Fear Factory returns with its ninth album, Genexus, and this album does not disappoint. It’s absolutely amazing that nine albums in, the band still continues with the same sci-fi theme about the dangers of machines and technology. They sustain that industrial thrash metal sound that parallels their breakthrough album Demanufacture.
One bold move this album did, was the decision of moving away from the drum machine they used on the previous album, The Industrialist, and hired Mike Heller to handle the drums on this album. Dino Cazares handles all the guitars and bass tracks, while Burton C. Bell has laid down all vocals.
The album kicks off with a robotic track “Autonomous Combat System,” which reminds us that this is a Fear Factory album. A real stand out track is “Dielectic” which interestingly enough, uses a little bit of orchestral arrangements throughout the track. That’s really what makes this Fear Factory album stand out. We are used to hearing program arrangements, synthesizers, keyboards, and other electric sounds in almost every Fear Factory album, but this album continues that tradition, also using orchestral arrangements.
“Soul Hacker” is another killer track on this album, featuring some of the best vocals I Hacker” is another killer track on this album, featuring some of the best vocals you will hear from Bell. Halfway into the album, the title track features more the heavy and fast guitar riffs from Cazares that are so clutch with the double kick drums with synthesizers buried cleverly underneath. “Church Of Execution” has a bizarre and catchy riff that will get stuck in your head. Finally into the tenth track “Expiration Date” is a ballad which is a great way to end this album. It’s not very often Fear Factory graces an album with a ballad. Then this album offers two bonus tracks with “Mandatory Sacrifice” remix and “Enhanced Reality” which adds value to this album.
In conclusion, I do believe this is Fear Factory’s best album since 2001’s Digimortal. Some people may find this album redundant because of the constant theme and sound that Fear Factory has always used, but most people should appreciate all effort that was put into this album because of all the industrial arrangements that is timed out so well with the music. Fear Factory continues the momentum on Genexus and these songs need to be heard live.
Highly recommend the purchase. You can buy Genexushere.
Key Tracks: Dielectic, Soul Hacker, Church Of Execution, Expiration Date
This past weekend metal-heads from all over ventured to Montréal for the three-day festival known as Heavy Montréal. From Friday, August 7 through August 9, fans filled up Parc Jean-Drapeau and were ready to see their favorite bands. The weekend consisted of a large variety of metal sub-genres and it seemed to sit well with everyone.
With 4 stages hosting bands all day it was impossible to catch every band playing over the weekend. It seems fans had a game-plan going into the festival each day with a list of bands and their set times. Some fans though, decided to rail camp all day to catch the headlining act of that night from the front row. Luckily all three days had perfect weather so people could get away with that and not die from the heat some festivals get. Friday had a handful of bands that drew some awesome crowds. During the early afternoon, Venom Inc. and Arch Enemy had giant crowds at the Scène HEAVY Stage. Venom Inc. was the replacement for Mastodon who dropped off the lineup just a few weeks before. For being a late addition to the festival, they sure did look and sound prepared and the crowd was loving it.
The next band to take the Scène HEAVY Stage was Arch Enemy that day. With their new singer Alissa White-Gluz and new guitar player Jeff Loomis, Arch Enemy took the title for best band on that stage for the day. Having Michael Amott and Jeff Loomis in the same band makes for some serious guitar shredding. Alissa connected with the crowd throughout the set because she’s originally from Montréal and spoke mostly all French to the crowd. After Arch Enemy finished their set, Extreme started their set on the Scène Molson Canadian Stage. This band definitely appealed more to the older fans in the crowd but was respected by all. Extreme is led by singer Gary Cherone, who many know as the guy who was “that other singer” for Van Halen. On guitar for Extreme was none other than Nuno Bettencourt. For those who pay close attention to rock news, Nuno was just at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood as a special guest for Steel Panther who played the final show there before they demolish it.
Within Temptation
Before Extreme was able to finish their set, many fans started the walk over to the Scène de la Forêt Stage for Nothing More. Easily one of the most anticipated bands of the weekend, Nothing More gave everything they had. Opening with “Mr. MTV”, Nothing More gave Montréal a performance that left fans eager for more. Not many bands can put on a performance like Nothing More did in just 30 short minutes. The band closed their set with, “This Is The Time (Ballast)” and “Salem (Burn The Witch)”. During their short time, Nothing More still setup their bass rig and the band all unloaded on it making crazy beats. At the end of the performance the entire band took to their personal drums to hammer away in the woods. After the performance was over, the band came off stage and greeted all the fans that stuck around to talk to them at the rail. The crowd showed incredible support for Nothing More and from the looks of it, they could have played on one of the main stages.
Dokken
The last two bands that were caught on Friday were Meshuggah and Korn. Meshuggah who is a Swedish extreme metal band, seemed to fit in with the vibe of the weekend very well. The people of Montréal and surrounding areas seem to love the “heavy” and “extreme” metal that this festival brought in. While not every single person in the crowd was waiting to see Meshuggah, there were still a sea of fans screaming their name and banging their heads with singer Jens Kidman. Last up on Friday night was Korn, which was the band everyone there was waiting to see. Shortly after 9 P.M., the sea of people tightened up and everyone pushed closer to the stage. The set started with that very familiar cymbal intro which lead to a big “Are You Ready?!” from Jonathan Davis. Starting with “Blind”, then moving through the rest of their debut album Korn, the band had the crowd going wild. Fans may have seen Korn 10 times already, but this set was very special and has only been done numerous times since the band announced they would be playing Korn in its entirety for its 20th anniversary. After finishing the album with “Daddy”, easily the most emotional song ever written by Jonathan Davis, Korn played a 3-song encore. The three songs were, “Falling Away With Me”, “Here To Stay”, and “Freak On A Leash”. Heavy Montréal couldn’t have picked a better band to set the mood for the next two days of the festival.
Slipknot
On Saturday, the music once again started at 1 P.M. sharp. Some of the bands to open up the day were Slaves On Dope, Deafheaven, The Brains, Mass Murder Messiah and Rock From The Crypt. The crowd for the first few hours of the day seemed to scatter from stage to stage until they were ready to camp for a certain band. Starting at 3 P.M. is when the crowd seemed to shift mainly toward the 2 main stages. Lita Ford took the Scène HEAVY Stage at 3 P.M. and she absolutely rocked for her age. Some people may have scratched their heads when seeing her on the lineup for this festival, but she surely didn’t disappoint the least bit. After her set Abbath took the stage to keep the crowd right there in the main area.
Lamb Of God
Although Abbath sounded pretty great, many of the fans stayed right in front of the Scène HEAVY Stage. The reason why many fans stayed put was because Gojira was next up on that stage. These metal giants from France had a huge fan base in French-speaking Montréal. The mosh pits during Gojira were unlike anything seen the previous day and a half. Following fan favorites Gojira, Testament was ready to keep the crowd moshing. Fans must have known Testament was going to come out all business just by seeing their cryptic looking backdrop, one of the most bad-ass ones of the weekend. Their set consisted of a mix of songs spanned across 5 albums but mostly from The New Order which was their 2nd album. That being said, old-school Testament fans had a smile on their face. Unfortunately for Testament, their bass player and drummer couldn’t make the show so Tilen Hudrap from Vicious Rumors took over bass duties and Alex Bent from Battlecross took over on drums. Even with the fill-ins, Testament sounded great and casual fans probably didn’t notice any difference at all.
Bullet For My Valentine
After Testament, the attention shifted over to the Scène de l’Apocalypse Stage for The Devin Townsend Project. This band is led by Canadian born Devin Townsend who was the head of Strapping Young Lad from 1994-2007. Now Devin focuses on his solo project and it’s just as heavy. Taking the stage Devin told the crowd to get ready for the nerdiest show of the weekend, due to the fact he wears headphones on stage now. The DTP was one of the best performances of the entire weekend. Devin did a fine job mixing crowd interaction, humor and straight up metal during the set. Right after watching the entire Devin Townsend Project set, fans shifted to the Scène de la Forêt Stage to catch a bit of Battlecross. This band just seemed to fit on this stage perfectly with the look they had.
Testament
Unfortunately due to other acts, time with Battlecross was cut short. Die-hard fans definitely stayed the entire half hour, but many shifted to the main stages for Iggy Pop and Faith No More. Iggy Pop put on one hell of a show for his age. Although he may not be “heavy metal”, this 68-year-old was most likely an influence for half the bands playing over the weekend. This punk-rock legend definitely had the respect from the crowd and other artists who came out to see him perform. Last up on Saturday was Faith No More. These legends who just got back together in the recent years have been headlining major festivals all over the world and Heavy Montréal was next on their list. The band opened with “Motherfucker” off their album Sol Invictus, which came out this year. Faith No More dug into this new album six times throughout the night. It only took the band 5 songs to play their biggest hit “Epic”. The crowd definitely knew Faith No More would be playing “Epic” and hearing the whole crowd sing, “You want it all but you can’t have it” was simply amazing. After “Epic”, the band eventually played other hits such as “Midlife Crisis” and “Easy”. To end the set before the encore, the band picked their song “Superhero” which was also on Sol Invictus. The set was ended with “Digging The Grave”, “This Guy’s In Love With You” and “Just a Man”. Faith No More certainly didn’t have a metal atmosphere going for their stage setup; dressing in all white, having an all white stage decorated in only flowers. Although it was different from what the rest of the day had musically, Faith No More still drew a very large crowd that kept the energy going throughout the late hours of the night.
Lita Ford
The final day of Heavy Montréal seemed to have the best lineup judging by the increase in people right from the get-go. Chris Jericho opened the day with his band Fozzy. This guy earned a lot of respect from other guys in the music community and that showed when Corey Taylor from Slipknot and Randy Blythe from Lamb Of God came out and watched his band side stage. Next up for the day was Motionless In White, who seemed to have a huge number of fans there.
Devin Townsend Project
After Motionless In White, was 90s band Coal Chamber which is led by front-man Dez Fafara. For those who don’t know, Dez is also the singer from DevilDriver. After being split for nearly 7 years, Coal Chamber just recently got back together and released their new album Rivals on May 19th. Dez and the rest of Coal Chamber got the crowd moving while security had the fire hose out cooling them down after moshing. The next two bands up on the main stages were a blast from the past, Warrant and Dokken. Warrant has been out on the road with singer Robert Mason after the death of Jani Lane their original lead singer. With Robert in the band, Warrant still plays all the classics and sounds like them took a time machine from the 80s to 2015. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Dokken. With Don Dokken and drummer Mick Brown being the only original members still in the band, they had a lot to live up to. That being said, the band itself sounded great but the vocals just aren’t there anymore. After almost singing for nearly 40-years, Don Dokken at the age of 62 just can’t hit the notes he could in the past. Although the set wasn’t an absolute disaster, the power wasn’t there in Don’s voice. In some instances it did sound like the notes could be hit, but there was no power behind them. Most of the energy from their set came from drummer “Wild” Mick Brown, who introduced Dokken to the crowd.
Faith No More
After Dokken, Andrew W.K. came on the other main stage as the singer for Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg. This was a very cool pairing and Andrew W.K. seemed to have that energy to keep the rest of the band behind him going. After a 45 minute set, things shifted back to the Scène Molson Canadian Stage for Asking Alexandria. These guys from England just filled their singer vacancy after the departure of Danny Worsnop with singer Denis Stoff from the Ukraine. With an identical voice to Danny, Denis is the perfect fill in for this band. His youth and energy brought life back into Asking Alexandria, which seemed to die out during Mayhem Tour last summer. AA just finished up their summer on Warped Tour where Denis got to show the US crowds that he could fill the big shoes that Danny left empty. The crowd at Heavy Montréal was filled with fans of Asking Alexandria to the point where Denis didn’t even have to sing any of the screaming parts of their last song “The Final Episode (Let’s Change The Channel)”. Hearing the entire crowd yell, “Oh My God” during the intro of the song easily proved that Montréal has Asking Alexandria fans.
Venom Inc.
Next up was Within Temptation on the Scène HEAVY stage. This Dutch symphonic metal band was stellar. Sharon den Adel the lead singer of the band was an absolute delight to watch. Within Temptation was a complete different breed of what the rest of the festival had over the weekend, but they showed they had what it takes. There’s no wonder why this band sells out all their shows over in Europe. The 11-song set they played seemed to not be enough for festival attendees.
Korn
The last bands to close out Heavy Montréal were absolute monsters. Those three were the ones from the Summer’s Last Stand Tour: Bullet For My Valentine, Lamb of God and Slipknot. Before and after Bullet’s setlist, two great bands got stuck with bad set times over at the Scène de la Forêt stage: Upon A Burning Body and Wilson. Unfortunately not many people wanted to lose their spots at the main stages to go see them.
The good news for Bullet For My Valentine fans was that they got to play a bit longer than they have been on their tour with Slipknot. In the previews for the festival, fans knew they could expect songs like “Your Betrayal” and “Scream Aim Fire”, but Bullet added a few more in the set for Montréal. Fans got to hear songs like “Alone”, “The Last Fight”, and “4 Words (To Choke Upon)”. It was obvious that Bullet was itching to play a longer set for quite some time, as they had even more energy to spare.
Nothing More
Lamb of God also got to play a little longer on Sunday with a 12-song set. Unfortunately for those looking to hear new material off VII: Sturm und Drang, LOG only played “512” and “Still Echoes”. Even though the set wasn’t heavy on new material, Randy and the rest of Lamb of God put on a brutal show that surely left fans bruised and sweaty.
There’s no better way to end a 3-day heavy metal festival then with Slipknot. When there’s 9 guys on stage wearing masks and playing loud music with flames going up everywhere, that’s how to end a weekend. Corey Taylor is one hell of a leader on stage. Corey has the ability to control the crowd with ease. The highlight of Slipknot’s setlist was easily during “Spit It Out”. There’s a huge difference watching Corey control an amphitheater and a sea of people in an open field. Every single person at Parc Jean-Drapeau was down on their knees waiting for Corey to give them the command “jump the fuck up”. When that command came, the entire crowd at once lifted into the air and went absolutely insane. When that song was over, there was no time to rest because Slipknot went right into “Custer” which was off their latest album .5 The Gray Chapter. With time running out on the weekend, the band ended with a 3-song encore featuring “(sic)”, “People=Shit” and “Surfacing”.
Heavy Montréal proved to be a huge success this year going for a full three days of music. With a perfect variety of bands, a perfect venue and a large variety of food and drinks, Evenko set up one killer festival. Anyone who likes to attend festivals such as Rock on The Range, Carolina Rebellion, etc., try to attend Heavy Montréal at least once.
*Be sure to check here periodically for next year’s Heavy Montréal festival info*
The summer evening had people out of their house on a Tuesday, July 7 and into the one of the local metal music stomping grounds, The Montage Music Hall. The driving factor to come out this night was SOiL, listed as the special guest of Powerman 5000. Although it was a Tuesday night, the walk through the venue doors became a gateway into the future and it became Friday night. The venue had all that was needed for a good time to take place by hosting the bands on the Powerman 5000 tour.
SOiL had brought in music lovers. The talk and chatter of people clearly interpreted a cohesive understanding that this band is a staple to go see live whenever they are on tour. SOiL played an important role to progress metal to the airwaves with hit singles. These songs became a part of mainstream radio from the 2001 Scars album release. That release included two songs that were included on the set list for the evening, “Halo” and “Redefine.”
Ryan McCombs vocals were on point; full throttle power seemingly came from somewhere deep within him. The venue was over taken by a full out sound blast filling every inch of the place. Indications of acceptance that the band was delivering were immediate. People moved in as close as they could to the stage, phones glowing, ready to grab a picture before bodies started moving. The energy of the crowd shifted as they were embraced with the sound waves; that was the moment that confirmed this was a show worth going to. It became an experience, not just a night out. As the metal groove was in full play, even the biggest bad ass was moving to the beat, showing giddy approval of what they were witnessing.
Bassist Tim King did his thing by keeping the crew together in the foundation core for both the harmony and rhythm. The band was one system, one body that fed off each other. As the bass and drums built the intensity, a pulse was alive and strong. Drummer Mitch Gable literally hit it. The combination of the two were a countdown for all systems and ready for take-off. The crowd felt the pulsating vibrations to their core with the bass and drums fully in check. Harmony streamed in from guitarist Adam Zadel’s skills for people to get their metal sway on.
The connection of all systems was completed when McCombs vocals took hold, containing passion and deep meaning, what serious metal music fans want to hear and see. He was at one with the microphone, the song, his boys and himself. People were connecting and were in the moment with the band in a unique moment of time. Ryan sang with a powerful roar that included perfect pitch, pure emotion and soul. Add in qualities of stage presence and a sense of deepness and he is unique, not just through his vocals or the rasp in the voice. He is the full package as the front-man.
Each of these guys bring to the stage the talent and coolness that are combined and meant to complement each of their skills. No wonder why these guys have sold over 1 million records worldwide.
It would be dismissive not to talk about Powerman 5000 (PM5K), who displayed a wild experience and definite change up to the metal hardcore that was on before them. Described as futuristic electronic metal, the confidence in their style and skill kept everyone engaged. Spider One connected immediately with the Rochester crowd by introducing an off-topic conversation. He asked and waited for answers regarding restaurants that are open and have food in Rochester. People started yelling back responses, “WindJammers!” and then a specific response “Pizza!” Spider’s response was that he would have loved that information earlier in the evening.
Powerman 5000 performed with a futuristic sound of rap with metal and an electronic edge mixed well with the green laser lights shooting from the drum sticks, guitars and not to mention the outfits that had everyone thinking they had traveled to a future time. The tour is supporting the release of the latest album Builders of the Future.
Unfortunately for Rochester, time travel from the Friday night vibe had to return to Tuesday as the show ended. Not one person left dissatisfied with their time travel trip.
In a recent interview with Zippo Encore Artist Spotlight during Slipknot’s Summer’s Last Stand tour, Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor enlightened everyone about performing live, Slipknot fans and what he would do for a day job if he didn’t find music.
Corey Taylor on performing live:
“Getting fired up for stage is pretty easy, um cause I love to play.”
“Put the stuff on, um you know, you know touchin’ base with all the guys, ah comin’ together for the huddle. You know going back stage and waiting for the audience to pop, I mean that gets the adrenaline going like nobody’s business and just the fact that knowing you’re gonna play songs that you absolutely love.”
“It’s a lot of little things that, just make every show not only unique, but vital for me.”
“I’m not one of these guys who waits 3 hours to go on stage, I can’t wait, and if we’re late going on I’m losing my mind so I, I just love playing live.”
Corey Taylor on Slipknot fans:
“I love our fans, you know I mean the fans are the whole reason we have this. The fans are the whole reason we get up in the morning. There the whole reason why we strap this stuff on every night and then the whole reason that we kill each other on stage Every Single Time.”
“Some of the most passionate, intelligent, crazy fans on the planet and ah were very, very lucky to have them.”
Corey Taylor on music possible different career:
“Music is everything. I mean music is so important to me that, if I didn’t have it , I would not be the same person and for the longest time I dint know that I wanted to do music, I mean I wanted to be a teacher, I wanted to be a history teacher. um but I kinda just kept coming back to music.”
“The music is probably the last “Vital”, emotion that we all have in common and it doesn’t have to be the same style, but its the one thing that ties us all together.”
“Clown said it best, every show is a war, every song is a battle and If you’re not trying to win, there’s no point to it.”
Corey and the boys from Slipknot are about to close their current Summer’s Last Stand tour on Sept. 5 at the Gexa Energy Pavilion in Dallas, Texas.
Synners, we have a new single! Gemini Syndrome has released an audio stream of their new single “Eternity,” off their upcoming second studio album set to be released in early 2016, which is still to be named. The single also debuted on SiriusXM Octane. Fans can pre-order the single now, set to be released on Aug. 21.
This is the band’s first new music since the release of their debut studio album LUX in 2013.
Gemini Syndrome has seen a lineup change since we last saw them, but the core of vocalist Aaron Nordstrom, Brian Steele Medina on sticks and Alessandro “AP” Paveri on bass are still intact.
Medina on the new music heading our way:
“Aaron, AP, & myself have poured our hearts into the new music & we wanted to give a taste before we head into the studio. We’re streamlined and stronger than ever. We’re not going anywhere — We’re here for all Eternity.”
After touring in 2014, the band confronted and exorcised internal and external demons. Between some band members having personal struggles and splitting with their music label, it was a dark time for the band.
Gemini Syndrome will head out on a small, five-date headlining tour starting on the release date of “Eternity” at the Blue Max in Midland, Texas. The band will then join Avatar, Huntress and First Decree on tour for 22 shows.
Synner’s of New York will get their chance to see Gemini Syndrome on tour with Avatar at Revolution on Sept. 17 in Amityville and Sept. 18 in Poughkeepsie at The Chance.
Gemini Syndrome Dates:
08-21-2015 – Blue Max – Midland, TX
08-23-2015 – Scout Bar – Houston, TX
08-25-2015 – Juanita’s – Little Rock, AK
08-26-2015 – The Warehouse – Clarksville, TN
08-27-2015 – Cheers Pub – South Bend, IN
Dates with Avatar:
08-28-2015 – The Machine Shop – Flint, MI
08-30-2015 – Aftershock – Merriam, KS
08-31-2015 – Marquis Theatre – Denver, CO
09-01-2015 – Black Sheep – Colorado Springs, CO
09-02-2015 – Sokol Underground – Omaha, NE
09-03-2015 – 7 Flags Event Center – Clive, IA
09-04-2015 – Q & Z Expo Center – Ringle, WI
09-06-2015 – The Tree – Joliet, IL
09-08-2015 – The Castle Theatre – Bloomington, IL
09-09-2015 – Expo Five – Louisville, KY
09-10-2015 – Bogart’s – Cincinnati, OH
09-11-2015 – The Odeon Concert Club – Cleveland, OH
09-12-2015 – Vouge – Indianapolis, IN
09-13-2015 – The Intersection – Grand Rapids, MI
09-14-2015 – Mainstage – Morgantown, WV
09-15-2015 – Alter Bar – Pittsburgh, PA
09-17-2015 – Revolution – Amityville, NY
09-18-2016 – The Chance – Poughkeepsie, NY
09-19-2015 – Chameleon Club – Lancaster, PA
09-20-2015 – Hard Times Café – Hagerstown, Maryland
On Wednesday July 29 nothing could prepare the town of Corfu for what was about to be unleashed. Slipknots “Summers Last Stand” tour made a stop at the Darien Lake Performing Arts Center and they brought some of their friends.
First up was the Gothic American metal band Motionless in White. The Scranton, PA natives opened up the evening with “Break the Cycle” off of their new album Reincarnate. They continued through a high energy set treating fans to a variety of tracks such as “Abigail,” “Unstoppable” and the title track “Reincarnate.”
Next up, veteran Welsh metal titans, Bullet For My Valentine. Currently on tour in support of their new album Venom, they took the stage opening with “No Way Out.” For fans of metal acts like Metallica and Iron Maiden, this is the band to see – especially the essential track “Your Betrayal.”
They continued to keep the crowd pumped up and excited ending their set with “Tears Don’t Fall” and the mega favorite “Waking The Demon.” I can honestly say that for a band I have not paid much attention to before, after catching their performance, they are on my radar. I am looking forward to listen to more of their music and seeing them live again.
From the deep dark recesses of Richmond, Virginia something wicked and powerful creeped onto the stage; they call themselves Lamb of God! From the moment the band took the stage, they started the frenzy with their hit “Walk with Me in Hell.” Front man Randy Blythe took a moment to honor our country’s fallen military heroes before ripping into their classic “Now You Got Something To Die For,” which criticizes our governments ill gains through war. Lamb of God is currently on tour in support of their newest release VII: Sturm und Drang. They treated fans to “Still Echos” and “512.” This is one band that does NOT disappoint their fans. I have seen them more times than I can count and they are truly a testament to the profession. They ended their set on a heavy note with two of my personal favorites: “Laid to Rest” and “Redneck.” Then, the sweat soaked musicians took their bows and said, “until next time.”
The stage goes dark, you can hear fans chanting, growing restless, getting louder and louder as each moment passes. Faintly at first, then a little louder a voice from the PA system is saying “With my face against the floor, I can’t see who knocked me out, out of the way.” Oh yeah… it’s Slipknot’s killer intro! The curtain drops, the stage explodes and Slipknot, in full force, starts right in with what feels like a punch to the gut also known as “Sarcastrophe!” The band is in top form. They don’t take a break from the heavy bass laden assault ripping right into “The Heretic Anthem” and “Psychosocial.” Front man Corey Taylor only pauses for a second to ask the masses if they want to “hear a new song with an old school feel to it?” The crowd roared with approval as the band keyed up “AOV” off their new album, The Gray Chapter. It felt like the entire crowd sang along to the hit “Before I Forget” off the band’s Vol.3 the Subliminal Versus. I have been going to Slipknot shows since their early days and they are consistently high energy and always discover unique ways to engage the audience in the madness.
During their performance of their mega hit from their debut album Spit It Out percussionist Shawn Crahan (aka Clown) snuck into the audience undetected and emerged by the soundboard where he dumped one of the garbage cans on himself and terrorized fans. While clown was busy making a mess, Corey Taylor encouraged the crowd to get down and when the song crescendos to jump up and sing along. The band took a brief break before storming back on stage and finishing out the evening of metal and mayhem with “People=Shit” and “Surfacing”. Although the tour is titled “Summers Last Stand,” Slipknot proves once again that this is not heavy metal’s last stand and that it is here to stay!
Disturbed fans: The last piece of the puzzle has been placed. Disturbed has announced their long-awaited returning U.S tour. Spring 2016 will see Disturbed’s first tour since 2011, when the band went on hiatus that October. Disturbed posted on their
We’re excited to announce that we’re heading out on tour in 2016. Tour dates are below, and more dates around the world…
“>Facebook, “These are the first dates of many more to come and more announcements will be coming soon.” The band will also announce overseas dates soon as well.
Tour buses will get down with the sickness and burn rubber through 19 cities starting on March 11 at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, British Columbia, and conclude at the New Daisy Theatre in Memphis, Tennessee on April 10. If other acts will join them on the tour, they have yet to be announced.
Fans first got excited about the band’s return with a short video clip of Disturbed’s mascot “The Guy,” starting to show signs of life while hooked up to life support.
With that then came an end to Disturbed’s hiatus: a brand-new single and video “The Vengeful One,” and the announcement of a sixth studio album titled Immortalized, which the band was secretly recording for a year.
The only thing left for fans now was an official tour announcement from the band. Now the only wait Disturbed fans have is for the band to roll into your town this spring.
New York will see two stops this spring. Monday, April 4, at Irving Plaza in New York City and Tuesday, April 5, in Niagara Falls at Rapids Theater.
David Draiman on some of the upcoming tour stops:
“Our return from hiatus was for one reason: we are dying for our fix of the live experience. We need to satisfy our addiction to the feeling you get when you play to the most dedicated and vibrant fan base in existence, the DISTURBED ones. We know the arena shows will come, but we wanted to start out feeling like it did in the old days. Intimate, hot, and intense. We can’t wait. Prepare yourselves. The Leviathan has risen.”
David Draiman on the bands return:
“The idea was to leave when we were at our peak, which we were, and to come back when we felt reinvigorated. Everything was strategic. We wanted to give ourselves a chance to breathe, give the fans a chance to breathe, and give the culture a chance to evolve. Now is the time. The environment feels ready. The musical landscape feels ready. We’re ready.”
Disturbed’s sixth studio album, Immortalized, will be released on Aug. 21. Fans who pre-ordered the album will get pre-sale privileges for the upcoming tour. Disturbed will also play their first show in more than four years on the same day as the album release in their home town of Chicago at the House Of Blues.
Disturbed’s Touring Schedule:
03-11-2016 – Commodore Ballroom – Vancouver, BC
03-12-2016 – The Showbox – Seattle, WA
03-14-2016 – Roseland – Portland, OR
03-16-2016 – The Fillmore – San Francisco, CA
03-17-2016 – The Observatory – Santa Ana, CA
03-20-2016 – House of Blues – San Diego, CA
03-23-2016 – House of Blues – Dallas, TX
03-24-2016 – House of Blues – Houston, TX
03-25-2016 – House of Blues – New Orleans, LA
03-27-2016 – Iron City – Birmingham, AL
03-29-2016 – House of Blues – Myrtle Beach, SC
03-30-2016 – The National – Richmond, VA
04-01-2016 – Baltimore Sound Stage – Baltimore, MD
04-02-2016 – Theatre of Living Arts – Philadelphia, PA
04-04-2016 – Irving Plaza – New York, NY
04-05-2016 – Rapids Theater – Niagara Falls, NY
04-07-2016 – St. Andrews Hall – Detroit, MI
04-08-2016 – Orbit Room – Grand Rapids, MI
04-10-2016 – New Daisy Theatre – Memphis, TN
So I finally made it to a metal show at Rochester’s Water Street Music Hall. Why the long wait? Because there is lots of venues in New York State that I have to cover and yet to visit. And this one took me a while, and one thing that the city of Rochester has going for itself….they have three very high profile venues for metal music. The Main Street Armory, The Montage, and Water Street Music Hall. Main Street being the largest, with the Montage being the smallest, Water Street falls right in the middle and likely have the biggest advantage of booking shows at this point. And let me say that other than the parking situation there, the venue is dynamite. Decent sized stage, clear sound, large bar area, balcony, etc., really nothing not to like about the place. And when you add bands like Coal Chamber,Fear Factory, and Jasta under that roof, magic happens.
I arrived in time to see openers Madlife’s set. The Los Angeles based industrial metallers were received well by the crowd (it was early so at this point the venue was not packed yet) and delivered a high energy set. They had a very goth-like image to them with a sound similar to Orgy. The big highlight from them was their cover of “Love Song” by The Cure as well as a cameo from Burton C. Bell of Fear Factory.
After Madlife, Jasta swept the entire floor with their explosive set that knocked (literally) everyone on their asses. Seeing Jasta was a real treat because he is usually so busy with Hatebreed, he rarely tours as his solo outfit. Jamey Jasta was already in familiar territory, having toured through Rochester and the rest of Upstate New York many times, had already won the crowd over before he even stepped on stage. And it was his time to shine to show off his vocal skills that he normally doesn’t use with Hatebreed. The set consisted of mostly his solo album including “Screams From The Sanctuary” and “The Fearless Must Endure.” His band was real talented (consisting of Steve Gibb, Charlie Bellmore, Chris Beaudette, and Nick Bellmore) gave them all a proper introduction towards the end of their set. The crowd opened the pit up to add to the crazy atmosphere that was brewing, and Jasta gave the fans a real treat by playing “Buried In Black” from Kingdom Of Sorrow’s first album and closing their set with Hatebreed’s anthem “I Will Be Heard.” I believe Jasta should try to find more time to tour because they certainly left the crowd something to remember.
When Fear Factory graced the stage, they wasted no time what so ever. It was down to business, pedal to the metal as they unleashed two songs off Obsolete “Shock” and “Edge Crusher” which is the clear recipe to ignite a crowd. Vocalist Burton C. Bell sounds as brutal and vital as he has been for years, Guitarist Dino Cazares has a very likable stage presence and still has one of the most clutch hands to ever strike an electrical guitar. And now with bassist Tony Campos (ex Static-X, Soulfly, etc.) in the fold, Fear Factory has a new chemistry on stage that the crowd really dug. With the new album Genexus out, it was only appropriate that they played songs off that album, and the songs they decided to play “Soul Hacker” and “Dielectric.” The crowd never stopped moving and security certainly had their hands full as well. Although it was a short eight song set, Fear Factory did right by closing with two songs off Demanufacture including the title track, and finishing with “Replica.” Fear Factory arguably, was the best damn band of the night. Period.
Coal Chamber stormed on stage late into the night. Although a great fast pace set, The Nu Metal legends only played for 45 minutes. Tickets were really cheap so overall I felt I got my moneys worth, I just feel that more songs from their catalog should have been played. Nothing from their second album Chamber Music either. But still played some solid tunes such as their famous opener “Loco,” “Big Truck,” “Fiend,” and a couple off their latest record Rivals that they’re currently promoting. Frontman Dez Fafara at his age still has a fierce voice and a powerful stage presence, however, I have been on the record stating before, drummer Mikey Cox is an absolute wrecking machine behind the kit. It’s not very often the drummer of any band performs their balls off, runs like machine, and still be so precise. The crowd went bananas…and the bodies that were getting thrown out of the venue by security started piling up very heavily when Coal Chamber was on stage. Coal Chambers production was the best from any of the bands that night, with their giant monitors on display and spectacular lighting really makes them a treat to go see. They ended their night appropriately with “Sway.” No encore. Dez Fafara had some choice words before their last song. He’s very anti encore and told the audience that encores are “bull shit” and a waste of time and that if a band is making you wait for another song you want to hear that you should walk away. Personally, the way I feel about it….it’s nice to get a head start on traffic.
In conclusion, it was overall a fantastic night for fans to rejoice 90s metal. It was a damn shame that all the bands didn’t play longer sets.
On Sunday, August 2, Darien Lake Performing Arts Center was once again host to another great summer tour. The show was the co-headlining tour with the Deftones and Incubus. With a late start time, concert goers had plenty of time to enjoy the nice day and it’s safe to assume many of those people spent it inside the theme park.
Shortly after 5 p.m., the parking lot to the theme park was a sea of cars and the concert parking was already getting filled. The time for doors was delayed for a short period of time while the stage crew scrambled to get the production all set for the show. Once the doors opened, the opening band called The Bots took the stage. It’s not often that a “band” consists of just two members but that’s what The Bots are. The duo is formed by brothers Mikaiah Lei and Anaiah Lei who are from Los Angeles. These youngsters didn’t care if the seats were filled inside or not because they absolutely rocked it. Their “garage punk” style is one that will most likely take them on many more tours in the near future.
After a short stage tear-down the Deftones were next to take the stage. It was a mystery before the show who would close the night out because it could have easily been either the Deftones or Incubus. Opening their set with “Diamond Eyes,” off their 2010 release Diamond Eyes, the Deftones set the vibe for the rest of the show. There’s not many bands that have a distinct sound like the Deftones do. From the slow, chunky, low toned riffs of Stephen Carpenter to the melodic vocals and screams of Chino Moreno, it’s easy to identify the Deftones.
The band mixed up their set throughout the night playing songs off of seven different albums. It was a great mix of music jumping around from their oldest to their “newest” material. The reason for newest being in quotations is that the Deftones have a new album coming out in September. As of right now, there’s not album title but the rest of the album is completed. New material off this upcoming album was not played at all but that didn’t come as a surprise, as Chino made it clear recently that fans wouldn’t be hearing anything new on this tour. The crowd was certainly mixed with fans of both the Deftones and Incubus, but the Deftones were welcomed by everyone. From the girl in the front row screaming, “Chino, I love you”, to the back of the seats where a group held up a flag with the album White Pony, the Deftones got everyone’s support.
After a set that seemed to end too soon for Deftones fans, Incubus shortly came on afterwards. The band wasted no time at all and started the set off with hit after hit. Opening with “Wish You Were Here,” then going into “Anna Molly” and “Circles,” Incubus was running on all cylinders the entire night. The stage was backed with a giant curved LED screen with one on top of the stage as well. To go along with the screens, Incubus had an outstanding light show that set a great vibe for their set. Like the Deftones, Incubus also chose to vary up their setlist with songs throughout their music catalog. Fans got to hear songs from A Crow Left of the Murder…, Morning View, Trust Fall (Side A), Light Grenades, Make Yourself and others as well. The band sounded spot on and singer Brandon Boyd led the band through a solid 17 song setlist. The show was ended with a three song encore featuring “Dig,” “Drive” and “A Crow Left of the Murder” which featured a special Beatles closing.
The Deftones/Incubus tour runs until the end of August. Click here to check out the list of those dates. Note that the last show with the Deftones and Incubus together is on August 30th, at the Sleep Train Amphitheatre in Chula Vista, CA.
Deftones Setlist: Diamond Eyes, My Own Summer (Shove It), Lhabia, Beware, Bloody Cape, Sextape, You’ve Seen the Butcher, Rocket Skates, Tempest, Swerve City, Knife Prty, Digital Bath, Change (In the House of Flies), Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away), Headup, Birthmark, Engine No. 9
Incubus Setlist: Wish You Were Here, Anna Molly, Circles, Absolution Calling, Are You In?, Vitamin, Trust Fall, In the Company of Wolves, Nice to Know You, Here in My Room, Sick Sad Little World, Pardon Me, Make Out Party, Megalomaniac, Dig, Drive, A Crow Left of the Murder
Disturbed fans are about to get Stupify over a video the band posted on their Facebook page. The three-minute-and-some-change video clip shows a look back at Disturbed’s 15-year career, while hinting at the end of the video that a worldwide tour is on its way.
The video showcases the band in past shows while reminiscing about their first studio album The Sickness, to their soon-to-be-released sixth studio album Immortalized. You can hear some of David Draiman’s concert quotes during past live shows to the tune of the bands hit singles from each album mixed in a medley.
Since the beginning of summer when the band announced the end of their hiatus, fans are just waiting in excitement for an official tour announcement from the band.
Immortalized will be released everywhere on Aug. 21.
Fear Factory returns with its ninth album, Genexus, and this album does not disappoint. It’s absolutely amazing that nine albums in, the band still continues with the same sci-fi theme about the dangers of machines and technology. They sustain that industrial thrash metal sound that parallels their breakthrough album Demanufacture.
The next band to take the Scène HEAVY Stage was Arch Enemy that day. With their new singer Alissa White-Gluz and new guitar player Jeff Loomis, Arch Enemy took the title for best band on that stage for the day. Having Michael Amott and Jeff Loomis in the same band makes for some serious guitar shredding. Alissa connected with the crowd throughout the set because she’s originally from Montréal and spoke mostly all French to the crowd. After Arch Enemy finished their set, Extreme started their set on the Scène Molson Canadian Stage. This band definitely appealed more to the older fans in the crowd but was respected by all. Extreme is led by singer Gary Cherone, who many know as the guy who was “that other singer” for 
After a short stage tear-down the Deftones were next to take the stage. It was a mystery before the show who would close the night out because it could have easily been either the Deftones or Incubus. Opening their set with “Diamond Eyes,” off their 2010 release Diamond Eyes, the Deftones set the vibe for the rest of the show. There’s not many bands that have a distinct sound like the Deftones do. From the slow, chunky, low toned riffs of Stephen Carpenter to the melodic vocals and screams of Chino Moreno, it’s easy to identify the Deftones.
After a set that seemed to end too soon for Deftones fans, Incubus shortly came on afterwards. The band wasted no time at all and started the set off with hit after hit. Opening with “Wish You Were Here,” then going into “Anna Molly” and “Circles,” Incubus was running on all cylinders the entire night. The stage was backed with a giant curved LED screen with one on top of the stage as well. To go along with the screens, Incubus had an outstanding light show that set a great vibe for their set. Like the Deftones, Incubus also chose to vary up their setlist with songs throughout their music catalog. Fans got to hear songs from A Crow Left of the Murder…, Morning View, Trust Fall (Side A), Light Grenades, Make Yourself and others as well. The band sounded spot on and singer Brandon Boyd led the band through a solid 17 song setlist. The show was ended with a three song encore featuring “Dig,” “Drive” and “A Crow Left of the Murder” which featured a special Beatles closing.
The Deftones/Incubus tour runs until the end of August. 