Opeth and 3 put on a great show during a side date from the Progressive Nation Tour…

On May 29, 2008, Opeth and 3 played an off date from their current tour, the Progressive Nation Tour with Dream Theater and Between the Buried and Me, at the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, SC. With the combined efforts of Opeth, 3, and local Myrtle Beach band Circles in Autumn, this show was an incredible way to spend a Thursday night!

The first band to play was Progressive Death metal band Circles in Autumn. Honestly, I was really impressed with their overall performance. I think they only played three or four songs because of the lengths of the songs, but their musicianship and talent were definitely up to par! Really, I think they were the perfect band to play this show because of their sound that is similar to that of Opeth. Again, overall, these guys were really good and I’d love to see them again!

The second band to play was the “band with a number for a name”, 3. Having seen these guys play not too long ago, I somewhat knew what to expect. I really couldn’t have asked for a better performance out of these guys, and I was really glad to see them perform most of their most recent album The End is Begun. On top of playing most of the material from that album, I was once again impressed by the acoustic guitar skills of guitarist and lead vocalist Joey Eppard when 3 played “Bramfatura” from their album Wake Pig. On top of Joey’s incredible skills, drummer Chris Gartmann and Joe Stote did their awesome drum battle again! Seriously, I can’t stress enough how much skill and talent is packed into those few minutes of showmanship between both Chris and Joe doing their thing, and when Joey plays “Bramfatura”. To see it live is better than any recording or even any video recording of it. It all just adds to an incredible experience that is a 3 set. Overall, I was really glad to get to see 3 play again, and they continue to impress me every time. On a bit of a more personal note, I want to thank these guys again for letting me hang with them for a while and I was really glad they recognized me from the last show. These five guys are truly talented and I can’t wait to see them again!

As if the night couldn’t get any better, Opeth finally hit the stage! Having waited for two years or so to see these guys play live, I was anticipating this very moment and I was NOT disappointed! Honestly, they sound almost exactly like they do on an album, but with an extreme amount of bass in their sound. They were absolutely amazing! Mikael Åkerfeldt’s voice live is just as awesome as on the album, and he really made the set even more enjoyable with his great sense of humor. On top of great vocals and a great sense of humor from Mikael, everyone in the band was on their game, whether it was playing the songs in their set or playing the beginning of requests taken from the crowd before stopping and taking more just to mess with the crowd. the overall set and set experience was one I won’t forget and I would definitely like to experience again.

All in all, this show was a great show with lots of talent packed into three bands and I would go see this exact line-up play again any day of the week!

Cradle to Grave – Texas Medicine
Year of the Sun Records

(4/5)

Baton down the hatches and bunker down low, Cradle to Grave has put out an album that is a force to be reckoned with! With a mix of thrashing guitars, animalistic screams, and a pure adrenaline boosted motive, Texas Medicine is a great example of all the different styles of new Metal all packed into one incredible album! One thing in particular I like about this album is the fact that just about every track is different. Whether you’re getting thrown around by Thrash metal or being pounded in the face by pure aggressive Metal, CtG has risen above a lot of newer bands with their ability to provide fans with great variety. Although some parts of the album kind of start to fall into a bit of a “cookie cutter” Metal style, I think that that’s what helps bring in more fans. Overall, I like, pretty much, everything this album has to offer. As far as good tracks to check out, I suggest “From Nowhere to Nowhere” (Track 5), “I Am Nothing” (Track 6), “F**k It Up” (Track 8), and “Beheaded in Paris” (Track 11). Really, these tracks show a great mix of how this band sounds (at least on THIS album). To get the full spectrum, listen to the whole album (obviously), but I believe that the four listed above will give the gist of CtG’s sound. All in all, if you’re looking for a great, energy-blasted, Metal album, check out the second full release from Cradle to Grave, Texas Medicine!