between their melodic choruses and savage breakdowns was electric, and the crowd fed off every shift in intensity. Fans screamed along to every word, with songs like “Monsters” and “Better Days” hitting especially hard. By the end, frontman Brian Wille had the entire room in his grip, holding onto that tension until the final crushing note.
After the Burial took the stage and instantly flipped the night into overdrive. Their technical precision is ridiculous live — eight-string riffs cutting through the air, grooves hitting like a wrecking ball, and transitions so tight it felt almost inhuman. They brought a darker, more mechanical edge to the night, and the pit answered with a ferocity that matched every polyrhythmic chug. Watching them is like watching an avalanche — calculated, powerful, and unstoppable.
Then We Came As Romans walked out, and the place exploded. The band sounded massive, every chorus swelling over the crowd, every breakdown detonating with pinpoint force. Tracks from All Is Beautiful… Because We’re Doomed blended seamlessly with older fan favorites, and when they launched into “Bad Luck,” the floor turned into a wave of movement. Dave Stephens commanded the stage like a frontman who’s been through it all and still plays like he’s got something to prove. The set was a mix of catharsis and celebration, a reminder of just how deep their connection with their fans runs.
