DevilDriver headlines insane show at Jester’s Pub!

On March 18, 2008, DevilDriver’s Bound by the Road Tour came to Jester’s Pub in Fayetteville, NC! Supporting DevilDriver were Straight Line Stitch, Invitro, 36 Crazyfists, and Napalm Death. Walls of Jericho was supposed to play, but they were not able to attend, so Straight Line Stitch was put on the bill. From start to finish, this show was one of the craziest shows I have ever been too!

The first band to play was Tennessee’s own Straight Line Stitch. When I first heard that they were supposed to play instead of Walls of Jericho, I wasn’t sure what to expect since I had never heard them before, but I was extremely impressed with this band. The one person in SLS I was most impressed with was their bassist, Jason White. This guy was amazing! He was incredibly fast and was actually sweep picking on his six-string bass! If he had done a harmonic bend and spun it around his body, he would have done it all! The guitarists Seth Thacker and Tim Chapell definitely helped put on a great show with their skills. The other member I was extremely impressed with was their drummer, Patrick Haynes. He had some incredible double bass skills whether he was using one foot or both feet! Heading this great band up was vocalist Alexis Brown. This girl could growl! Because of the sound levels, I couldn’t hear her as well when she was singing clean, but her growl was intense and she can spin her crazy extensions with the best of metalheads! Overall, SLS put on a great show and really got this concert off to a great start!

The next band to play had the weirdest entrance I have ever seen! The band was Speed metal band, Invitro, and these guys came out in lab coats with tin foil on their heads! I believe they were a guitarist down because there were only four members playing, but they put on one excellent show. I’m not much of a Speed metal fan, but I can’t deny that Invitro knows Speed metal. Vocalist Jeff Weber could scream and sing very well as he hit every part of the stage along with their bassist Brad Dujmovic, who displayed great stage presence as he jumped around and bounced from each side of the stage to the other. Joining him from time to time in the jumping and stage show was guitarist Mikey Doling, who could wail on guitar! Last, but certainly not least, was drummer Benny Cancino. Not only was Benny just a good drummer, this guy was wailing on his drums to accent his insanely fast double bass skills! All in all, I was impressed with their entire show and wouldn’t mind seeing them again in the future.

The third band to hit the stage was Alaskan four-piece, the 36 Crazyfists! This was the first band to play that I was really there for, and I was not disappointed. I wasn’t quite familiar with their set because I haven’t kept quite as updated on their material, but they put on one heck of a show! Throughout the set, vocalist Brock Lindow proved his ability to scream as he screamed more live than on the album with the help of guitarist Steve Holt’s back-up vocals. Not only could Steve also scream, he showed his ability to rip it on guitar and cover while their guitar tech (filling in on bass) had to run off the stage to get cables to play with when his wireless battery died. Bassist Mick Whitney couldn’t attend because he was with his wife who was giving birth to their new daughter. As for their drummer Thomas Noonan, another great drummer! Thomas definitely kept with the night’s pattern of entertaining drummers and helped pull the sound of the band together for a great show! To help finish the last few songs of the set, Jason White from Straight Line Stitch came out and took over on bass. Before the show, I was able to hang out with Steve and I got a great interview with him. I found out about his experience helping with the Roadrunner United: The All Stars album and working with Joey Jordison from Slipknot on that and some cool things about their touring and whatnot. I had a great time hanging out with Steve and I can’t wait to see these guys again!

Next to play was Metal legend band, Napalm Death! Hailing from Birmingham, England, ND is playing in their 27th year in existence as a band and I can see why they have lasted this long! During their set, the sound was never properly fixed, so they had to struggle through that, but they still displayed their skills to crowd that was going nuts for them. They weren’t my favorite band of the night, but I enjoyed their set. Just as the three drummers before him in the show, Danny Herrera played with extreme skill and fast double bass (despite the mics on his drums not being right). Guitarist Mitch Harris and bassist Shane Embury were both great players, but they didn’t move around as much as they could have. This didn’t take away from their playing, they just didn’t display a great deal of stage show. Vocalist Mark “Barney” Greenway was growling pretty well through the set and was bouncing a bit around the stage between lyrics. Overall, ND played a pretty good set and I wouldn’t mind seeing them with all the sound issues worked out.

Finally, the moment I had been waiting for 2 or 3 years for happened! DevilDriver took the stage and the place went absolutely insane! This was one of the craziest concert experiences I have ever had as I was smashed up against wooden railing at the edge of the stage, stuck between people so that it was hard to headbang or do a whole lot of anything. DD played through a great set including songs from all three of their albums including “Grinf**ked” (one of my favorites), “I Could Care Less”, “These Fighting Words”, “Sin & Sacrifice” (another favorite), “Clouds Over California”, “I Dreamed I Died” (another favorite), and their encore song “End of the Line”. Honestly, I couldn’t have asked for much more out of DD; they were amazing! Dez Fafara’s vocals were right on, guitarists Jeff Kendrick and Mike Spreitzer were awesome, Jon Miller was killin’ it on bass, and John Boecklin’s drumming was massive! To top off the line of drummers with fast double bass skills, John definitely was the ultimate finisher! The overall stage presence of the whole band was great, being led by Dez who can definitely work a crowd! Overall, perfect show! Before the show, I got a quick interview with Jeff where I learned that the band’s name was actually Dez’s wife’s idea and that the logo is actually a form of the cross of confusion. Basically, the cross of confusion stands for questioning everything, where the person using it can take it as far as they wish.

All in all, I had the time of my life at this show and I can’t wait to see DevilDriver in action again! Altogether, this whole tour line-up couldn’t be much more perfect and I’m glad I got to witness this show!

Red I Flight – The Years
Victory Records

(5/5)

Honestly, Red I Flight’s debut album The Years has taken the Metal world by storm! Throughout all 10 tracks, RIF brings a constant, aggressive attack filled with extreme double bass, “slice ‘n’ dice” guitars, vigorous vocal work, and precisely placed 808 (aka “bass blasts”). Leading the adrenaline filled attack is vocalist Josh Robinson. Throughout the entire album Josh proves time and time again that he possesses what it takes to be a great vocalist with his unique mixture of Death metal style growls with intense screams and a few clean parts thrown in there! The second line of attack comes from guitarists Matt Earp and Eric Gerloff. With the help of bassist Mike Polec, Matt and Eric help pull the sound together to link the crazy drums and vocals. That leaves Jesse Robinson to bring up the tail end of the attack, riding on the pounding toms and quick double bass of the drums! Altogether, this five-piece makes for one unstoppable team with an incredible debut album under their belts! Out of the 10 tracks, it’s hard to choose favorites, but my top three are “Bullets Over Prayers” (track 3), “Introlude” (track 7), and “Rock Biter Song” (track 8). “Bullets Over Prayers” tops the list, mainly, because of the vocal effects created by Josh. He mixes his growl and scream during part of the lyrics to create a very demonic sounding growl that’s really unique. “Introlude” and “Rock Biter Song” really come in together since “Introlude” is really an intro into “Rock Biter…”, but they are both awesome in their own respects. “Introlude” is great for it’s use of three 808′s, two of them being before you ever hear lyrics in the song. The overall product of “Rock Biter…” put it in the top, but the amazing guitar work mixed with the vocals definitely help it along. Overall, I wouldn’t say that the vocal or music work on any of the songs drag any of them down, but certain aspects of each help some songs in being better than others. RIF’s skills and talents are consistent throughout the album, helping produce an amazing debut that will have you headbanging and moshing in no time!

Handheld – Handheld
Year of the Sun Records

(3.5/5)

If you’re looking for a generic mix of Green Day and Bad Religion, check out Handheld’s self-titled, full length, album on Year of the Sun Records. Handheld has successfully taken the Punk Rock sound of Green Day and put it together with the speed and 2-3 minute song lengths that Bad Religion has been popular for throughout their career. Despite whether or not this is my favorite style of Punk or music genre period, I must admit that these guys have managed to perfect their sound to be popular among the Punk crowd of today! On a more technical note, I really haven’t found a song I like any better than the others, but bassist Ricky Guerrero proves time and time again that he definitely has skills as a Punk bassist. Overall, if you like Green Day with some good ol’ Bad Religion thrown in the mix, I recommend picking up Handheld’s self-titled album!

3 supports Chevelle for the first time during sold out show!

On March 10, 2008, Metal Blade Records band 3 played at Jester’s Pub in Fayetteville, NC for the first time during their first show supporting Chevelle on their current tour. 3′s efforts were joined by another New York Rock band, God or Julie, making for a great “change of pace” show experience for me!

Before telling about the show itself, I would like to personally (once again) thank the guys from 3 for being so cool and letting me hang out with them after there were some guest list issues with the venue. This was the first time I’ve ever had the opportunity to be around a band for the entire show and experience what crew members do for a band. Thanks again guys! I had a blast and I want to thank Joey for doing the interview with me!

Continuing on to the show, the first band to play was God or Julie from Brooklyn, New York. In my opinion, this band was a great choice for an opening act on this tour because of their sound! I heard a mix of styles from both Chevelle and 3 in this band as well as a bit of an original sound giving them a great Progressive sort of Rock feel. Although I’m not too familiar with the band, their set started out with a great cover of “No Quarter” by Led Zeppelin, giving them an edge since that is not a typical cover for bands to play. Not only is it a unique cover, but it sounded great! Overall their set was good and they got this show off to a great start.

The next band to run the stage was Progressive Rock band 3 from Woodstock, New York. Honestly, these guys sound great on album, but that doesn’t even come close to their live performance! I was really excited to finally see these five guys play live and they definitely didn’t let me down! Throughout their set, 3 played songs from both their newest album The End is Begun and the album before that one, Wake Pig. The first song performed was my overall favorite 3 song from Wake Pig, “Alien Angel”, for which they have a great music video! The set continued through six songs or so including some of my favorites from The End is Begun such as the title track “The End is Begun”, “Battle Cry”, “All That Remains” (for which there is also a music video), and “These Iron Bones”. To end the set, 3 played a couple more songs from Wake Pig including “Monster” and “Bramfatura” with “Amazed Disgrace” on the end of it. You really have to see 3 play live to understand the incredible talent that was portrayed and really brought out in the end with an amazing acoustic solo by lead singer/guitarist Joey Eppard and a drum solo/”battle” constructed of the talents of drummer Chriss Gartmann and percussionist/keyboardist Joe Stote. Throughout the entire set, these guys were supported by and supported the talents of rhythm guitarist Billy Riker and bassist Daniel Grimsland. Overall, the set was amazing and I definitely can’t wait to see these guys again!

At last, Chevelle came on to fulfill their position as headlining band. Since I have not kept to current with their material, I wasn’t quite as into their set, but it was a good one! They did play two songs from each album including “The Red” and “Send the Pain Below” from Wonder What’s Next, so I enjoyed those since I knew them. Other than that, Chevelle played for a good hour or so showing their great stage presence and ability to keep a sold out audience entertained!

With all experiences and thoughts in mind, I had a great time at this show and I will definitely never forget what went on. This show definitely ranks with the Chimaira/All That Remains show for great Rock In Review experiences!

All That Remains and Chimaira put on explosive show in Charlotte!

On March 5, 2008, Ferret Music band Chimaira supported Prosthetic Records band All That Remains in a KILLER show at Amos’ Southend in Charlotte, NC. Joining Chimaira in supporting ATR were Metal band Light This City and Black Tide. Honestly, this show was one of the most aggressive events I have ever witnessed!

The first band to warm up the stage was West Coast Metal machine, Light This City. This was my first experience seeing this band and I was impressed. They were HEAVY! Guitarists Ryan Hansen and Brian Forbes were on top of their games killin’ the six strings and throwin’ in some hair spins and much needed headbanging. Bringin’ up the incredible back bone for LTC were drummer Ben Murray and bassist Jon Frost! The last piece to this puzzle was the brutal screaming of vocalist Laura Nichol. With all the forces of this band are combined, LTC put on a great show and kicked this show off the right way!

The second band to play was definitely the odd band of the tour, but still definitely deserved to be there! This band…is Black Tide. To compare this band to anyone else, they’re like a young Dragonforce without all the sweep picking! As mentioned before, BT was the odd band of the tour because of their style, but they definitely had talent. Guitarists Alex Nunez and Gabriel Garcia helped lead the second wave of attack on Amos’ Southend with bassist Zachary Sandler and drummer/keyboardist Steven Spence. Vocals were shared pretty equally between Zach and Gabriel, but Alex had an input in it every now and again. Overall BT played a great set mostly constructed of original songs, but they also played Metallica’s first written song “Hit The Lights” that appeared on Kill ‘Em All and will be appearing on BT’s new album, Light From Above. These first two band were only setting up for what was to come next!

And what came next was none other than Cleveland’s own Metal task force, Chimaira! Honestly, Chimaira is one of the most aggressive and powerful bands I have EVER heard! If you listen to any of Chimaira’s albums, you’ll get a slight glimpse of their power, but none of the albums compare to their live show! With the combined efforts of guitarists Rob Arnold and Matt Devries with bassist Jon LaMarca, keyboardist/sampler Chris Spicuzza, and returning drummer Andols Herrick, Chimaira proceeded to nearly blow my eardrums with an incredible set consisting of new and old songs. To complete the formula, insanely aggressive vocalist Mark Hunter was leading this set through songs including but not limited to (probably my favorite Chimaira song) “The Flame”, “Resurrection”, and “Salvation”. Pre-show, I was able to get an interview with Matt Devries who had some pretty interesting things to say. When asked about his favorite song off of their latest record Resurrection, he replied with my same favorite song, “The Flame”. He mentioned it was his favorite because of its aggressiveness and that it was so fun to play, although “Six” was another top from the album because it shows the diversity of the band. Matt had also appeared on the Roadrunner United: The All Stars album and said he was honored to be able to have that opportunity to play/record with guys he’s looked up to before and to have time working with Joey Jordison on that album as well. Overall, with the interview and witnessing of their live set, Chimaira helped give me one of the most memorable concert experiences I have had with Rock In Review!

At last it was time for the final wave of attack, All That Remains! Hailing from Springfield, Massachusetts, this five-piece Metalcore band definitely put the perfect finishing touches on an incredible night! This being the third time I’ve seen ATR I kind of knew what to expect, but I was still surprised with the performance of a few of their older songs including the first song vocalist Philip Labonte ever wrote for ATR; I believe it was “Clarity”. At the time that song was released on their first album Behind Silence and Solitude, the only other original member in the band that remains in the band today was guitarist Oli Herbert! Now, joining Oli and Philip in the journey towards making the world a more Metal place are rhythm guitarist Mike Martin, bassist Jeanne Sagan, and their most recent drummer Jason Costa. Together, these five make up an incredible band who have impressed me 3 out of 3 times! As mentioned, on March 5th, ATR played new and old songs including “Not Alone”, This Calling”, “This Darkened Heart”, and for Guitar Hero fans…”Six”! As their encore song, Laura Nichol from Light This City joined Philip in performing the vocals for the closest song ATR has to a Death Metal song, “The Weak Willed”. This was the perfect end to a great show!

All in all, this concert was one for the books and I had a blast getting to experience it! Make sure to catch these bands on tour near you if possible!

Eyes Set To Kill
Alexia – Vocals / Guitar
Brandon – Screams / Keyboards
Greg – Guitar

1. Who are some of the influences for your musical style?
Alexia: I grew up listening to Blink-182 and Green Day, but I like to
think that my biggest influences were Thrice and Muse. Not only their
music, but their attitudes and the way they play with passion.

2. What was your attitude/what feelings went into writing “Reach”?
Alexia: We didn’t really set out to write certain songs for the album
purposely, but whatever I felt on the road or in relationships went
straight to paper. I mostly wrote about longing, hoping, and frustrations
as negative things that most people deal with. Hopefully anyone who
learns our lyrics will be able to relate, and let us help them through
times they thought were impossible to get through.

More positive lyrics were written towards our fans like in “Only Holding
On”. The songs about how life on the road can be discouraging when you
miss what’s home, but fans keep us touring and inspire us every day.

3. How does it feel to be on tour supporting such a great album?
Brandon: It’s awesome because we worked so hard on the album, and now we
get to play all of our new songs for our new/old fans. It’s also cool to
see kids sing along to our songs.

4. How does tour life typically go for Eyes Set To Kill?
Greg: It’s so much fun. We are all best friends…so if you can imagine
touring the country for months at a time, with four of your best
friends, you’ll understand what I mean. Aside from playing shows our
nights usally consists of WAL-MART super center parking lots (because
they have 24 parking). It’s our home away from home.

5. Do you prefer to play big venues or smaller ones?
Alexia: It never really matters to us, just as long as the venue is
packed with people excited to see us as much as we are excited to see them:)

6. What keeps you entertained during down time while on tour?
Greg: Well since we’ve toured so much in the past year, we have made
lots of friends in different states, so if we get lucky, we will find
ourselves spending our down time with friends. If not, it’s all about
the phone games.

7. Is there a meaning behind the cover art for “Reach” or did it just
seem like a good picture?
Alexia: The cover of reach is related to the video of reach. The video
takes place in an old room of an eerie victorian home.

8. How do you feel about the final product for “Reach”?
Alexia: We couldn’t be any happier with the album. We worked really hard
on carefully formating and constructing the songs in between tours. It’s
our first finished album with our most solid lineup and it was Greg and
Caleb’s first time recording with us so they were extra excited when it
was finished.

Of the First Born Son – Of the First Born Son EP
Year of the Sun Records

(4/5)

Of the First Born Son’s self-titled EP “screams” Grindcore! Although there are other influences thrown into the mix, the overall sound of the EP is more Grindcore, but whether you want to call it Metal or Grindcore, it’s HEAVY! From the first few seconds of the first song, “The Attack of Doctor Robotnik”, to the last breakdown in the last track, “Playing Dodgeball With a Shotgun”, OTFBS hits you with shredding guitars from Mike Rideout and Rob Falconer, thundering bass lines from Curt Long, and sick drum parts encompassed around the insane double bass skills of Eric Phillips. From a vocal standpoint, vocalist Jamie Schoch absolutely eats this material alive! From screams to growls, Jamie is definitely on top of his game throughout this EP. The one song that really struck me as the best (which I can’t stop listening to) is the EP’s first single, “You Can’t 2-Step in a Wheelchair”. Not only does this song have a clever title, this song DEFINES OTFBS! It starts out slightly mellow, but soon takes off after the first sign of vocals. Throughout the song, Jamie displays his obvious skills in different styles of vocals and even throws in a quick “bree” scream commonly seen in Grindcore music. Again, with the incredible talent and effort put into this song and the other tracks, this self-titled EP truly defines who Of the First Born Son really are and I’m truly excited to see what comes from these guys next!