Sanctity of Brothers Tour Review

The Sanctity of Brothers
Tour Review

The Sanctity of Brothers Tour
Unearth
Bleeding Through
Terror
Through The Eyes of The Dead
Animosity
Congress Theatre
9/06/06
Reviewer: Karma E. Omowale
Photos: Erika Kristen Watt & KEO

This tour should have been renamed to the Annihilation of Brothers or The Overabundance of Testosterone Tour, or something along those lines. Unearth, Bleeding Through, Terror, Through the Eyes of the Dead, and Animosity unleashed sheer brutality with their near-miss “Two Inches from a Main Artery” when this tour rolled through the Congress Theatre on a cold rainy Saturday on September 9^th. It was as tough as you're gonna get with a sucker punch in the goodies with all of this hardcore and metal or to paraphrase one of Josh's favorite phrases, "it was a nut caver" or at least we're convinced that would have happened providing we possessed them! After seeing this show in its entirety, it was easy to see why Trevor Phipps, frontman for Unearth, wanted San Francisco’s Animosity on the bill. He had this to say about the lads, “They’re just blowing me away, they’re just this brutal death metal band that’s killer. I saw them live at The Whiskey in April actually and they just blew me away. I was like; “We have to take these guys on the road.”…and that’s the reason these men are on this bill! For more of Trevor’s interview during this years' Ozzfest, click here for more.

Lineup: Leo Miller – vocals; Frank Costa – guitar; Chase Fraser – guitar; Evan Brewer - bass (Reflux); Navene Koperwies - drums

For those who are not familiar with Animosity, they are signed to BlackMarket Activities, the label of The Red Chord's frontman Guy Kozowyk. The band is still In support of their 2005 release (their debut on BMA), Empires, (they also released a full length back in 2003 entitled Shut It Down on Tribunal Rec). This collective has cited influences from the likes of Frank Zappa to 3-6 Mafia…yes, a rather eclectic mix this is. Their sound is a mixture of death metal riddled with hardcore. Well on to the show, from the beginning of their set vocalist, Leo Miller was fired up opening the floodgate “Instilling the Affliction” of his bands’ forceful delivery unto the ready and willing crowd. They took no prisoners! It was so cool to see the fans getting into the band from the first chord struck! The audience jumped around sparsely throwing their horns for the openers; it made us proud, now you can only imagine how this made the band feel…oh well allow me to tell you, they fed off it like a ravenous vampire! Miller worked the entire stage, particularly the middle like a proud lion. This band’s stage presence was so lively it was hard to keep up with them, through the lens of the camera and watching them in general. The two guitarists Frank Costa and Chase Fraser axed the hell out of the crowed wowing them with their twin attack of terror (not to be confused with the band by the same name). The rhythm section ripped us a new one with Navene Koperwies battering the hell out of the drums and cymbals and bassist Evan Brewer on the bass. Did you know Evan’s also in the Florida hardcore band Reflux? Well if you didn’t, you do now!

During the course of their set, Miller announced at midnight it would be his birthday. The crowd went wild. Reversing roles, the band then gave the audience a present, a new song off their upcoming album. Hmmm, shouldn’t that be the other way around t the audience should give to the band, well Leo in particular… Oh well, here’s to hoping the fans were kind enough to at least buy him a beer or two since we did spot the singer hovering around the bar in the hallway a couple of times. Miller thanked the crowd for getting a pit going, so in essence the band did get something valuable, a pit for an opening band at the Congress of all places! Woohoo! During the band’s last song, Miller had the crowd give it up for the other bands on the bill. The vocalist then personally thanked the headliners; “A band named Unearth took a chance and took us out on the road. They are a band that plays straight metal, a band that plays real music! Give it up for them!”, the crowd damn near lost it. It was an awesome time as any to make a mosh call in which the audience did just that. Miller never failed to keep the adrenaline of the crowd going. At the conclusion, Leo shared that the band has a new CD coming out soon and that we should be on the look out for it. Hells yeah! We cannot wait! He then ran the expanse of the lip of the barricade connecting with the kids giving high fives, etc. At this point, Koperwies came out standing on the lip of the barricade handing his sticks to a couple of the fans. Now THAT’S how you work a crowd! Horns high, Animosity! HORNS HIGH!!

Animosity Setlist: Thieves; Die on the Shore; Shut It Down; The Black Page, Empires; Everyone Sucks (But Me); Lick My Balls.

Lineup: Anthony Gunnells – vocals; Justin Longshore – guitars; Chris Anderson – guitars; Jake Ososkie - bass; Josh Kulick – drums

Through the Eyes of the Dead, the darlings in pain and despair of Florence, South Carolina, has shown a lot of maturity since the last time we saw them during the Children of Bodom 2006 winter tour. Growth is always an amazing thing then again, they did have Sounds of the Underground to hone their skills and sharpen their fangs. Frontman Anthony Gunnells ran out on stage prepared for battle. He barely made it to the front of the stage before he made the first mosh call during the intro of the song. It got the crowd going as they dutifully acquiesced to the call. In fact, crowd response was amazing from the start of the show; it just warms the cuckolds of my heart thinking about it!

Time flew by so quickly in between taking photos and the end of their set. All I can tell you is that this band’s musicianship and stage presence has picked up. Gunnells was like a man possessed working the expanse of the stage and the middle section, connecting with the fans. Before the band ripped into their last song, the fired up frontman screamed at the crowd, “All right you lazy mother fuckers, let’s fuck this shit up!” Even though a pit did not ensue, the crowd still got into the final song. So, now I pose this question, was it an all out act of blatant rebellion or laziness? The verdict is still out because TTEOTD played their fucking asses off! To end the night, Gunnells screamed, “Stay fucking metal”…you too my brothers, you too! Can’t wait to see them hit the touring circuit again, until then you should pick up a copy of their 2005 brutal as fuck CD Bloodlust that ought to tide you over!

Through the Eyes of the Dead Partial Setlist (in no particular order): Beneath Dying Skies; Two Inches From A Main Artery; Force Fed Trauma; Truest Shade Crimson; When Everything Becomes Nothing.

Lineup: Doug Weber - guitar; Scott Vogel - vocals; Jonathan Buske - bass; Martin Stewart - guitar; Nick Jett – drums

Before Terror's set commenced, some ghetto ass hip-hop piped through the PA… From what I could see from the photo pit, crowd response was decent for this Southern California hardcore collective but had died down a little by the band’s third song. Considering we are not that intimate with the band’s music, we can say they performed a flurry of songs from their new release on Trustkill Always the Hard Way, a title that matches their tougher than nails bravado for sure!

During "Push", frontman Scott Vogel made a mosh call, “Open this shit up!” Vogel then went on a typical hardcore rampage, “This is the only family I know between the lyrics and the truth! Whether you're a Deicide fan or a Fall Out Boy fan, we're all here to pay homage to metal music black or white, dick or pussy, metal or hardcore, drunk, or sober…we’re all in this together! This is a celebration of life!” the venue erupted! From what we understand, Vogel uses this same speech frequently. Here’s a suggestion, switch it up some, huh buddy!! Do not get me wrong, for those that had not heard this speech for the billionth time, it was rousing…then there were the ones that wished they could have stuffed the monologue up his ass judging from the hisses, boos, and angry comments many voiced aloud. Can’t please 'em all, that’s for damn sure.

The next song, “Strike You Down” the kids got mighty rowdy, god damn hardcore dancers, in which no sanctity of brotherhood was displayed here, then again when is it ever in hardcore these days? These fucking kids were doing their windmills, karate chops, etc. WTH! It always seems to be a game of “kill the guy with the balls” or look how hardcore, I am! Who cares? You little elitist pricks!! Can you not for once enjoy a show and stop making everyone around you lives a living hell? Hardcore's a lifestyle, obviously these posers did not get the memo or perhaps they cannot see past their hairspray and women's pants! Okay, I will descend from my soapbox now!! A plethora of them (hardcore scenesters) crossed into the pit brushing past yours truly on a many of occasion! This set was even better than the SOTU one. The next song, “Out of My Face” bassist Jonathan Buske was mighty. Then Vogel bust out with “Look at all you crazy mother fuckers!” he asked the fans to keep their horns up, and that they did. What’s interesting about Terror, the more and more I see them, the more I hear the ghetto/rap element in their songs. Their ghettocore mix is rich in drum and bass with cranking guitars and screaming vocals to boot. OMFG, I think I like Terror either that or I have been brainwashed, perhaps the later is true! Whatever it was, it was a great set but Vogel should to lose the pre-rehearsed monologue!

Terror Setlist: One With the Underdogs; Spit My Rage; Push; Strike You Down; Out of My Face; Better Off Without You; Lowest of the Low; Always the Hard Way; Keep Your Mouth Shut; Overrrun.

Lineup: Brandan Schieppati - vocals; Marta Petersen - keyboards; Scott Danough - guitar; Derek Youngsma - drums; Brian Leppke - guitar; Ryan Wombacher – bass

Bleeding Through swarmed the Congress Theater’s stage like an angry swarm of bees. Sidebar: Schieppati may no longer be interested in giving "the small fries" of the Industry a story any longer but he sure as hell will mug it up for the camera, never passing on that opportunity! They opened with “For Love and Failing” off their latest and impressive CD, The Truth. The crowd went ballistic, as pits were breaking out all over the place. From where we were standing, it was three. On the second song, “Love Caught in a Hail of Bullets” Frontman Brandan Schieppati made a mosh call, well this one was bigger than the first…it was cavernous! The crowd really got into this song. I think the audience sang the chorus louder than Schieppati did. To intro the next song “Kill to Believe”, Schieppati addressed the frenetic crowd, “This is truly our home away from home. I want to see the biggest mother fucking circle pit. There's lots of room, kill people around you! Let's kill this shit!” Well folks, this was the last thing the hardcore flame patrol needed to hear, they came out of the woodwork! Needless to say, the band was more than pleased with the carnage that followed. I'd have to say, the way the band performed this song, they deserved a much larger pit than received but by the first chorus, the pit grew by leaps and bound as two separate pits converged, melding into one. The band then ripped into another mighty song “Tragedy of Empty Streets” off the monstrous new release.

Schieppati dedicated "Dearly Demented" to Terror, TTEOTD, and Animosity. In the very beginning, two colossal and violent pits erupted. I think this even shocked Brandan himself. It was beyond brutal to the point one of the members in the pit made a mad dash to security registering a complaint against one of the hardcore dancing posers. Apparently the “balls killers” had taken it one step too far, they were now attacking chicks. Not cool at all, when is it okay to punch chicks, in or out of a pit? Here's to hoping his karma will bite him in the ass, how's that? Nevertheless, what was even more eerie was the dead silence that rung out directly after the song concluded. Everyone ceased moshing, making noise, etc. Good thing the band broke the unnatural pregnant pause up by breaking into “Love in Motion”.

During “On Wings of Lead”, Brandan thanked his mother and father whom were in the balcony. It's always nice to see his parents support him at the Chicago shows. J Bassist Ryan Wombacher's background vocals were killer! We were impressed!! The entire band killed tonight, after a performance like this they silenced all the naysayers, this band as Korn says is "here to stay"! Speaking of staying, we hoped the mass exodus of people that left following the conclusion of BT's set will return before Unearth takes the stage….

Lineup: Trevor Phipps - vocals; Ken Susi - guitar; Buz Mcgrath - guitar; John "Slo" Maggard - bass; Mike Justian – drums

During the changeover, we decided to go to the concession stand to whet our whistles in the meantime, we saw some kid by the merch booth with a bloodied nose. He proudly wore it like a red badge of honor. We knew the pits got nuts during BT's set but we didn't think it was quite that bad…obviously, fun was had by all and just to think, we still had the mighty Unearth to cave in craniums! Speaking of which, by the time we returned to the floor, the band was about to go on. However, the masses that left during the conclusion of BT's set had yet to return. Only half returned it was too bad; Unearth is one of the premiere live bands in metal.

To take a break from the usual running and jumping entrance, the adrenalized band tried something new. A backlit Buz McGrath took his throne bathed in white light playing his guitar. The visual was stunning. On the other side of stage, the band's other guitarist Ken Susi was holding down the fort until one of the guitar techs ran out and gave him a swig out of a skull beer bong. Of course Susi never fails to entertain! The rest of the band joined the guitarists and the glorious assault had begun with horns high! It was chilling!! McGrath then found the highest amp and jumped from it. Can you say pumped? The band then ripped into “Giles”, the single off their prodigious new release, III: In the Eyes of Fire the roar that followed the opening riff was deafening. On the first breakdown, frontman Trevor Phipps addressed the maddened crowd, “Chicago, you know what to do! Let's open this shit up!”, immediately following the mosh call, a spacious pit ensued. An appreciative Phipps pumped his fists in the air, along with the crowd. At the end of the song, Phipps congratulated the audience, “Chicago, you are fucking amazing! Give it up for yourselves!”

“This song is off the EP from 2002, the title track “Endless”! You old school mother fuckers may know this one!!” It was hard to tell the new from the old, but the entire venue erupted. During the course of the song, Buz took a hit from the skull bong, this brings a completely new expression to "Skål", in truth it's how the Viking word bore it's roots in the first place, saying cheers whilst drinking from the skulls of the conquered. Rather fit to be tied! Phipps then decided to take a poll before the band began their next selection. “How many of you have a copy of the new CD In the Eyes of Fire?” almost everyone in the audience raised their hands. Phipps beaming then dedicated the next one to his faithful minion, “This one goes out to you guys, this is “Devil Has Risen”!” the place went nuts a massive pit arose. Speaking of the CD, this band is such a hot ball of energy live, it's so nice to hear producer Terry Date capture the band's raw power on the new one.

Right before “Zombie Autopilot” Trevor connected once again with his audience, “We've been coming here to Chicago since 2001, Fireside Bowl Days! Thanks for being there. I know a lot of bands say that, but I mean it”, as the passion coursed through his every fiber, you could tell through his body language and in his eyes he was MORE than sincere. Phipps' heartfelt thank-you was moving! The crowd response was deafening, it definitely was one of those warm fuzzy/Hallmark Cards moment in time. Next up is “This Glorious Nightmare”. One of the pit dwellers hurdled a wad of paper at Ken during one of the solos. Susi promptly finished then blew at kiss at the general vicinity…the whole thing was classic. Soon thereafter Phipps jumped into the crowd without missing a beat, he began singing the chorus in which you could hear the fans around him screaming the words as well, sanctity of brothers had definitely been achieved.

“This is some real fucking old school shit, who saw us in 2001-2002? Well this one is for you. This one is off the first record [Stings of Conscience], this is “One Step Away”!” The floor erupted. During his solo, Susi covered his eyes, guess it would be easy to play those riffs in your sleep if you'd been playing them for that long. By the way, Mr. McGrath's solo slayed! The crowd was none to pleased when Trevor said it was “Time for two more”. The band then ripped into “The Great Dividers”. More hilarity ensued right before the final breakdown. Trevor spotted one of the moshers with a reggae hat, he then commented, “I love your hat! Now it's time to give me the biggest pit of the night. On 1-2-3…” before he could finish his train of thought the reggae hat found its way towards Trevor. Mr. Phipps reached out and caught the hat before it hit the floor. After contemplating whether to try it on finally, he did; the crowd roared. The frontman then asked who the hat belonged to, the members in the audience pointed at the owner. Trevor then threw the hat back to the rightful owner.

“This is day number three of the Sanctity of Brothers Tour where you can hear for real metal, and hardcore. See you in 2007!”, how in the world can another show top this one? Not sure but we have three more months to find out, don't we? “This is our last song of the night, this is “Black Hearts Now Reign”!” During the final breakdown, Trevor jumped into the crowd in which he wound up getting lost amid the pit. One of our favorite security guards, Jonesy had to retreat him. It was the perfect conclusion to a perfect night! But what even topped this was the fact that we'd like to thank Sara for letting us know we are reaching our locals as well. She asked us if “we were with FourteenG”! Damn, it feels good for us to know we are truly doing something for metal, so this one goes out to our fellow metal sister! \m/ *_* \m/ HORNS HIGH!!

Unearth Setlist: March of The Mutes; Giles; Endless; The Devil Has Risen; This Lying World; Sanctity of Brothers; Zombie Autopilot; This Glorious Nightmare; One Step Away; The Great Dividers; Black Hearts Now Reign.