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Slipknot’s “Knotfest” @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater (8/28/2019)

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Artist: Slipknot
Venue: Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater (Wantaugh, NY)
Opener: Behemoth, Gojira and Volbeat
Date: 8/28/2019
Label: Roadrunner Records

The mega-concert event known as “The Knotfest Roadshow” was rumbling through cities of these United States and laying waste to anything that stood in its way. One could not expect anything less from a touring package that brought together bands like Behemoth, Gojira and Volbeat who lead off the day before a crushing/thrilling/energetic set by the one and only Slipknot. The weather report was on the grim side which made the long haul out to Wantaugh in Long Island a bit of a bother as the Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater venue is an outdoor space but once sufficiently prepped and packed for the adventure I girded myself properly for a sure to be fun time. The show started early, and I mean 5:30 early which was the slot held by Behemoth and there was no way that I was missing them so here is how their set and the rest of the event took place.

stage setups, behemoth, behemoth stage setup

Behemoth: Now according to my concert playbook, I have caught Behemoth a few times over the last couple of years and I didn’t mind this at all since I absolutely love what they do on the stage. It was going to be interesting to see the Metal Blade artist in the daylight this afternoon and with their hitting the stage at this early a time if you were stuck in that Long Island traffic you were not going to catch them at all since they were only going to give us about a thirty minute set. After a brief audio playback, the incendiary might that is Behemoth were on the stage and sporting the masks one would see during a full headlining set. Though this was to be a brief performance the band was on fire and quite literally as jets of flame shot from the rear of stage while singer Nergal also brought some out and offered up some homage to the Dark Gods at one point. To say that they crushed would be an understatement and since this was really early the venue was not yet full so far too many people missed a really overpowering set. I cannot wait to catch this band when they headline or co-headline with another superpower in the future. Gojira was coming up next.

Behemoth Set List: Wolves ov Siberia, Daimonos, Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer, Bartzabel, Conquer All, Sabbath Mater, Chant for Eschaton 2000
Continue reading Slipknot’s “Knotfest” @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater (8/28/2019)

Slipknot Announces The “Knotfest Roadshow” For 2019

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The rumblings about something big being announced by Slipknot today were being shared across the Interwebs late yesterday and now the message is clear and the news and dates are here! Behold – The Slipknot “Knotfest Roadshow” – Coming to event spaces near you this summer. Read on down below about the whole enchilada.

tour posters, slipknot, slipknot tour posters, roadrunner records artists

The Press Release:
SLIPKNOT have announced their live return, unveiling details of their massive Knotfest Roadshow headline tour set to traverse across North America this summer. Volbeat, Gojira, and Behemoth will join as special guests on all dates. Produced by Live Nation, the 29-city outing will kick off July 26th in Mountain View, CA at Shoreline Amphitheater and continue through September 8th where it will conclude with a performance at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands, TX (see itinerary below).

SLIPKNOT have also revealed that they will release their long awaited new studio album on August 9th. Each pair of tickets purchased online for Slipknot’s 2019 tour comes with a digital copy of their upcoming new album, scheduled for release August 9, 2019. Further instructions will be available upon purchase with additional album details to be revealed in the coming weeks. For more information visit the website at the close.
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“7th Symphony” by Apocalyptica

Artist: Apocalyptica
Title: “7th Symphony”
Label: Jive Music
Release Date: 8/24/2010
Genre: Classical Metal
Rating: 4.25/5

Like a breath of fresh, cold Scandinavian air comes the latest release by Finland’s Apocalyptica. While I am thinking that you should know who they are by now, I will indulge the newcomer by saying that they are the band that made playing the cello not only cool but frigging awesome. Many of their original fans came to love them from their renditions of Metallica standards. With this in your memory banks we can now get down to business about their new album “7th Symphony”. The release is the bands seventh recording which makes the title rather kitsch and it follows suit with their previous album “World’s Collide” by making strong use of their instrumental fare and a number of well-known musical guests to provide vocals on the remaining tracks. I have to take a moment and revisit a minor issue that I felt with their “Worlds Apart” release and that was my initial worry about how the guest appearances seemed to take away from the magic that was Apocalyptica music and how I felt these tunes sounded more like the bands that the singers came from than they should have. Looking back on this I have to say that I was wrong because it really ended up working in the bands behalf and brought them to greater heights than had they not chosen to do so. Hearing Eicca, Perttu, Paavo and Mikko with new voices to their compositions was truly interesting from beginning to end. Here is the layout of this musical map.
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“Inflikted” by Cavalera Conspiracy

Artist: Cavalera Conspiracy
Title: “Inflikted”
Label: Roadrunner Records
Release Date: 3/24/2008
Genre: Heavy Metal
Rating: 4/5

It seemed that while the legendary Brazilian Metal band Sepultura had continued on for many years with different members in its roster that the hardest core of its following had not so secretly hoped for a reunion of the band with singer Max Cavalera fronting it once again. For many this made sense as over time the band had morphed quite a bit from its original style with their no longer new singer Green, but when Igor Cavalera chose to move on from the lineup as well it seemed as though the brothers would never again be working together – until now. Presenting the Cavalera Conspiracy, a reunion of sorts but in truth also a brand spanking new and exciting collaboration between the siblings that is sure to satisfy even the most critical of the Sepultura legions. The band also features the talents of Marc Rizzo (Soulfly, Il Nino) and Joe Duplantier (Gojira) on guitar and bass respectively and in the end delivers a crushing debut that offers a number of highlights. One could expect that with this lineup making up the bands core that there would be tastes of the Thrashing we found in bands like Soulfly and Sepultura with a lot of the groove we found in Gojira and in the end that is pretty much was is to be found on this hell raising release. The album starts off strong and finds the brothers in a lock with one another that might surprise those who recall the more than ten years it had been since they worked on material together. It’s great to find that the familial bond had kept these guys in sync with one another and the tightness of the band can literally be felt on every track. The album begins with “Inflikted”, which is not only a crushing intro to the band but it had a tasty Middle Eastern guitar vibe during parts of it that made it all the more interesting. Coincidently, “Inflikted” was supposed to be the bands name but I think it was the wiser choice to play off the family name for this project. “Sanctuary” will start off the circle pits without question as Rizzo deftly displays just how good a guitarist he is over the thundering drumming of Igor, it’s a tune that is half Thrash and half slow breakdowns that will really get the audience moving when delivered in concert.
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In Flames @ Terminal 5 (12/7/2008)

Logo - In Flames

Artist: In Flames
Venue: Terminal 5 (New York, NY)
Opener: Gojira, 36 Crazyfists
Date: 12/7/2008
Label: Koch Entertainment

While we all know that a headlining appearance of In Flames is always a good thing, I had to admit that the main reason I was interested in this particular show was based on it featuring both All That Remains and Gojira – two bands that I really enjoy in concert as well but never seem to catch often enough for a decently timed set. Sadly as the date approached, All That Remains would pull off the tour based on singer Labonte’s health issues and that left the gigs at the now bumped up to direct support Gojira and openers 36 Crazyfists. The show was being held in New York’s Terminal 5 which was still on the new side and had hosted a great number of Metal and Hard Rock shows. It was my first time to visit the place so I was rather excited about that as well. The spacious venue is located on 56th Street off of 11th Avenue and that’s a pretty healthy trek if you are not driving. I had to say that I am never against a decent walk and this place is closest to the 8th Avenue line at Columbus Circle, but this evening had to be one of the coldest and windiest nights that the winter had offered up so far and that made getting into the venue something that be done quickly and without side stops. Here is how the killer show went down for those who did not attend, and based on the venue appearing packed I am not sure exactly who that means in the NYC Metal Community. Alaska’s 36 Crazyfists were up first.
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