Sounds of the Underground Tour 2006 Review

Sounds of the
Underground
2006 Review

Metal and Hardcore Will Rise Again

July - August 2006

US/Canadian Tour

Click here for the official Sounds of the Underground Tour Page

“Sounds may still be figuring things out, but it made for an interesting mix!”

Setting: Friday, August 4th, 2006. Here we are, year two of the Sounds of the Underground, the premiere host of some of today's best metal and hardcore acts housed underneath one roof, well at least in tonight's case! To some this review will be a bitch fest, but it really isn't but, there are things that need to be said. There were MANY good points too, believe you, us they shall be discussed. Having said that, let’s rip through this puppy, shall we. In comparison to the inaugural run, Randy Blythe of Lamb of God said it best during their stellar performance that since SOTU was still "new and we are still figuring shit out ", well from the looks of things they still have a little ways to go. They still have a little ways to go…but they may not have that far to go in the grand scheme of things. Ozzfest and Sounds pulled a switcheroo give or take, swapping lineups. For Sounds, the Ozzfest rehashed lineup was nowhere near as dynamic as last years. One thing can be said about Sounds was Behemoth and Cannibal Corpse graced their stages nationwide. It’s not like we see either band plastered on everyone's marquee, so this was more than a welcomed treat especially considering we it was a first for us never seeing CC prior to tonight. What took us so long you may ask? You know, we do not have a valid reason!! But what we can tell is that it will not take another eighteen years! Speaking of welcomed treats, so was the welcomed return of the mighty Machine Head!! However, you choose to view it, the bills on Ozzfest and Sounds both paled respectively in contrast to last years! The other issue was the organization of the event…it was not up to par.

The nicest part about today was the fact that The Rave utilized all four (4) floors. Entering through the basement, Meet & Greets took place throughout the day as well as being able to purchase merch from all of the bands on the bill, including the local ones. Only thing you couldn’t do was grab a cold drink down there, for you would need it as you ascend further into the venue. On the first floor, they had two local bands performing in the adjacent rooms outside of “The Rave” room where all of the “second stage” acts performed: Through the Eyes of the Dead, Evergreen Terrace, The Chariot, Behemoth, The Black Dahlia Murder, Terror and GWAR. The next landing served as a safe haven or meeting area for many. You could grab some pizza (if ever available), drinks of the non-alcoholic and alcohol infused varietals. The top floor, the “Eagles Auditorium” housed all of the main stage acts: Cannibal Corpse, Trivium, Machine Head, In Flames, and As I Lay Dying.

Again, as we previously suffered during Slayer's Unholy Alliance Tour, the owner of The Rave felt the need not to run the AC; it was hotter than the third tier of Hades. By the end of the night, many people had dispersed after Trivium’s set. It was the damndest thing, but that is another story! For those that decided to see it through, they were able to take in some amazing acts: Machine Head, In Flames and As I Lay Dying. They KILLED! Overall, Sounds upheld the “underground” aspect unearthing bands like Cannibal Corpse, Evergreen Terrace, Through The Eyes of the Dead, and Behemoth. Let’s hope Sounds can regain the top of the throne, continuing the legacy we thought they would carry through this year. Well as long as it’s not as boring as this year’s, it will be all good! Come on guys, there are thousands of bands that are completely worthy that need press like a dead man needs a coffin, hope 2007 brings some newer faces and more worthy opponents faces for next year’s fest. No matter what, as long as Sounds of the Underground keeps producing a good mix of talent accompanied by cheap tickets, they will move ahead to the forefront of summer tours! On top of it being unified behind the scenes, all of the bands get along and hang out with one another unlike the we've "gotten too big for our britches" Ozzfest! Kudos, kudos!! Speaking of kudos, before we go too far, click here to see the proud winners of this year's SOTU contest, these folks KNOW their metal!!!!!!!

Here’s how the individual bands broke down after Through the Eyes of the Dead, we unfortunately missed their set but as a consolation, we do have an interview with the band, which will be available shortly. Stay tuned for that but in the meantime, if you can’t wait check out live photos of the band from the Children of Bodom tour early this year. Here's TTEOTD's setlist: Two Inches From A Main Artery, With Eyes Ever Turned Inward, Beneath Dying Skies, Truest Shade of Crimson. Thanks Justin! We missed the majority of Terror’s set due to The Chariot interview, all of Black Dahlia's (click here for photos of BDM ironically enough, these photos are from the 2005 Suffocation Tour with Behemoth) due to us (in vain) hunting down In Flames and Behemoth for interviews. Better luck next go round. Let’s get this party started with the show reviews, huh:

Lineup: Josh James – guitar/bgv’s; Drew Carey – vocals; Craig Chaney – guitar / vocals; Kyle Mims – drums; Jason Southwell – bass

The crowd was in good spirits after Through the Eyes of the Dead’s set. It was good to see the Floridians shine on the Rave’s stage. It was nice to see the band receiving such a warm welcome; the crowd indeed rocked out from the very first song, “Dogfight” which is the first song off their latest album Sincerity Is An Easy Disguise To Wear In This Business. The band then ripped into “New Friend Request”, you know, a song about the “fake” folks you run across on My Space. Vocalist Drew Carey jumped about the stage on what seemed to be an imaginary pogo stick. Carey stopped long enough after the song to address the equally hyped crowd, “Sounds of the Underground…how’s everyone doing? Give it up for Through the Eyes of the Dead!” The crowd did so happily. The vocalist continued, “A full day of metal and hardcore! Can Milwaukee do a circle pit”? The crowd roared. The lively frontman came back with, “Then give it up mother fucker”! A pit did erupt, which was very nice to see!! What was most enjoyable is guitarist’s Craig Chaney’s clean vocals along with the amazing harmony he and guitarist Josh James create.

The next selection was “Brave Reality”, Carey explained the premise behind the song to a certain extent, “People who think they are an elitist person…you know who you are and if you don’t you’re a piece of shit!” It was like a scene out of a DevilDriver show. Was Drew was possessed by the spirit of the Reverend Dez Fafara? Probably not but it makes for a good tall tale, doesn't it! Gotta love hardcore bands with a message! But, it gave us flashbacks from when the good reverend was on the same stage with the same speech a short five months prior; it was déjà vu all over again! In short, Evergreen Terrace put on one hell of a show; it was well received by the kids, fans, and the band had a lot of fun doing it too! They are one hell of a live act!! Make sure to catch them out on the road with Throwdown on the Pure Hostility Tour in September; you will not be disappointed!

Evergreen Terrace Setlist: Dogfight; New Friend Request; Give ‘Em the Sleeper; Brave Reality; No Donnie.

Lineup: Josh – vocals; John – guitars; Dan – bass; Jake – drummer

All can be said is that we were made converts after seeing the band. Another fine example of being turned on to new music that you may not have been privy to, or plainly would have cared about previously! This southern collective may share the same vein as Norma Jean but regardless of the uncanny similarities (quirky song titles and similar sound) these Birmingham, Alabama boys rocked our lame asses!! We don’t think they ever stopped moving from the time their feet hit the stage to the time they left! The crowd was all into The Chariot’s extraordinary lively performance. During one point in their performance, vocalist Josh Scogin threw his microphone laterally to his right finding another stationary one to sing from. It’s so damn cool to see all of the kids into the openers; always does the heart good to see such a thing. The deep growls were unnerving, more like unexpected from Scogin, almost Guy Kozowyk like. This band incorporates a plethora of sounds blending them all together placing a unique spin on hardcore and a dash of metal.

Bottom line, The Chariot rode the crowd hard to the finish line. Horns and fists were flyin’! It will be cool to see this band again in a small less hectic setting, to see them play without all the added hoopla surrounding them.

The Chariot Setlist: Donnie Cash (The Company, the Comfort, the Grave); Phil Cosby (Before There Was Atlanta, There Was Douglasville); Sergeant Savage (Die Interviewer); **new song**; Yanni Deep.

Lineup: Nergal – lead vocals/guitar; Seth – guitar/vocals; Orion – bass/vocals); Inferno – drums

DAMN is all that could be said. They came out the chute commanding all that stood before them, yup, including us! They would have thawed the dead!! As a matter of fact, we think vocalist and master guitarist Nergal opened the gates of hell tonight! Or at least one would have thought after this dynamic performance!! No matter how crapalicous of a day you were having, Behemoth will always make up for it. They gave their all but they made it seemed like someone had a pitchfork to their cocks, and told them they had all but 5- minutes to squeeze in 5-songs…seriously, the set was sped up, literally. They gloriously played the 78-rpm version “Conquer All” off their latest and greatest manifestation Demigod. To intro the song, Nergal growled to the crowd, “We love Milwaukee and we came to “Conquer All”!, a huge pit ensued soon thereafter.

We nearly blew a gasket when the band began to pound out “As Above So Below” off Zos Kia Cultus… it made us dizzy, in between the headbanging and running from side to side. Nergal never talked in between songs. It was the sweetest torture endured in a while! We think Erika passed out in the photo pit…okay just kidding; but she sure worked up a thirst after running around like a chicken without its head!! Knowing Nergal’s goal is to leave the crowd “breathless”, well that he did, and then some! Nergal ought to be damn proud of himself and the band; we sure are, and so was his captivated moshing crowd! Behemoth owned! Dzieki!!!! When are they coming back…not soon enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Behemoth Partial Setlist (in particular order): Antichristian Phenomenon, Conquer All, As Above So Below, Chant for Eschaton 2000.

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

This no nonsense, stripped down bare boned L.A. quintet slayed the crowd tonight. Not sure who has a harder working tour itinerary, Terror or The Red Chord; it's a tough call either way! No matter what the vast majority of the staff thinks about this band, a couple of us think they are pretty damn good! They have to be one of the most sought after live hxc bands and it is very understandable. Scott Vogel is a very commanding frontman as well as the gents that back him up instrumentally. This band has toured with some of everyone…in fact, the band will hit the touring circuit yet again in early September, this time on the Sanctity of Brothers Tour with Unearth, Animosity, Bleeding Through, and current tourmates Through the Eyes of the Dead. Unfortunately, we could not stick around long; Maggie had an interview with The Chariot scheduled at the same time Terror hit the stage. Good thing we were able to take in at least one song. Check back in September for photos and a review of the band during the Sanctity Tour.

Lineup: Oderus Ungurus/Dave Brockie - vocals; Balsac the Jaws of Death/Mike Derks - guitars; Jizmak The Gusha/Brad Roberts - drums; Flattus Maximus/Cory Smoot - guitars; Beefcake The Mighty/Todd Evans - bass

After twenty years, this band continues to shock and maim their crowds worldwide. Tonight Virginia's GWAR targeted the Rave. Good thing this merry band of grotesque space monsters was the last to play on the second stage. If you've ever seen GWAR, you know never to wear any light colors unless you enjoy wearing your GWAR scars like a tie-dyed badge of courage from their outrageous stage shows which range from blood and otherwise unspeakable emanations! Of course, our photographer too was a casualty for the second consecutive year to bear GWAR scars! The band performed a plethora of songs off the new offering Beyond Hell, which was produced by the mad genius, Devin Townsend (Lamb of God, Darkest Hour) and vocalist/guitarist of Strapping Young Lad, as well as playing a variety of time-honored faves.

This year's foul display of gross entertainment lends us a new character for Oderus to mutilate onstage. Accompanying a few familiar ghouls was a new character that would go down in history as one of the best GWAR Ghouls ever created. A short distorted pig-like cop with the largest anus, a soccer ball could've gone through this thing without ever touching the sides! Little did we know, it was just ripe for sodomizing. Oderus took a 7-foot spear and rammed it through the orifice so that it would come out the other end. Kinda like a shish kabob for monsters then carried him away as if the cop really were one! The audience, though appalled, couldn't turn away for the spectacle. By the time the Nazi-like pope was reintroduced, the crowd was still nervously laughing about the vulgarity of it all. The only drawback to this year's performance was GWAR's confinement to such a tiny stage! It was visibly apparent that the second stage was stifling to their cluttered and scaled back set.

GWAR epitomizes the dark side of metal; it's what parents and preachers fear. They are profane, obscene, grotesque, disturbing, alarming and above all down right entertaining. No matter how many times we've seen this band, they never fail to leave us with a crooked smile on our faces!

GWAR Partial Setlist (in no particular order): Sick of You; War is All We Know; Krosstika; Womb With A View; Bring Back the Bomb; School's Out For Summer (Alice Cooper cover); The Horror of Yig; Death Pod; Salamanizer.

Lineup: George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher – vocals; Paul Mazurkiewicz –drums; Pat O'Brien – guitar; Rob Barrett – guitar; Alex Webster – bass

GWAR assaulted our eyes and ears, now it's Cannibal Corpse's turn to brutalize our asses. Can you believe this band has been mutilating the minds and hearts of headbangers worldwide since 1988? This quartet, former Brooklyn transplants now residents of Tampa Florida, was on fire. GODDAMN! We have never been so impressed at a live show! This was death metal at its absolutely finest! It's not hard to see why vocalist George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher's neck is so unbelievably thick, he headbanged from the beginning of the set until the very end, some odd thirty-minutes later. The pits were just as thick and cavernous as the wall of sound CC emanated! Speaking of being impressed, we could not believe our eyes that guitarist Rob Barrett was brandishing an Aeon tee! How cool is that?

Corpsegrinder dedicated “Fucked With A Knife” to “the ladies in the audience”, how metal is that! Oh the love!! Since we are on the subject of dedications, the last song of the night “Stripped, Raped, and Strangled” to “all of the people at the Sounds of the Underground.” We lost our minds to “Make Them Suffer” Corpsegrinder then made it clear that if a pit didn't ensue he'd have to, “kick the shit” out of every one of us and the fact that he doesn't “want to have to do that”! Luckily, George didn't have to resort to violence, a pit more sizeable than European countries ensued! Beside the point, who'd you think would win that unfair fight? You could catch a glimpse of a smile across his face on the rare occasion in between revolutions of his incessant headbanging. The whole set was a remarkable sight! We were winded and hungrier than hell after their set but hey it was all for a good cause, the MIGHTY Cannibal Corpse! ALL HAILZ!

Cannibal Corpse Partial Setlist: Unleashing the Bloodthirsty; The Wretched Spawn; Decency Defied; Make Them Suffer; Devoured By Vermin; Fucked With a Knife; Hammer Smashed Face; Stripped, Raped, and Strangled.

Lineup: Matt K. Heafy – lead guitars, vocals; Cory Beaulieu – guitars; Paolo Gregoletto – bass; Travis Smith – drums

Trivium again? Lord, help us! The Florida 4 took the stage at Sounds of the Underground tour this year with the same set we have seen several times. Corey Beaulieu was a living windmill, his long black hair almost reaching his ass nowadays, and thick arms that looked like they needed a tan. But, he served up riffs like a steaming steak alongside Matt Heafy, who looked as though his own dark locks are beginning to thin. The clearest memory we have of this set was the typical Trivium move; everyone in the crowd throwing their fists up as if towards a punching bag to the bass-drum line in the middle of “A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation” like a cult of communist followers. Soon after Heafy demanded, “I wanna see every motherfucker in this place move!” and unfortunately, but not surprisingly, every kid on the floor did as they were told and became a tide of human bodies. Bassist Paolo Gregoletto was, as usual, running his short self back and forth on the stage, only stopping to prop a sneaker on a monitor and shout lyrics into his adoring fans’ faces.

Thought the set was energetic and somewhat entertaining, it seemed to lack something awe-inspiring; but that cannot be held against them. They gave all they had to the SOTU crowd and fed their fans a well-deserved meal of hard, fast metal. It’s unfortunate all that will end with their upcoming record entitled The Crusade. Sorry, there are no pix but you can always refer to the Come Clarity Tour, the Children of Bodom Tour, or even Ozzfest 2005. Besides, the band is rolling back through in support of their upcoming album in a matter of months (October), stay tuned for more!

Trivium Setlist: Like Light to Flies; A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation; Ember to Inferno; Detonation; Master of Puppets (Metallica cover); Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr.

Lineup: Robert Flynn - lead vocals/guitar; Phil Demmel - lead guitar; Dave McClain - drums; Adam Duce - bass/background vocals

It was nice to see that many people returned from the pit (the basement) and from the food level to see Oakland California's Machine Head. During the lull, the fans repeatedly shouted, “Machine fucking Head”. They were just as excited as we were considering it's been a minute since we last feasted our eyes and ears on them, 2004 on the inaugural Roadrage Tour. According to Blabbermouth, the band will release their sixth studio release The Blackening, hopefully due to hit the shelves in early 2007 with Colin Richardson handling the mixing, oh my! However, this is a first since their amazing 2003 release on Roadrunner, Through The Ashes Of Empires. Speaking of that mighty album, the band started their majestic set with the first track off that album, “Imperium”. The band definitely wowed the crowd; it was as if they had never dropped from the hearts and minds of the American public. Vocalist/guitarist Robert Flynn asked his audience if they were “ready to step it up”, to the second selection of the night, “Bay of Pigs” off their 1997 release, The More Things Change…

After wowing the crowd, the band continued the trend in grand fashion. Following the song, Flynn thanked the crowd, “Thank you guys so very much!” The ovation was heartwarming, so is the following! Flynn continued as he explained the source of inspiration for their new song, “Aesthetics of Hate”, “We had the privilege to tour with Dimebag two times. So on December 14^th, 2004 when the Iconoclast published the article called Aesthetics of Hate: R.I.P. DIMEBAG ABBOTT, & GOOD RIDDANCE’…he reaped what he sowed…” At this point, the entire venue's attention had been captured. Flynn went on, “All fans, fat, ugly and pathetic to mourn his death!”, at this point, you could see the intense anger well up in his face as he seemingly relived the moment he first read the article. By the way, the audience was still quiet and utterly attentive until Flynn made the next comment, “We are recording a new album in three weeks, and this is dedicated to Dime”. Words cannot express how powerful that whole statement was, it made us light-headed as it left us limp with disgust, hate…you name it! Especially with an enormous question mark on how someone so ignorant could publish such distaste-less article, declaring Dime was better off dead! Wow, we shant go into this right now, we have more of the show to review as well as the rest of MH's set!! During the intro to the song, guitarist Phil Demmel motioned for a circle pi FourteenG's very own little headbanger Jordan Lira (Photo: Erika Kristen Watt)

FourteenG's very own little headbanger Jordan Lira (Photo: Erika Kristen Watt)

t to the crowd immediately followed by a verbal call by Robert, the crowd HAPPILY did so. The song not only driven by hated but fueled by passion, was excellent. Redirecting the hate back to the author of the, Flynn sung, “I hope you die in hell”! The musicianship of Machine Head has stood the test of time, as best displayed in this song. It featured some fine guitar work complete with dueling solos from both Robert and Phil. FourteenG's own little headbanger Jordan Lira (Photo: Erika Kristen Watt)

FourteenG's own little headbanger Jordan Lira (Photo: Erika Kristen Watt)

After one of Demmel's solos, he motioned to the crowd to “give it up” then pointed towards the ceiling as white lights bathed and illuminated the stage. How perfect is that? Can you say powerful; we thought you could!

For the next song “Old” off their first album, Burn My Eyes, Flynn petitioned the crowd to mosh more, “from the back to the front, from side to side… This is Old” by this time, the Liras (Sharita, her husband, AND her 7-year old son, Jordan) made their way in. Of course this is monumental considering it was Jordan's first show, ever!! We are committed to corrupting the youth one horn at a time! \m/ *_*\m/ Think of the stories he'll have when he gets older! At the conclusion of the song, the frontman graciously thanked the crowd again, “Milwaukee, you are fucking amazing!” A happy Flynn continued, “Are you happy to be alive?” At this point Robert clapped for the crowd. Now THAT'S a fucking band!! After all of these years, Machine Head still makes it "fun" for the fans as well as for themselves! Machine Head's performance was as pure as fucking metal can get! In between the heat and the bands, we are shocked the stage didn't incinerate shortly after Machine Head left the stage!

Machine Head Partial Setlist: Imperium; Bay of Pigs; Aesthetics of Hate; Old, Davidian.

Lineup: Anders Fridén – vocals; Jesper Strömblad – guitars; Björn Gelotte – guitars; Peter Iwers – bass; Daniel Svensson – drums

Karma here, needed to hurry up and say my peace while I could… Regardless of how popular and well-received As I Lay Dying has been, something that has perplexed me since the announcement of this tour (back in the early spring), I can get no understanding as to why AILD were headlining this tour, especially since In Flames is signed to Ferret (in which that still sounds weird saying but awesome nonetheless) or even Cannibal Corpse for that matter! It will be amazing exposure for AILD being a young collective gathering experience beyond their wildest dreams but still…come on! I know I am not the only one that feels this way, even most of us in our own camp feel the same, but I felt this needed to be said. Not taking anything away from AILD, that cannot and shall not be done, they are sweet guys and work hard at what they do! However, they should not have sat at the head of this table this particular year, plain and simple. Now back to our regularly scheduled program, the review!! Of course it always helps to have a crowd that's hot and ready but for this next band, one of Göteborgs finest, In Flames, they really didn't need it!! Ferret Records' very own not only lit up the Eagles Auditorium tonight with their fantastic light show but with their dazzling performance. There seems to be an awful frenetic case of the "tour bug" running rampant through the Sounds camp as this band has also been working their asses off! Seeing we just saw them on their secondary market headlining tour back in May with Evergrey and Nevermore in addition to a couple months prior on again, another headlining jaunt with current tourmates Trivium and DevilDriver.

Tonight the set kicked off with a crowd favorite “Pinball Map” off the band's 2000 Nuclear Blast offering, Clayman. The crowd began to bounce up and down after the m music began to play. The bands' spirits were high! Frontman Anders Fridén was all smiles as well as guitarist Jesper Strömblad. The band immediately ripped into my personal favorite off the band's welcomed return to glory Come Clarity with “Leeches” where in the midst of the song Fridén screamed out, “Do you feel alive?” Absolutely, how could anyone not be after the incredible performances witness on the main stage?! At this point, I lost sight of the crowd…sorry; it was all about In Flames from here on out! The band then ripped into “Cloud Connected” off Reroute to Remain. After the song concluded, Anders addressed the crowd, “Good evening everyone! Milwaukee, we're In Flames and you'll have to bury your head! First, I'm amazed you're still here. You seem to be on fire still”, loud roars ensued. The hilarious frontman continued his banter, “Where did that girl go? The boys look so bad, I want to look at you!”, the place erupted in laughter. The temperature had risen noticeable for many reason we guess! Fridén ran with his standup, “It's hot, you know I'm from Sweden and we have polar bears in the streets!” The band then played another selection from Reroute; this time it was “Trigger”. Fridén clapped for the audience after the conclusion of the song.

Anders continued to keep the audience in stitches with his next monologue. For the intro of the next song, “Beautiful! I'm gonna have a sip of my beer hold on”. He then took a healthy swig of his öl. The level of noise dropped considerably as the audience stared ahead as their ringmaster quenched his thirst. “Why you so quiet? How about the people in the balcony, are you still alive?” Fridén then asked the audience to turn around, to assist, the house lights went up momentarily. Son all of the attention was back on Fridén, “We're gonna play some old shit from Jester Race. Swedish Death Metal at it's finest, this is “Graveland”!” Drummer Daniel Svensson and bassist Peter Iwers had a field day on this one while guitarist Björn Gelotte and Strömblad tore it up too! “Let's see that pit”, the fans happily followed out orders. During the song, the humorous frontman untuned Iwers' bass. How funny is that! During a long lull, another surprised commenced the title track off the new album, “Come Clarity”; it was interesting the band chose to break the tempo and slow things down. Then Jesper appeared alone on stage as he bathed in a gorgeous white blanket of canned lighting, then the band soon joined thereafter.

After the conclusion of the song, Fridén admonished the crowd, “I never told you to take your hands down! Put them back up!!” Oh damn, the general has spoken! <<<SNAP>>> The band then ripped into “Quiet Place”. Without provocation, the audience started to stomp on the floor whilst madly throwing their horns Fridén asked that the crowd give it up to security, “Some beat you down and some take care of you!” “We're now gonna play something just so you guys can shake your ass a little bit!”, After Fridén declared, “Thank you, we're done” the band then broke into “Take This Life”. For the real finale, the band ended their amazing set with “My Sweet Shadow” and with these final words from the droll frontman, “As long as one person shows up, we're okay! We'll see you later on this year!” ERR!! Va fan!! Holy shit, are you serious? Jättebra! Vi ses snärt!!!!!!!!

In Flames Setlist: Pinball Map; Leeches; Cloud Connected; Trigger; Graveland; Come Clarity; The Quiet Place; Take This Life; My Sweet Shadow.

Lineup: Jordan Mancino – drums; Tim Lambesis – vocals; Phil Sgrosso – guitar; Clint Norris - bass, vocals; Nick Hipa - guitar

Maggie here: As I Lay Dying, the Christian metalcore gods (haha). I watched as three small metal platforms were being set up on each third of the stage and knew, automatically, that this set was going to be all energy. And of course I - as I am with most things besides sports trivia - was right. One at a time, the San Diego destroyers came onstage to a melodic solo, which build suspense until growl expert Tim Lambesis took the floor. The black-haired commander drew an invisible line through the middle of the crowd with his hand, simply asking, “Who’s going to win tonight? Will it be this side, or this side?” which doused in flames every hardcore kids’ passion to dance their fucking hearts out. The melody and light-hearted intro soon morphed into the military-like beat off “Confined” from their latest Shadows Are Security; the body heat in the room increased by at least 50°. Even if you don’t like As I Lay Dying, but you’ve seen them live (I realized, as I watched them for the fifth time) one thing that you can’t deny is that they are so precise and on key with every aspect of their music that it’s almost impossible for anyone to say that they lack in a live performance. Unless I’ve missed something, and I do have two ears.

My favorite thing about this set was probably the metal platforms, just because every time a band member would jog over and climb up on one, it would place them a good foot and a half higher than usual and you wouldn’t think it would add a lot of range to your vision but apparently it does. Bassist, Clint Norris did it repeatedly and would use the temporary watchtower to weed out the loyalist of fans then send them a sweet smile before going back to tearing up the bass. Lambesis is also a big fan of the platforms, making the towering vocalist seem even larger and more intimidating than he already is. Speaking of Tim, one thing I have to comment on just because he always does it is the fact that he practically runs laps back and forth during their set while he’s onstage, but it never messes with the quality of his vocals. Maybe he has four hearts.

After just seeing As I Lay Dying and going from that large outdoor atmosphere to a smaller venue’s feeling was very enjoyable; especially considering the fact that there wasn’t a huge amount of people left on the floor and thus it created a calming, intimate feeling. That sounded slightly mushy, but most people know what I’m talking about. I still curse the barricades that keep you at least a good three feet from your idols, but a smaller crowd puts some ease to that anxiety. This connection was intensified when near the end of the set, they played two older songs off Frail Words Collapse, one of which being “Distance is Darkness” which is probably one of the most chaotic songs they’ve written. However, I was disappointed as the lack of response to that number (most of the kids’ energy exploded during “Through Struggle” when Lambesis dumbly asked which song his audience would like them to play). They also played “Behind Me Lies Another Fallen Soldier”, a tune that I don’t think has been on their setlist in years until this tour. The almost love-like atmosphere thickened during this song and in the lighter breaks, the audience chanting the lyrics almost blotted out Tim’s roars like ink. **Note: I don’t know if anyone noticed it at last year’s OzzFest in East Troy, but during As I Lay Dying’s set a swallowtail butterfly kept soaring over the crowd as the band played. This year, at this show, a bat somehow got into the venue and was flying around while the band was playing, weaving between members. I don’t know what to call it – irony? Haha.

As I Lay Dying ended their set with “Forever”, as expected, this is probably their most well known song when it comes to true fans. The almost five-minute long brutality/harmonic attack sucking the last of everyone’s energy that night after a long day of moshing, standing around, and spending all your money on any merchandise you could find. Drenched in sweat (and flicking it everywhere with frantic headbanging), the California metalcore boys finished off an almost boiled-to-perfection night and didn’t leave the stage without throwing anything. They could sacrifice from their set to the fans (It still amazes me how a band that has so much wants to give everything they have to everyone else, and never once have stood there and said, “We’re successful – let’s be assholes”. Let’s hope other groups take after this example) thus ending my evening in Milwaukee.

As I Lay Dying Setlist: Intro; Confined; Empty Hearts; 94 Hours; Falling Upon Deaf Ears; Reflection; The Darkest Nights; Illusions; Undefined; Through Struggle; Distance is Darkness; Behind Me Lies Another Fallen Soldier; Meaning in Tragedy; Forever.

After it was all over said and done, Sounds of the Underground whipped our asses; we were some tired and hoarse horn throwing gals! YAWN!! After 9 hours of this, who wouldn't be? See you crazy kids next year!!!!!!!! Speaking of kids, Jordan sends his best!!

Since you're still here, check out Interviews / Reviews with Sounds of the Underground artists:
(Majority are recent & some aren't)

07/08 CLEVELAND, OH - PLAIN DEALER PAVILION
07/09 CHICAGO, IL - 1ST MIDWEST BANK AMP. PARKING LOT
07/11 TORONTO, ON - MOLSON AMPHITHEATRE
07/12 MONTREAL, QC - METROPOLIS ***
07/13 POUGHKEEPSIE, NY - MID HUDSON CIVIC CENTER
07/14 MANSFIELD, MA - TWEETER CENTER PARKING LOT
07/15 SAYREVILLE, NJ - STARLAND BALLROOM OUTSIDE
07/16 CAMDEN, NJ - TWEETER WATERFRONT
07/17 WASHINGTON DC - MERRIWEATHER PAVILION
07/19 ORLANDO, FL - TINKER FIELD
07/21 HOUSTON, TX - VERIZON WIRELESS THEATRE
07/22 CORPUS CHRISTI, TX - CONCRETE ST. AMPHITHEATRE
07/23 SAN ANTONIO, TX - VERIZON WIRELESS AMP. PARKING LOT
07/26 MESA, AZ - MESA AMPHITHEATRE *****
07/27 LAS VEGAS, NV - HOUSE OF BLUES ***
07/28 SAN DIEGO, CA Venue - SOMA Parking Lot *****
07/29 MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - SHORELINE AMP. PARKING LOT
07/31 DENVER, CO - UNIVERSAL LENDING PAVILION
08/02 SAUGET, IL - POP'S (OUTSIDE ST. LOUIS)
08/03 STERLING HEIGHTS, MI - FREEDOM HILL AMPHITHEATRE
08/04 MILWAUKEE, WI - EAGLES BALLROOM
08/05 MINNEAPOLIS, MN - ROY WILKINS AUDITORIUM
08/06 WINNIPEG, MB - WINNIPEG CONVENTION CENTRE
08/07 SASKATOON, SK - SASKATCHEWAN CREDIT UNION CENTER
08/08 EDMONTON, AB - NORTHLANDS AGRICOM
08/10 VANCOUVER, BC - THE PNE FORUM
08/12 LOS ANGELES, CA - GIBSON UNIVERSAL AMPHITHEATRE

Notes:
- PLAIN DEALER PAVILION in Cleveland, OHH was formally Scene Pavilion
- 07/14 KILLSWITCH ENGAGE special guest appearance

***AS I LAY DYING, IN FLAMES, TRIVIUM, GWAR, CANNIBAL CORPSE, TERROR & BLACK DAHLIA MURDER only (Montreal, QC and Las Vegas, NV)

***** SHADOWS FALL, IT DIES TODAY & STILL REMAINS special guest appearance (Mesa, AZ and San Diego, CA)