Devastation Across The Nation Tour Review

Devastation Across
the Nation Tour
Review

Devastation Across The Nation Tour

THE HAUNTED
11/21/04
HOB
Reviewer: Karma E. Omowale
Photos: Erika Kristen Watt

With our deepest sympathy and heavy mournful hearts, we present the review that was written before “Dimebag” Darrell, born Darrell Lance Abbott’s senseless murder on December 8^th, 2004 an event that shook the metal community to its very core. Dimebag will be missed tremendously as we send our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and fans and to the other families affected by this tragedy. Those who wish to contribute to the Dimebag Memorial fund, visit the Damageplan site for more information.

All I can say is that the name of this tour speaks volumes; Brian Fair, lead singer of Shadows Fall said that the tour should have been called “The Intoxication Across The Nation Tour”. No truer words could have been uttered either! One could only expect an all out liquid soirée of this magnitude from the original party animals of metal, ex-Pantera guitarist, Dimebag Darrell, and his brother Vinnie Paul. The Drunk Aid Brigade, a name that I dubbed the lot, represented well. One can rest assure that there will never be a dry cup or bottle in the house when these gents brush through town!

Some special guests were attendance at tonight’s show, Charlie Benante, Anthrax’s longtime drummer, came out to show his support and raise his cup to salute the hosts of the bash enjoy the party that was to follow the evening. Speaking of party animals, no merrymaking could ever be complete without local metal bands, Soil and Disturbed in the rafters of the HOB. A mystery guest present by the alias of 1690 made an unscheduled showing during the Damageplan set, all kinds of wacky occurrences happened during this show.

Mayhem and flowing libations may have factored heavily at this show, nevertheless it was easily one of the better shows of 2004…some incredible music was performed! Energy was the constant theme that was a good thing considering the show was a late one…the festivities did not end until the witching hour, past 12:30-ish. Now let's recap the show from beginning to end:

Lineup: Peter Dolving - vocals; Anders Björler - guitar; Jonas Björler - bass; Jensen - guitar; Per Möller Jensen - drums

Peter Dolving of The Haunted (Photo: Karma E. Omowale)

The Haunted, one of Sweden’s finest acts to grace the shores of the Americas, kicked the night off in grand fashion. It was painfully clear that the crowd was there for Damageplan and in true Chicago fashion, the crowd stood there, immobilized, as the band played their incredible set. It also marks the return of the band’s original vocalist, Peter Dolving. For an opener, the band played an incredibly long set, yet welcomed set. Come on, this is The Haunted after all. This was my first time seeing them play and was I ever happy that I caught them on this tour. Who knows when they will get the chance to do another set like this anytime soon.

I was more than impressed with the commanding Swedes’ set. This band is comprised of former members of At The Gates, Witchery, Séance, Mary Beats Jane, Satanic; bottom line these men know their way a stage and have been doing this for many years…and it shows. Dolving’s authoritative stage presence was stirring along with his bandmates’ performance.

Later in the evening Peter commented on the stale response the band received from the crowd. How he found it funny that when he had asked a fan how they were doing, they quipped, “Fuck you!” Gotta love Americans!! Easy to see how he could not get over this… See what else Peter had to say in my interview with him. All I can say is that this band is AMAZING, not that the unenthused fans were appreciative of their fine performance or nothin'. I wish the band a much better fate in other cities; hopefully others will see what I witnessed from these seasoned musicians...pure unadulterated greatness.

Setlist: No Compromise, DOA, Dark Intentions/Bury Your Dead, 99, Abysmal, Godpuppet, In Vein, All Against All, Hollow Ground, Hate Song

Lineup: Brian Fair - vocals; John Donais - lead guitar/vocals; Jason Bittner - drums; Matthew Bachand - guitars/vocals; Paul Romanko - bass

Brian Fair lead singer of Shadows Fall (Photo: Erika Kristen Watt)

This Massachusetts group of lively lads definitely helped to set the stage for Damageplan. When the band took the stage the crowd finally started to come to life, obviously there were a many of Shadows Fall fan present. You could tell the band was very happy to be on tour with Damageplan & The Haunted so much so Brian stage dived into the crowd. Later on he introduced his tour mates, Damageplan as the 'Destroyers of the liver' and The Haunted as the “Swedish Metal Masters”.

Mr. Fair brandished the same HIMSA shirt he wore for their video, “What Drives The Weak”. Click his picture for his interview. He exclaimed to the crowd that they were really fucking awesome and “Chicago was the best city so far on the tour!” The place erupted with wild cheering and deafening whistles.

The band sounded tight, a much better effort than the last 9/29 show they performed here at the Bottom Lounge. Many songs were performed from their powerhouse release, The War Within and others from previous releases including their finale a Mötley Crüe cover.

Setlist: The Light that Binds, Belial, Idiot Box, Power of I and I, Thoughts Without Words, Enlightened By the Cold, Prelude to a Disaster, Fire in Babylon, Act of Contrition, Of One Blood, What Drives the Weak, Destroyer of Senses, Live Wire.

Lineup: Pat Lachman - vocals; Dimebag Darrell - guitar; Bob Zilla - bass; Vinnie Paul - drums

Patrick Lahman and Dimebag Darrell of Damageplan (Photo: Erika Kristen Watt)

Before Damageplan took the stage, the crowd repetitively chanted, “Damageplan, Damageplan, Damageplan…” The kicked their set off with their anthem, “Save Me”. The already wild crowd went into frenzy as the entire venue sang along with the band. After the song vocalist, Patrick Lachman, heralded Dimebag Darrell, the band’s famed guitarist, for knowing more riffs than he knows songs that he knows how to sing. The audience erupted. Mr. Lachman’s stage presence captured and captivated the audience.

Several songs later, Dimebag busts out with, “I could us a shot!” So the band stopped and dropped what they were doing, Vinnie comes bounding from his drum set to join his brother and others to do a shot of Jäger they then simultaneously turned to toast the crowd... Man did the audience lose it. Wild cheers went on for a while then Patrick commented, “This is a pretty good fucking crowd for a Sunday night in Chicago!” The venue’s energy remained this way until the close of the curtains!! A heckler in the audience gave the band the bird, Lachman quickly retorted, “Hey mother fucker, do you know sign language?” He went on challenging the poor sap; he commented on his inability in understanding why Chicago harbored so much hostility then asked the guy what the bird meant. More than likely the hater was a die-heart Pantera fan, another one unable to let go of the past but still and yet is in attendance, go figure!! Of course, the spineless jellyfish backed down. Patrick then exclaimed, “This is a heavy metal show!” To cut the tension, Dimebag took the mic and screamed, “Let’s get drunk!”

All bedlam aside, Damageplan’s show was thoroughly amazing. Dimebag Darrell displayed why he is considered the best amongst his peers and fans. He tore it up with all of this fancy finger work on his ax. Not hard to see why Patrick was singing his praises earlier in the night. It was refreshing to see the admiration cross Lachman’s countenance whenever Dime broke out into a solo. During one of Dime’s solos, he tapped the shoulder of one of the staff members of security to get his attention because he felt ignored. Then he paused long enough to take a quick pix with the guy.

Dime was not the only one that was ripping it up, his brother in the name of metal, bassist Bob Zilla was quite sharp. Commending the sound engineers of the HOB are in order for turning his monitors up; every note strummed was heard loud and clear. Vinnie Paul was brilliant and Patrick’s vocals were impressive as he demonstrated his amazing vocal range. Toward the end of the set, it was said, “Dimebag says he’s buzzed!” Imagine that! Bottles of Jäger and Crown Royal were passed around to members of the audience in front of the barricade by a member of their road crew by the name of, Best Dude. On an outro, Patrick introduced Vinnie “eating all the pussy” Paul to the crowd; the place went nuts. It was good way to go out! The boys of Soil & Disturbed joined the band during the last song, Pantera’s “Walk”. The band performed a plethora of songs off their debut release, New Found Power like “Save Me”, “Explode”, “Fuck You”, an AC/DC cover and much more.

Damageplan may be filled with a bunch of partying fun-time boys, but their musicianship is tight and they fail to receive enough credit for their accolades. You need to see this lively bunch of men next time they blow through your town. You’ve gotta love a group of men that enjoy life to its fullest, daily, without any regrets…now that’s the life!