Live Review: Kittie + Kingdom of Giants + Gore. @ The Masquerade, Atlanta, GA – June 19, 2026

4 days ago
5 min read

Kittie brought the Legacy of Fire Tour: 30 Years of Kittie to The Masquerade on Friday night, and the Atlanta stop felt like more than just another date on a summer tour. With Gore and Kingdom of Giants opening, the night had a strong build before Kittie walked out and delivered a set that proved exactly why these songs have lasted as long as they have.

Gore. opened the night and honestly came out with killer energy. The Texas trio is made up of vocalist Haley Roughton, guitarist Alex Reyes, and bassist Devin Birchfield, with drummer Cody Dennis handling the percussion live, and they made a strong first impression right away. For a band in the first slot, they did not play like they were just there to warm up the room.

Birchfield was one of the first things that stood out. He never seemed to stop moving, working the stage with the kind of energy that makes you pay attention even if you walked in not knowing the band yet. Reyes kept the guitar work sharp and heavy, but Roughton was the clear center of it all. Her voice matched the contrast in her stage presence, shifting from delicate and haunting melodies to deep, vicious growls in an instant. That balance gave the songs a lot more depth than a set built around nonstop aggression.

Gore’s music already has that kind of push and pull built into it. Their EP A Bud That Never Blooms includes songs like “Pray,” “Doomsday,” “Babylon,” “Angels Like You,” and “Heaven Is Above Me,” and the band’s whole thing works because it does not separate pretty and ugly into two different worlds. They sit right on top of each other.

That came through live. The softer vocal moments did not feel like breaks from the heavy parts. They made the heavy parts hit harder when Roughton dropped back into the growls. Gore felt young, hungry, and very sure of what they were trying to do. That is exactly what you want from an opener.

Kingdom of Giants photo by Chris Collett

Kingdom of Giants followed and hit the stage with full energy from the start. The Sacramento metalcore band brought a bigger, more polished sound to the room, but they still had enough movement onstage to keep it from feeling stiff.

Vocalist Dana Willax and bassist/vocalist Jonny Reeves shared a lot of the weight up front, trading parts back and forth through several songs. That back-and-forth was one of the best parts of their set. Instead of one person screaming and one person just handling choruses, it felt more like the two of them were passing the songs between each other, swapping verses and chorus sections in a way that kept the set moving.

Kingdom of Giants has plenty of material to pull from, including Passenger, the Bleeding Star EP, and newer songs like “Collide,” “Digital Hell,” and “Respawn.” Their recent live sets have also leaned on songs like “Asphalt,” “Wasted Space,” “Bleach,” “Smoke,” “Night Shift,” and “Wayfinder,” which all fit the kind of sharp, modern metalcore they brought to The Masquerade.

The band also came across as genuinely grateful to be there. At one point, Willax talked about how much it meant that people would take the time and spend the money to come out to the show. That kind of thing can sound like basic stage talk when it is forced, but this did not feel that way. It felt like he meant it.

When Kittie took the stage, the room changed. Morgan Lander, Mercedes Lander, Tara McLeod, and Rachel Gonzales walked out to a crowd that was ready for them, with Gonzales filling in for Ivy Vujic on this run due to Ivy’s family commitments.

What stood out most to me happened when I turned around from the photo pit and looked back at the audience. There were two young girls, probably around ten to twelve years old, standing there completely in awe. They were not bored or just tagging along with their parents. They looked like they were seeing their heroes in person for the first time, completely mesmerized by what was happening onstage.

It is easy now to forget how different things were when Kittie started. There were women in metal, of course, but there were not many all-female metal bands getting real attention on that level. Kittie gave a lot of girls someone to point to and say, “I can do that too,” and it looks like they are still accomplishing that today.

The set opened with “Fire” before moving into “I’ve Failed You,” “Cut Throat,” “Oracle,” and “Spit.” That first run gave the crowd a little bit of everything, from newer material to older songs that longtime fans were clearly waiting to hear.

“Do You Think I’m a Whore,” “Ugly,” “Empires (Part 2),” and “We Are Shadows” kept the set moving, while “Pain,” “What I Always Wanted,” “Suck,” and “Burning Bridges” gave the middle of the show some of its strongest moments. Kittie sounded strong without feeling overly polished, which is exactly how these songs should feel live.

One of the funniest moments of the night happened during the middle of Kittie’s set when a person dressed in a Spider-Man suit jumped into the pit and started bouncing off people like they were trying to save the city. It was completely ridiculous. Moments like that are impossible to plan and somehow fit perfectly with the chaos of a metal show.

The back half of the set brought “Come Undone,” “We Are the Lamb,” “Vultures,” “Charlotte,” and “Mouthful of Poison,” closing the main set with plenty of bite before the encore.

Kittie came back with “Brackish” and “Eyes Wide Open,” which was a smart way to end the night. “Brackish” still hits with the same raw punch that made it impossible to ignore in the first place, and hearing it alongside newer material showed how naturally the different eras of the band fit together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDmLPBVOidQ

Kittie - Do You Think I'm A Whore

What stuck with me most was not nostalgia. It was how strong the band still sounded after three decades. There was no sense that they were going through the motions or relying on memories. They played like a band that still enjoys doing this, and that energy carried through the entire set.