Lamb of God Tear Up The Palladium 6/18/13

Lamb of God made a triumphant return to one of the first places the band played on their first tour last night, The Worcester Palladium. It was a special night and you could tell that everyone was excited to see Lamb of God throw down their signature brand of pure American heavy metal. The bill last night was also spectacular featuring The Acacia Strain and the Polish metal band, Decapitation.

Lamb of God started their set with the song, “Desolation” and this got the ball rolling in a big way. The crowd of the palladium erupted, and the band continued with their set playing “Ghost Walking” and one of their best songs, “Walk With Me in Hell.” The band then launched into “Set To Fail” which is one of my favorite songs and the band played it expertly.

The band then played a couple of their older songs. One of these was “Ruin” which went over incredibly well with the crowd, as did “Now You’ve Got Something to Die For” which was dedicated to The United States Military. During this song the bands two projection screens featured pictures of military men and women who were also Lamb of God fans, which was awesome. They finished this part of the set with the great “11^th Hour”

The band then played “The Undertow” this song was an odd choice in my mind, but the crowd still raged on. Then Randy Blythe said the opening words to “Omerta” and that’s when the palladium went absolutely insane, and it would remain that way for the rest of the, as the band weaved their riffs. The band finished the main part of their set with the brutally fast, “Contractor.”

The stage went dark and the Palladium started booming with chants of ‘Lamb of God,’ and then we heard the acoustic intro “The Passing” which lead into the bands terrific encore which included “In Your Words,” “Laid to Rest,” “Redneck,” and the always classic “Black Label.”

-B. Harlow

Ghost B.C.’s Amazing Performance At The Royale, Boston 5/10/13

On Friday May 10^th Papa Emeritus II and his band of nameless ghouls took over the Royale in Boston, MA, and put on one of the best live shows that I have ever seen. The band is all about theatrics, but unlike many other bands that have a theatrical side, Ghost’s music stands up both live and on record, and works perfectly with the bands live show.

“Infestissumam” started off the bands set, and when the band hit the stage the Royale was in the bands hand for the rest of the night. They then went into “Per Aspera ad Inferi” which kept the audience head banging away.  The band then launched into three tracks from their 2010 debut album, Opus Eponymous. Of these tracks, “Elizabeth” got the best crowd response. Ghost then launched into the first single, “Secular Haze”   from their latest album, Infestissumam.  This was one of the best songs of the night, and got a huge crowd response.

“Body and Blood” another favorite from the new album came up next, and this was performed quite nicely by the band, as it is a more delicate song with a very late 60’s vibe. The band took it up a notch for the next track “Stand By Him” which is one of my favorite tracks from Opus Eponymous. The Guitars on the track were magical and were executed with great skill live. “Death Knell” and “Satan Prayer” were up  next, and these two tracks also went over well with the crowd.  The band then showed off their musicianship with “Genesis” which was followed by “Year Zero,” the band’s second single from, Infestissumam.

The band then played “Ritual” one of their better known songs, and this brought the show up another notch above what was thought possible. But the best performance of the night came on the last song “Monstrance Clock.” Before Papa Emeritus and his band of nameless Ghouls started the song he stated that it was time for the people of Boston to sing together as one and they did, and it sounded awesome, and it was a great way to end the night.

Ghost B.C. took the Royale by storm and put on a masterful performance that left everyone in the audience wanting more.

-B. Harlow

Check out some video Highlights of The Show HERE

 

 

Anthrax, Hatebreed, and others Bring The Noise on Night One of New England Metal and Hardcore Festival XV

On Friday I made my way to the Palladium in Worcester, MA expecting an amazing show put on by Scott Lee. Lee and his crew have been putting on New England Metal and Hardcore Festival for 15 years and this year they had one of their best line-ups. On Friday alone they had Great bands like Anthrax, Hatebreed, Every Time I Die, Exodus, Shadows Fall, and many more.

I entered the palladium around five o’clock for Shadow Fall’s set. The band started off with their song “The Light that Blinds” which is one of my favorite songs from the band. It definitely shows off the excellent musicianship of the band. The band then played “Idiot Box,” and that pleased the crowd even more. When the band finished the song lead vocalist Brian Fair addressed their hometown crowd and proceeded to talk about the events of the week in Boston and Watertown. He then dedicated the next song, “Weight of the World” to Boston which was an awesome gesture. The band then launched into another one of their best songs, “King of Nothing” off of their album Retribution, this was another great crowd pleaser. The band continued playing the rest of their set which was topped off by their song, “War” a song whose lyrics were penned by Bob Marley and adapted for a more metal sounding song, but the message remains the same.

I then walked around the venue to check out all the vendors that were at the palladium, but returned to watch thrash metal legends Exodus’ set. When the lights dimmed and the intro to “The Ballad of Leonard and Charles” you knew the Palladium was about to become a thrash paradise. In front of me appeared Gary Holt who was ready to thrash.  The band was tight and played some of their best and classic material including “Piranha,” “Bonded By Blood,” and “The Toxic Waltz.” It was my first time seeing Exodus, and I have to say I was blown away by the thrash metal masters.

Next up was Every Time I Die who came on right at about 8:00. They also played a killer set and gave the Palladium a healthy dose of hardcore. They even through in some metal too by playing a Pantera medley. The band played some of their best songs including some of personal favorites, the band seemed in tip-top shape including Singer Keith Buckley who puts on a great performance.

Hatebreed was up next, and what more can we say about Jamey Jasta and crew, but that they deliver a great show every time you see them. The band started off with one of their best songs, “To The Threshold,” and from then on they never let go of the solid grasp they had on the Palladium playing some of their best material including “  In Ashes They Shall Reap,” “Puritan,” and “Destroy Everything”

Headlining the festival night one was Anthrax who played, an amazing set that consisted of them playing the entirety of the thrash metal classic, Among The Living. The band started off with the great title track off of the album, “Among The Living.” It brought the  Palladium’s energy up another notch. This lead perfectly into the album’s second track “Caught In a Mosh,” which is a staple of the bands regular show. The band then played another classic from the album, “I Am the Law” which went over great with the crowd especially when Joey Belladonna dedicated it to the Boston Police Department. They then played  “Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)” and “A Skeleton in the Closet” which rapped up part one of Among The Living. They launched Into a killer cover of “March of The S.O.D.”

The stage went black until the stage was lit up again when the intro music to “In The End” came on along with two large banners of Dimebag Darrel and Ronnie James Dio two fallen metal heroes who the song is dedicated to. The band sounded tight on this song and pulled off a great tribute to the two fallen musicians. The band then played a cover of AC/DC’s “T.N.T.” which went over great with the audience who were chanting along to the signature riff. The band then played “Madhouse” off of their record Spreading The Disease.

The band then continued into the second half of the album Among the Living by playing another  classic “Indians” which included the infamous call for a Wardance! by Scott Ian which is a call for a giant Circle pit. The band then played their cover of Joe Jackson’s “Got The Time.”

The band then came out for their encore which included the song “Imitation of Life” which was followed by the band’s rap flavored song “I’m the Man” and the band concluded their set with “Anti-Social” which was an awesome way to end the set.

-B. Harlow

Trespass America Hits The Boston House Of Blues 8/17/12

During the two-week gap between Mayhem Fest and Trespass America, I was full of excitement. I was thrilled to be seeing some of my favorite bands in such a short period of time, and when the day of Trespass America came I was ecstatic. First of all I had passes to meet the guys of Trivium. Secondly it would be my second time seeing Killswitch Engage, and my third time seeing God Forbid. I was also looking forward to hearing some music from two bands I had never heard before, Battlecross and Pop Evil. One was great and the other was ok, but we’ll cover that later.

The House of Blues opened its doors at 4:00 on Friday, by 5:00 the club was about three-quarters filled. The first band to hit the stage was Battlecross. I enjoyed this band very much, in fact for a band I had never seen before, they blew me away. They played about five songs including an awesome cover of Pantera’s, “Fucking Hostile.”

Next up was God Forbid, and I’d have to say they were the third best band of the night. They started off with the great “Don’t Tell Me What to Dream.”  This was shortly followed by “Better Days” which is one of my favorite early God Forbid songs. The band then played “Overcome” which is a great song from their latest effort. They then played “Equilibrium” which is the title track of their latest album and one of my favorite songs. The band closed their set with “The End of The World.” The band sounded great throughout their set, and should have been much higher on the bill.

The next band to come on was Emmure. I don’t understand why they were selected for this tour. In fact I think everyone in the House of Blues was thinking the same thing. They are more in the deathcore camp. The band came out and played a short set that was ok, but really nothing special.

A band called Pop Evil took the stage; truthfully I was not expecting a band like this. They were truly the odd men out of the tour, but took this as a challenge and put together a good set. They may have killed the pit, but fans heads happily bobbed away.

Orlando metal titans Trivium were up next. I’ve seen this band so many times that I knew they’d put on an amazing set, and I definitely was right. I was blown away with what the band did with the short amount of time the band had. They opened up with “In Waves” the title track off of their latest release. This was followed by “Pull Harder on The Strings of Your Martyr” a crowd favorite off of 2005’s Ascendancy. This was followed by “Rain” which is also off of Ascendancy. This was followed by one of my all-time favorite Trivium tracks, “Caustic Are the Ties That Bind.” The way the band changes dynamics in this song is truly mind-boggling, going from heavy to almost ballad like in the span of minutes.  The band then through in a surprise with “Torn Between Scylla and Charybdis” off of 2008’s Shogun. This was the first tour the band had played the song on so I thought it was a real treat. Trivium closed out their set with the great track “Throes of Perdition.” Trivium was definitely one of the highlights of the night.

Killswitch Engage were definitely one of the highlights, especially since it was a practically a hometown show for the band, and you could tell the audience was behind the band 100%. Needless to say I was also ecstatic about seeing Killswitch’s original singer, Jesse Leach back with the band. The band started out with “Rose of Sharyn” and “Fixation on The Darkness.” They followed this up with the new track, “No End in Sight.”  The band then played some more songs, but what really got the crowd going were the last four songs which included, “My Last Serenade,” “The End of Heartache,” “My Curse,” and a great rendition of the Dio classic “Holy Diver.”

After Killswitch’s I decided to take off as I realized nothing Five Finger Death Punch could do would ever top the amazing performances that Killswitch and Trivium put on.

 

-B. Harlow

 

August Burns Red, Silverstein, Texas in July, and I The Breather: At The House Of Blues Boston 2/29/12

The House of Blues in Boston is situated in one of my favorite parts of Boston. In the shadow of Fenway Park the HOB is a great place to see a show. On Wednesday Febuary 29^th three friends and I braved the elements of snow and rain to see the almighty August Burns Red, Silverstein, Texas in July, and I The Breather.

I the Breather: I the Breather was up first. By the time my friends and I got through security they were almost done with their set. From what I heard they sounded really good. I’d listened to them before and hope to see them play a full set sometime.

Texas In July:  Texas In July a five piece from Ephrata, Pennsylvania impressed me with their set. Let me start by saying that each member of this band has their own unique stage presence. Let’s start with drummer Adam Gray; while the band was doing their line check Gray was having fun with the audience (who was clapping along) while he was sound checking. Gray put on a drum clinic when the band played his set. He also made an appearance later in the show playing with abr. Next You have guitarist Christian Royer who’s stage presence was beyond belief, a true perform. Royer reminds me of Dillinger Escape Plan’s Ben Weinman the way he moves about. Bassist Ben Witkowski moves around so much that it’s hard to find him on stage. Whether it was moving in a circular motion or jumping around the stage, bass in hand you knew this dude was having fun. Front-man Alex Good put on a great show as did Christian Royer but those two stayed mostly on the other side of the stage so I didn’t get to see their performance as well. The Band played a great set including ‘Hook, Line, and Sinner’ and ‘Elements’. This band is going to be huge.

Silverstein: This band came on and I just wanted to disappear. In my opinion they didn’t fit the bill at all but thank god for August Burns Red who came on next.

August Burns Red: Next up was August Burns Red Lead by Vocalist/Theologian Jake Luhrs. In my honest opinion ABR is one of the best live bands I’ve ever seen. Starting off with the track ’Empire’ ABR Launched into a killer set. The third song of the night ‘Internal Cannon’  was one of my favorite songs off ABR’s 2011 album ‘Leveler’ (Solid State) and these guys can pull this song off live without a hitch (Including the Salsa-esque breakdown).  The band continued to pull off their songs note for note as the night went on.  When the band played ‘Meridian’ it was apparent how great musicians/composers these guys are. The band went on to play the track ‘Leveler’ which was followed by a masterful drum solo by Matt Greiner featuring Texas in July’s Adam Gray. After the Drum solo the band came back to play an encore which consisted of two songs, including one of my favorite songs ‘Composure’.

This show set the bar for shows in the future. Guitar players JB Brubaker and Brent Rambler exemplify how two guitar players should work together. Their skill at mixing and matching really comes through the mix along with the low end rumble added by bassist Dustin Davidson.

Overall this was a great show, and I can’t wait to see August Burns Red, Texas in July, and I The Breather again.

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Photos Courtesy of Alerion Photography and JB Brubaker’s Official Twitter Account

In Flames, Trivium, Veil of Maya, and Kyng at the Worcester Palladium 2/17/12

B. Harlow

Friday February 17^th, a day that had been marked on my calendar for weeks. Needless to say when the day came, I was excited. The main reason for the excitement was because on that day I would be seeing my favorite metal band Trivium play a show with Swedish metal veterans In Flames at the Worcester Palladium, and also because myself and a friend of mine got a chance to hang out with Trivium before the show.  Opening up the show was Kyng (Album Review Here) a rocking three piece that played a killer set. Next up was Veil of Maya, I did not know much about this band but they show something not many bands have, groove. Next was the almighty Trivium who played about a 50 minute set, followed by the melo-death pioneers, In Flames.

Kyng: Kyng played about six songs and really warmed the crowd up well. I feel as if most people didn’t think they fit the bill, but by the end of their set the whole audience was won over.  They played a great set including one of my favorite of theirs entitled ‘Falling Down’.

Veil of Maya: Don’t know too much about them but I hope to look into more of their music.

Trivium: As I said, one of my favorite bands so I’m very biased but they put on an amazing show. They started off with the title track of their new record ‘In Waves’ (Roadrunner) .  Trivium then went on to perform two tracks off of their second album ‘Ascendancy’ (Roadrunner) and six other tracks from ‘In Waves’ Including one of my favorite tracks entitled ‘Caustic Are the Ties That Bind’ which I’ve seen them perform twice, and each time it’s a real showstopper. They then finished their set off with two tracks off 2008’s ‘Shogun’ (Roadrunner)  ‘Down From the Sky ‘ was first and then the almighty ‘Throes of Perdition’ finished off Trivium’s night in bombastic fashion.

In Flames: Interestingly enough In Flames has become one of my favorite bands since my friend Alex introduced them to me a couple years ago. From what I saw from my side of the stage was an awesome performance including ‘Sounds of a Playground Fading’ and ‘Deliver Us’ off of the band’s latest record ‘Sounds of a Playground Fading’ (Century). Around the end of the fourth song ‘Alias’ My friend and I had the unfortunate experience of having beer spilled on us and seeing what was the beginnings of a wild night for Palladium security so we left. I had hoped to have seen the rest of In Flames set but being drenched in beer is just not the greatest feeling.

Overall a great show with four great bands, and a night I won’t soon forget!

Machine Head and Darkest Hour- The Palladium 2/4/12

The Palladium in Worcester, MA is heavy metal Mecca for people who live in Massachusetts and New England. Hosting concerts as diverse as B.B. King, to Slayer, to Tyga, the Palladium has seen so much history within its walls. The Worcester Palladium also houses the annual New England Hardcore and Heavy Metal festival, which brings together the metal community, and many of its top bands. On Saturday evening I had the pleasure to see Machine Head, Suicide Silence, and Darkest Hour at the Palladium with a good friend.

Darkest Hour- Darkest Hour has been one of my favorite bands for about two or three years, and I was very happy to see them grace the stage at the Palladium. Guitarists Mike Schleibaum and Mike ‘Lonestar’ Carrigan really steal the show in Darkest Hour, showing tremendous prowess on their instruments whether on lead or rhythm. Lead vocalist and band co-founder John Henry put on a great performance through their whole set. The rhythm section featuring drummer Timothy Java (replaced Ryan Parrish in December) also played an amazing set.

Suicide Silence– Personally I don’t understand this band, they have a groove, but I just don’t get it. I have to give it up though to lead vocalist Mitch Lucker, who has an amazing stage presence.

Machine Head: Next up was the headliner, Machine Head. Starting with an intro featuring Ozzy Osbourne’s ‘Diary of a Madman’ and then launching into their opening number ‘I Am Hell’ from their latest album ‘Unto the Locust’(Roadrunner). About halfway through the set they played the track ‘Asthetics of Hate’ in tribute to the fallen great Dimebag Darrell. During the song the band projected an image of Dime’s silhouette which aroused a hearty applause from the audience. Another highlight of Machine Head’s set was when they played the beautifully written ‘Darkness Within’ which starts out with just an acoustic guitar and then proceeds to build to an epic level. One of the coolest things I’ve seen at a concert was during the song ‘Who We Are’ when the band projected pictures of fans from that show with lyrics and messages written on their skin or on paper. They finished their set with ‘Halo’ and ‘Davidian’ two of their most known and loved tracks. After they finished playing they saluted their fans by throwing picks and drumsticks to the audience. I happened to catch one of these drumsticks which made a great evening, even better.

Photos courtesy of http://www.shockblastmedia.com/

Gigantour 2012: Megadeth, Mötorhead, Volbeat, and Lacuna Coil

On Friday January 27th a friend and I journeyed to the Mohegan Sun Casino in  Uncasville, C.T. to see the return of Dave Mustaine’s Gigantour after a four year absence.  Having seen Megadeth three times in the last year I can say that they honestly put on one of the best shows in heavy metal.

Lacuna Coil: I had heard some of Lacuna Coil’s material before but wasn’t to familiar with it. They put on a good show. My only critique was that they could have been louder.

VolBeat: Volbeat came on next, and put on one of the most surprising shows I’ve ever seen. Pure adrenaline mixed with loud amplifiers. I was very surprised with Volbeat because on record they sound like Metallica mixed with Johnny Cash, but live  they give off a very balls out punk rock feel that was reminiscent of Social Distortion. I was also surprised and happy to hear them play a bit of Slayer’s ‘Raining Blood’ to close out their set.

Mötorhead: Next up was Lemmy and his gang of misfit pirates: Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee. Mötorhead put on a great set of eleven songs, including a bombastic drum solo by Mikkey Dee. The set comprised many gems from the Mötorhead catalog including Damage Case, Killed by Death, Ace of Spades, and a shortened version of Overkill. 

Megadeth: Curtain comes down and the arena was off and rolling to a killer set by Mustaine and company. Megadeth played 14 songs in total, all were received well by the audience especially Peace Sells and Holy Wars. Overall the show was great but lacked key tracks in Megadeth’s discography. One nice thing however was the inclusion of ‘Public Enemy No. 1’ off of the band’s latest effort Th1rt3en (Roadrunner). Also lacking in Megadeth’s set was an appearance from the group’s mascot Vic Rattlehead. But other than that these guys know how to pack-the-punch and put on a killer show.

Overall all four of the bands put on a killer show and it was great to see all these bands from right in front of the barricade.