An Upstate Concert Hall crowd of 300-plus decided taking in a show – instead of shopping and burning off Thanksgiving food throughout all of Albany – was the appropriate thing to do on Black Friday. Trivium headlined a 60-minute set to promote their new album Vengeance Falls with DevilDriver co-headlining a 60-minute set of their own to promote Winter Kills – In my opinion one of the best metal releases of 2013.
Fans were also treated to a killer 30-minute set from After The Burial and a small set from Thy Will Be Done, who’s garnering recognition from the likes of Metallica, Shadows Fall, and DevilDriver.
Reminiscent of Lamb of God, Thy Will Be Done’s sound is thrashy and groovy, with a wee-bit of metalcore thrown in. Unfortunately, the early crowd comprised of only a third of the ultimate total. Nonetheless, I got the vibe that the crowd really dug them. These rockers out of Providence, R.I. moved through their set quicker than I would have hoped. However, they’re a relatively new band that doesn’t have a huge catalog to go through. Still, as they promote their new EP Temple they’re receiving exposure both on the road, as well as plenty of air play on Liquid Metal (Sirus/XM). They will be a dominant force in Metal very soon. When I spoke to frontman, Jay Costa, he expressed how much fun they have had while on tour.
After The Burial graced the stage with a 30-minute set. This was my first taste of this prog-death metal group out of Minneapolis, M.N., and I was really impressed. They have a flavor to them. They were the first band to get the crowd jumping. Very energetic. They treated the Clifton Park fans to four songs off of their upcoming album, Wolves Within, due sometime this month.
The “California Groove Machine” was up next.
After what seemed to be a long wait (well for me anyways because I am a die hard fan) DevilDriver came and wiped the floor with the crowd. My only complaint would be that the band was so loud on most songs it was hard to hear Dez’s vocals. I’ve seen DevilDriver play at Upstate Music Hall twice in the past. Back in 2011 opening for Danzig, and last year opening for Gwar. This time it seemed they had a slightly longer set and a bigger light show than they have in the past. Opening with “End of the Line”, DevilDriver’s set consisted of a few songs from their early collection like “I Could Care Less” and “Clouds Over California” but most of their set had a lot of material from their new album Winter Kills.
Here’s what made the whole night memorable: Midway through the set you had a small group chanting out song names, which – let’s just say, Dez did not take kindly to that. Anyone who knows the history of Dez on stage, whether it’s from Coal Chamber or DevilDriver, knows his reputation for his aggressive stage persona. Calling out the group, Dez yelled, “We play whatever fucking song we want!”
(Laugh.) Some people never learn.
Which then led to a rant about people who are not open to other genres of music. Which served as an appropriate segue to an Awolnation cover of “Sail.” Totally blew my mind when they played that. Throughout the entire set, body surfers were nonstop and the energy was very high. Security at Upstate Music Hall had their hands full. DevilDriver is the kind of band that would start a moshpit in a nursing home.
So after a full hour set from DevilDriver, Trivium gave the crowd an extra jolt of adrenaline. This was my third time seeing Trivium. I caught them during the mess that was Trespass America tour when it stopped at Oswego Speedway last summer, and few years back during Mayhem Fest. But this time it was a totally different setting.
To be able to see Trivium at such an intimate venue like Upstate Music Hall made it so much better than the typical outdoor arenas. Another thing I find fascinating about Trivium is they’re a relatively young band with a catalogue of songs a decade deep, and they show no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Trivium started their set with “Throes of Perdition” and “Down from the Sky” familiar to UFC fans as the introductory music for Mauricio “Shogun” Rau. Their sound was flawless. Props to the sound guy. Everything was clean sounding. Also all those guys have great chemistry on stage. You can tell they absolutely love what they do. They continued to play a couple more of Shogun before taking it back a almost decade ago by playing “A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation” which I will say was the highlight of the set. Finally, they closed it out with “In Waves” and “Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr.”
Overall it was a fantastic show. Shame on anyone who didn’t bother going because every band delivered. We are obviously approaching a slower touring season so I suggest getting to any metal show that’s out there right now and be sure to pick up all the new albums from Thy Will Be Done, After The Burial, DevilDriver, and Trivium.
Stay metal.
A Thanksgiving weekend tradition has emerged with Railroad Earth’s Horn-O-Plenty Getaway. The much-anticipated second night began with a solo set from 
Peter Rowan and the Railroad Earth fellas emerged to the darkened stage. The backdrop was a lighted bear paw that alternated colors throughout the set. Start to finish, they played Old and in the Way in the order the songs appear on the album. As “Pig in a Pen” unfolded, it was clear that the level of musicianship was astounding in their arrangement and interpretation. Todd Sheaffer humbly stood farther back on stage, giving what could only be one of his legendary idols full access to his own band’s talents. The visibly happy Sheaffer was enough to break a heart into a million pieces of joy and then passed around to each member of the audience. At one point Sheaffer raised his fist into the air as if he too was an onlooker rather than a participant.
Rowan handed the reigns back to Sheaffer for set two, which was equally as special as two new songs off the upcoming album, Last of the Outlaws (January 2014) was introduced for the first time. “Chasin’ a Rainbow”, an upbeat, happy dancing feet kind of tune that followed the omnipotent “Seven Story Mountain.” The closing song, “One More Night on the Road” introduced John Skehan on keys, a new addition to the ever-growing family of instrumentation who presented elements of rock and jazz and sounded a bit like something The Band would have done. However, the set took the crowd full circle when Peter Rowan came back for more. A carefully crafted set list merged the Garcia-Rowan-Monroe connection when a haunting “Cold Rain and Snow” and “Walls of Time” were played back to back, during which Lhamo’s chanting bellowed throughout.
