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With Goatwhore, Arsis, and Warbringer
Webster Theater
Hartford, CT
February 7, 2008
Myself and three other metalheads from Clark University made the trek down to the Webster Theater in Hartford on February 7th for a quartet of metal bands. Despite arriving there late, we didn’t miss any of the main bands, as there were still a plethora of mediocre local acts to sit through. After listening to an uninteresting opener with an absurdly tall singer, (who later creepily hit on my good friend Clare, and failed miserably), I headed over to the second stage to see black/doom act Starvation. They had the motivation, but they couldn’ t really click together. They’ve got potential, but had nothing that night. I spent the next half hour or so just dawdling around. After Starvation, however, the surprisingly good Left to Ruins took the stage. They were a prototypical black metal act, but for what we were expecting, they got the job done.
After the slew of local bands had finished, the young Californians Warbringer took to the stage. For a group of kids just out of high school, these guys could Thrash! My god, were they impressive. With the thousands of new Thrash bands coming into the scene now, Exodus sure picked the right one to bring on tour. Vocalist John Kevill has the energy of so many classic Thrash vocalists, and personally brought Chuck Billy and Sean Killian to mind. His hand gestures and facial expressions are what make live metal great to see, even when you don’t know the music.
Melodic Death metallers Arsis were up next. Melodic Death has become agonizingly derivative as of late, with a seemingly endless amount of bands straddling the line between it and metalcore. Arsis is not one of those bands, as they write original, furious Melodic Death metal with a punch. Sadly, when they played live, the same furious energy just wasn’t conveyed. Despite the clearly skilled musicianship on display, Arsis felt like an empty spectacle. Their sound was poor, and the bass was almost inaudible. It was a true disappointment, as their music is great. Making matters worse, they  closed with the thirteen minute “Diamond for Disease,” but shortened to a mere six minutes! Whether or not this was due to time constraints placed on them by the venue, I don’t know, but it was irksome and unacceptable. Shortening songs to increase their accessibility is always shallow, especially in front of a live audience.
Death/black metal outfit Goatwhore, who seem to be opening for every metal act right now, were up next. These guys always have a tremendous energy on stage, led by their charismatic frontman Ben Falgoust. Like always, Falgoust was all over the stage, fist pumping the crowd and slapping high fives everywhere. However, their usual bombastic aura was lacking for an unknown reason. After guitarist Sammy Duet botched the opening to a song, we found out why. He was suffering from a 104° degree fever! No wonder he couldn’t keep up. I certainly can’t criticize their performance for a fault that cannot be thwarted. Kudos to Duet and the rest of the band for playing under such conditions. During the rest of the night, it looked like Duet was on the verge of passing out, and even puked after one song. Playing such fast music with under such conditions must have been torturous. After their set, I ran into Falgoust and told him to give Duet my appreciation for even performing that night.
The long wait for Thrash legends Exodus began. People anxiously awaited for them to take the stage. When they inevitably did, the guys from Warbringer joined the crowd and got the pit going, LA style. Most of the set list came from earlier on in their career, mostly going all the back to Bonded by Blood. These guys are old now, and Gary Holt sure does look different, but they still pummeled out their songs with almost the same ferocity as they did way back in 1985. Although, songs like “Piranha” just seemed annoyingly “modernized,” adding in groove elements that just didn’t belong. 
New(ish) vocalist Rob Dukes simply looks like a bumbling, Larry the Cable Guy-esque moron when performing. Before “Children of a Worthless God,” he spouted out an anti-Muslim tirade that just made him sound like Larry the Cable Guy—not a positive trait. Nevertheless, Exodus can still work the crowd. For their encore, they brought John Kevill back onstage to sing “Bonded By Blood,” and they had us back in their clutches. With only one more song left, the crowd knew what was coming. They started shouting “TOXIC WALTZ!” The band began playing covers instead, busting out the opening riffs to “Smoke on the Water” and “Number of the Beast” just to confound the hopeful crowd. They irritated some of them instead. Of course, they inevitably played the pulsating track, and the entire crowd chanted along with the chorus, and Dukes brought various roadies onstage to chant it as well. That’s the metal brotherhood for you.
B+ -Adam Kohrman
The Palladium
Worcester, MA
February 29, 2008
 I got stuck late at work, so I didn't get to The Palladium until 7:30 just as On Broken Wings was taking the stage for a 20-minute set. Vocalist Jonathan barked the lyrics with gusto, while OBW's "songs"
basically came across as excuses for open-string mosh parts. Within this musical framework, Jonathan's occasional sub-guttural death metal growls seemed incongruous and I found myself laughing aloud more than once...although many near the front of the venue responded enthusiastically to the band's set, slamming and singing along.
10 minutes later, Since The Flood took the stage for 20 minutes of thuggish hardcore not far removed from the style of Hatebreed or older Sworn Enemy. They enjoyed a clearer mix than OBW, and made fair use of tempo changes to add a bit of variety to their material. Vocalist Nate's authoritative roar led the way, as kickboxing mania broke out in the pit area.
15 minute set change, and up next was Florida's Shai Hulud. It's unfortunate that the soundman saw fit to keep the guitars lower in the mix than they ought to have been, as the band offered an innovative brand of hardcore, musically complex and replete with lots of melodic guitar work woven into the musical fabric. They played tightly and, with what seemed like little difficulty, pulled off tons of time changes that lesser musicians wouldn't dare. They closed with their signature tune, "A Profound Hatred of Man," and their fans really came to life. I was never particularly a fan of Shai Hulud, but they delivered a lot of quality in 25 minutes.
Sworn Enemy took the stage at 9:15 for a half hour of "thrash your face off" (Sworn Enemy shirt slogan) hardcore. Vocalist Sal's higher-pitched bark/roar was distinctive atop the drummer's rapid-fire double-kick work. The crowd was really into them. Sworn Enemy used to remind me of Hatebreed, but the newer approach is more akin to Pantera, right down to the Dimebag-style Dean guitar.
Terror stormed the stage at 9:55, and immediately I noticed a marked increase in audience participation as the Californian 5-piece dove headlong into a great set of intense and heavy hardcore, the style of which seemingly owes more allegiance to NYHC bands than anything "west coast." Terror was also the first band of the night enjoying a mix that didn't skimp on guitars (speaking of guitars, I will award extra points for the Testament "New Order" shirt worn by one of Terror's guitarists).
It was easy to see why they are so popular; in addition to the catchy, uptempo tunes, vocalist Scott Vogel made full use of the entire stage and did a great job keeping the energy positive while inciting the crowd toward more and more participation.
The first set by the reunited Earth Crisis kicked off with "Born From Pain" from Destroy The Machines. The band didn't miss a step after years away from the stage, performing their classics as tightly as ever.
Bassist Bulldog was fully animated, doing jumping kicks and spins the whole set while miraculously avoiding impact with the slightly more reserved guitarists. The set drew heavily from Destroy The Machines, which was slightly disappointing to me, since I've always thought this release was a low point for them. I'm probably in the minority, but I would have liked more than one song each from Breed The Killers and Slither. Oh, well. For me, the bigger drawbacks to their set were 1) the unbelievably cavernous mixing of Karl's vocals, which sounded like they were echoing out of some large ravine (his voice seemed to be in great shape when I could discern it in the mix); and 2) the fact that Earth Crisis' sound was a LOT louder than any other supporting band--this seems somewhat at odds with the hardcore, non-rockstar ethos the band espouses. On the other hand, the fact that pretty much the entire Firestorm EP was performed...that makes up for a lot.
Reservations aside, it was great to see EC back in action; and it was also fun to take in the support bands.
B+ -Mark Fields
and another take...
I will start this by saying I haven't seen Earth Crisis since 2000 so this was a TREAT for me to go to! I can pinpoint two bands that made me learn about "straightedge" and one of them is Earth Crisis. And I can pinpoint one band or group of friends that shaped my musical taste in hardcore, that band is Shai Hulud, so after all these years to get those two bands on the same bill was almost perfect. The only things missing were a few close friends that couldn't be there.
First band of the night that I saw was On Broken Wings. Maybe I'm just old and bitter about hardcore, but this band didn't offer me anything I've never seen before. They are Metal/Hardcore, and other than that I don't know too much about them. They played hard, but didn't really capture my attention.
Since the Flood... The music was pretty solid. They reminded me of Madball... except that I almost liked them. The only thing about this band I didn't care for were the vocals. They were just the wrong tone next to the music for me. Don't get me wrong... I love straightedge hardcore, hell that's why I was there but this band fell a little short for me. Kids seemed to like them a lot and I don't know how long they have been around but over time if the singer doesn't try to sound so hard maybe I'd like them more.
That brings us to Shai Hulud! Over the last... nine years (WOW that seems like a long time!) I have become great friends with current and former member's of this band. To me they are the best Metal/Hardcore band ever. SO I might come off as biased here. "The Curse of the Worm"
seemed to happen again, because when the band opened the sound was completely fucked. After that it was smooth sailing however. I love everything about this band, the music is fast and complex the vocals are powerful and the writing is truly compassionate. Matt Fox and company don't just write songs to write songs... they seem to write songs that they truly believe in. they played a pretty wide variety of songs in their short set. From "Hardly" to "Faithless Is He Who Says Farewell When The Road Darkens" they played some great songs. And ultimately it felt like they had the best performance of the night at this point. It was a really good set.
 What happened to Sworn Enemy? I'm confused here... what happened to the NYC hardcore band that was probably the toughest band I ever saw
6-7 years ago?? Now everyone other than the singer has crazy long hair and they were METAL. I was pretty disappointed actually, I was thinking on my way to the show about some crazy thug core and instead heard metal with shrieky vocals. Not what I wanted to see.
Terror... I'm now five bands into my night and just want to see Earth Crisis god damn it! I did learn what made Terror so popular however...
Scott Vogel. A singing for mid-90s Buffalo bands Slugfest, Despair, and Buried Alive he's a hardcore hall-of-famer. They aren't really a band that i like but they played very well and were so tight it was ridiculous. Good for them, They got to play their asses off and kids seem to think they are amazing. The got the floor moving and the Palladium started to get pretty hot, just i time for a "Firestorm".
Ok It's late, and frankly my review for Earth Crisis probably won't be the best... I was too busy piling on top of other kids, throwing fists in the air and screaming along to notice anything that wasn't right in front of me. They broke up in 2001 and the Earth Crisis I saw at this show was BETTER than when they broke up! The band played the old shit... the stuff we wanted to hear. Most of the songs off of All Out War, Firestorm and Destroy the Machines. They played a few songs off of Gomorrah's Season Ends, Breed the Killers and Slither.
The set was fucking crazy, almost perfect infact! They sounded awesome and I think they knew it, they looked stoked to be there making everyone freak out and they should of been. Hardcore form the 90's was so different than it has been over the last few years. It's been missing something and Earth Crisis had that something at Firestorm Fest.
To name a few songs, "No Allegiance", "All Out War", "New Ethic", "Forged in the Flames", "Gomorrah's Season Ends", "Unseen Holocaust" and of course, "FIRESTORM".
I'm still pumped about this show and may head up to New York in May to see them again. "Street by street, block by block Taking it all back!!!"
A+ -Eric Guntor
Middle East
Cambridge, MA
March 20, 2008
 On a cold and windy first day of spring, Matt and I joined up at the Middle East for a night of rock n' roll, courtesy of Fu Manchu, Burning Brides, and ASG. After a quick snack and a couple brews in the upstairs restaurant, we ventured to the door to get our passes for the show...but they weren't there. After searching for the right person to call and straighten it out, one of the kind folks at the Middle East went and got ASG drummer Scott, who promptly squared it all up so we could go see some good old rock n' roll. Surveying the stage, we saw a large amount of Orange amplification setup, so we know right away that there will be some great sounding guitar shredding our ears soon enough.
Wilmington, North Carolina's ASG were up first, bringing their brand of psychedelic stoner rock to a rather smallish, but growing, crowd. In my previous review for this disc, I mentioned "poppy" for their sound a few times. Since then, I've listened to the disc quite a bit, and the poppiness isn't really as prevalent as I may have thought back then. It might have to do with how damn catchy their riffs are, and also vocalist Jason has a voice that is quite accessible. Anyway, the disc has been kicking my ass quite a bit since then. How well do they pull it off live? Read on and find out.
Opening their brief set with "Right Death Before", the opener from Win Us Over, the band wasted no time showcasing their riff-tastic offerings. Not letting up a bit, they next played "Gallop Song", which I still think is their best song from their latest release. The band played super tight, the sound was great, Jason has a great stage presence, and drummer Scott headbangs while playing about as good as any drummer I've seen. Other song highlights were "Dream Song", "Low End Insight", and the set closer "The Dull Blade". They snuck in one or two songs from previous releases as well. The crowd seemed to grow a good bit during their set, so hopefully more people will be joining ASG nation after seeing their set. I know Matt and I are both card-carrying members now as both of us bought tour shirts and I (Matt) picked up the two discs they were selling at the show. Rumor has it they will be touring with Valient Thorr and Torche in the not too distant future. Get yourself to that show if you can, it's sure to kick your ass something good.
 Philly's Burning Brides were up next, and they are a trio consisting of vocalist/lead guitar (and MA native) Dimitri Coats, bassist Melanie Coats, and drummer Pete Beeman. I (Matt) first saw these guys last year at Locofest and have to say I was really looking forward to seeing them in a much more intimate setting because for a trio they have a lot of power, and some really catchy tunes to boot. The only way to describe their sound is Queens of the Stone Age meets Nirvana. They have a great pop sensibility with a slight touch of heaviness that keeps you engaged. Opening their set with "Your Nation Will Die" off their latest incredibly infectious disc, Hang Love, their set was as catchy as it was heavy and Dimitri's voice was sounding great over the pounding rhythm of Melanie's bass and Pete's drums. Playing a custom made guitar that Dimitri told me one of his friends made for him, he has a unique guitar sound that would please the stoner fan and mainstream metal fan just the same with some fiery solos that border on noise but never stray far from melodic. Up next was "Waring Street", one of my favorite cuts off Hang Love with great back up vocals from Melanie as she rocks out and wails the shit out of her bass with kick ass melodic bass lines. Their set consisted mainly of material from "Han g Love" with a few new songs thrown in from their forthcoming album due this summer, and by the sounds of the new material I have a feeling I will be trekking out to see them when they come back! They closed their set with the lead track off Hang Love, "Ring Around The Rosary" they left the crowd wanting more, and like the chorus in this song goes "less is more" they hit the nail on the head with their set and it left, especially me, wanting more!
Southern California Stoner/Skate rockers Fu Manchu headlined the bill. I had never realized how big their following really was, and especially not how fervent their fans can be. By the time Fu hit the stage, the club was pretty close to full, and the crowd was packing in as close to the stage as possible, chanting for Fu Manchu. The crowd literally erupted when the band hit the stage, vocalist Scott Hill wearing a brightly striped Op collared shirt, and sporting a clear lucite guitar like Joe Perry used in the "Let the Music Do the Talking" video (back when MTV mattered) and all the band members decked out with Vans footwear, and of course they brought the fuzz, too. Seeing as how they've been around for the better part of 20-years or so, Fu Manchu has plenty of material to pick their setlist from, and they varied it up a good bit, as usual. In no particular order, and not complete (forgot to bring my pen and notepad), but they played "Mongoose", "We Must Obey", "Shake it Loose", "Pigeon Toe", and many more, before ending with "King of the Road" (at least I think that's what they ended with). Sound was pretty damn good, with the uber-fuzzed out guitars flattening everything in their path, and everything else mixed in nice as well. It did seem that the volume went up about 50% more than for the openers, which seems to happen a lot lately at the shows I've been going to, but that may have been where I was in the venue that made it seem louder. Whatever it is, the Fu brought it, and the crowd ate it up like a stoned man with the munchies at an all you can eat buffet.
It was a great night of good old rock n' roll for the cooper and me. If you skipped out on seeing this tour, then you missed a good time, and you'll be hard pressed to find a bill with three bands that match up so well together in the near future. Check out the Pix section for more shots from this show.
A -Goz & Matt Smith
with a bunch of other bands
The Palladium
Worcester, MA
March 27, 2008
 Fellow GASP writer and Napalm Death fan(atic) Mark Fields joined me in the great city of Worcester to see Napalm Death play a show with a bunch of other bands. Since we didn't really have much interest in the other bands, we showed up to the show a bit late. Upon entering, 36 Crazyfists were just hitting the stage. Not even the singer's Johnny Cash shirt, or the bass player's Judas Priest Hell Bent for Leather shirt could save this band from being anything other than boring. Thankfully, they only played about a half hour set, al thought it seemed to drag on even longer due to how painfully off key Brock Lindow's clean singing was. They brought out Killswitch Engage vocalist Howard Jones for the last song, and it didn't help...they still sucked. After they were finally done, we made our way to the front of the room in preparation, as many of the other fans were heading to the back (no doubt to position themselves over a toilet for when Napalm Death kicks the shit out of them).
Napalm Death was what we were here for, and they were next. The came out with drums blasting and guitars shredding, opening with "Sink Fast, Let Go" from their amazing 2006 release, Smear Campaign. From there they dipped back to 20 years ago and played "Unchallenged Hate". Now, most of the people in the crowd had no idea what the hell was going on, as most didn't seem very familiar with the band. Vocalist Barney introduced the band, mentioning that they've been around for 27 years, and therefore "aren't a hobby band". They proceed to blast away with fan favorites "Silence is Deafening", "The Code is Red...Long Live the Code", and "Breed to Breathe", to mention just a few of their varied song choices. From there, they broke into a mini-set from their debut album, Scum. Starting with the title track, they followed with "Life?", "The Kill", "Deceiver", and the epic "You Suffer". Although the whole thing was less than 5-minutes, it was most certainly the highlight of their set for me, and likely for anyone else in attendance show actually knew who Napalm Death is. They ended with their cover of the Dead Kennedys classic "Nazi Punks Fuck Off".
The band was in fine form for the whole 45 minute set. Barney was his usual hyperactive self, bouncing around the stage, bobbing his head around, all the while belching forth in his unmistakable vocal delivery. Mitch Harris kept pace with his brilliant guitar playing and provided the needed backing vocals as usual, and Shane kept the low-end rumbling. Danny Herrera is just insane behind the drum-kit. He plays some of the best blast beats out today (if not ever), and makes it look effortless. No gravity blasting going on here, just pure, lightning fast blasting. He's no slouch at the more technical fills either, definitely not a one trick pony. Napalm Death delivered 45 minutes of sheer brilliance, as they always do in a live setting.
Up next was DevilDriver. To me, they sounded like the new Dismember CD, as that is what I was listening to in my car while driving home during their set.
B+ -Goz
With Suicide Silence, The Faceless, Unexpect, and Warbringer
The Palladium
Worcester, MA
March 30, 2008
Few bands have been pumping out quality death metal like Nile. Touring in support of their latest effort, Ithyphallic, they stopped by the Worcester Palladium on March 30th with a slew of opening acts.
Beginning the show were LA thrashers Warbringer, who have been ripping up stages all across the United States. Their debut album War Without End is a vigorous revitalization of 80s thrash, and these guys prove it live. I had the joy of seeing them live back in February opening up for Exodus, and they were even better this time. No one has played Thrash with this sort of energy since the eighties. Tracks like “Shoot to Kill” and “Total War” bring to mind legendary bands like Vio-Lence and Forbidden. They may have been an opener, but only Nile topped these guys during the night. Added to that, for an opening band, vocalist John Kevill threw the crowd into a circle pit of sheer madness. After their show, they advertised that they needed a place to sleep for the night. I offered them my dorm room and left my cell phone number. Even though they seemed enthusiastic, they never called back. Disappointing, but the band still rules!
Up next were the oddball Unexpect. Coming out to the stage with seven members, many of which were in dreadlocks, and the others in tight fetish clothing, I was not too optimistic. Then they began to play…and I was delightfully proven wrong. Unexpect play an avant-garde style mixing harsh and clean vocals that really sound unlike any other band. Some of their instruments included a fiddle and a nine-string bass. All I could do was sit back and smile at their inclusion of classical and traditional folk interludes. While some of the death and thrash purists at the show weren’t won over by the band’s eccentric style. Some fans though, ended up dancing in the pit, only to be leveled by funslaying metalheads. Like Warbringer, Unexpect is another band to watch, as they forge a brilliantly unique sound.
There was a myriad of metal wannabe emo kids at this show in skin tight black jeans and combed over dyed hair. The Faceless were the first band that brought them there. After two great openers, it was nice to take a break and wander around the Palladium. The Faceless were just plain boring. Their riffs went nowhere, and their metalcore breakdowns simply catered to the trendy Hot Topic frequenting audience. Those kids started practicing their karate in the mosh pit, which is always highly unwelcome. Thankfully, Unexpect had apparently gone overtime, so The Faceless had to cut their set short.
As bad as The Faceless were, they didn’t compare to the whiny, downright irritating Suicide Silence. They are a band who promote themselves as “deathcore” (useless subgenre, anyone?), the same label as fellow annoyance Job for a Cowboy. Whatever deathcore is, it’s nothing that metalheads wanted to see or hear. Most of the crowd lifted up their one finger salutes to the band. A few of the aforementioned tight-pantsed emo kids got into the pit and pretended that they were metal fans. I will not condone the ass kicking they received at the hands of the death metal crowd, but it certainly occurred. Their set was excruciatingly long, as much of the more metal savvy crowd verbally attacked them and shouted for Nile to take the stage. To my delight, when their set ended, their fans left, leaving the true metal audience to enjoy Nile without them.
The waits between acts at the Palladium seem to be getting longer and longer. This wait was ridiculous. I think we waited for nearly forty-five minutes as we watched Dallas Toller-Wade and Karl Sanders go across the stage seemingly doing nothing (quit your whining and get a few beers while waiting... - ed.). But that’s enough bitching, because once they took the stage, we were blown away by the death metal tyrant that is Nile. Opening the show with “What Can Safely Be Written,” the band’s twisting death metal riffs and uncanny structure lit up the Palladium. Nile’s shows are always great for many reasons, but in particular, they have a plethora of instruments. Karl had about four or five different guitars, including a double axe for the heart of the set. Songs like “Annihilation of the Wicked” and “Eat of the Dead” required them to switch around what instruments they played. None of these switcheroos compared to the amount of instruments played on their epic track “Unas Slayer of the Gods.” Closing with such an epic song annuls any need for an encore, and lo and behold, Nile closed with “Unas,” delighting the entire crowd.
C- (The Faceless and Suicide Silence)
A- (the rest) -Adam Kohrman
BB Kings
New York, NY
April 13, 2008
 When Sabbat reunited a year or two ago I was quite surprised and never thought they would finally make the trek to the US to play, but lo and behold, 20 years later they finally made all of us horn-heads (okay, I'm coining that term for die-hard Sabbat fans right now) happier than Pan in a forest full of Nymphs! I made the trek down to NYC, and even though everything is so goddamned expensive there I get such a rush from being in that city. The last time I was there was with fellow GASP cohorts Goz and Mike to see Celtic Frost 2 nights in a row at the very same club I was going to for this show. I arrived in the city with plenty of time to spare but I couldn't help heading straight to the club to see who I would run into. So I strolled into the club and ran into Mike from Roadrunner, who helped organize the whole 4 date tour with Sabbat, which has been dubbed "Horned in the USA" by the band. I was able to catch a bit of their soundcheck after grabbing a few brews and a bite at Lucille's Grill and knew I was in for something magical. So me and a few die-hard Sabbat fans I befriended were let in to the club and staked out our spots right at the front of the stage (well, as close as the barrier would let us).
After a few more brews served to us by a beautiful waitress we were treated to the soundcheck by the opening act, Mutiny, a young band from New Jersey that plays a form of progressive death metal. After an hour of more geeky metal talk with fellow horn-heads (some old schoolers my age or even older and some as young as 16, oh, and a few that originally thought this was a show for the Japanese Sabbat) Mutiny came out to play their set. From their sound check I knew they were good but their set proved to me these kids are no slackers. Sounding similar to Massachusetts local progressive death metal favorites Frozen, they play intelligent death metal with intricate melodies. Chris Clancy's vocals are growling/screaming at times and clean and melodic at others and guitarists Lu Obregon and Brandon Jacobs trade fiery guitar solos while bassist Andrew Jacobs and powerhouse drummer Bill Fore hold down the rhythm section. Drew Stavola's Keyboards were buried in the live mix but what I was able to hear they added nice accent to the heaviness of the rest of the band. From what the band told me later they didn't know this show was a go until 5:00 pm that day so that was impressive in itself. Mutiny is a band to watch out for.
 Thankfully we (about 200 plus people by this point) only had to wait about 20 minutes before we heard the Intro from "History of a TIme To Come" coming over the PA. The band walked on stage to massive cheers and after vocalist Martin Walkyier said hello to NYC by saying "the city is so great they named it twice" they launched into the first track off "History", one of my favorite Sabbat songs, the Doctor Faustus inspired "A Cautionary Tale" with the audience screaming the chorus "Bell book and candle candle book bell/forwards and backward to damn you to hell" I knew I was witnessing something many others had only dreamed of. Without missing a beat they launched into "Hosanna In Excelsis" track three off "History" with more chorus chants and fist and headbanging (yes, i was right up front doing all of that). Martin's vocals were in top form, although much more subdued since his screeching growl on the original recordings (I mean who could maintain a vocal style like that 20 years later anyway?) and had that possessed look in his eyes while moving around the stage. Next we were treated to the first track off the 1989 concept album "Dreamweaver", "The Clerical Conspiracy" with Simon Negus's drum intro into Andy Sneap's guitar playing sounding perfectly in tune with Simon Jones's guitar, with all their solos played dead-on note for note. Gizz Butt was the only non-original member, taking over bass duties for Frazer Craske who left the band after their initial reunion and first shows in the UK last year, but you would never have guessed that if you weren't a die-hard fan. Gizz held down the bass lines admirably and was totally into the music onstage. We were treated to more classics from "History" like the Hitler inspired "Behind the Crooked Cross", "I For an Eye", "The Church Bizarre", complete with Martin's comment about the best commandment in the bible being "thou shalt not kill", directed at President Bush.
More Dreamweaver cuts included "Do Dark Horses Dream of Nightmares?", "The Best of Enemies", "How Have the Mighty Fallen?" and all were executed superbly, even with Martin commenting that the audience trying to keep up with his word-heavy lyrics was a challenge (I tried my best). I must say for a band that started playing this extreme form of black thrash speed metal (okay, just fucking METAL!!!) back in the mid to late 80's, they handled all of the songs as strongly as they did back on their brilliant 1990 live home video "The Beginning of the End" (I still have my VHS copy). They sounded very tight and extremely fresh and by the reactions of the crowd everyone agreed they have still fucking got it. When audience members started yelling out for a new album, Martin commented that there would be no point in trying to recreate what they did 20 years ago. I can see what he means, because those two albums they recorded from 88-89 are landmarks in extreme metal history and would be hard to uphold new material to such legendary albums.
The encore included two songs that were a MUST for me to go home satisfied (as if I needed another reason) and they were "Wildfire" and "For Those Who Died" with Martin saying they would be back and would like to get on some US metal festivals like Milwaukee (or, my dream the New England Metal Fest right here in my hometown of Worcester, MA!). The band left the stage and me and my exhausted fellow horn-heads headed from the stage and for those willing to hang around for a bit were able to meet most of the band. And this I must say was the icing on the cake! Martin, Andy, Simon and Simon were all gracious in meeting and speaking with fans and taking pictures. I have never met a more friendly band than these guys were. Even Gizz came comically running to the backstage area trying to convince everyone to come have a drink in the restaurant at BB's because there was a cool band playing and the place was just cool! And what other band's lead vocalist would give you a hug before departing except for Mr. Martin Walkyier, the metal gentleman himself. All in all it was a dream fulfilled and hopefully not the last time I will get to witness the mighty Sabbat live in person. If another show tops my number one spot this year I will be surprised!
A+ -Matt Smith
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