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. Continue reading In Flames @ Terminal 5 (12/7/2008)→
Poison continued the summer shows with an appearance in Holmdel, NJ at the PNC Bank Arts Center. This go round would bring both Dokken and Sebastian Bach along for the ride and we made sure to be a part of the fun in order to bring you the scoop. Scroll past the logo below to be brought to our article to see our thoughts and photos of the bands.
Artist: Poison Venue: PNC Bank Arts Center (Holmdel, NJ) Opener: Dokken, Sebastian Bach Date: 8/12/2008 Label: Koch Records
Over the last couple of years I have not been able to say that the summer was drawing to a close until I had attended one of the Poison “shed” concerts that always seem to come around these parts around the same time each year. For me, these shows were only a recent bit of fun to attend as I grew up entrenched in a much darker and a lot heavier type of Metal. Based on this fact I had to say that any love for Poison and how they did things was always kept on the low end of the conversation. Of course as time went on and my musical interests expanded I grew to appreciate just how much fun they were in concert and how catchy and relevant their music was when it came to living ones life in good spirits and with a smile. Poison had done some great summer shows over the last couple of years as well and my first go round was checking them out with Cinderella and the following year with Ratt. This time around would find not only the eighties staple Dokken, but also a performance from Skid Row’s former front man Sebastian Bach. Surely this was going to be a rocking night and Bach would be coming on first. The adventure was also taking place at the PNC Bank Arts Center, where I had just seen the Metal Masters tour the previous week. Continue reading Poison & Dokken @ PNC Bank Arts Center (8/12/2008)→
Artist: Vision Of Disorder Title: “Dead In New York” Label: Koch Records Release Date: 11/11/2008 Genre: Hardcore Punk/Thrash Metal Rating: 2.5/5
Vision Of Disorder was a Hardcore/Thrash Metal band that hailed from Long Island, New York and was most active from their inception year of 1992 until their official breakup in 2002. They would release four albums over the course of their career on both Roadrunner Records and TVT Records and after some time apart the guys would do some reunion appearances in 2006 for the Super Bowl of Hardcore that reminded their fans of what they were about and how they had not lost any of their zeal for the scene. The DVD “Dead In New York” captures one of these reunion appearances in the band’s native Long Island at a popular club from the region called Club Ritual – it’s with this film that we see just how important the band was to the Hardcore scene in the eyes of their fans because the club appears to be packed to the rafters. The reunion footage finds all original members in place with Tim Williams (vocals), Matt Baumbach (guitar), Mike Kennedy (guitar), Mike Fleischmann (bass) and Brendan Cohen (drums) all playing their hearts out for the hungry crowd. Continue reading “Dead In New York” by Vision Of Disorder→
Artist: Look What I Did Title: “Minuteman For The Moment” Label: Combat Records/Koch Release: October 4, 2005 Genre: Post-Hardcore Rating: 4/10
Look What I Did is a post-hardcore band from Nashville, Tennessee. The band is Barry on vocals, Skeet on guitar, Colby on guitar, Chris on bass, and Miles on drums. This band is unique in the way that you don’t know quite what to classify them into. Are they hardcore? Are they screamo? It’s a toss up but it’s definitely an eccentric arrangement of music that they play. Honestly, it’s more like a pop punk record that tries to be metal. Continue reading “Minuteman For The Moment” by Look What I Did→
Artist: At All Cost Title: “It‘s Time To Decide” Label: Combat Records/Koch Release: 9/20/2005 Genre: Metalcore Rating: 6/10
At All Cost, bringing us their debut album on Combat Records is from Austin, Texas. With members Trey Ramirez (guitar), Andrew Collins (vocals), Grant Anderson (drums), Bobby Andrew (bass) and Michael Theo bald (guitar), “It’s Time To Decide” was born. Another dose of what is commonly called “metalcore” At All Cost incorporate elements of metal with soaring guitars and melodic vocals, with elements of hardcore, bringing in hard beats and fierce vocals. A combination that has become very popular and done by many as of late, At All Cost gives it a fair shot. Continue reading “It’s Time To Decide” by At All Cost→