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DCU Center
Worcester, Massachusetts
August 4, 2007
"The Devil Went Down on Worcester", or more appropriate, "Manson went down on Slayer!"
On paper, this pairing of two evil metal heavyweights sounded intimidating, but the only thing intimidating this August night at the DCU were the mighty Slayer. On top of their game with over 20 years logged on the metal scene and with the return of Dave Lombardo on drums (and a new Lombardo lineup CD, Christ Illusion) this metal juggernaut pulled no punches and are definitely not even in the same Hollywood league that Marilyn Manson resides in (and seems to be comfortable residing in).
Arriving 15 minutes before Slayer went on I missed Bleeding Through, the opening band for the whole night. Slayer opened with projections of swirling pentagrams on the stage curtain while playing "Face the Slayer" (an instrumental off their glory Metal Blade days album Show No Mercy) and plowed into the first track off Christ Illusion, "Flesh Storm", and proceeded to pummel through "War Ensemble", "Chemical Warfare", and "Ghosts of War" (a definite war theme running here!).
 A trilogy of songs that had me quite ecstatic mid-set were "South of Heaven" (with two upside down crosses constructed out of Marshall cabinets as a sick stage prop), into "Raining Blood" then bleeding into "Hell Awaits"!
Different scenes of the war in Iraq and Bin Laden flashed during "Jihad" and "Cult", which was another "Christ Illusion" highlight that kept the set moving at a brutal breakneck speed and had images of a suffering Christ on the screen behind them.
Coming back for an encore, they finished up their roughly 70 minute set with "Mandatory Suicide" and "Angel of Death". The only times Tom spoke to the crowd during their set were to ask if we were having fun and to talk about the meaning of "Mandatory Suicide", drawing comparisons to the war in Iraq.
Tom's voice was in the best shape I've heard it in awhile, even doing his best attempt at the scream at the beginning of "Angel of Death". Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman are still smoking with their frantic, fiery, fret-shredding, and Dave Lombardo, what can I say aside from he IS the skin master when it comes to extreme metal. This guy is in almost better shape chops-wise than he was 20 years ago! Actually, since his return I've started buying Slayer albums again and have a new vested interest in seeing them live.
According to a recent interview done by GASP etc's founder Mike Baronas, Tom mentions Slayer not playing into their sixties like the Stones. Hey, maybe they might not be able to head bang, but they could leave that up to the kids in the audience while they stand and churn out the music. If they're even thinking of quitting after their next album, they'll be going out fighting. If the set they played tonight has anything to do with it they've still got a lot of energy and stamina left in them.
If Slayer was there to represent the dark side of Satan, then Marilyn Manson was there to show us his laid back and sentimental side. Manson's set was the most lackluster and tame one out of the half dozen I've seen since 94, and to be quite honest it didn't ever really pick up pace to keep me interested.
Opening with the first cut off his latest disc, Eat Me, Drink Me was "If I Was Your Vampire", a slow gothed up love song that pretty much set the vibe for the rest of the evening with Manson. Picking up the pace was "Disposable Teens", and "mObscene" but never getting the energy of an old-school Manson show (at least pre 2000). Other cuts he chose to play from Eat Me, Drink Me were "Putting Holes In Happiness", "Just A Car Crash Away" (my personal favorite from the new disc) and "Heart-Shaped Glasses", the most upbeat song on the new disc, which he had heart shaped confetti shot out over the crowd (one of the few tricks in his stage propless show).
Toward the middle of his set, there were some Alice in Wonderland sound clips before a few songs, at one point I was convinced he was going to break into a cover of "White Rqbbit" (that would have been sweet to hear him do) but that didn't happen, instead he appeared onstage on top of a silly big wooden chair that he proceeded to lay on in various positions and stroked his asshole (something he did throughout the night). Not even going into his commercial breakthrough hit, "Sweet Dreams" which he segued into the last half of "Lunchbox", really brought the energy of the show up much (those being the only pre-"Antichrist Superstar" songs he played all night).
The only time the set picked up enough to get the crowd going was when he touched upon the Antichrist Superstar and Mechanical Animals material.
Even then he only hit upon "Dopeshow", "Rock is Dead", "Irresponsible Hate Anthem" and the Manson as dictator song "Antichrist Superstar/1996"
(complete with the lightning bolt podium originating from the Antichrist tour) and closing with the encore crowd pleaser "Beautiful People" which was the only time during his set I saw the mosh pit even close to the way it was for most of Slayer's set.
His backing band (all nameless because they were never introduced to the audience) seemed like hired hands going through the motions, as did Manson himself for most of the set. Maybe he had too much Absinthe to drink before he went on... Even the crowd was subdued throughout most of his set (well, compared to the Slayer mosh pit action on the GA floor). But a lot of it had to do with his slower paced song selection. Unlike Slayer, Manson seems to be resting on his laurels a little too much lately, what with his art exhibit earlier this year, and his Hollywood status of dating models and actresses it seems his art is suffering for it and he doesn't have much more to prove to the world. Manson, it's time to get the old band back together and get off your Hollywood ego trip you're on before us old school fans COMPLETELY lose interest!
A+ (Slayer)
D (Manson) -Matt Smith
with Zircon, Candy Striper Death Orgy and Nocturnum
Lucky Dog Music Hall
Worcester, Massachusetts
August 14, 2007
For this particular Metal Night (Tuesday!!!) at the Lucky Dog we had an old school metal reunion of sorts with headliners The Hounds of Hasselvander, an old school doom project put together by Joe Hasselvander, ex-Raven, Pentagram, Cathedral, Death Row.
There were about 6 bands before The Hounds hit the stage but Mike (GASP
founder) and I only caught three of them because we preferred the beer selection of the Dive Bar, a stone's throw down the street from the Dog, and spent the first few bands sets there imbibing some Old Rasputin (got any scones???).
The first band we caught were Nocturnum, a black metal band out of Worcester I've seen a few times before. They really don't break any new ground but their sound is deeply rooted in the sounds of black metal a la Burzum, Emperor, etc., complete with a keyboard player.
Up next were Candy Striper Death Orgy, a fun old school thrash band that recently reunited after almost 10 years. Now if you've seen CSDO you know you're going to get some Nuclear Assault-inspired metal and they wear their love of NA proudly on their sleeves. If it's old school thrash you're looking for, then I highly recommend catching CSDO live.
Next were Zircon, the hardest working band on the Worcester black metal scene. These guys (Scott, their singer/guitarist in particular)  have organized many local Metal Nights in Wormtown and have literally brought black metal to the clubs in Worcester where there really hadn't been a metal "scene" (aside from the Palladium of course). They play an intense old school style of black metal in the style of Gorgoroth, early Cradle of Filth, and Satyricon. Their split CD with Nephilim (out on Oak Knoll
records) is a good place to start if you're interested in hearing them and they play most metal nights at Ralph's and the Lucky Dog.
Now I haven't heard the The Hounds of Hasselvander CD yet (except for the songs on their myspace page) but apparently Joe played every instrument on the album and assembled the live line-up with some veterans of the old school metal scene. On guitar and vocals was Joe himself, lead guitar was held by Mike Hickey, who has played guitar with Venom and Carcass, and was also bassist with Cathedral for a bit. On drums was Gary Isom who has played with Spirit Caravan, Unorthodox, Valkyrie, and last but not least was Kayt Vigil on bass, ex-Syzslak, Hatchetface. They played thunderous old school doom that had me moving and perfectly fit my fuzzy-hazed state of mind (and it was only Tuesday night!!!) and had me grooving until the last number. Gary laid down some nice groovy drum beats for the doomy riffs and Mike and Kayt held their own with Mike's expert solos keeping things sounding fresh and rocking! The Hounds have their hearts deeply rooted in the old school doom sound a la Pentagram, St. Vitus, Trouble, and I eagerly anticipate hearing their debut CD.
A -Matt Smith
with Chthonic and Daath
Mark's Showplace
Bedford, New Hampshire
August 17, 2007
Metal fans from all over New England arrived at Mark’s Showplace on August 17th for a night of extreme metal. On the bill were Daath, Chthonic, and the almighty Nile. There were almost a dozen opening bands, and I only caught a few of them. First off were locals Putrescine. They were a death metal outfit with some cool guitar parts, but in the end, were nothing special. Late in their set, one of the drummer’s pedals broke. He ran to his car to get some duct tape. It seemed like the whole crowd was saying “dude, get your equipment right!” Nevertheless, the duct tape fixed it up. They weren’t a bad opener; at least they got us in the mood for metal.
Next was the local hardcore act Iridescent Exposure, they were just too damn over the top. They had three vocalists, none of which who sang, instead opting for irritating hardcore shouts. After the second song, I decided to get some pizza, leaving Iridescent Exposure in my wake.
 After a long wait, the first of the bands everyone came to see took the stage: Daath. In my opinion, this is the best new band of 2007. Seeing them live is an invigorating adrenaline rush. Just one album into their career, they’ve solidified themselves as one of extreme metal’s best new acts. Playing seven tracks off their excellent debut album “The Hinderers,” they were only given a small set, but they made up for it. Guitarist Eyal Levi kept telling us to start a pit, especially during “Subterfuge,” but Mark’s doesn’t allow moshing (funslayers, they are!). We still headbanged our necks off, just in stationary positions.
Chthonic were up next. For those of you who haven’t heard of these guys yet, they’re a Taiwanese Black Metalband keeping the tradition of corpse paint alive. Their drummer was dressed in a spiked mask covering his mouth and nose. How he breathed was a mystery. They had a short set, too. You couldn’t hear the vocals at all, though, which disappointed many of us. To make up for his inaudibility, in between songs, their singer spouted nationalistic Taiwanese furor. They are mad about not being let into the United Nations, and they wanted everyone at Mark’s Showplace to know about it! Back to the music. Added to the mix was a new instrument for metal: the erhu. It’s a traditional Chinese instrument similar to a violin, but you couldn’t hear at all because it wasn’t hooked up to an amp. Overall, these guys were simply a fun band to see live. They are keeping the spirit of traditional black metal live shows alive.
 After an elongated wait with a mediocre local act playing in the background, the crowd of antsy metalheads was finally treated to who they came for: Nile. Karl Sanders came onstage and immediately gave the crowd a double-horned salute before thrusting into the opener off their new album, “What Can Safely Be Written.” After the opener, “Nile” chants were in full force as they began to play “Sacrifice Unto Sebek.” After “The Blessed Dead” and their trademark “Cast Down the Heretic,” dozens of fans shouted for them to play “Execration Text.” To our surprise, Nile obliged! They blasted through the song flawlessly. Next was their new title track, “Ithyphallic.” After that was “Eat of the Dead.” For those of you who don’t know the song, the middle part repeats the title with minimal instrumentation. Karl led us all in a sing along…err growl along. Next was a throwback to Nile’s breakthrough album, with “Smashing the Antiu.” With so many fans spoiled after getting “Execration Text” played, many of them (including me) kept shouting for “Unas Slayer of the Gods.” Vocalist Dallas Toler-Wade told us that they can’t play that anymore with a 120 minute set. “Come on guys, that song is thirteen fucking minutes long!” He said. “But we might bring it out just for you guys…next time we come through here!” The crowd’s initial tumultuous roar was stunted into groans of despair. Instead, they played another song from “In Their Darkened Shrines,” the eerie “Sarcophagus.” After a few more tracks from the new album, they played two of their most popular songs, the absolutely brutal “Lashed to the Slave Stick” and “Annihilation of the Wicked.” With only one more song to go, the crowd waited in anticipation, knowing what it would be. Of course, it was “Black Seeds of Vengeance.”
We left covered in sweat, ears ringing, and necks hurting. Afterwards, Karl came out of the tour bus, and my friend Kate and I got to talk with him for a few minutes. He was a really cool guy, despite being much more interested in Kate than talking to me.
B+ -Adam Kohrman
Tweeter Center
Mansfield, Massachusetts
August 20, 2007
 When I first heard OzzFest was going to be free this year I was a bit skeptical, but lo and behold, it actually WAS! Now I've never been one to get an early start on anything (ed. note - ain't that the truth) and this has always put me in the position of missing the early bands at all day concerts. There were some bands I had never seen before that I wanted to check out on the second stage like Cthonic, Daath, and Nile but after getting to our parking space and fully preparing with a tailgate party in the parking lot we missed most of the second stage bands who only had 20 minutes to play (except for Hatebreed who had 50 minutes).
When we did get inside we caught Devildriver, a band that has ex-Coal Chamber (OzzFest veterans) vocalist Dez belting out their brand of hardcore death metal. With plenty of old school death metal/hardcore influenced grooves they got the second stage audience (which is actually in the side parking lot now!) moving to a nice pit. Although I'm not sold on their sound I have to admit they do it well and they're quickly gathering a good following!
Up next was the band I was looking forward to most at OzzFest this year, Behemoth! They came out in their usual corpse style make-up (which looked kinda strange in the day light even though it was cloudy) and proceeded to decimate the second stage. Now if you've never seen Behemoth live you don't know what they're capable of. Playing their short 30 minute set they pulled out no stops by playing a few new ones off of The Apostasy and some classics. After they played Hatebreed came out and assaulted the second stage with their brand of hardcore metal.
Even before Hatebreed were done on the second stage Black Tide started playing on the main stage. While waiting in line getting a high priced beer and pretzel, I caught a bit of them on a live monitor and decided I wasn't ready to go to my seat yet.
I did head to my seat when Lordi came on stage just to see what they were like live. Now if you don't know Lordi they play a type of meta l that can only be described as a KISS meets-GWAR and Rob Zombie style. The only thing they take from Gwar and Zombie is their stage costumes, which are demon-like monsters that are probably a bitch to wear at outdoor summer shows. Their songs are anthem-like in the style of KISS but not as cheesy. One song title that will give you a hint of this is "Bringing Back The Balls To Rock". They played for about 40 minutes and had pyrotechnics that woke me up a little.
Static X went on next and played their "disco metal" before Lamb of God, who were the heaviest band on the main stage. I've never seen Lamb of God before and I can see now why they have the following they do. Even giving props to local metal bands Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall, and Seemless they had the crowd in the palm of their hand throughout their brutal technical death metal/hardcore influenced set.
And last but not least was Ozzy, the only really big name on the bill this year (and now I can see why it was free because most of the bands that played had their labels pay for them to play and get more exposure in the process). Ozzy played his batch of classics, "Bark at the Moon", "Crazy Train", "I Don't Know", as well as a few Sabbath nuggets like "Paranoid" and "War Pigs". Now with Mike Bordin on drums and Zakk Wylde on guitar Ozzy will always sound great musically (I can't remember who was on bass, but I didn't recognize him) but as always he sings off key and has the same stage banter and movements he has since he started performing. This time instead of a water hose at the front of the stage to spray at everyone he had a bubble suds hose he showered the first 20 rows with, which was pretty silly if you ask me! But I do have to give him credit for sticking with it and singing some new songs in his hour long set, "Not Going Away", "Never Gonna Stop"
and "I'm Here for You" which he said was a song about his loyal fans. Ozzy will be Ozzy and as long as he can still belt out his songs he'll perform for anyone who still cares, and by the looks of it there were many people there who still care and love Ozzy!
All in all for a free OzzFest I would say it was worth going, and I think it was a cool gesture to do that for the fans! So thanks Ozzy and Sharon and think about doing it next year.
A -Matt Smith
Mark's Showplace
Bedford, NH
Septeber 7, 2007
Arriving at the hot, smokey Mark's Showplace, we found that we had
missed out on local openers and GASPetc favorites Frozen.
Unfortunately, we had to sit through two other yawn inducing local
openers before the four Scandanavian bands hit the stage. Matt and I
took this time to investigate the happenings in the club next door
with Frozen drummer and long time mate Colin. Much better happenings
there, if I do say so myself.
 Finland's Swallow the Sun took the stage, and kicked everyones asses
for 30 or so minutes with their crushing style of doomy death metal.
Opening with the title track to their latest release, Hope, the band
had the smallish crowd headbanging and fist-pumping right away. While
the whole band seemed to be having a great time on stage, drummer Pasi
Pasanen seemed especially fired up - beating the skins fiercely the
entire set, and smiling ear to ear in between each song. They squeezed
in some older tracks in between the main choices from Hope, hitting
their strong point with my favorite track of theirs, "Don't Fall
Asleep", and finished off the set with "Doomed to Walk the Earth".
Later on in the night, I spoke for a bit with guitarist Markus Jämsen,
who said that after this tour, they were heading back to Finland, then
they have a short tour in Spain and Portugal, and a full European tour
with Amorphis and Insomnium. Sometime in the new year, they plan to
record a 3-song EP, which Markus said would be a bit more "atmospheric" than the previous StS efforts. I'll definitely be
interested in checking some of that out.
Fellow Finn's Insomnium were up next, and they also had about 30
minutes to present their melodic death metal styles to the waiting crowd. Opening the set as their latest disc, Above the Weeping World opens, that is with the instrumental "The Gale" into "Mortal Share"
(with a little help from StS's keyboard player Aleksi Munter), the
band showed the crowd how melodic death metal should be played.
Bouncing around the stage were the duelling Ville's (that is
uitarists Ville Friman and Ville Vänni), who seemed to be having an
absolute blast up there. The mixed in some older stuff in as well, but
the high point of the show for me was "Killjoy", one of my favorite
tracks from Insomnium, with it's killer melodic riff carrying the
song, along with some great drumming and brutal vocals. Check out
Ville Frimans blog from the tour.
 Sweden's Scar Symmetry was up next. The hot and smokey room was
getting to us, so Matt, Alesha and I decided to relocate to the other
side of the club for some fresher air, among other things.
Upon returning to the rock side of the club, headliners Katatonia were
just about ready to hit the stage. These five Swede's played a very
similar song selection (although in a different order) to what is on the newly released Live
Consternation CD/DVD. While at times they seemed to be having fun on
stage, other times they just seemed to be going through the motions -
especially frontman Jonas Renkse. Maybe it was the smallish crowd,
maybe the heat, but they just seemed flat for the most part.
It would've been tough for most bands to get on stage and top the sets
that the two might Finnish bands put together at this show. On this
night, Swallow the Sun and Insomnium stole the show. Here's to hoping
that the two Finnish bands on this bill return to the states soon.
A (Finland)
C (Sweden) -Goz
With Skulltobboggan
ADC
Southbridge, Massachusetts
Septeber 15 , 2007
Even though it's in a remote spot, the ADC Performance Center or simply "The Mill", is making it's mark as an up and coming venue. The ADC (Artist Development Complex) was an old mill newly converted to a musician's haven and entertainment hot spot. The Mill houses numerous band rooms and storage, 5 stages, a studio, function hall, and 3 barrooms. One of which, Mill Street Brews, offers 70 different types of beer and various micro-brews (unfortunately, this isn't the bar where the bands play). Their clean, spacious and air-conditioned performance hall holds up to 750 patrons and caters to many local bands as well as national acts such as Testament, Adema, Agnostic Front, and hopefully many more in the near future
 Opening the show was veteran local band Skulltoboggan. Their set included fan favorite "Sick Fucker Redneck Trucker" and Scissorfight's "The Ballad of Jacco Macacco". Second performers were Las Vegas, Nevada's Hemlock. The most memorable thing about Hemlock was their T-shirts that said "Kill Your Children" on the back. Followed by some New York hardcore when Full Blown Chaos took the stage. Their set agitated the sparse crowd into a warm-up of what was to ensue. Maybe they needed to be told that moshing IS allowed. Being that it was a rather insufficient crowd, the sheer size of the venue made the turnout seem smaller than it was. But it's nice to be able to breathe at a concert from time to time.
After hitting the annual Festival of Ale at the Higgins Armory Museum, Mike, Matt, and myself finally met up with fellow GASPer Alesha at the nearly impossible to find ADC in lovely Southbridge, Mass. Upon entering, we found a small crowd of about 70 people there, and Alabama Thunderpussy were getting set up to take the stage.
Alabama Thunderpussy plowed through 45 minutes of southern rock tinged metal, to the delight of the few in attendance. Playing through some older stuff, but mainly focusing on their latest release, Open Fire, the band was tight and spot on the entire set. They even put on a ripping version of Judas Priest's "Saints in Hell". At one point, Matt yelled out Exhorder in between songs, which brought a big smile to vocalist Kyle Thomas' face, and he retorted "I haven't heard that for a while". Having not seen these guys before, their brief set left me wanting more.
After what seemed to be an eternity, Obituary took the stage. Opening up with one of their classics, "Find the Arise", the band seemed to be clicking well with new guitarist Ralph Santolla right from the get go. A new song, "Face Your God" was next, and then they dropped in two tracks from Cause of Death - "Turned Inside Out" and the title track. This seemed to inspire the crowd a bit, as a few more people were getting into the music at this point. From there, they went into a cluster of songs of their latest three releases, which while good, seemed to lull the crowd down a bit more to end the first set. Coming out for the encore was just Donald Tardy with a drum solo that seemed to go on for far too long, then Ralph Santolla joined him on stage to do some noodling. At this point, the suddenly dwindling crowd got smaller by 3 more...
C -Goz (intro by Alesha)
Tweeter Center
Mansfield, Massachusetts
Septeber 9, 2007
 The 16th annual (newly rechristened by founder Dan "Danimal" Hartwell), Locofest, (formerly known as Locobazooka, and if you count the years it was running as Localpalooza is really HAS been 16 years!) took place at the Tweeter Center for the second year in a row and rightly so as this years headliners Heaven and Hell, Alice Cooper, and Queensryche were more than big enough to fill a place like the Tweeter. With three constant running stages (one of them was an alternating stage) there really wasn't a chance to get bored throughout the day. So fellow GASPetc mate Alesha and I entered the Tweeter Center around 3 PM (about 2 hours after the first bands started) and headed to the side parking lot stages.
The first act we saw was Sinister Trailerpark Magic from Montreal on one of the revolving stages and they were cranking out a rockin' stoner rock style song and ended their set with a more metal song they said should get the crowd moving but unfortunately they really didn't get much of a reaction from the small crowd watching them. After listening to their CD (which they were graciously giving away after they played if you ran into one of the guys from the band) I think if they get more focused on a particular sound they will go places. Their CD seemed too scattered in styles and I think that threw people off in the live setting.
The next act we saw was another Canadian act called Carmen and Camille, a pretty twin duo that played what can only be described as a mature Avril Lavigne sound of rock. Although they had a great back up band and one of them even played the flute on some songs, it sounds like their songs will need more work for them to really break the mainstream rock radio.
Up next on the Chevy stage was Waltham, a local band from you guessed it, Waltham, MA! They played an inspired set of arena-style anthem rock with a special guest appearance by none other than Jet from Sam Black Church for a rousing version of "Dead Man's Party" by Oingo Boingo. Definitely one of the highlights of the day, Waltham is a band to be checked out if you like your rock to make you feel like you¹re in high school again!
10/31 were the next band we checked out and even thought their Halloween inspired stage outfits were cool (Leatherface, Jason, etc.) their brand of music was a generic metal rap style that I just couldn't appreciate.
The Burning Brides were probably one of my favorite new bands to see and they churned out a searing stoner rock inspired set that had me moving to the groove laden riffs and beats. A 3 piece with bass, guitar, and drums they filled their half hour set with great momentum and made a fan out of me!
Next we caught Roadsteamer playing their brand of silly video game influenced rock, with front man Robby Roadsteamer getting the crowd to belt out "Duck Hunt" when he held up his Nintendo game gun. Now if you've seen Roadsteamer you know Robby likes to berate the crowd with his funny banter and this is half the fun of a Raodsteamer show. I cut out before they finished their set to head over to catch Alice on the main stage.
Queensryche were the first band on the main stage and even though I've never been a huge fan of theirs they played a career spanning set that included all their classics, "I Don't Believe in Love", "Jet City Woman" and even a cool cover of Pink Floyd's "Welcome to Machine".
Now I've seen Alice Cooper twice since 1987 and every time it has always been very entertaining. This show was by far the best I've ever seen Alice, mostly because the only post 70's songs he played in his hour plus set were "Woman of Mass Distraction", "It's Hot Tonight", and "Poison" and the rest were original Alice classics like "Under My Wheels", "Is It My Body?", "Dead Babies" etc. He had the gallows prop where he was hung and had his daughter Calico playing the woman in "Only Women Bleed". At nearly 60 years old Alice shows no sign of stopping!
The headliners of the evening were Heaven and Hell, the Dio line-up of Black Sabbath which includes original members Tony and Geezer joined by Vinny Appice on drums. Being a Dio fan I was more than excited to hear this era of Sabbath songs live, as I've only seen Sabbath with Ozzy. Introing with the trippy instrumental "E5150" off of Mob Rules they launched right into the title track of that album and had the audience rocking. The band was tight and Dio's voice is still in decent shape (well compared to Ozzy's voice it doesn't take much) but what really made this such a great show is the songs from that Dio era of Sabbath, "Children of the Sea", "Voodoo", and a great highlight being "The Sign Of The Southern Cross". Heaven and Hell proved you don't need Ozzy to rock out and in many ways I enjoyed seeing the original Sabs in this format than the tired Ozzy one (no offense Ozzy and Bill).
B+ -Matt Smith
The Palladium
Worcester, Massachusetts
Septeber 29, 2007
Arriving around 8:10 pm, fellow GASPetc shipmate Alesha and I walked past an open side door of the Palladium to see and hear a bit of Once Beloved, a band from the central Massachusetts area churning out a fairly middle of the road brand of death metal. By the time we got in they were finished, so we got our drinks and made our way down to the front for Frozen's set.
 Central Mass based Frozen have been in the enviable position of getting on some prime opening act spots, like Katatonia and Celtic Frost to name a few heavy hitters they've opened for recently. If anyone has seen them they deserve to be getting more and more as they play an original brand of melodic death metal that borders on progressive but never gets too noodly or pretentious. They keep it heavy with some sweet melodies interwoven into the mix. Unfortunately they were the victims of a bad PA mix and the sound was less than desirable, but original members Kenneth Paul Benda (Vocals), Matt LeBreton (Lead Guitar), and drummer extraordinaire Colin Conway made up for it with their always passionate playing, even at some points inciting the crowd to mosh! "Ghost Of War" and "Eradication (In The Night)" were personal favorite highlights from their set. If you haven;t seen Frozen live yet I highly recommend you do yourself a favor and check them out.
Up next were Montreal based band The Agonist. Having never seen or heard them before I was impressed to see when I moved closer to the stage that the screaming lead vocalist was female. Alissa White-Gluz can belt out death metal scream vocals with the best of the males in her league and interweave it with some very melodic clean vocals. She has an amazing range and had me enamored from the moment I laid eyes on her. If I were to describe her visually I would say she's Avril Lavigne's evil metal twin, only taller and hotter. Their music is a pretty standard thrash/death metal sound with competent players in Danny Marino on guitar, Chris Kells on bass and Simon McKay on drums. In my opinion they're a much heavier version of Evanessence.
With one disc out on Century Media I can see The Agonist going places in the metal market.
Sonata Arctica hit the stage to thunderous applause from their rabid fans that by the look of them were mostly in their late teens/early twenties.
Now, I've never really heard SA before and wasn't aware of what a huge following they have, but they've been around long enough to gain a large following and this show was a good indication they have many fans around the central Mass area. SA play an extreme melodic power metal that can only be described as uplifting. In many ways they seem like they could easily be a Christian metal band but I don't think they are. All this aside I really found it hard to get into them, I mean they're talented but they just didn't have enough to fully convince me to buy a CD or want to see them again. But by the amount of fans in the audience it looks like they don't need me to like them...
B- -Matt Smith
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