Tag Archives: sounds of the underground

Music, Reviews

“Sounds Of The Underground” – Hot Topic Limited Edition by Various Artists

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Artist: Various Artists
Title: “Sounds Of The Underground” – Hot Topic Limited Edition
Label: Metal Blade, Ferret Music, Prosthetic Records, Trustkill
Release Date: 6/19/2007
Genre: Heavy Metal
Rating: 3.5/5

The Sounds Of The Underground tour is an event that caters primarily to the fans of Extreme and Metalcore music. The first one happened in 2005 and proved to be a great alternative for the Metal heads that were rapidly losing interest in events like Ozzfest. It was a tour that focused more on the bands that were excellent to many, but still considered to be on an underground level as opposed to being a band who every person had a tee shirt of. The first tour found bands like Gwar, Unearth, All That Remains, Devildriver, Chimaira and Lamb Of God all appearing on the same stage and with an affordable ticket price the audiences at every show would really be getting their moneys worth. Since this tour every one of these particular bands has been able to develop an even larger audience of loyal Metal acolytes and were no longer quite as underground as they once had been. When it returned in 2006 it proved that there would be no sophomore curse as the tour brought on powerhouses like Behemoth and Dragonforce who each brought new levels of impact to an already impressive lineup. Audiences who attended this one sure had something to talk to their friends about after this one. As it approaches its third go round in 2007, the fine people at Hot Topic have decided to give you all a treat and offer a special deal of more Metal than you would ever expect in one package. On the “Sounds Of The Underground” Tour CD/DVD you will find tracks and videos from all the bands who make up this years roster and I have to tell you that it is an impressive list. Some of my personal favorites appear on this release such as Amon Amarth (Viking Warrior Kings of Metal), Goatwhore (USA’s Black Metal Elite) and Shadow’s Fall (do I even need a description for these guys? No, I didn’t think so). I’m sure as you glance over the contents some groups will immediately have you raising the horns.
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Reviews, Videos

“Sounds of the Underground, Vol. 1: Live From the Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, July 2, 2005” by Various Artists

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Artist: Various Artists
Title: “Sounds Of The Underground 2005”
Label: DRT Entertainment
Release Date: 6/20/2006
Genre: Heavy Metal
Rating: 7/10

How can one describe the “Sounds Of The Underground” tour of 2005 to those that did not witness it for themselves. To be honest, if it was in your means to attend and you didn’t you very simply missed out on one of the greatest alternatives to the Ozzfest tour. Your chance to see what you missed comes now as a result of this DVD entitled “Sounds Of The Underground: Live At The Starland Ballroom Pt. 1” coming at you courtesy of DRT Entertainment. This DVD brings you up close and personal to sixteen of the performances from the show at Sayreville’s notable venue and while it is not the full show it should serve as something to spark the interest in your future attendance. The film itself is a little different for while it shows you killer songs from Lamb Of God, Devildriver and Unearth you are also getting a fully enjoyable view into the backstage antics from this tour. The show this comes from was filmed on one of the hottest days the Summer of 2005 had to offer and stayed true to the Metal cause. The viewer is able to see just how much fun the guys in the bands were able to have and while sometimes this footage gets arduous to watch I did not find it to be the case here. The bonus features continues the amount of backstage footage and interviews and to be honest this all should have been a separate DVD while performances were focused on their own. A lot of the interview footage is done by the lead singers of both Lamb Of God and GWAR, both being very well-done and amusing showing that the bands were not taking this too seriously outside of their lethal performances. There are also some fun interactions with the fans. Musically the viewer will most likely remember the performance of Strapping Young Lad that also included some on the spot ventriloquism by lead singer Devon Townsend along with the very different styles of the band Clutch.
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Events, Reviews

The Sounds Of The Underground @ Starland Ballroom (7/2/2005)

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Logo - SOTU

Artist: Lamb Of God, Clutch
Venue: Starland Ballroom (Sayreville, NJ)
Opener: The Red Chord, Devil Driver, A Life Once Lost, All That Remains, Madball, High on Fire, Strapping Young Lad, Throwdown, Every Time I Die, Norma Jean, GWAR, Opeth, Chimaira, Poison the Well, Unearth, From Autumn to Ashes
Label: Various Labels
Date: 7/2/2005
Genre: Heavy Metal

The Sounds Of The Underground Tour for 2005 rolled into the parking area of The Starland Ballroom today and it was truly a day to be reckoned with. This tour has been steamrolling venues recently and how can a Festival that brings you 18 of the hardest bands around do any less. Some listed shows had 22 groups but due to some scheduling conflicts we would have 18 at our day. Given the fact that this would prove to be one of the hotter days of the Summer I was quite happy with the 18. My overall plan for the day was to absorb as much of the bands as possible, with particular focus on some that I have either never seen, or had wanted to see once again. As the sun blazed above us The Red Chord began their set. I was still on the very long entry line in and as a result basically heard more than saw this Metal Blade Records band. I do feel that they were better live than on the CD that I own. Devil Driver came up almost immediately and were excellent. This band features Dez formerly of Coal Chamber and I most definitely want to see them perform again.
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