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w/Unearth, Every Time I Die, Sick Of It All, etc
The Palladium
Worcester, MA
January 31, 2009
 I met up with fellow Gasper Matt and his friend at the favorite pre- and post-concert watering hole; the Armsby Abbey. We may have been enjoying the suds and lingered there a little too long as we arrived quite late at the Palladium.
The crowd was dominated with the typical Hot Topic poster-child youths. The kids sporting skunk-like emo hairdos and tight black jeans were milling about with similarly outfitted friends or dragging along their girlfriends toward the stage area. Always easy to get a beer quickly at shows like this, so we did that first and headed down to catch what we didn't miss of Sick of it All's set.
Unfortunately we only caught the last two songs before they left the stage. We left the sweaty floor to the kids and went back up toward the bar to hang out until the next set. When Every Time I Die started, I strolled back down to snap a few pictures. Their set was somewhat catchy but nothing I was enamored with so I returned to hang out with the adults at the bar again.
I knew that this headlining tour in support of their latest release The March was ending at this hometown stop for Unearth. I may have been expecting something special, it being the last show, but they must have been real tired and ready for the time off or something because I feel that we got jipped. First, they didn't have their power-shredder Buz McGrath with them for this “Fuck School, Fuck Work, Let's Rage” tour. Emil Werstler of Daath filled his shoes this time. The thing that was very disappointing was their set was less than 50 minutes. They played “My Will Be Done”, “Crow Killer”, and “Grave of Opportunity” from the new album The March. They played a few from The Oncoming Storm such as “The Great Dividers”, “Endless”, “This Lying World” and ending with their usual “Black Hearts Now Reign”. It was all over before I knew it. Ya, less than an hour for a homecoming show. Ouch! That stung.
Well, The other good thing about the Hot Topic crowd is getting merch at the end of the night. A quick in and out at the merch booth because most of those kids have no money and aren't in your way. Then it was back to the Abbey for more superior suds.
C- -Alesha
w/Darkane, Warbringer, and Swallow The Sun
The Palladium
Worcester, MA
February 12, 2009
February 12th, Northern Europe (and LA) descended upon the Palladium with an eclectic mix of metal. While imbibing on a few beers before the show I met up fellow scallywag Goz for a night of metal. Bolstering the show at the undercard position were Finnish doom masters Swallow the Sun. Following them were the thrashing teenagers of Warbringer. Closing up the show were Swedish melodic death metallers Darkane and Soilwork. The show brought fans from all walks, as both the hardened New England metal scene and baseball cap wearing frat boys showed up.
About thirty people flocked to the front of the open Palladium upstairs for Swallow the Sun. The rest, well…they didn’t know what they were missing. Swallow the Sun are one of the top bands working in metal, and it’s a shame so few people bothered to come out and see them. It’s even worse that their set was relegated to five songs! Anyway, they made up for it with ear-crushing volume and their patented, unique brand of moroseness. It was like travelling back to 1993 and seeing My Dying Bride. Swallow the Sun’s choppy style, that mixes mid-paced riffing with atmospheric melancholy was executed perfectly. Although some of the solos were left unheard by the Palladium’s unreliable sound, the band cannot be faulted for that. The band went from newer songs like “Don’t Fall Asleep” to earlier gems like “Swallow.” Overall, Swallow the Sun performed with an overwhelming sense of power and grace, encompassing each listener into their nebulous misery.
A drastic change of pace was up next! Energetic L.A. thrashers Warbringer took to the stage, led by the charismatic, spastic frontman John Kevill. These guys can work the crowd better than any band their age (some of them just finished high school!). Their set list comprised of many of the songs off their debut album, War Without End, and a few new tracks. Opening up with “Total War,” Kevill’s brazen stage persona sent the crowd into a frenzied mosh pit. Guitarist John Laux has the mysterious demeanor of so many classic rock guitar players. He doesn’t say much —even after the show— but when he gets on stage, he lets loose, displaying furious fretboard talent. This guy might not be best friends with the rest of the band, but he is the band’s steel-coated heart. Finishing up their show with crowd favorite “Combat Shock,” John led the Palladium in a sing-along (or shout-along?), before leaving an exhausted pit in his wake.
Two great bands. Two great sets. Sadly, the quality did not remain.
Swedish Melodic Death Metal tyrants Darkane took to the stage. Within moments, I was disinterested. I’ll give credit where credit is due; Darkane is a good band. On CD, they sound fine—a little watered down, but certainly not subpar. But at the Palladium, something fell off the wagon and they just blew it. The vocals were entirely inaudible, each riff indistinguishable from the next, and energy rare if not nonexistent. To make matters worse, they just went on and on. Darkane had more than a full hour for their set. All I could do was sit around and talk to the guys in Swallow the Sun, who similarly, seemed pretty bored. Whatever was missing during their set was hard to pinpoint, but it was to such a fault that Darkane failed to put on a good show.
Well, after Darkane, I was hoping that anything could be better, but to quote Tom Waits, “everything went to hell.” Even before the show, frat boys donning Red Sox and Patriots jerseys entered the venue. Once the music began they started drunkenly pitting and throwing punches. Oh, this was gonna be a long night. Beginning with “Follow the Hollow,” the band quickly went into “Like the Average Stalker.” Singer Bjorn Strid certainly had the energy of a good frontman, but he executed it terribly. He banged his body around the stage like a second rate Phil Anselmo impersonator. The “tough guy” persona of metal frontman works for the occultist death and black metallers, but not the core-ish ones. All I could do was roll my eyes. After a painstaking fifteen songs of melodic death metal mediocrity, culminating in the perplexingly popular “Stabbing the Drama,” Soilwork left the stage before returning for a three song encore.
B+ (StS and Warbringer)
D (Darkane/Soilwork) -Adam
w/Amenra, A Storm Of Light, Astronomer
Church/Obrien's
Boston/Allston, MA
February 17, 2009
 I had been to church at least a few times before this show and I was looking forward to seeing one of my newest favorite bands, Zoroaster, play this venue and decimate the place. When I got to the venue I went right up to the merch table and spoke with Zoroaster's drummer, Dan Scanlan, and he told me the rest of the guys were around and knew about the interview I was supposed to be doing with them. I found Brent, the bass player, and we chatted a bit and he told me a few road stories and then the first band, Boston's Astronomer, took the stage and proceeded to play a half-hour set of Neurosis-inspired metal that was good, but didn't get me up front, maybe because I was too interested in finding Will of Zoroaster to see when he could do the interview.
What happened next was kind of surreal, because the owner of church started walking around the club telling every one the show had been moved to O' Brien's. Apparently, a certain person living in the apartments right next to church had been complaining about the noise whenever a metal how was happening there. This time she got the cops to shut the show down or they would be facing a court appearance. So, needless to say the show got moved and all of the bands had to move all of their equipment off the stage, load it back into their vans, and drive across town to O'Briens in Allston. Sad to say, Boston's Gozu were bumped from the bill because of the time lost in the move.
Once settled in at O'Brien's, A Storm of Light set up their equipment and proceeded to churn out a set of industrial-doom inspired metal (see my review) that had me interested from their first song to their last. After Storm's quick break down and set up of equipment, Belgium's Amenra proceeded to crush the place with their brand of hardcore doom (also see my review) with their lead singer standing in front of the foot-high stage facing the band and screaming his head off. After their mesmerizing set of punishing metal I was certainly primed for what I had been waiting for, Zoroaster.
I was surprised to find out it was Zoroaster's first Boston area gig and I felt even more privileged to be there to witness the sonic decimation about to take place. Because of time constraints from the show move, they didn't have time to set up their light show, so I missed out on that but got the  pleasure of being right up in their faces on that small O'Brien's stage as they cranked out songs from their debut full-length, Dog Magic, and for the first time to these ears, songs from their latest opus (see my review) Voice of Saturn. I did get to buy a copy of their brilliant live DVD, Live at Smith's Bar 4-05-08, to get the full-effect of their live light show, so I've seen the best of both worlds. What they play live is a stripped-down version of the album songs, minus the effects, save for the end of songs and the noisy experimental middle-sections of songs. It is VERY effective as they focus more on the live playing than trying to recreate the studio recordings, which is fine with me, because when you have stacks of Green and Orange amps, not to mention the sunn amps, moog synths, and moog pedals Brent uses, you have quite a mesh of sound that when presented live is quite mind-blowing. After their roughly hour or so long set, I was able to get my interview and be on my way back home, with Psychedelic Doom visions blaring in my head.
A -Matt Smith
w/Radio Moscow, Crop Duster, Old Jack
Middle East
Cambridge, MA
February 19, 2009
Since getting their excellent Euphoria album to review, I had been dying to see Örebro, Närke Sweden's Dead Man live, and tonight I was going to finally get the chance. But I would have to sit through three bands before I could bask in their Swedish Psychedelic Rock glory. Up first were a Boston band called Old Jack, a bluesy, rock style with a singer who reminded me a little of Tom Waits and Chris Robinson. They also had some great (looking) back up singer to round out their sound. It should also be mentioned that they also have the lead vocalist of the 2009 WBCN Rumble winner The Luxury. They churned out a solid 30 minute set of tunes that would fit perfectly on an Allman Brothers or Black Crowes opening slot.
Up next were another Boston band, Crop Duster, who proceeded to play a local rockier version of Pink Floyd, complete with keyboards, guitar, drums, and bass that were reminiscent of the aforementioned band's style. I would like to see them on a bill where they have more that 20 minutes to play, because it honestly seemed like they were just getting warmed up when they had to exit.
On tour with Dead Man, were Story City's Radio Moscow, a three-piece VERY reminiscent of the power trios of the 60's, Cream, Jimi Hendrix Experience, etc. Borrowing heavily from those group's sound, they proceeded to blast out a 45 minute-plus set of blistering blues rock that would be appropriate in an opening slot for a Derek Truck's bill or Allman Brothers. At times I felt they were a little TOO derivative but they were effective nonetheless. 
Dead Man's first time in the states was spoken with frightful experiences of Taco Bell gastrointestinal mishaps, those poor Swede's, I can totally sympathize, well at least they had a treat that night by having some good quality Middle Eastern food that I'm sure was a lot easier on their stomachs. I got that story and other feelings being in the states for the first time, from them before their set, and most of the others were positive. Needless to say, Dead Man finally hit the stage with a very bare equipment set up that was borrowed from Radio Moscow (as do many bands coming to tour in the states, it just cost's too much to fly all of the heavy equipment) but they totally made the best of it, and proved they can pack a punch without all the studio magic contained on their two albums. It actually was nice to see them play bare bone versions of their psychedelic songs, instead of trying to recreate it live. Covering many songs off their self-titled debut and their latest, Euphoria, they played a solid hour-plus set that definitely pleased this fan. Talk of them coming back to the states with Witchcraft and or Graveyard had me giddy with excitement, let's just hope these dreams become fully-realized one day soon!
A -Matt Smith
w/Tragedy
Showcase Live
Foxboro, MA
April 2, 2009
Aside from never seeing any of the Paul Green School of Rock performances, I also had never been to Showcase Live at Gillette Stadium before, so tonight was a first in more ways than one. Paul Green, the founder of the Paul Green School of Rock, which inspired the Jack Black movie, School of Rock, was the first to grace the stage of this classy venue, which in many ways reminded me of he layout of the BB King's Blues Clubs, with tables on the floor and a nice classy bar in the back. Paul came out explaining what the School of Rock was all about and also to introduce the main attraction of the night, Brendon Small, of Metalocalypse/Dethklok and Home Movies fame. Brendon came out to thunderous applause and made some humorous comments about himself and proceeded to field questions for the Q & A part of the show. Questions asked ranged from, "Can you tell us if Offsdenson lives?" (which of course Brendon says will be seen when the Third Season starts up in the Fall) to a woman in the audience asking him if he cold sign her other breast, as he had signed the other one at a stop on the Dethklok tour last year. He answered the questions in a very humble and humorous manner and showed us what a truly awesome guy he is.
Brendon then introduced the opening act, Tragedy, a heavy metal tribute to the Bee Gees and they proceeded to strut their stuff, as only a metal version of the Bee Gees could. Their outfits, glittery and mostly gold and white, were just as ridiculous as what they were playing, but you know what, it worked perfectly, I'm now a fan, as were MANY other people in the audience. Before they launched into their version of "Grease" they mentioned when they first wrote that song, it was originally entitled "Lube". If that's not an indication of what Tragedy is all about, then I don't know WHAT is.
Up next was Brendon Small and the School of Rock All-Stars, as this tour was officially known as.Comprising of Brendon on guitar and vocals, the revolving cast of members of the School, which seemed to range in age from about 10 to 21 or so, rocked out to Dethklok songs, including the Murderface and Toki-penned number "Takin' It Easy", and a great Toki medley including "Underwater Friends" and "Toki's Song", and many many classic rock and metal songs by Van Halen, Metallica, Megadeth, KIng Diamond, and a great version of Focus's "Hocus Pocus" (you know, that classic rock opera-type song that has yodeling in it). Highlights of the set were "Seek and Destroy", sung by the lead vocalist of an all girl Metallica tribute band called Misstallica, and "Welcome Home", sung by the lead vocalist of an all girl King Diamond tribute band called Queen Diamond (check them both out on myspace). Every member of the School were very talented in their own right and made this show totally dynamic in every way! The set closed with Dr. Roxxo running through the crowd shooting confetti before he jumped up on stage to sing "I'm Just a Rock n Roll Clown", which needless to say made me laugh and feel like I got my $20 worth out of the show, not that I hadn't already. If Brendon ever does this tour again I HIGHLY recommend checking it out, you will NOT be disappointed!
A+ -Matt Smith
w/Exodus, Belphegor, and Warbringer
The Palladium
Worcester, MA
April 10, 2009
 Oh boy, we have been waiting a long while for this one. Ever since the mammoth touring lineup of Kreator, Exodus, Belphegor, and Warbringer (we can forget about Epicurean) was announced, metalheads both old and young have been anxiously awaiting this show. Some of thrash’s most legendary acts were set to descend upon the Worcester Palladium. April 10th, 2009 will be a day that we won’t soon forget. Before the show, I met up with fellow crew members Mati, Goz, and Mike at the Armsby Abbey for some beers and good food. Then of course, we trekked onward to the Palladium for the night’s main attraction.
The four of us got into the show just to see the tail end of Warbringer’s set. Vocalist John Kevill was as energetic as usual, parading around the stage in a frenzy. They played a few cuts off their new album, including “Whirlwind.” Their sound was a bit cluttered and off time however, due to the fact that their drummer broke his elbow recently. In place of him was Epicurean’s John Gensmer. He did an adequate job, with Nic Ritter on the side coaching him along. Kudos to the band for getting Epicurean’s drummer so quickly, but it significantly weakened their sound. I’ve seen Warbringer five times now, and this was their weakest performance.
 Austrian death metal tyrants Belphegor were up next. Unfortunately for them, most of the crowd consisted of old and new school thrashers. Basically, no matter how good a show Belphegor put on, they wouldn’t have had that great of a reaction. That said, a few death metal kids got up front and really got into it, which was neat to see. Not many people knew Belphegor’s music, but a handful were able to put that aside and get into the show. On the downside, one of the guitarists was audibly out of key with the rest of the band. If anything was bothering the hardened, more astute listeners, it was this. I heard multiple people comment on it.
Co-headliners and thrash legends Exodus were up next, and when they took the stage that ever-familiar riff sounded through the air. “Bonded By Blood” was playing, and the crowd went wild. A circle pit began, and it literally did not end until they stopped playing. The young thrash crowd, dressed in jean vests and plastered in patches, ate this up. Even with Rob Dukes on vocals, Exodus delivered. Every time I see Rob Dukes live, he says something that pisses me off. This time, he made some borderline anti-Islamic statements before playing “Children of a Lesser God.” That song was in the middle of “A Lesson in Violence” and “Piranha,” though. The songs from Bonded by Blood easily had the strongest reaction of the night. The greatest reaction though, overall, was easily for the moshing anthem “Toxic Waltz.” The circle pit must’ve had one hundred people in it. At least! After the sweat and smoke cleared from the pit, the band closed their set with “Strike of the Beast.”
 Much time elapsed, and then the lights turned low. Smoke bellowed out onto the stage, and the titanic band known as Kreator took the stage. Mille Petrozza’s stage presence is stationary, yet demanding and menacing. He overpowered the audience with his cerebral vocals. Opening up the set with “Hordes of Chaos,” the band stormed into a lengthy concert. Crowd favorite “Extreme Aggressions” was not much later, and the new but golden “Enemy of God” followed soon after. The highlight of the set came when Mille claimed that he wanted us, the audience members, to literally kill each other. He was quite adamant about this. This of course, prompted the legendary song “Pleasure to Kill,” which is just as vicious live as it is on CD. The crowd popped for Kreator classics (or “klassics”) “Coma of Souls” and “Terrible Certainty.” After briefly leaving, the band returned for an encore that consisted of “Amok Run” and “Riot of Violence.” Then came the finale. Oh, it was one hell of a finale, too. Mille announced that Kreator was all about hate, and that it was time to “raise… the flag of hate!” Yes, they brought out one of the first Kreator songs ever written. That was great, but just as the song ended Mille shouted the word “TORRRMENTORRR.” Kreator sprang into one of their greatest, yet commonly forgotten songs to the delight of the crowd to finish off the set.
B+ -Adam
The Palladium
Worcester, MA
April 17, 2009
I could only make one day of the Fest this year so I chose the first day, Friday, because that was the line-up I cared most about. Things got off to a kick-ass start with one of my newest favorite bands, Bison B.C. and I was quite pleased to catch them as they destroyed the upstairs stage with their brand of stoner metal that was tens times as heavy live as it is on their excellent debut "Quiet Earth". I cant wait to see them when they come back around and do more than a 20 minute set.
 The next band fellow GASPetc cohort and current captain of the ship Goz and I wanted to see was Withered, who proceeded to play a blistering set of Black Metal Doom, and having seen them once before I knew what I was in for, but to be honest they were even better than the first time I saw them. Another 20 minute set that had me screaming for more, but alas, I must wait to see a full set from this powerful band!
After a lunch break at the Armsby Abbey Goz and I parted ways as he wanted to catch Kataklysm on the main stage and I wanted to check out local goth doomers Shroud of Bereavement at the Chasers stage, a new venue they added this year for local bands to strut their brutality. Shroud were already playing when I went upstairs in this classy trendy nightclub located right behind the Palladium. They churned out a 20 minute set that consisted of 3, or was it four Gothic Doom songs that would make any Goth fan happy and pique any open minded metal fans interest. I then flew back over to the Palladium to catch the last Kataklysm song and was reminded why I liked them so much when I saw them a year or two ago, solid thrash death that you can't help but bang your head to.
After taking a little break to grab some more quality brews at the Abbey, we headed back to the Palladium to catch Cattle Decapitation, the final band on the upstairs stage, and by the reaction of the packed sweaty floor in front of the stage, the crowd was more than happy to have them there cranking out their brand of Grindcore Thrash Death Metal for a solid 30 minutes. Bodies crowd surfing and old school mosh pits were in full effect and were a nice send off to the upstairs room for the day.
After a few less than desirable bands on the main stage, we were treated to one of the main reasons we were all there, England's legendary Gridndcore masters, Napalm Death, who were more than happy to show all the youngins' in the crowd what extreme music is all about. Covering a nice range of material, going all the way back to their debut, Scum, all the way to their latest opus of extreme metal, Time Waits for No Slave and the crowd ate it all up by crowd surfing and moshing like they should be. One viewing of these guys in action made me and many others there realize what it means to truly be legends in the extreme metal world!
Thankfully they scheduled Suffocation to play right after Napalm, because it was the perfect one-two punch this fest needed! Playing as tight as always, they ripped through playing choice cuts from their ever-growing catalog of brutal Death Metal that they have been churning out since the early 90's. Lead vocalist Frank Mullen's disturbing rants before some songs were both entertaining and cringe-inducing, but honest in a serial-killer confession type of manner. These guys haven't mellowed or changed their formula since their full-length debut, Effigy of the Forgotten and, after seeing this incredible brutal death machine in action, who would want them to?
All in all, considering I was only able to attend this one day, I felt it was an accurate representation of where metal is going and what the old faithfuls are doing these days and I went home very pleased and seriously looking forward to the next metal fest, MARYLAND!!!
A -Matt Smith
The Palladium
Worcester, MA
May 2, 2009
 I met up early on a Saturday afternoon with fellow assclowns Mike and Matt, and this time we were joined by honorary assclown Gina. These long day assclown adventures usually end up with something mighty funny happening (often times many many funny things...but I digress). We started the day by taking in a movie (I Love You, Man, which was hilarious and gets major bonus points for featuring Rush). From there, we visited the House of Poe museum in Worcester, then we went to eat and drink at Four Seasons. We were still thirsty, so we ventured out to some more fine establishments in the great city of Worcester before finally arriving at the Armsby Abbey for another quick brew before the show.
We arrived at the Palladium shortly after the two opening bands had finished (which we had planned - Gojira was truly the only reason for us to be here tonight). We perused the fairly crowded venue, saying "hi" to the regulars and checking on the score of the Celtics game before the mighty Gojira hit the stage. After a bit of a wait, the band was ready, and took the stage. 
This being their first headlining tour of North America, this was the first time I'd gotten to see them with a full stage setup (even on the small upstairs stage at the Palladium). While not a massive undertaking, they did have a video projector that showed images and videos on the back wall of the stage, fitting with the theme of the current song being played and adding a bit to the show for me. They opened with the great "Oroborous", the same song they opened with when they opened for In Flames (and blew them out of the water). This song gets me amped up good, so I think it is a great way to open their show. From there, they stepped back to their previous album, and practically brought the Palladium crumbling down with "Heaviest Matter in the Universe" - heaviest is damn straight, as the band had one of the heaviest sounds out there, even in the small confines they were in tonight. The band was all over the place throughout the entire show, especially bassist Jean-Michael Labadie and guitarist Christian Andreu, who were constantly jumping around, headbanging, and generally going completely  insane. Obviously, Joe Duplantier can only do so much, since he has to be at the microphone to sing, but he did his fair share of headbanging and thrashing about the stage when he could. Highlights of the set included "Love", "Clone", "Toxic Garbage Island", and the encore of "Vacuity". A truly amazing set for this French Foursome. I already can't wait to see them again.
After the show, we ventured over to the Dive Bar for another beverage (the show made us thirsty, obviously), and then to the Kenmore Diner for an early breakfast. It was a grand adventure for the three (+1 honorary) assclowns, and it ended with Mike and I shooting the shit briefly in his backyard since he forgot to bring his keys and was locked out.
A -Goz
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