The Crimson Armada, back from a long breakup, books WORKPLAY for Tuesday, Dec. 8

The Ohio metalcore band that split in 2012 and reunited in 2025 plays Birmingham's Southside room with Silverhand; tickets are $15.

For a stretch of the late 2000s, The Crimson Armada was one of the bands kids in a certain kind of black hoodie argued about. Then the band was gone for more than a decade. Now it's back on the road, and it's coming to Birmingham: The Crimson Armada plays WORKPLAY on Tuesday, Dec. 8, at 7 p.m., with Silverhand opening.

The show was announced Oct. 19. Tickets are $15 through See Tickets, in a room that holds 450.

Some background for anyone who missed the first run. The Crimson Armada is a metalcore band from Westerville, Ohio, active from 2007 to 2012 and again since 2025. Its debut album, *Guardians*), came out July 7, 2009, on Metal Blade and was produced by Joey Sturgis. The follow-up, *Conviction*), arrived June 21, 2011, on Artery Recordings, and turned out to be the band's last release before it broke up in 2012. A 2012 review in V13 called it the more metalcore-leaning of the two records.

The comeback has been gradual. Lambgoat has tracked it: a reunion show at Ace of Cups in Columbus on June 7, 2025; new songs "Revelations II" and "Man and Beast"; and, this summer, a cover of Lamb of God's "Laid to Rest." That's a band testing the water, then deciding the water is fine.

A reunion that started with one hometown show is now booking Tuesday nights in Alabama.

That's what makes a Tuesday in Birmingham interesting. A one-off reunion show in your hometown is nostalgia; a run of dates that reaches WORKPLAY is a band that wants to keep going. Expect the *Guardians* and *Conviction* material people came for, with the new songs mixed in.

The room has its own comeback story. WORKPLAY was created in the early 2000s by the Hunter brothers, and a new ownership group closed on the property in October 2023 with plans to modernize it, Bham Now reported. In February 2025, the Birmingham City Council approved a $230,000 agreement to help renovate part of the building, which Bham Now describes as a mixed-use venue with three stages, recording studios and co-working space.

A few practical notes: the show starts at 7 p.m. on a Tuesday, so Silverhand will be on early. At $15, it's an easy yes if you have any history with these records.

A lot of bands from that era never came back. This one did. If you were there the first time, this is your chance to hear those songs again in a room this size.

Sources: The Crimson Armada — Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org); Guardians (The Crimson Armada album) — Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org); Conviction (The Crimson Armada album) — Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org); The Crimson Armada — Conviction review — V13 (v13.net); The Crimson Armada — Lambgoat (lambgoat.com); Meet WorkPlay's new owners and see what's next for the Birmingham venue — Bham Now (bhamnow.com); WorkPlay and City of Birmingham team up on $230k renovation — Bham Now (bhamnow.com); See Tickets — The Crimson Armada at WORKPLAY (prod-nts-api.seeticketsusa.us); JamBase — The Crimson Armada at WORKPLAY (jambase.com)