The Metal for the Masses Tour, El Corazon,
Review by
S J "Bonehand" Holetz
Once
again this week, I descended upon Seattle for the all
too typical Tuesday night metal
show. Why is it that every decent-sized metal act that
comes through town feels the need to play
SF or LA or Chicago on the weekend, so that Seattle
gets dicked with these mid-week shows?
Sure, I could have travelled to one of the weekend
shows, but then I'd have to pay for a plane ticket
and find hotels in Chicago
, or try to find a bed at
one of those SF hotels.
No thanks. As an
aging metalhead, this pisses me off to no end, but not
so much that I won't pry myself out
of my lair for a lineup like this!
I had caught an abbreviated set from faves The Haunted at
Ozzfest in 2005, where they
savagely ripped a hole in the mid-morning crowd, so
getting out to catch a full set was a must.
Not to mention the bonus that they were co-headlining
with Dark
Tranquillity, one of the most
prolific and influential of Swedish death metal acts.
No way I miss this one, so work night be
damned, I took my griping ass downtown for the gig.
Sweden's
Scar Symmetry [official site,
myspace] would kick off the evenings
proceedings, their
music a heady brew of melody and crunch not dissimilar
to that of fellow countrymen Soilwork.
Their set was highlighted by choice guitar work,
and notable dual vocalist interplay between guitarists
Jonas Kjellgren and singer Christian Allvestam,
whose
complementary powerful roars are the perfect
counterpoint to the strong clean choruses from
Allvestam. Above all, however, it is the songwriting
craftsmanship of Kjellgren and second guitarist and
secret weapon Per Nilsson that really sets this
band apart. One standout song followed another, with
"Chaosweaver", "Mind Machine" and the
spectacularly catchy "The Illusionist" sending me
sprinting to the merch tables at sets' end.
Next
up was Saskatchewan five-piece Into Eternity [official site,
myspace],
who put in a solid
if not particularly memorable performance. Definitely
victims of following a superior Scar Symmetry
(on this night anyway), the majority of tunes on
display from Into
Eternity were made up of too many
second string riffs, the excellent "Beginning of the End" and
"Timeless Winter" notwithstanding. I must
give props to singer Stu Block, whose powerful pipes
hit those Dickinson/Halford type wails in a
manner which you don't hear enough these days outside
the realm of sorry-ass power metal.
Cool Metal moment: As the road crew
prepares the stage for Dark Tranquillity's set, a
bearded
gentleman in a black metal T and olive jams who I take
to be in charge of things is setting up
the guitar gear directly in front of me. His movements
show an efficiency which speaks to having
performed the task a thousand times. Judas Priest's
"Hell Bent for Leather" is rocking the PA, and
at the exact same moment, the guitar tech and I both
bust into:
"From
a streak of fire AS HE STRIKES! Hell Bent! Hell Bent
for Leather!"
We
both laugh, and the guy says: "Every day, man. Every
day." An awesome moment of
metal solidarity. Classic!
Finally, The
Haunted [official site,
myspace] took the
stage to close out the evening, punishing
the crowd with their punkier brand of death metal.
Guitarists Anders Bjorler and Jensen carved out
huge slabs of their signature heavy riffage, providing
the perfect brutal backdrop to the screaming
Peter Dolving's tales of rage and pain and fear. I am
hard pressed to think of a frontman working
today who pours more of himself into a performance than
Dolving, as he literally wrings himself out
on stage in every performance, truly stunning. The
Haunted's set was concise and powerful, and heavy
with numbers from latest work The Dead Eye, effortlessly whipping
the crowd into a frenzy with
electrifying renditions of "The Medication", "99", "All
Against All" and the crushing "Hate Song".
The band finished with a cathartic
"Bury your Dead", and as I headed toward the exit, I
passed the
sweat-drenched Dolving, who was staggering through the
crowd a conquering hero. Despite his obvious
exhaustion, he was still giving to his fans, taking the
time to distribute high fives and handshakes. I
offered up my thanks as I passed, taking with me into the
cool Seattle night my appreciation of a band
who works this hard for their audience.
Dark
Tranquillity Set List
Terminus
Final Resistance
Hedon
My Negation
The Wonders At Your Feet
Lost To Apathy
The Sun Fired Blanks
The Treason Wall
The Endless Feed
Focus Shift
Punish The Heavens
The Lesser Faith
Damage Done
The New Build
The Haunted Set
List
The Premonition
The Flood
The Medication
99
Abysmal
In vein
D.O.A.
The Drowning
Trespass
The Reflection
All Against All
The Guilt Trip
No Compromise
The Fall Out
Hate song
Dark Intentions
Bury your dead