The story behind Dropout Kings’ 2025 album Yokai is among the more moving in recent heavy music. The Phoenix-based rap-metal band lost their frontman and co-founder Adam Ramey in May 2025, just weeks after he had completed the finishing touches on what he considered the band’s most personal and powerful album. Released on Napalm Records in August 2025 as a tribute to Ramey’s legacy, Yokai carries the weight of that context while standing on its own considerable merits. Dropout Kings brings that material to Montage Music Hall in Rochester in May.
Dropout Kings occupy the space where rap metal and alternative metal intersect — a lineage that runs from Rage Against the Machine through Limp Bizkit and into the current generation of bands that have kept the genre’s energy alive. The band’s sonic approach fuses rapped verses with melodic choruses and heavy guitar work, built around grooves rather than pure aggression. It’s music that moves as much as it hits.
Performing the Yokai material live carries obvious emotional stakes, and the band has chosen to honor Ramey by continuing rather than stopping. The current touring lineup brings the songs with purpose and intensity — a commitment that makes these shows feel like something more than a typical metal night out.
Montage Music Hall is the natural venue for this kind of heavy bill in Rochester — intimate enough to feel the full weight of the music, with a crowd that shows up for acts this committed. Tickets are available through Etix.