Within Temptation – Delain: Live At Wembley Arena, London

Posted on May 19, 2014 by News Team

Three particularly surprising things initially stood out about Within Temptation’s debut performance at the prestigious Wembley Arena. The first being the size of the venue they were playing, double the capacity of their previous tour, and while not completely sold out, closing in on 10,000 people had amassed to witness the ‘Hydra’ tour’s London stop. The second was the people themselves, or more specifically the demographic; the majority of the attendees being couples in their late 30’s and above. I’m not sure what this says about the future growth of Within Temptation, in the UK, at least, but it was interesting to see where the band falls in terms of audience.

The third was how popular the bouncy Delain are, obviously a phenomenon that has passed me by. Bounding on with a bundle of energy with ‘Go Away’ from 2009’s April Rain it seemed half the gathered had their hands in the air, clapping along. Followed up with ‘Get The Devil Out Of Me’, the Dutch quintet had the audience in the palm of their hand early, their mix of rock, lush pop and symphonic metal an ideal partner for the headliners. The main focus is on Charlotte Wessels and her candy-pop voice, and her excellent range allows her to nail darker more Gothic passages of ‘Army Of Dolls’ through to the sugar-sweet-summery tones of ‘Stardust’ from the much vaunted new album The Human Contradiction, though it was the folkier ‘The Gathering’ that was the standout track of a set that delivered in terms of songs, if not of variety. Delain will be back as headliners, maybe not at the Arena, but I wouldn’t rule it out as the UK seems to have taken them to their heart.

Pulling back, the curtain revealed a multi-level semi-sci fi themed stage set, centering on a huge video screen set between two of the hydra’s heads. As on the album, ‘Let Us Burn’ isn’t the strongest opener, but it is warmly met, but the set (and the video screen) spurt into life with the energetic ‘Paradise (What About Us)’ served up second, Tarja Turunen delivering her parts via the video screen, in the first of four guest appearances delivered that way.

It’s clear from the outset that the majority of Within Temptation are not the most interesting of bands to watch on stage, with the spotlight firmly on Sharon den Adel throughout the entire performance, a performance that, a missed cue during ‘Paradise’ aside is flawless, note-perfect and album quality throughout.

Up and running and in their groove, the good times and momentum continue with a double-hit from the excellent The Unforgiving as ‘Faster’ and ‘Iron’ hit the spot. The remainder of the set is Hydra heavy, and the sound is possibly the best I’ve heard in the old Arena, a venue merciless in smothering bands in drums and vocals, a spotless mix fully showing off the band’s symphonic arena rock.

If there are criticisms, it is by using backing vocal tracks and click tracks, you really could just be sitting at home listening to the albums, with spontaneity removed from the performance, but in its stead is a true, slick arena performance, vibrant and well performed.

Highlight of the evening is the mid-set ‘Angels’, the song that helped the breakthrough of the band, but it’s only when seeing them live that you realise just how many good songs WT possess in their arsenal, with a closing combo of ‘See Who I Am’, ‘Stand My Ground’, ‘Covered In Roses’ and ‘Mother Earth’ is lapped up. A slightly sedate encore is a minor disappointment, with an odd cover of Lana del Rey single ‘Summertime Sadness’ sounding awkward, before staple and classic ‘Ice Queen’ finishes things off traditionally.

For an enjoyable night, with two crowd-pleasing bands, this double-bill is worth checking out if/when it rolls into your town. Delain certainly picked up even more fans by the end of the show (including yours truly), while Within Temptation served up another slick, professional slew of symphonic arena rock songs.

Within Temptation Set List:

Let Us Burn

Paradise (What About Us?)

Faster

Iron

Edge of the World

In the Middle of the Night

Our Solemn Hour

Angels

Dangerous

And We Run

Tell Me Why

See Who I Am

Stand My Ground

The Cross

Covered By Roses

Mother Earth

Encore:

What Have You Done

Whole World Is Watching (Acoustic)

Summertime Sadness (Lana Del Rey cover)

Ice Queen

Within Temptation on Facebook

Delain on Facebook

STEVE TOVEY

Tesseract – Intronaut – Cloudkicker – Aviations: Live at Brighton Music Hall, Allston MA

Posted on May 16, 2014 by News Team

Well another weekend and another show in Allston Rock City, as the denizens here have taken to calling it. Sure it has its share of faults like too many hipsters, huge rates, and a general nexus of drama that comes from being a hiccup from Boston and smack dab between two nicer neighborhoods. What Allston lacks in class, it has style up the rear end, and three of my favorite music venues within 7 blocks of each other. At Brighton Music Hall the band camp geek crowd of Boston was out to see some of prog/djent’s finest bands come to town.

Local youngsters Aviations were first up tonight. I had heard a bit about them, but I wasn’t familiar with their music until now. They were really impressive, accomplished players doing their take on djent. They also had a huge crew of friends and fans there, as evident by how active they were singing along, moshing and in general, being hyped as if these guys were the headliners. It was infections because the rest of the crowd quickly caught on. As as band they are a lot of fun live, put on an energetic show and their singer Adam Benjamin even jumped into the pit to mosh a few times! They are opening up for Animals as Leaders soon, so big things are in store for them.

A lot of folks in the house tonight were lured by the draw of Cloudkicker finally touring. Studio whiz Ben Sharp could finally strut his stuff, and with Intronaut as his backing band, it was going to be pretty exciting. They even had their own commemorative shirts that said Cloudtronaut… or was it IntroKicker? I can’t recall. Led by Sharp, the band cut through a string of flawless prog tunes such as ‘We’re Going In’, ‘You & Yours’, and ‘Dysphoria’. It was fairly amazeballs! Sharp’s guitar mastery is impeccable, as he pulled out a bevy of techniques. Techniques, mind you, not tricks. There is a difference. For their part, the Intronaut guys played great and helped bring these little masterpieces to life. Behind the band a video screen showed space satellite footage that added a little more juice to the scene. I for one hope this collaboration continues live, and perhaps even extending to the studio someday.

Staying on stage with only a short break, Intronaut continues to remind me over and over why they are one of the preeminent heavy music bands of our time. At this point in their career they can go out on a lot of tours they want to take, or just tour by themselves if they want, but to hit the road on this kind of package says a lot about them. Tonight they were doing a shorter set, on top of double duty. Opening with ‘Killing Birds with Stones’ was great, and such a good indicator of where the band is headed. Each of the players in this band is stellar, but none more so than Danny Walker on the drums. The guy is a machine on the kit, but plays with a lot of passion too. The vocals of Sacha Dunable and Dave Timnick always get me right in the guts too. Tracks like ‘Venom’ and set closer ‘The Way Down’ just stay with you long after the final notes disappear. Typical of Boston area shows, some people left after Intronaut and didn’t stay to the end of the show, possibly because their girlfriends were bored or something.

Tesseract took quite a while to go on, but everyone in the room was amped to see them. A rumor had gotten around the club before long that singer Ashe O’Hara was sick, and could not sing tonight. When the band hit the stage, there were still a lot of perplexed faces in the crowd as the band appeared to be down to a three-piece with no singer. The band played great and the crowd none the wiser enjoyed a few songs before Amos Williams addressed the crowd, confirming that doctors advised Ashe not to sing. However, the band planned to play their full set without him, apologized profusely over it. They ran through a mix of songs from their catalog, with the audience singing back at the singer-less band. It was actually awesome and a testament to the fan base of this band. From what I could tell, some people left early, disappointed. But those who stayed were rewarded for their patience, and the band played their asses off. It was one of the most mature and professional things I have seen in a long time, just how hard the band played and how humble they were the entire time. The situation was far from ideal, but isn’t that what live music is all about? Especially in a scene where everyone plays along to backing tracks and the like, it was great to see these guys were so unflappable. A special treat for the crowd was the closing number of the night ‘Concealing Fate: Part I Acceptance’ which was played to a lot of oohs and ahhs for those remaining in the room. Afterward the band went into the crowd for a long time, signing merch and taking pictures.

TesseracT Set List:

Of Mind – Exile

Concealing Fate, Part 2: Deception

Concealing Fate, Part 3: The Impossible

April

Of Energy – Singularity

Of Mind – Nocturne
Encore:

Concealing Fate, Part 1: Acceptance

TesseracT on Facebook

Intronaut on Facebook

Cloudkicker on Facebook

Aviations on Facebook

Words: Keith (Keefy) Chachkes

Photos: Echoes In The Well

Red Fang – The Shrine – Lord Dying: Live at Effenaar, Eindhoven NL

Posted on May 1, 2014 by News Team

This time we traveled to Eindhoven in the south of the Netherlands for a blasting show with Red Fang, The Shrine and Lord Dying. All three bands I got very stoked about, as soon I saw the flyer I knew I had to review this and share this epic moments with the audience. The weather was nice, and after sitting in the sun for a while we hopped into the venue. Three bands on a European tour, the day before they were in Belgium. Now they are all ours! Lets see what they have to give to us.

First on stage was the foggy and swampy band Lord Dying, after bringing out their first album Summon the Faithless I was already totally excited to see this band perform. I was not disappointed. They give a blasting and amazingly energetic show that blew my mind. You not often see a band that clearly has defined influences, but are absolutely doing their own thing. Their music is very heavy, but definitely in the louder register, it just shouts headbanging all over the place. Good groovy riffs intertwine with well placed solo’s, a deep bass ,and some good old-fashioned feedback. The venue was already getting pretty full with bearded men and women (?) and beer was richly flowing. It was a good opener but I wouldn’t mind at all if they would play a little bit longer or had another spot on the bill. Maybe next time. It was way to early when this band was done playing. I was left wanting more.

The Shrine was the second band and you can describe them as Motörhead if they would play stoner with a little hint of some old-school punk feeling. The music gives you a happy vibe and are not dragging at all, a downside of this sound is that it began to nag in my head after a few songs, but hey. As soon they start to play they immediately pulled the throttle and smashed a squishy, but swinging vibe in your face. The Shrine gives you strong and simple lyrics that are pretty easy to sing along with, what makes it kind of enjoyable. I have to give the bass player a +1 for the Rickenbacker by the way, it is not that often you see one. The Shrine is a pleasant band to listen to, but it is a bit simple. I wouldn’t mind seeing them again, but I think this band will have a better vibe in a smaller venue.

And for the moment we were all be waiting for, Red Fang. We all know the album Whales and Leeches they came out with recently, and this definitely is the best material the band has made to date. I wasn’t the only one who thought about seeing this band tonight. The venue was pretty full at this time and you know you are doing good when the audience is completely smashed and are only shouting for more. Well, this exactly thing was happening at Red Fang. These bearded Portlanders are totally grooving all over the place and unstoppable. You can describe this band in very few words: awesome riffing and a huge feeling of groove. They really showed this time that they can totally enchant the audience and make them move all over the place. You could feel the heat and energy coming at you all over the place, a good thing if you ask me, since it is getting harder and harder to enjoy the Dutch audience. And for the seal on this review a little tip for the next time you are going to see Red Fang: hold on to your beards, things are going to get messed up!

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Red Fang on Facebook

The Shrine on Facebook

Lord Dying on Facebook

Words by Kaat Van Doremalen

Photos by Susanne A. Maathuis

Kvelertak – Empress A.D. – Wounds: Live at Academy 3, Manchester, UK

Posted on April 30, 2014 by News Team

Boisterous and full of life, Wounds youthful charm sees them gain some approving nods and yelps from the bank holiday crowd. These cheeky Irishmen have given us some catchy numbers that come across like a snotty Cancer Bats without getting the half full venue to liven up to much. ‘Dead, Dead, Fucking, Dead’ still packs a punch showing promise for the future but this clearly wasn’t their night.

Main support Empress A.D. feel quite out of place on this bill. Playing a set of plodding mid-paced riffs and some vocals which are clearly out of tune, they also provide little stage presence in spite of singer/guitarist Ollie Loring‘s half-hearted attempts to get the sedated audience to participate in any manner. Bank holiday crowds can be notorious for ignoring support acts, but Empress phone in a performance that does little to impress. When a stream of punters are gravitating towards the bar that should say all you need to hear about this lacklustre performance.

Thankfully the venue is packed for the arrival of Norse wrecking machine Kvelertak. Possessing enough energy to power a generator, frontman Erlend Hjelvik appears in his owl helmet as the band launch into ‘Åpenbaring’ but it isn’t long before he hurls himself offstage into the waiting arms of the rabid fans at the front of the stage. Their potent cocktail of black metal, punk fury and rock ‘n’ roll hooks soon shakes the crowd out of their slump and ignites frantic slam dancing. The infectious ‘Bruane Brenn’ and ‘Ulvetid’ scarcely allow room to breathe with the temperature soaring.

Admittedly while sophomore release Meir (Roadrunner) was a decent effort, it is cuts from the band’s incendiary self-titled debut that inspire the greatest amount of audience participation. ‘Fossegrim’ pours more fuel upon the burning pyre with its gang vocal refrains being picked up by overjoyed fans who Hjelvik passes the mic to let them sing-a-long. The triumphant encore of ‘Mjød’ and ‘Utrydd Dei Svake’ demonstrate that these Norwegians embody everything which makes hardcore, punk and metal so vital. Another memorable performance from an act who prove that Norway has more to offer than just spikes and corpsepaint. Kvelertak don’t appear to be surrendering their stranglehold on the title of best live band any time soon.

Kvelertak on Facebook

Empress A.D. On Facebook

Wounds on Facebook

Words by Ross Baker

Photos by Stuart Alexander Rees

Lord Of The Riff Tour: Monster Truck – Scorpion Child – Buffalo Summer; Live at Camden Underworld, London

Posted on April 28, 2014 by News Team

There’s something about double denim and classic hard rock that just go together. Tonight’s Lord Of The Riff tours is bulging with retro riffs and the crowd outside the Camden Underworld is heavy with beards, beer bellies and Canadian tuxedos. The Co-headliners Scorpion Child and Monster Truck have been taking it in turns to close the night, and tonight the Canadian Truck get the honour.

Openers Buffalo Summer provide a heavy dose of Led Zeppelin love. The South Wales boys aren’t afraid of a sweet melody, and it’s not hard why they’ve been described as Led Zep meets Free. It’s an energetic set played with confidence, and guitarist Jonny Williams is reminiscent of Slash both in playing style and on stage moves.

Hailing from Austin, Texas, Scorpion Child have recently had to switch from a quintet to a quartet after a band reshuffle, but seem no worse for it. Their psychedelic rock is performed with a swagger, and songs such as ‘Polygon of Eyes’ and ‘King’s Highway’ means they come across as a metallic take on all those Swedish Rock revivalists, which is no bad thing. Compared to the 70’s flairs of Buffalo Summer and the shaggy appearance of Monster Truck, Scorpion Child look positively dapper, and you sense on a bigger stage, they’d make a big show of things. Frontman Aryn Jonathan Black is the band’s vocal point. His hypnotising movements and Robert Plant wail hold the attention and hold much of the front row in rapture.

But as good as Scorpion Child were it’s hard to see why Monster Truck haven’t been closing every night on this tour. Back in the UK after support Vista Chino last year, the volume and energy levels of the audience have multiplied before the band have got into the first verse of the opening ‘Old Train.’ Dealing in big sing-alongs, meaty guitars and lashings of groove, the truck are reminiscent of early Black Stone Cherry but with bigger riffs, better songs and less soppy ballads. The Browning EP gets a good showing, ‘Seven Sea Blues’, ‘I Am Freedom’ and the massive ‘Righteous Smoke’ have the audience singing along to every word.

Guitarist Jeremy Widerman is the band’s energetic rabbit, running, jumping and jiving all across the stage and only staying still when he has to provide the backing vocals, while Bassist/vocalist Jon Harvey’s commanding presence means the energy levels hardly drop throughout their set, and numbers cut from debut album Furiosity, such as ‘Sweet Mountain River’, ‘Oh Lord’ and ‘Call It A Spade’ just keep sending the crowd crazy. And when they do slow things down, it’s hard to be impressed by Harvey’s vocal range and control on the soulful blues of ‘For The Sun’ or ‘My Love Is True.’ The crushing closer ‘The Giant’ almost sends the crowd into meltdown as the pit explodes from the front few to almost the whole crowd.

If there’s any justice, all three bands will go onto to bigger things. SC have the compelling frontman, but MT are tonight’s big draw and have the songs and the report with the audience. The band’s motto is ‘Don’t Fuck With The Truck.’ On the strength of tonight’s performance, it’s hard to see anyone fucking with their rise to the top.

Monster Truck on Facebook

Scorpion Child on Facebook

Buffalo Summer on Facebook

Dan Swinhoe

The Dillinger Escape Plan – Trash Talk – Retox – Shining (NO): at Brighton Music Hall, Allston MA

Posted on April 24, 2014 by News Team

There aren’t many tours that are revealed that I get giddy with excitement for immediately after they are announced. After hearing The Dillinger Escape Plan were playing Boston, however, it became one of my most highly anticipated shows of the year, and it did not disappoint in the slightest. They are one of those bands who, from the times I have seen them, put on some of the most intense shows I have ever seen.

So, when I reached the sold out Brighton Music Hall and saw the crowd building up when doors opened, I knew Boston was going to be in for a hell of a show. The night started off with the band Shining. No, not the black metal band from Sweden, but the experimental metal act from Norway. Fronted by guitarist, vocalist, and saxophonist Jørgen Munkeby, Shining blends the intricacy of progressive metal with the sound of jazz and black metal in order to craft very interesting pieces of music, which can be heard on their releases Blackjazz and One One One (Indie Recordings). Opening with the track ‘I Won’t Forget’, it was obvious that some of the crowd did not know what to expect after they began to play. The band played with a lot of energy and had a very strong stage presence throughout their set. By the end, most of the crowd was into their performance, even some of the people who were talking about why they were on the bill. They ended their set with a cover of ’21st Century Schizoid Man’ by King Crimson, and having the whole crowd sing along was a perfect way to close their set.

Following Shining were glitchy hardcore noisemakers Retox, whose mathy approach must have been a tad too offbeat for a crowd awaiting Trash Talk. With a more straightforward and urban approach to hardcore, it lends itself more to the mosh, essentially. Busting out oldies like a souped-up version of ‘F.Y.R.A.’ and the title track from their fastcore favourite, ‘Walking Disease’ and evenly dotting in some of their darker, heavier material from Eyes & Nines and 119 paved the way for stage-dive and crowd surf central. With vocalist Lee Spielman keeping the crowd hype in order to give them their money’s worth in next day bruises, there was no shortage of circle pits, rafter hanging (guitarist Spencer included), and of course, good old fashioned mosh ignorance. Those near the stage during the seasonably doom-laden ‘Hash Wednesday” would also be able to smell a certain sweet leaf making the rounds. Surprisingly, no hospitalizations, but definitely a lot of damaged shoes.

To pile mayhem on mayhem came The Dillinger Escape Plan, who, unlike Retox, have the history and long-standing reputation for hosting shows where the trend generally is rafter hanging, pit violence, more rafter hanging, impassioned singalongs, and maybe more rafter hanging, but this time instigated by guitarist extraordinaire Ben Weinman. Of course, you can guess that this set followed the formula of a normal Dillinger set, but is that ever a bad thing?

Aside from vocalist Greg Puciato telling all couples to make sweet love for the sake of procreation during the swank, ear-friendly intro to the title track of their Sumerian Records debut, One Of Us Is The Killer, you can guess what happened, short of the venue walls collapsing under the weight of ‘43% Burnt’, or the glorious pile-on/stage invasion during ‘Sunshine The Werewolf’, a fitting closer. Whoever programs their light show should get an academy award for the headache inducing task of syncing up anti-epilepsy death rays with the mind-bending time signatures that they bust out as easily as a grade schooler can beat-box. When even ‘Panasonic Youth’ is a comparatively ‘easy’ song to tap your foot to, you know you’re in for the musical equivalent of a plane crash. In the best way, of course. Be sure to pick up the wreckage that was your brain on the way out of the venue.

Despite all odds, the Brighton Music Hall still stands, and so we may tell the tale of the night it survived Trash Talk And The Dillinger Escape Plan back to back. Honestly, I’m still puzzled, but some things are best not to think too hard about and just accept. Life is kind of like stage-diving, if you think about it that way.

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Shining (NO) on Facebook

Retox on Facebook

Trash Talk on Facebook

The Dillinger Escape Plan on Facebook

Review by Jason Mejia and Sean Pierre-Antoine

Photos by Meg Loyal Photography

Carcass – The Black Dahlia Murder – Gorguts – Nosiem: Live At The Paradise, Boston MA

Posted on April 22, 2014 by News Team

Easily the most anticipated tour in the USA this year, practically everyone I know that is a fan of metal was going to attend the 2014 Decibel Magazine sponsored tour to see Carcass. Oddly enough I know people who straight out dislike anything resembling death metal, but were still going to attend on the strength of the Carcass name alone. I know some scoff at the near mythological amount of praise heaped on Surgical Steel (Nuclear Blast), even though it was the Ghost Cult 2013 album of the year (*cough cough*). Any way you slice it (bad pun intended), it is good to have them back, kicking ass, and going strong. The Paradise isn’t really a venue fit for metal on so many levels: from the awkward layout of the place, the inexperienced staff more used to indie rock fans, and clearly not ready drunk moshers, and stage divers. Most venues in Boston ignore the city-wide ban on moshing (WTF Boston!?!), but these guards were intimidated, overly cautious, and sometimes hapless. I felt a little bad for them, until they treated my friend and occasional Ghost Cult photog Hillarie Jason, and all the other photogs badly too. Sad that a club with the kind of history it has can’t rise up and better.

Nosiem: holy shit! They opened a can of whoopass on the entire Paradise. I really only listened to their Agony Defined (A389) album once or twice, and boy was I regretting it during their show. They were young and full of energy and immediately had the early crowd feeling wide open and angry. Lead screamer Tyler was mad impressive, running all over the cluttered stage. They were a loud unruly bunch, glorious young noise-makers who totally pumped up the already excited crowd. If I was under 20 again, they would be my favorite band.

Gorguts was up next and the Boston nerd-musician-Jazz hands kids quotient in the room rose significantly while the sperm count dipped to dangerous levels. Luc Lemay’s current incarnation of the band includes Colin Marston and Kevin Hufnagel from Dysrhythmia, with Patrice Hamelin on drums. It’s always like going to guitar school watching Luc play his mighty axe, and he sports his glasses on stage now, rocking a very professor-type feel to his demeanor. They did focus their short set list predominantly on the moody Colored Sands (Season of Mist) material, which left me a little flat. Thankfully they did an encore of their classic ‘Obscura’ which saved the day for me. Enjoyable, sure. But Gorguts is a band I really need to see play a longer, or headline set for me to really sink my teeth into.

Always a fun time, The Black Dahlia Murder, just hit the stage already seemingly full of sweat and smiles. As per usual Trevor Strnad just flew all over the place, raging hard and high—fiving everyone. He is one of my favorite performers to watch. Similar to Gorguts, they were short on time. However they did a nice job touching on some hits and a few cuts from last years’ Everblack (Metal Blade) album. The band sounded as tight as ever, and despite how much TBDM has toured the New England area, the room seemed to be enraptured by their set. They almost have an arena rock bigness to their shows, which seems unbelievable until you see them live. Ryan Knight in particular was amazing on guitar with a few sick solos, but the entire band continues to be exceptional and consistent year after year.

Despite their comeback US tour in 2009, I was surprised at how many people were seeing Carcass for the first time ever. It guess it owes as much to the latest generation of death metal fans coming up of late. There was a weird energy in the room like anything could happen, in a good way. Rather than watch the show from the crowd, I snagged a spot from the balcony so I could soak in the madness. There was already moshing and a few surfers testing the jumpy security before the first note was played. When the lights went down a roar went up like you wouldn’t believe. I will likely never forget the beautiful insanity of this crowd when ‘Buried Dreams’ from Heartwork kicked in. The miniscule Jeff Walker is like a living Chucky doll, since he is so small and evil. I kind of want to scoop him up and give him big a hug. Dan Wilding was immediately impressive at how perectly crushed on the drums. The early set mixed in Surgical Steel tracks with classic ones perfectly. The material certainly meshed well with the oldies, and since everybody and their mother had the new album, it was cool to hear many folks growling along.

Jeff is still quite the showman after 30 years in the business. Hilariously funny, with a wry sense of humor that is just a little too smart for most Americans, if I may disparage my own country for second. Still, everybody laughed when Jeff singled out a super- tall guy for blocking the view of a short-statured girl. Too funny for words. Of course a lot of people still grump about the absence of Michael Amott, who is no longer in the band, but I have to wonder why? Bill Steer was terrific and new guitarist Ben Ash was more than capable of creating the bands’ signature sound. Steer possesses on of the best guitar tones ever in metal. Naturally the band was flawless in its execution of their classic songs, like ‘Reek of Putrefaction’ and ‘Corporeal Jigsaw Quandary’. It was a pretty amazing night and a good time, leaving everyone satisfied and feeling like we just saw the best concert we will see in 2014.

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Carcass Set List:

Buried Dreams

Incarnated Solvent Abuse

Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System

Carnal Forge

Noncompliance to ASTM F 899-12 Standard

No Love Lost

The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills

This Mortal Coil

Reek of Putrefaction

Unfit for Human Consumption

Genital Grinder

Pyosisified (Rotten to the Gore)

Exhume to Consume

Captive Bolt Pistol

Corporal Jigsore Quandary

Keep On Rotting in the Free World

Heartwork

Carcass on Facebook

The Black Dahlia Murder on Facebook

Gorguts on Facebook

Nosiem on Facebook

Words by Keith Chachkes

Photos by Hillarie Jason Photography

Protest The Hero – Battlecross – The Safety Fire – Intervals: Live at the Middle East, Cambridge MA

Posted on April 21, 2014 by News Team

It was a chilly night in a quieter than usual Saturday in Cambridge Massachusetts. The Middle East nightclub sits on a welcoming strip of culturally diverse shops and restaurants. A perfect location for Protest the Hero’s Volition (Razor & Tie) tour; a multi-national and eclectic metallic offering.

For all of the shows I’ve been fortunate enough to attend in the New England area, this marked the first time I’ve attended a show downstairs at the Middle East. A basement venue that resembles the ultimate metal mancave or what Rocko’s in Manchester New Hampshire could have been if the staff actually cared. An hour between doors and the opening band afforded me ample time to down some economy brews and admire the not particularly well-lit, but intimate locale.

First up were Protest the Hero’s Canadian brethren in Intervals. For an unsigned band they’ve garnered lots of attention in progressive and tech-metal circles, especially with their latest release, A Voice Within. With the room starving for some live volume, the boys in Intervals were happy to oblige. Heavy 7-string palm muting was underway with tunes like ‘Alchemy’ and ‘Ephemeral’ starting the evening’s first mosh-pits. It was modern tech-metal or djent through and through; Tesseract shirts and Ibanez/Steinberger guitar interplay aplenty. Obviously talented players with a lot of stage energy, the only problem being the repetitive nature of djent. Midway through the set the songs began to feel repetitive. However things livened up again at the end of the performance when they jumped into songs like ‘Automaton’ and ‘Moment Marauder’ which featured some catchy melodies and riffs not unlike Periphery’s.

London England’s The Safety Fire sieged the stage next with their frenetic, noisy art-metal. Since I had missed out on their last North American trek, it was very satisfying to finally catch them tearing into live numbers from last year’s sublime Mouth of Swords (Inside Out). To the best of my knowledge The Safety Fire is considered progressive metal, but to be honest I wouldn’t know what to label them as. As evidenced by live flow of offerings like ‘Red Hatchet’ and ‘Huge Hammers’ their sound is metal one second and sometime that you’d find in Spin magazine the next. And I liked that. A lot, actually. Now that I had gotten a taste of their live sound, I’m ready for a proper headlining turn from these British upstarts.

At this point the Middle East was a sweatbox and I needed some more Pabst Blue Ribbon relief in order to properly enjoy the awesome that is Battlecross live. After refueling at the bar I took a spot front and center to take in Battlecross’ brand of “Blue Collar Thrash Metal” as close and loudly as possible. The bearded Michigan metal warriors did not disappoint. Guitarists Tony Asta and Hiran Deraniyagala traded off blazing riffs and searing leads effortlessly. What I thought would be a very pro-progressive metal audience ate up Battlecross’ savage thrash stylings. Sure the argument can be made that they only have one speed (a very brisk one, thanks to former Black Dahlia Murder drummer Shannon Lucas holding down on drums), but is that really an issue when you’ve got most of the crowd buying what you’re selling? If you weren’t headbanging you were in one of the various circle pits that would break at the drop of a hat or raiding their merchandise booth. Audience reaction to pit-churners like ‘Kaleb’ and ‘Flesh and Bone’ was so raucous that frontman Kyle Gunther declared Cambridge to be the best crowd of the entire tour.

Protest the Hero faced the stiff challenge of following up Battlecross’ assault, but the Torontonians were up to the task. Armed with some truly respectable facial hair, Protest served their Dream Theater by the way of Botch sonic cocktail to a crowd that hung on to every word. The young Canadians burned through 12 songs in the span of an hour and ten minutes, ranging from Kezia era anthems like ‘Blindfolds’ to more recent stompers like ‘Underbite.’ Midway into their effort the many fans had forgotten about the “No Crowd-Surfing” policy and were attempting to join the band onstage. Having the best live-sound on the bill paid dividends as it showcased the band’s technical mastery and vocalist Rody Walker’s pipes. And speaking of Walker, his witty lyrics are only matched by his onstage banter. Walker maintained an easy charm with the crowd even though most in attendance were Bruins fans while he’s partial to his Toronto Maple Leafs. I mean if we can’t agree on how much The Montreal Canadians and Max Pacioretty suck, then what can we agree on really? Conversations on hockey and the integrity of modern Star Trek movies is how you make inroads to great international relations. They capped off their set with crowd favorites ‘Bloodmeat’ and for my money is their best song, ‘C’est La Vie.’

It was good night in Cambridge. Overall we got quality sets from great bands at a good price. If I had my way, Protest the Hero would have played for a little longer than an hour and ten minutes. And maybe I should’ve gotten a couple of more economy suds from the bar before calling it a night. But all things considered, a highly enjoyable time.

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Protest The Hero on Facebook

Battlecross on Facebook

The Safety Fire on Facebook

Intervals on Facebook

Words: Hansel Lopez

Photos: Chris Small of CWS Photography

Scale The Summit – The Ocean – The Atlas Moth – Silver Snakes: Live At The Sinclair, Cambridge MA

Posted on April 10, 2014 by News Team

With winter’s frozen spirit finally broken we got out on drizzly, but not too awful Sunday night to see some of sludge and prog’s finest bands at The Sinclair for the last night of this trek. Before the show we hung out at a local dive/diner Charlie’s Kitchen, where we sipped beers with buds, and our contest winner, who won two free tickets to the show, Mike Vargus, courtesy of Prosthetic Records. Thanks guys! Good times!

With the popularity of prog, especially local to Boston with Berklee School of Music right nearby, it was a confluence of music nerds, “girlfriend metal” types, hipsters, crusties, vest wearing mofos, and our usual army of Boston metal types in the house. It’s funny to me sometimes how clique-ish groups of people are at metal shows these days, in many way reminding me of the early 90s again. Silver Snakes from L.A. hit that stage first and sounded tight, but were a little uneven musically at the start. I think it was their set list because they got stronger as they played on. They play an energetic mix of post-hardcore and alt-metal that you can definitely get into. They had their fans in the house, so that helped.

The Atlas Moth came next, and when we last saw our mid-western sludge heroes, they blew our brains out opening for Gojira and Devin Townsend last year. In the meantime they have been hard at work recording their highly anticipated new album, The Old Believer (Profound Lore), due this June. The Atlas Moth has always been a humble bunch, willing to open for anyone, stick to their guns and slog it out on the road in vans for a long time. Judging by tonight’s performance, including three new songs, I think their days as an opening band are numbered. Doing what they do best, a slow-burn and churn of layered riffs and waves of sounds, and just bludgeoning the crowd sonically with songs like ‘Coffin Varnish’ and ‘Holes In the Desert’. The interplay of the band, especially Stavros Giannopoulos and Dave Kush who alternate guitars and vocals, just kills. Of the new numbers in the set, ‘Halcyon Boulevard’ was a real face peeler, and you could tell the band has advanced their sound once again. I was impressed with the quality of the volume tonight too, since sometimes the band is so loud, it hurts. Basically never trust a fart at The Atlas Moth show! You might regret it.

The Ocean was next and I was beyond excited to see them.. The co-headlining tour has afforded this musically adventurous troupe the ability to add a little more production value to their show now, which is great. Awash in blue lights and with a cool video screen full of quirky images synchronized to their set, the band put on a great show. Playing Pelagial (Metal Blade) in its entirety was a magical experience to witness. Granted, it was my personal favorite album of the year for 2013, so I have probably spun it more times than anyone except Robin Staps’ mom, but this heady masterpiece of an album was meant to be enjoyed complete, not unlike Dark Side of The Moon by Pink Floyd, or even more recently Crack The Skye by Mastodon. The band is very purposeful in their performance and definitely feel the heavy emotions of the music they play. Vocalist Loic Rossetti definitely plays to the crowd, although atypical of many singers, he spends most of his time lurking toward the back of the stage, except when singing. It was a masterful performance and as far as I could tell the music was played to perfection. I ended up missing the last quarter of their performance to do some interviews I had to conduct back stage, but I did catch the unexpected highlight of the night. Stavros from The Atlas Moth came out to do a lead vocal turn towards the end of the set. It was a pretty killer and the crowd was a little stunned. Some folks filed out after The Ocean, which is always a little disappointing.

Last up, Scale the Summit were due to hit the stage. With a little sparser set up that The Ocean, STS is a band I respect a great deal. Some instrumental prog bands and even some of your post metal bands like Rosetta and Pelican) try too hard to “put on a show” rather than just let the music do the talking. They set up quick with the lights up and started to play without so much as a word to start things off. Like their co-headliners, Scale the Summit made great use of the video screen behind them. I had seen the band as an opener, but never for a headlining set and certainly not on as big. Each man played their instrument to perfection as they had the audience entranced with their music. Well, most of the audience. I definitely saw a few put upon girlfriends and spouses who were dragged out tonight, likely against their wills. Meanwhile the band, fairly oblivious to the audience for them most part, played with a lot of passion and not really machine-like perfection, but with a lot of soul. STS is heavy, but a different kind of heavy. They definitely leaned on The Collective and The Migration for the set list, but there were few complaints. It was a very enjoyable show and the again, staying true to what the band is about: simplicity in style, and outstanding musicianship. After the show the band hung out and signed autographs and took pictures with fans, which was really cool too. We caught up with Chris Letchford to thank him for the show, and talk about their upcoming prog cruise show opening for Yes.

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Scale The Summit Set List:

The Levitated

The Dark Horse

Redwoods

Atlas Novus

Odyssey

The Olive Tree

The Traveler

Whales

Black Hills

Narrow Salient

Origin of Species

Scale The Summit on Facebook

The Ocean on Facebook

The Atlas Moth on Facebook

Silver Snakes on Facebook

Words: Keith Chachkes

Photos: Echoes In The Well

The Winery Dogs – Tony Harnell: Live at BB Kings, New York NY

Posted on April 4, 2014 by News Team

Starting off their current tour with not one, but two New York City shows, The Winery Dogs backed up their bite with a huge bark. Their brand of hard rock is so full of energy you couldn’t help but get drawn into the hype Opening the night was an acoustic set from Tony Harnell of TNT and his guitarist Virus, of Device fame. They belted out songs from his solo career as well as Westworld. Singer Rachel Lorin joined them for the final three songs of the set including a cover of the Nazareth song ‘Love Hurts’. Tony did reveal there will be some TNT shows in the US to mark their upcoming anniversary.

The Winery Dogs fans are surprisingly vocal. For a band with only one album there was a sing-a-long for almost every song. From opening songs ‘Elevate’ and ‘We are One’ the crowd nearly eclipsed the bands’ harmonies. Maybe it has something to do with the musicians themselves being killer players. It was a pick-less night between the bass behemoth of Billy Sheehan and singer/guitarist, Richie Kotzen they both displayed insane finger playing. Seeing a bassist in rock without a pick is normal, but for a guitarist, rare. During ‘Six Feet Deeper’, they leaped into part of Jimi Hendrix staple ‘Hey Joe’ before diving head first into a dizzying drum solo by the mighty Mike Portnoy. Following that up, Billy blurring goodness filled ‘The Other Side’. With only an hours worth of material on their debut album, they treated the crowd to a brand new song. As they were wrapping up they went into my personal favorite, ‘The Dying’. It is one of those great, moody songs can stay on repeat forever.

They returned to the stage for the encore, a massive rocking rendition of The Four Tops, ‘Reach Out (I’ll be There)’. Before closing the night off they Richie made his way over to the church organ for rendition of “Regret”. Instead of lighters, there were cell phone lights shining as the ballad carried on. To wrap up the first night of a two night stand, they knocked out ‘Shy Boy’ by Sheehan’s old band Talas. The Winery Dogs are a rocking groove machine of fun that I’d encourage anyone to check out when they hit your area.

Set List:

Elevate

Criminal

We are One

Time Machine

Damaged

Six Feet Deeper

Drum Solo

The Other Side

Bass Solo

You Saved Me

Not Hopeless

I’m No Angel

Untilttled New Song

The Dying

Desire

Encore:

Reach Out (I’ll Be There) (The Four Top cover)

Regret

Shy Boy (Talas cover)

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The Winery Dogs on Facebook

Tony Harnell on Facebook

Words and Photos by Omar Cordy

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