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w/Indecision, Overcast, and Nassau Chainsaw
The Filmore At Irving Plaza
New York, New York
November 16, 2008
 Remember all that old hardcore that grabbed you by the spine and made you want to beat something up? The recording production was so bad on those early records to make it sound more rough and real. Like they recorded them in a tin garage or a back alley. Didn't it make the live act that much more memorable? Live is the only suitable way to truly experience Vision of Disorder. Reunion show, after reunion show, after reunion show they are unstoppable. The enthusiasm of the fans demand that they keep playing. So I and three fellow V.O.D. fans piled into the car and headed off to New York City.
We got a little lost on the way and consequently missed all of Nassau Chainsaw and most of Overcast's sets. After paying a ridiculous amount for parking then walking over the the Fillmore, we got out of the cold, I bought my ticket and headed upstairs to the second/main floor.
Straight ahead at the top of the stairs were the merch tables and to the left was the stage and a mob that spilled into the hallway. I checked out the merch quickly, cracked a smile because I already had V.O.D.'s excellent new Dead in New York DVD, which had only been released 5 days ago, and could use my extra cash on something else later, then headed straight to the bar at the back of the floor. Though the beer selection was brutally sparse and pricey, I was pleased to note that the Irving Plaza Fillmore closely resembled the Fillmore at the Theater of Living Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There was a third floor balcony that stretched down the side with another bar upstairs. Similar decorations with the disco ball and chandeliers with little blue lights. The only slanted flooring was up at the back of the third floor so you really have to be up front, upstairs, or right behind a big pit to see the stage well. A large pit was no problem tonight.
Tonight was a night for ressurected early hardcore metal bands. We caught the last three songs Overcast ending their set with "[Diluting Inertia/]Grifter". I liked their old-school style, heavy grooves and unclean vocals enough to purchase their CD Reborn to Kill Again later that night. Their entire set tonight can be found on Reborn to Kill Again, as I was told by the merch guy, which consists of 11 of their older songs and 2 new ones. Indecision's set was comparably as heavy as Overcast, but I felt their music didn't stand out as very memorable on a first impression.
Indecision opened with "Reconsider" and "Blindfold". Not playing full attention, I remembered only a couple more songs "One Last Time" and "Hallowed Be Thy Name" before they vacated the stage for the headliners.
During the last set-up, I got another beer and headed to the stage for a good spot and settled on the right side at the barrier. For some reason, it smelled like shit over there and one of the busy doors leading backstage was just to the left of me. I hoped the accomodations back there weren't strewn with feces. Eventually the lights dimmed and the song "Through The Years" began by Kenny Rogers. I laughed as the song accompanied a screen dipicting a mini historical picture show of early Vision of Disorder shots. At the end, I was excited to find out that they will be releasing a brand new studio album in the Fall of 2009.
When the band came out, they started off as ferocious as V.O.D. always is. Opening with "D.T.O.", "Element", "Zone Zero" and "Landslide", the hometown crowd went crazy. Sometime early in the set I noticed a brightly colored 8 1/2 by 11" flyer at my feet. Curious of the new object I bent down to get it but someone was standing on it and it wouldnt budge so I gave up. In less than a minute another one wafted down from the balcony above and hit me in the head. I caught it and saw that it was for an afterparty with V.O.D. at the bar around the corner.
No kidding? I wouldn't hang around the Fillmore if the backstage area smelled like shit either. Well wouldn't the afterparty make the long drive all the more worthwhile? I wondered if I could persuade my companions to attend.
 V.O.D.'s music has matured like a fine wine after being played for over a decade. It sure is nice to not just clearly hear, but also feel all those early great (but terribly recorded) original tracks in person. It was worth the miles driven because their set included most of my groove-laden favorites from "The Green Dot" (self-titled 1996), Imprint and For the Bleeders such as "Element", "Imprint", "What You Are", "Through My Eyes", "For The Bleeders" "Landslide", and "Suffer". After "Jada Bloom" we were praised for selling out the venue and then Brain Fair came back out for "By the River" to lend his vocals in place of Phil Anselmo who originally recorded the song with V.O.D. on Imprint in 1998. For the encore, they wanted us to vote for which song they would play last. Our choices were two more classic, frenzy-inducing songs; "Choke" or "Formula for Failure". "Choke" won so they blasted that at us, then played "Formula for Failure" also anyway. Then to send us home more than satisfied, they also threw out "7/13" for good measure. I left there tired, satiated, and with a couple new tees.
Back out in the cold, I couldn't find my companions so I located the afterparty first. I went back to the parking garage and found them waiting for the valet to retrieve the car. I heard them squabbling about money as the car arrived so I inwardly scowled, put on a pout, and climbed in the back seat. I missed beer o'clock. Sad. Very sad.
Next time maybe?
A+ -Alesha
The Palladium
Worcester, MA
November 19, 2008
 Last November the always reliable American power metal band Symphony X arrived at temple of New England heavy metal: The Worcester Palladium. For an upstairs show, the turnout was astounding. The lower floor was backed almost to the back wall, where the opening band Hyper Solid hung out for the duration of the show. The upper level was filled up as well, leaving nearly no room to find a decent spot to see the band. Symphony X packed this place to the point that there really wasn’t much room to move around. You can’t fault them for that!
As I said earlier, perennial openers Hyper Solid were on this bill too. This is at least the fourth show I’ve seen this band on, and dear god I hope it’s the last. Not only did I sit through them stink up the Palladium for Amorphis, I saw them annoy the patrons of the Middle East for Kamelot and Edguy. Then, they got the slot before Joe Stump at Ralph’s. Capping off this quartet of travesties was this show. To convey my disgust, I have decided to write an open letter to the band.
Dear Hyper Solid,
Stop. Please stop. Your band sucks. No, you don’t just suck. You really suck. In fact, your band is simply bad. Your vocals are off-key and each member sounds like they are in their own world on stage. Even on CD, your music is atrocious. At Symphony X, it looked like you finally dropped that late-40s singer. That’s good. Your new singer is slightly better, but you still are a very bad band. Abysmal. Wretched. I can’t think of enough negative adjectives for you. I am writing this to personally ask you to stop opening up shows in New England not because every local metal fan and I do not want to ever hear or see you again, but because you are hurting the New England metal scene. So many bands crave these opening slots, just like you. The key difference is that they deserve them.
I leave you with an ultimatum. If your band cares at all about local metal, you will either disband or simply stop playing shows. Your decision.
Sincerely,
Adam Kohrman
(Adam, next time skip the crappy openers and go have a couple beers at the Abbey instead. Problem semi-solved. - ed.) 
Onto the main attraction, Symphony X. After the opener from their new album, the band went straight into the sixth song on the record, “Eve of Seduction.” Odd, but no one seemed to mind. Next they went back to their revered V album with the song “Evolution.” The keyboards were nonexistent and utterly inaudible. Despite this setback, Russell Allen soared over the screams of the audience with his enigmatic voice, backed up by the virtuosic guitar styling of Michael Romeo, who was similarly spot on for the entire night. For the next song, the dynamic duo took the audience deep into the “Inferno.” After that, an unfamiliar sound began to ring through the venue. What was that? Was that the sound of keyboards? Yes it was! As the titanic band rolled through their beloved anthem “Serpent’s Kiss,” the plastic ivories were heard. The boys from Jersey then went a decade back in time for “Church of the Machine.” During the next song, “King of Terrors,” Russell Allen let out a wail, and his voice went out. You could hear his vocal chords shrivel mid-scream. Unfortunately, they didn’t return for the rest of the main set. This greatly tarnished the classic “Smoke and Mirrors” and the nine minute epic “Revelation.” The band shortly disbanded and said goodbye, before of course coming out for their encore. First off was the opener from the new album, “Set the World on Fire” and its follower “Domination.” Allen clearly did some vocal exercises or drank a ton of water backstage, because he was back in near-full form. To close out the show, Symphony X went all the way back to The Divine Wings of Tragedy for “Of Sins and Shadows.”
Despite the ear-splitting awfulness of Hyper Solid, Symphony X were able to put on a memorable show for the power metal starved audience.
B+ (Symphony X only) -Adam
w/36 Crazyfists
The Palladium
Worcester, MA
December 13, 2008
 I met up with Matt and Alesha at the Armsby Abbey a bit before showtime. Since we knew the local opener wasn't any good, so we stayed at the Abbey for another beverage or two before heading over to the show. We got there shortly before 36 Crazyfists set was to start, so we did the usual walk around to say hello to the people we know there and crap like that. 36 Crazyfists took the stage, and they didn't win either of us over. We really tried to give them a chance, but they just aren't that good in our eyes. I snapped a few photos before we headed to the back of the room to chat with some more people we knew at the show.
Unfortunately, All That Remains had to drop off the tour before the stop in Worcester. Hopefully Phil was able to take care of whatever was ailing him that caused them to cancel. Fortunately for us, this meant that Gojira got bumped up to direct support, and instead of a measly 30-minute set, they got closer to 50-minutes.
After what may have been the longest wait between bands I have ever stood through (they were having problems with Christian's guitar, it seemed), Gojira took the stage and launched into "Oroborus". Their performance was spot on, and the sound was quite solid right from the start. Having the extended set allowed the band to go all the way back to their debut, playing "Clone" from that one, and also playing "Remembrance" from The Link. Of course, they focused a bit more on The Way Of All Flesh, but that is what they are promoting with this tour , so it makes sense. The highlight of the show for me was "Heaviest Matter In The Universe", which just translates perfectly live, and had the crowd going pretty damn crazy.
After their set, we headed back to quench our thirst and check out the merch table. We ran into more people we know and chatted it up with them for a bit while waiting for In Flames to start so I could get some pictures. After a bit of a wait, they were ready to go. There is something about In Flames I just don't get. Not sure what it is, but I've just never really been a big fan. Anyway, I jumped down to take some photos, only to be told no flash allowed as per the band. Since my piddly camera doesn't work so well without a flash, I went out to the middle of the room to see if I could get into the show a bit more. It just wasn't happening, and Matt and Alesha agreed, so we went back to where we started the night for a finisher before calling it a night.
See my pictures from the show here.
A- (Gojira only) -Goz
The Palladium
Worcester, MA
January 16, 2009
 As is usual for a show at the Palladium, I met up with Matt and a slew of others at the Armsby Abbey a bit before showtime. Not only is it a convenient location just up the road from the venue, but the beer selection, food, and service are tough to beat. The only place that can compete for beer is The Dive Bar, and I've never had food as good as this in Worcester. If you're in the area, be sure to stop in for at least a beer or a drink.
After whetting our whistles at the Abbey, we meandered on over to the Palladium, and got in just before Septicflesh hit the stage. Perfect timing if you ask me. Although they were given a criminally short 30-minute set, they made the most of it. Concentrating on their latest release, Communion, they played the title track, "Anubis", "Lovecraft's Death", "We The Gods", "Persepolis", and if memory serves, their lone venture into the back catalog was "Unbeliever", from 2002/3's Sumerian Daemons. The sound was quite good for them, with all the orchestrated parts being piped in along with the live band. I was actually surprised it worked as well as it did, since there is so much complexity to the music on Communion, but the band showed that they can pull it off in a live environment. Welcome back Septicflesh - hope to see you guys again soon.
Up next were Satyricon. While it hasn't been as long between visits for them, it has been a while since Frost was behind the drums for Satyricon in the US. Let me get this out up front - a band like Satyricon only getting a 40-minute set is ludicrous...but whatever, that is what they were given so they make the most out of it. Selecting only 8 songs from a catalog as vast as Satyricon's must not be easy, but they made wise selections if you ask me. Two from Volcano ("Repined Bastard Nation" and "Fuel For Hatred"), two from Now, Diabolical ("K.I.N.G." and the title track) , three from The Age Of Nero ("The Wolfpack", "Commando" and "Black Crow On A Tombstone", and one from Nemesis Devina (Set closer "Mother North"). The crowd was into the set the whole time, with highlight for me being "Commando" and the sing-along chorus for "Now, Diabolical". Of course, everyone went nuts when Satyr announced "Mother North", even the 14-year olds who had their Hot Topic sourced Cradle Of Filth shirts on and didn't know who Satyricon was before they took the stage tonight. Overall a great performance by Satyricon, and they mentioned they were hoping to be back in the fall sometime. Let's hope they are headlining so they can play a bit longer set.
After what seemed like a 2-hour break while the crew got Cradle of Filth's stage setup and we all wondered what we were still doing there, CoF took the stage. We stayed for a couple songs to see if we could stand it, but we couldn't so we big adieu to the Palladium and went back for nightcaps at the Abbey. Trust me, it is worth multiple visits in one night.
B+ -Goz
Lucky Dog Music Hall
Worcester, MA
January 24, 2009
 Me and my fellow Assclowns were turned on to Northampton, MA's Black Pyramid last year when they played the BBQ of Blood and ever since then we make every attempt we can to catch them live when they play within an hour or so driving distance. This time they're playing their second(?) gig at the Lucky Dog in my hometwon of Worcester, MA and they still got shoved to the opening slot, which on this particularly cold Saturday night ended up being at 9PM and we almost didn't get there in time because of a misprint(?) in the Lucky Dog schedule that owner Erick sends out every week. All this aside we sauntered over to the Dog from our imbibing at the Dive Bar to catch Black Pyramid already into their first song, "Visions of Gehenna" which is one of their songs off their killer 2008 self-titled demo CD. Actually, they usually play every song off that demo CD which also contains the same songs off their debut 7 inch record out on Electric Earth Records.
If you have never heard of Black Pyramid then let me start by saying if you're a fan of true stoner doom you will DEFINITELY NOT be disappointed by them. Borrowing elements from Sleep, WarHorse, and Black Sabbath, they create an original sound that can only be described as a perfect conglomeration of all of the aforementioned bands. Lead vocalist/guitarist Andy Beresky is a master of the riffs and solos and will take you on a psychedelic sonic doom journey with his leads. Gein, of Gein and the Graverobbers hangs up his usual guitar duties in that band for the bass in this band and his thunderous bottom sound severely anchors the Pyramid's sound so much your fillings will rattle and your cranium may crack, especially if you're in front of his bass cab. Clay Neely's drumming is nothing short of doom slaughter on a minimalistic clear drum set.
Every Black Pyramid show I've seen (this was my fourth) I find myself headbanging at the front of the stage and usually end up with a sore neck the next morning! I can't help but feel that way because the grooves and heaviness is just too much to resist. Nothing can touch their sound and most of the Nu Metal bands that seemed to have taken over most of the Worcester metal scene would do good to take some notes from these guys to make themselves a bit more interesting. Word has it they are going to be releasing their first full length record out on Meteocity Records some time this year, all I can say is I CAN'T FUCKING WAIT for that bad boy to drop! In the meantime we must wait here in Worcester for them to return because it will be at least 5 years before the Worcester metal scene catches on to the doom metal sound, that is if it ever catches on!
A+ -Matt Smith
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