I know a lot of people out there scoff at the notion that there was a time before the internet and music downloading existed, but this era did actually happen. Before technology made instant experts of everyone, music got churned out by labels and fans gravitated to whatever captured them. We have actually reached a mark in our current time when fans are feeling nostalgic about some these bands, with the higher quality ones are still around and kicking. Thus, you can understand the demand for this bill, from which the two co-headliners once toured constantly together  from 1996-1999.

Opening up the festivities on this evening was Stolen Babies. They offer a mad cap performance that is alternately jazzy, progressive and occasionally, really brutal. Front woman Dominique Persi is a fabulous singer: one part carnival barker, one part chanteuses. She is a tour-DE-force live and on record, and baddass on the accordion too. The venue’s proximity to Boston added some interest for the openers, since the city being a mecca of sorts for music geeks, had fans in the house of Gil and Rani Sharone in particular. However, the band is now strong enough an act to operate on their own merits and not just a curiosity of talents alone. They blasted through a set of their material from their 2012 album Naught and the crowd seemed to especially dig ‘Splatter’ and ‘Mousefood’. They are worth checking out!

I have had an uneasy relationship with Lacuna Coil. They were always a decent band capable of some solid, if not commercial metal songs. But, I’ve felt as soon as they got popular, they fell into the pressure trap of needing to keep pace with sales. Some of their live shows, while entertaining, bordered on snooze inducing. This was especially true of the last few tours I had seen of them, with few variances in tempo or style in the set list. It’s not that I was expecting John Zorn to show up, but throws us bone will you? Well, on this night I was pleasantly surprised that the band seemed to have a competitive fire to their performance I’d not seen in a long time. Their set was surprisingly void of some of their hits, making way for some deeper cuts and several impassioned performances. Their many fans in the house on this night seemed to appreciate this nod to them, and I didn’t hear any complaints about the rare sonic detours. As usual vocalists Andrea Ferro and Cristina Scabbia traded strong verses in all the songs, and at times were drowned out by the crowd singing back to them.

The Coal Chamber reunion was more than a mere curiosity, and one the most fans in the house were clamoring for. I give Dez Fafara a lot credit for never turning his back on his roots or early image, despite his successes with Devildriver. Also, it was kind of funny to see some of the neo-pop metal goths of 1998, still wearing their stockings on their arms and overdoing the under eye black look on this night. ‘Loco’ hit the PA, and the crowd was really pumped up and into it. And why shouldn’t they be? Coal Chamber was a lot of fun back in the day, especially live. The entire floor exploded into a furious pit for ‘Loco’ and the slower ‘Big Truck’. Dez bounced all over the stage, jumping up and down on platforms to scan the crowd who followed is every word. The only problem with playing your two biggest songs early is the air kind of goes out of your balloon a bit. I was especially psyched to see Meegs Rascon hadn’t lost any of his great playing ability or flair for the dramatic over the years. He was killer, as was Mikey “Bug” Cox on drums. Bassist Chela Rhea Harper did a solid job in place of other former CC bassists who were apparently not invited back. The band went a bit long to me with a thirteen song set, but did well with songs like ‘Not Living’, ‘Dark Days’ and the rollicking finale ‘Sway’. The band did an overall fine job representing themselves tonight and if they are ever going to make new music, their audience is surely interested.

Sevendust closed on this night here in Massachusetts, where they have had a loyal fan base since the early days. Armed with a new record, Black Out The Sun, I was pumped up to hear what they would play. Interestingly enough, I spied two of my pals from the local scene, Tommy and Steve who are often at every metal show. Usually, they are at all the most brutal metal shows in our area, but both were here tonight mainly to see Sevendust. They had nothing but high praise of the band, and scoffed at the notion that they were too commercially popular to be without high merit from all metalheads. That was good enough for me.

Having the strongest run up to a new album in the bands’ history, be it sales, singles charts or press props certainly didn’t hurt the box office. The packed crowd saw the band come on the intro of lead single ‘Decay’ and they just ripped shit up from the get go. As usual, the band put on their trademark high-energy live show, with few bells and whistles aside from some interesting smoke effects and “big room” lighting. Sevendust comes out and just whips ass on the hordes of bands that stand around and look at their hands while they play. They make it a point to really try to connect with the audience, which I like. Singer LaJon Witherspoon maybe short in stature, but his voice is humongous. He switches back and forth between soulful and rage mode like few else in the business. Guitarists Clint Lowery and John Connolly sang as often too, but added a lot of guttural growls and screams too, as does drummer Morgan Rose. Radio hits like ‘Praise’ and ‘Denial’ came early in the night, were played sharply and then dispensed in favor of some deeper slices from the 7D catalog. A new song, like the brutal ‘Til Death’ has the heavy groove sound of the first few releases from the band. Classics like ‘Waffle’, ‘Bitch’ and ‘Black’ were choice ones to hear, since the band doesn’t often play that many cuts from way back anymore. For the encore they closed out the night with ‘Splinter’ and the epic ‘Face To Face’, with an extended jammed out ending. As the final notes played out, Rose just let it all loose on the drums, crushing the outro, and launching sticks out into the crowd to end the night.

Sevendust/Coal Chamber/Lacuna Coil/Stolen Babies
Worcester MA, The Palladium
April 16th, 2013
Keith Chachkes
Photos: Echoes In The Well

Stolen Babies – Facebook
Lacuna Coil – Facebook
Coal Chamber – Facebook
Sevendust – Facebook