It just was never meant to be. These aren’t just the rantings of a polluted mind, but my sincere consensus after giving Worshipper‘s sophomore effort Light in the Wire (Tee Pee Records) a few spins. ‘Coming Through’ gets things started and feeling like we’re entering a Baroness type soundscape and I with weed pen in hand await with bated breath. Continue reading
Dropkick Murphys St. Patrick’s Day spring tour is a highlight every year. Culminating in their usual run of shows in their hometown of Boston, the birthplace of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in America, they are always a sold-out, insane event not to be missed. The band kicks off a run of dates this week, and all shows are on sale now. Direct support will come from The Devil Makes Three, The Interrupters, Booze & Glory, Lenny Lashley’s Gang Of One, Amigo The Devil, Stop Calling Me Frank, and more.Continue reading
Viral video star, meme legend, and Boston area hero Keytar Bear, often seen around the town serenading people with his synth amazingness has done a new ad for Alesis, the leading maker of MIDI keyboards, electronic drums, and recording and live sound gear. Shot last spring to promote the new line of Alesis Vortex Wireless 2 MIDI controllers for Keytars, you can watch it below, along with a compilation of essential Keytar Bear clips. Continue reading
Simplicity is often forgotten and underappreciated in the metal scene. From saturated guitar technicalities to heavy-handed production, it very well seems like today’s metal is caught up in the need to maximize riffs and complexity. But there lies the beauty in Doom & post-Metal and its emphasis on atmosphere and emotion, breaking the mainstream metal formula. And with the arrival of Boston five-piece Lesser Glow (including past members of Black Elm and Irepress) and their debut album Ruined (Pelagic), the art has officially been rekindled in the 2018 year of metal.Continue reading
Cannibal Corpse, Power Trip and Gatecreeper are currently taking part in one of the most brutal tours to ever hit the States. Last night they absolutely destroyed New York City, and show no signs of slowing down until the tours ends on December 8th. To help get you more excited for the remaining dates, or if you just want to relive the insanity, we have amazing footage from their recent show in Boston. Continue reading
Mighty Mighty Bosstones 12-28-2016
At House Of Blues Boston, MA
All Photos By Matt Lambert/Trebmal PhotographyContinue reading
Many touring bands today enjoy their seldom “days off” while on the road. Every once in a while, a touring band will use these days off and turn them into one-off shows nearby to their trek. Abbath provided Boston with such an occasion, a day before the first official stop on the tour they were supporting. Add in a few solid local openers inside a smaller venue such as The Sinclair and you have quite the show for a Tuesday night! Continue reading
From Aerosmith, The Cars, Dropkick Murphys to Extreme, Pixies and those blokes that sung ‘More Than a Feeling’, Boston has a rich history of producing rock bands and now we can add Worshipper (Tee Pee Records) to that list.Continue reading
2200 hours: People are milling about. They are still buzzed after an exhausting Devildriver performance. The last strains of a sound check happens: drums, guitars, bass, vocals. Hey Hey Yup. Yep. Hey A. The floor fills quickly to the sound of Boston “Rock and roll band… everybody’s waitin’ … getting’ crazy anticipating love… and music… Play Play Play….” Christina says, “I haven’t seen them in a long time. It’s the first time in 19 years seeing them. I’m here to have a good time and see a great band.”
2213 hours: The lights go out and the crowd erupts into chants of “Hatebreed! Hatebreed! Hatebreed!” Eerie creepy kid horror music is piped in. “Arizona! Are you ready?” Why yes, Jamey. We are indeed ready! “I’ve been a Hatebreed fan since ’99 when I was in the ARMY. It’s his (points to 7 year old son) first show.”, says Tony. Tony’s son says Hatebreed are “Awesome.” Jamey Jasta hits the stage looking more like Mike Muir. “Destroy everything!” he commands as a pit, a tad smaller and milder than Devildriver’s breaks out. To wit, I think the crowd is a bit tired. They are densely packed yet hardly moving. There are, however, lots of cell phones in the air.
Jamey reminds his erstwhile captives that the new album The Concrete Confessional (Nuclear Blast) is the #2 rock record and #13 on Billboard charts. Hatebreed then launch into ‘Looking Down the Barrel of Today’. Live, the song has a wicked funk sound and the pocket is strong with Chris Beattie and Matt Byrne. “The party is only just begun!” Jamey tells us. Finally, the pit has grown. The crowd was a slow burn. They fed off the intensity of the band. Multiple crowd surfers rise above the masses. It’s now a packed house on a Monday night. I was told by a Marquee employee that a good 2500 were in attendance. ‘A.D’ causes a proper circle pit to erupt. Live, ‘A.D’ is a psychotically intense old school thrash song. But, alas, a majority of the crowd stood about like deer in headlights. “They know what they do and they do it will. They stick to it.”, says Patrick. Some are bobbing their heads while others just have this glassy look to their face. I guess I’m just a rabid Hatebreed supporter. Such a laid back attitude towards live music is an anathema to me.
“Everyone of us are in it together. Everyone leaves with a smile on their face. Everyone leaves with no voice left from a Hatebreed set.” –Jamey Jasta
Hatebreed are killing it on stage. There is elegant beauty in their brutality. It’s been 3.5 years since they played in Tempe. Live they exhibit a tribal feel. Matt’s drumming is deep and mesmerizing. The light show makes me feel like I’m being inducted into the cult of Hatebreed. There are eight discharge lamp/beam/wash moving head fixtures on stage. They shine and flash to the audience; a code of induction. They illuminate the band from behind making them seem larger than life. I drank the Hatebreed kool-aid a long time ago. But tonight I grabbed the chalice and drank deeply again. “I take this vow of hatred, never to be broken.”
“There is no family drama. There’s no death. There’s no suicide. There’s no poverty.” – Jamey Jasta.
“People hear the music and they think we’re crazy. This is music. It’s transformative. It helps people.” – Jamey Jasta.
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PHOTOS BY MELINA D PHOTOGRAPHY
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