United States Disas-Tour Review

United States Disas-Tour American Head Charge Diecast Indexcase Bleed The Sky 10/31/05 Metro Reviewer: Karma E. Omowale Photos: Erika Kristen Watt

“Nobody Leaves Here Alive”…

…tell me about it! We all may have left the Metro during the conclusion of this show in good health, etc. however, this tour ended in complete and utter chaos. For the opening night to begin with such promise, who knew it would wind up the way it did, a premature finale, an absolute bust! As this tour certainly lived up to its pseudo name of “United States Disas-Tour”. Tragedy knocked on the door of every single band on this bill. It struck Diecast first, forcing them to drop from the tour as co-founder and drummer Jason Costa abandoned the band mid tour sneaking on a bus leaving all of his gear and returning to Boston way ahead of schedule, ahead of his bandmates that is.

Bleed the Sky was next in line of tragedy’s bane, as the band slumbered for the evening their van and trailer were stolen outside of an Atlanta suburban residence forcing them to drop from the tour too. Sustaining an insurmountable loss of about $30,000 all of their equipment and merch were stolen. Later a fundraiser was held in attempts to help the band recoup their loss. Gotta love how the community bands together to help their own out when in need. After that same ill-fated show, American Head Charge pulled the plug on the entire shebang canceling the remainder of the shows (about three weeks worth) as a result leaving Index Case in a lurch. About a month later AHC parted ways with guitarist Karma Cheema too. Remember I said no band escaped the melee of bad fortune? Next up is Index Case, after seven years of service, the band asked co-founding member Jordan Spence to hit the road due to personality conflicts. GODDAMN!

Due to all of the psychotic happenings since this expedition departed from Chicago who knows, it may endanger future shows from opening here. Here’s to hoping this was an isolated incident and will not spook promoters for wanting to do the Chicago debut thing again. Again it is such a travesty this tour came to a premature halt, now on with the review of tonight’s show!

Halloween 2005, Chicago (more like the Metro) received a treat, an opening of a tour featuring American Head Charge, Diecast, Index Case, and Bleed The Sky. (We would learn the tricks followed later on down the road). How often does Chicago see this happen, not often enough!! Energy was high from start to finish. Bleed The Sky set the tone for the rest of the evening as the men of AHC sent the troops off in grand fashion. I am sure this tour will continue to dazzle the crowds nationwide until the very end!

Lineup: Kyle Moorman – Lead & Rhythm Guitars; Noah Robinson – Vocals; Wayne Miller II – Lead & Rhythm Guitars; Luke "Puck" Andersen – Samples, Sequencing; Austin D'Amond – Drums & Vocal Support; Casey Kulek – Bass & Vocal Support

Orange County sextet Bleed The Sky came out with guns a blazin’, unfortunately it was to a very small crowd. Any way you look at it, this band owned! Vocalist Noah Robinson immediately addressed the crowd and screamed, “Nobody leaves here alive!” which just so happens to be a lyric from “Division”. Their set was jammed packed of synchronized windmills and hairwhips. What made their set fantastic were the excellently timed melodies amidst the brutality of guitarists Kyle Moorman and Wayne Miller. They have a killer rhythm section as well which is comprised of drummer Austin D’Amond and bassist Casey Kulek. This band has come a very long way from their first gig when the opened for Opeth back in 2003. Since then, the band has opened bands like Death Angel, Vader, and Kreator…

One could say this band is formulaic however; they tend to transcend above that as they possess an undercurrent of deep-seated, dark rhythms. Perhaps this can be attributed to their wide range of musical influences from old school rap to thrash to Simon & Garfunkel. They are able to bridge a plethora of genres and generations together with a flair. I am still trying to figure out the tie to Chimaira, BTS sounds nothing like them. Overall, BTS’ set was very notable. I must say as impressed I was; I felt they were a little misplaced on this tour since they were the hardest on the bill. Not that it is a bad thing to have them in the first slot at least they will always get the crowd going.

The band performed almost every song off their debut album on Nuclear Blast entitled Paradigm in Entropy. Due to time restrictions, the band cut three songs from their set. After all of the jumping around and carryin’ on, the band did not miss a beat. Before “Minion” Robinson thanked the throng for “showing up”! Instantaneously, a mosh pit from hell erupted amongst the modest crowd. At the conclusion of their set, Robinson screamed, “See you on the flip”! It was good exposure for the band coming off the heels of the Jägermeister Double Shot of Rock: Part II Tour with friends My Ruin as they are now able to play to a different audience with the American Head Charge, Diecast, and Index Case crowd.

Setlist: Killtank; Paradigm In Entropy; Minion; Thru the Dirt; Skin Un Skin; The Martyr; God in the Frame, Borellia Mass, Division.

Click here for Bleed The Sky interview

Click on thumbnail to enlarge photos

Lineup: Joe Ansley – Vocals; Josh Parker – Guitars; Jordan Spence – Drums; Nick Borror – Bass

During the change over the venue started to fill up from what seemed to be tenfold. The influx of people could have been attributed to the band being local…I could have sworn I heard vocalist Joe Ansley bellow the band was from Chicago whilst on stage. Then again, after looking at the bands’ official website it states the band hails from Indianola, IA. Whatever the case may be, hard rocking Midwesterners Index Case rocked their peers; the rest of the crowd seemed unaffected. The band recently released Index Case the self-titled CD this year on indie label Mortal Music. They have opened for the likes of Nonpoint, Static-X, Primer 55, Rob Zombie, and Disturbed just to name a few.

Ansley dedicated “II” to “All the ladies in the house…the groupies” (WTF)! During this outburst, he also announced it was the first time IC played the Metro. Ansley had gone on to thank all of their friends and family for coming out to support the band. Needless to say, the band was okay, apparently my ADHD kicked in; I was more concerned with procuring water from the bar. Perhaps I will have a different outlook next go round, then again, the band could have played a little better tonight as well.

During the change over, a mass exodus of Index Case fans left the building, never fear many other bodies started to fill the floor. There were more people present for this upcoming set as opposed to the sparse populous for Bleed the Sky's. Boston’s Diecast the reigning kings of metalcore lit the Metro on fire as they delivered an electrifying performance this Hallows Eve! Still in support of Tearing Down Your Blue Skies, the band hopes to get back to writing more songs to contribute to their follow up to the 2004 release soon after this tour ends. They gave us a sneak preview with a new song. When Erika Kristen and I caught up with the band after their set, vocalist Paul Stoddard had this to say, “We have a Slayer cover ["Raining Blood"] coming out in January and three videos. We’re gonna do one more US tour and Europe hopefully and write the next record”.

This humorous five-piece dressed for the occasion this Halloween performing in costume. Mr. Stoddard chose to show off a more streamlined look by wearing bunny ears and a thick, rusty chain link wrapped around his neck, bassist Jeremy Wooden was a crucifix toting priest with a child attached to his nether regions. Guitarists Jon Kita was a ninja and Kirk Kolatis was a pregnant nun. Drummer Jason Costa remained the only member without getup this evening. The band led off with Stoddard bellowing to the crowd with his booming voice, “What the fuck is up Chicago? Are you guys here to have a good time? Well then make some fucking noise!” the crowd roared, the response was deafening. “Happy fucking Halloween!”, the crowd retorted niceties. “This is from our latest video, Rise and Oppose”! The band then ripped into “In the Shadows” off their sophomore release, Day of Reckoning. You could tell the band were happier than children in a candy store to be on stage this evening. Stoddard addressed the crowd again, “It’s so fucking good to be back on tour! We’ve been playing with ourselves and our PS2’s”!! the crowd laughed hysterically. “It’s good to be back in Chicago!” he had gone on to say the show in January on the Heavyweights of Hardcore tour with Hatebreed was their "best show to date!”. Awww! Isn't that sweet!!

After the conclusion of “Shadows” the band gave us a preview of the new material by playing a new song, I must apologize for not catching the name of the song. Paul spoke to the growing minion “We’ll play a new song for our friends here in Chicago”, a mosh pit larger than first, bodies flew everywhere as the pit exploded in the center of the venue. At the conclusion of the song, the band decided to abandon their garb and religion too boot. Wooden ripped his crucifix off his person flinging it to the side of the stage and the child that was once attached to his "member" was cast into the audience. The band settled in to perform the other half of their exhilarating set. 

The commanding frontman continued to speak to the crowd about their latest album, “You know Tearing Down Your Blues Skies was my first record with Diecast and it will not be the last!” he then implored the audience to make a trip to the merch store to purchase their “shit because we have a lot of it!” That sales pitch seemed to have worked because a lot kids milled about the newly revamped store later on. He then went on to say, “We have a new record coming out but today marked the one year anniversary of Tearing Down Your Blue Skies”! the crowd roared. Paul then petitioned the audience to support the music scene, “go out and buy it even though there’s not a lot out there at the stores!”  The band followed with “Savior”, during the song Paul screamed, “Are you still with me?” and the crowed screamed back, “YES!”. It was a glorious sight.

The band dedicated “Fire/Damage” to the troops in the Middle East and hoped they would “get home safe”. A monsoon of bodies and fists communed in the middle of the floor to accompany the song. They then dedicated the next song “Solace” to “Danny and David that passed away” he ended with, “I loved them very much!” Before the song started, an eerie silence filled the venue before the band began to play. At the intro of “Seize the Day” Stoddard screamed, “If anything stands in your way, just kick the shit out of it and Seize the Day!” To end of the night with "Singled Out" Stoddard said, “Hang out with us at the merch booth, it’s fucking Halloween, right? Come down and have a drink and meet the band!” and that the audience did. Paul also jumped off the stage and onto the riser where he sang with the fans. Speaking of singing fans, they did this the entire set. Therefore, I have to disagree with Mr. Stoddard; what I witnessed tonight far outweighed their January performance by far!

Setlist: Rise and Oppose; In the Shadows; new song; Savior; Fire/Damage; Solace; Seize the Day; Medieval; Singled Out.

Click here to revisit our interview with Diecast

Lineup: Chad Hanks – Bass; Cameron Heacock – Vocals; Karma Singh Cheema – Guitars; Christopher Emery – Drums; Justin Fouler – Keyboards; Benji Helberg – Guitars 

American Head Charge is no stranger to adversity, which has been the nature of this collective’s very beginnings. This well-told and familiar story begins in a Minneapolis rehab facility when one Cameron Heacock a.k.a. Martin Cock (vocalist) and bassist Chad Hanks or (Mr. HC Banks III these days) meet. During their kismet encounter spawned, AHC. Fast-forwarding in the time continuum, the band’s drug problems persist this time resulting in a fatality. Whilst on tour with Mudvayne, Life of Agony, and Bloodsimple on April 19^th of this year, the body of 27-year old guitarist Bryan Ottoson was discovered in his bunk bed. According to the autopsy, he accidentally overdosed on prescription meds and had consumed copious amounts of alcohol the previous evening. The band decided to carry on his name by continuing on that tour returning on the 29^th. Another strange occurrence transpired when the band was forced to reschedule a benefit show for the Ottoson family due to Chad Hanks needing emergency surgery on his hand. There have been blue skies for this “troubled” band, they did grace the second stage at Ozzfest in 2001 and have recently dropped their third release off DRT Entertainment, The Feeding.

The band arrived in good spirits despite aforementioned misfortunes surrounding the band; they finished off the hungry not overly dense populated crowd. As the band took the stage, the crowd went nuts. Frontman Heacock addressed his faithfuls and asked the audience if there were enjoying themselves, the happy crowd screamed in glee. He then wished the crowd a happy Halloween. Again, the venue may not have been packed to the gills but it was full of love for American Head Charge. Leading off with "All Wrapped Up", how apropos considering Heacock's hands were bound together with handcuffs, and a long chain. To complete his outfit, he donned a mask. Not to mention Mr. Hank's tee that read, "Hitler was a nigger"... okay! Halloween was well represented this evening.

To the intro of "Dirty" Cameron asked the crowd to make some noise for the three bands that played prior, "Let me hear you Chicago"! Heacock's hands were set free during this song. Rumors are flying as nothing has been confirmed that AHC will join labelmates SOiL and Panic Cell in Europe in early 2006. I hope that the band will do another tour as we can hopefully check them out because unfortunately this is where the review ends as I needed to arrange my interview with Bleed The Sky. From what we saw, the band was unstoppable and pleased their crowd immensely. Enjoy the photos!

Setlist: All Wrapped Up; Pledge Allegiance; Dirty; Erratic; Ridicule; Fall; Take What I've Taken; Never Get Caught; Song for the Suspect; Fiend; Americunt; Loyalty; Seamless; Nothing Gets Nothing

2005 United States Disas-Tour Dates

American Head Charge support: Diecast, Index Case, Bleed The Sky

Oct. 31 - Metro – Chicago, IL

Nov. 02 - Rivoli Theatre – Monmouth, IL

Dec. 10 - Star Central – St. Cloud, MN

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