—Harvest
June 25, 2005: Sounds of the Underground [festival tour, opening day] with DEVIL DRIVER, OPETH, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, UNEARTH and LAMB OF GOD @Tsongas Arena in Lowell, Massachusetts
►Full Blown Chaos: Simple, heavy. Wicked fat singer. Had the crowd do a wall of death. Great way to start the day, heh.
►Devil Driver [second time]: Finally, a year later, I get to see Dez own the stage. It was worth the wait. Opened with ‘I Could Car Less,’ played some old staples (awesome), two new songs, and closed with ‘Mett the Wretched.’ Such a high-energy set. Dez is amazing. Can’t wait to see them headline someday.
►A Life Once Lost [second time]: No good.
►All That Remains: Pretty sweet.
►The Red Chord [second time]: Impressive again. Made the craziest crowd ever, again. A good time.
►Throwdown: Simple hrdcore like Terror, only a little more decent. Played a cover of ‘Roots Bloody Roots’ and the crowd was awesome, jumping and moshing and singing along. One of the highlights of the day.
►Every Time I Die: talented, original ,intense, fun. Way better than the recorded stuff, where the singer ruins it. Dude played a cowbell on one song.
►Norma Jean [second time]: Didn’t pay too much attention. Sounded bad like last time.
►Strapping Young Lad [second time]: So fun, heavy, funny, and AWESOME. Again. Totally different set this time, which was cool. Played ‘Love,’ ‘Relentless,’ and ‘Detox.’ Such a good time seeing these guys live.
►Gwar: “Different.” Music is thrashy and semi-okay, but the whole stage show gimmick was lame.
►Opeth: Ryan, Nick, and Kasey had come to see Opeth, and they delivered. Could only play three songs (since their songs are like 10 minutes), but they were great. Amazing clean guitar sound, sweet riffs and killer death metal parts. Being the only band not from America, Opeth showed everyone Sweden owns.
►Poison the Well: Not great…
►From Autumn to Ashes [third time]: Way better than Poison the Well. A good band that’d be a lot better without their drummer’s emo, whiny singing parts.
►Chimaira [second time]: Good, heavy set. Their new songs have really sweet, shredding solos. Closing with ‘Power Trip’ was just as awesome as last time.
►Clutch: Weird for them to be on this tour. Slow, repetitive and basically just plain old rock. Drummer was hilarious to watch, mouthing the sounds of what he was playing very openly.
►Unearth [second time]: YES! Finally, a GOOD headliner. Heavy and loud and brutal as hell. Unearth is such a fun live band. They played a tried-and-true setlist, but it was flawless. I defied death in a pit for one of their breakdowns.
►Lamb of God [third time]: After worrying all day about maybe having to see the same set I’d already seen twice, my fears were laid to rest. LOG threw in a ‘Burn the Prist’ song they hadn’t played in six years and played ‘Break You’ (one of my faves on ‘Ashes of the Wake’!). Sounded a little more mids-heavy than I liked (guitars should’ve been a lot heavier), but still, high energy, great set with a few surprises and Randy was perfect as always. Did the wall of death on ‘Black Label’ and it was INSANE.
Wall of death primer:
Looking back in 2011: Many things to be astounded about here—that I had the patience to watch 50,000 bands in a day; that so many of these were repeat-sees for me; that what I remember most about this day was what felt like maybe the beginning of something with a girl from home I barely knew (and it turned out to be nothing—she was thoroughly boyfriended I think). Happy to say I still listen to Opeth very regularly (and will see them outdoors at Bonnaroo in June), and Unearth, Lamb of God, Strapping pretty regularly.
![May 6, 2005: CEPHALIC CARNAGE and SHADOWS FALL @The Station in Portland, Maine
►Cephalic Carnage: So intense, technical, jazzy, death metal and awesome. I met these guys after Metalfest last month and they’re cool as hell. They got me into this show for free on a guest list. Only complaint was that they didn’t really get to have their sound great since they were opening and in a rush. Can’t wait to see them headline someday.►Terror [second time]: Least talented band ever. Easiest riffs ever. Still, they were fun? A lot better than at Metalfest. Generic and shitty, but heavy live, with fun-to-watch crowds.►Shadows Fall [second time]: YES!! I came for Cephalic, but I do listen to, like, and respect SF. They were amazing! It was funny comparing this show at a tiny venue, being feet away from them, to seeing them with Slipknot in that huge arena in March. After a few songs, the crowd went crazy and started owning the ceiling tiles, pulling out wires, swinging from ventilation and stuff. It was total insane destruction. KICKED ASS! They stopped th show for a minute to fix the wires and try to stash them in the remnants of the ceiling. Then SF continued their flawless set. Such amazing drumming, shredding, squealing. The guitarist wasn’t a cocky, serious bastard, either. He was having fun and acting goofy and everything. Miah and I made our return to the mosh pit/dance floor. The next morning, there was an article on Blabbermouth about the ceiling destruction. Heh...
Photos via ReturntothePit.com, without whom many of these concert memories wouldn’t as fun. And because one shot of a ceiling being shredded apart is never enough:
Looking back in 2011: First guestlisted show. Remember the rush of booking it past security with the guitarist of Cephalic Carnage. Also remember leaving the venue to watch a friend getting ZoSo tattooed on her wrist across the street during shitty Terror. But, of course, more than anything, remember the ceiling coming apart like confetti. This became a gig of lore before it even finished.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lho5qhPwOD1qf0jano1_1280.jpg)
May 6, 2005: CEPHALIC CARNAGE and SHADOWS FALL @The Station in Portland, Maine
►Cephalic Carnage: So intense, technical, jazzy, death metal and awesome. I met these guys after Metalfest last month and they’re cool as hell. They got me into this show for free on a guest list. Only complaint was that they didn’t really get to have their sound great since they were opening and in a rush. Can’t wait to see them headline someday.
►Terror [second time]: Least talented band ever. Easiest riffs ever. Still, they were fun? A lot better than at Metalfest. Generic and shitty, but heavy live, with fun-to-watch crowds.
►Shadows Fall [second time]: YES!! I came for Cephalic, but I do listen to, like, and respect SF. They were amazing! It was funny comparing this show at a tiny venue, being feet away from them, to seeing them with Slipknot in that huge arena in March. After a few songs, the crowd went crazy and started owning the ceiling tiles, pulling out wires, swinging from ventilation and stuff. It was total insane destruction. KICKED ASS! They stopped th show for a minute to fix the wires and try to stash them in the remnants of the ceiling. Then SF continued their flawless set. Such amazing drumming, shredding, squealing. The guitarist wasn’t a cocky, serious bastard, either. He was having fun and acting goofy and everything. Miah and I made our return to the mosh pit/dance floor. The next morning, there was an article on Blabbermouth about the ceiling destruction. Heh...
Photos via ReturntothePit.com, without whom many of these concert memories wouldn’t as fun. And because one shot of a ceiling being shredded apart is never enough:
Looking back in 2011: First guestlisted show. Remember the rush of booking it past security with the guitarist of Cephalic Carnage. Also remember leaving the venue to watch a friend getting ZoSo tattooed on her wrist across the street during shitty Terror. But, of course, more than anything, remember the ceiling coming apart like confetti. This became a gig of lore before it even finished.
—Black Sheep [live]
April 23, 2005: NEW ENGLAND METAL & HARDCORE FESTIVAL feat. STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, SONATA ARCTICA, TRIVIUM, CRYPTOPSY, BLEEDING THROUGH @The Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts
►Glass Casket: Kicked ass. Really technical, talented hardcore band. Awesome guitar work and some insanely low growls and death metal vocals.
►Twelve Tribes: Not great. Pretty much just normal rock.
►A Life Once Lost: Shitty, typical hardcore with next to no talent. It sucks this band will be at Ozzfest.
►Trivium: So good. One of the best, most fun bands of the day. The singer/guitarist is exactly a year older than me…these guys show promise. Their show convinced me to get their album. [2010 edit: Never bought the CD, and they ended up sucking.]
►Reflux: What a surprise. Second-stage band that somehow showed up on the main stage. It sucked they had typical breakdowns and a typical hardcore singer because their main guitarist was AMAZING — sweeping, shredding, tapping with Necrophagist-like skills. The bassist also had a huge (and also Necrophagist-like) solo within a few minutes into the set. Drummer was tight and fast as hell. I hope I hear more of these guys.
►The Red Chord: Insane, chaotic, and really original. Was amazing how precisely they duplicated their recorded stuff. Awesome live show with deadly pits.
►Ice Pick: Terrible. If I never see Jamey Jasta from Hatebreed again, and this band ends immediately, that’d be nice.
►Terror: More stupid, generic hardcore of Hatebreed-like suckery. They played the same three-minute songs with different titles for what seemed like forever.
►Sonata Arctica: Until this show, I kinda liked Finland’s Sonata. Then they blew me away by being one of the best, most entertaining live bands I’ve ever seen. Singer Tony was flawless — such an incredible, unique voice. Keyboardist shredded as well as, maybe better than, Janne from Children of Bodom. And Jani…JANI!! Tied with the Amotts from Arch Enemy, maybe ever better, as the best of the live guitarists I’ve ever seen. He was sweeping and shredding like Rusty Cooley…IN SONGS! This show put me over the edge to buy some of their CDs. We also met and hung out with Jani after — very cool as well as super modest. Awesome guy. Can’t wait to see Sonata again.
►Strapping Young Lad: Tied with Sonata for best of the day. So much energy and fun in their set. Devon Townsend was out of control, Gene Hoglan was pounding mercilessly on his kit…he’s a madman. Such a fun set. ‘Oh My Fucking God’ and ‘Shitstorm’ were awesome. Can’t wait to see these guys again this summer.
►God Forbid [second time]: More impressive than last time. Good metalcore band with some potential.
►Cryptopsy: Tally my legendary death metal band count to two now. These guys were good, fast and heavy. Lord Worm (seriously) is not a good vocalist, though, by any stretch. This kind of made the 45-minute set drag. Good solos and blazing blastbeats and double bass work, though.
►Bleeding Through [second time]: Enjoyed ‘em more than last time. I’m on the fence with these guys. ‘Lost Lost in a Hail of Gunfire’ and ‘Revenge I Seek’ both owned. Hot female keyboardist is still hot — such a fox.
►Chimaira: Good. Heavy. Closer ‘Power Trip’ was awesome. Was so tired and ready to leave by the time these guys came on, though. Longest day ever.
Looking back in 2010: This was the most legendary metal undertaking of my life at the time. An entire weekend planned around this show, and an almost 12-hour day seeing more bands than I’d ever seen in one place. Met tons of the bands in the parking lot and had some great conversations. Untouchable memories. Strapping and Sonata are still in heavy listening rotation five years later, and I ended up seeing them both about four more times. Never ended up going to another Metalfest, though.
March 5, 2005: UNEARTH and ATREYU @The Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts
►Scars of Tomorrow: Second straight day of shows. 7th trip to the Palladium…closing in on the big 10. Also, this band sucked.
►Norma Jean: A few too many of those high, dissonant quick chords, but kicked a lot of ass. Heavy and crazy on stage. Surprised me.
►Unearth: FINALLY. Better than everything I’d hoped. They owned. Played everything great from ‘Oncoming Storm’ and some solid old songs, ended with ‘Black Hearts Now Reign.’ Drums and guitars were tight, breakdowns were heavy as all hell.
►Atreyu [second time]: More songs from ‘The Curse’ this time, including my favorite, ‘This Flesh a Tomb.’ Not as much fun in the crowd this time, but a better set since they were headlining. Closed with a Bon Jovi cover that was somehow pretty metal and sweet.
—Laid To Rest (Live)
March 4, 2005: LAMB OF GOD, SHADOWS FALL, SLIPKNOT @Meadows Music Theater in Hartford, Connecticut
►Shadows Fall: Sweet. Short set. Loud sound, shredding was awesome, seeing the songs I knew from the new CD rocked. Vocalist Brian sounded great.
►Lamb of God [second time]: Second time! Woo. Drums were way louder than guitars, so that sucked. Still sounded pretty good. Vocalist Randy was perfect. We had to sit for this whole show, so the good side was that I got to watch them this time, not mosh and have to guard my life from the pit. Looking forward to seeing these guys many more times.
►Slipknot [second time]: The second second of the night. Show was amazing — like Rob Zombie’s big production, but with so much more money put into it. One of the coolest shows I’ve seen. First night of the tour, with multi-level stage setup, hydraulics and a spinning/flipping drum solo in the air by Joey Jordison. Lasers, computer screen stuff…just completely awesome. Opened with ‘The Blister Exists’ this time, then played the usual stuff and put in a lot of new songs. Played ‘Everything Ends’ for the first time live, wrapped up with the tried-and-true ‘Wait and Bleed’ and ‘Surfacing.’ Setlist sloppily documented during the show:
Looking back in 2010: Made this a two-day concert expedition in Connecticut and Massachusetts. It was a legendary undertaking at the time.
![Feb. 18, 2005: BEHEMOTH @The Palladium [upstairs stage] in Worcester, Massachusetts
►Misery Index [second time]: They were brutal and fast death metal, again. Drummer was fast as hell, again. They had an additional guitarist this time…it’s time to try out some solos, guys. More fun than last time, anyway.►Cattle Decapitation: Craziest band I’ve seen since Bad Acid Trip. Wild, frantic stage show. Some nice solos and sweeping by the guitarist, who we met and talked to after. He works in a law firm, hah.►Behemoth: The band we drove through an hour of traffic and an hour of snow to come see. They delivered. Inferno (drums) was insanely fast on the kick pedals. Bassist Blaze is awesome, did a sweep (!) on a five-string bass with his fingers, no pick. Played lots from the new album—‘Slaves Shall Serve,’ ‘Demigod,’ ‘Sculpting the Throne ov Seth’ all ruled. Frtonman/lead guitarist Nergal kicks ass.►Suffocation: Awesome semi-legendary death metal. All members of the band kick ass at what they do. Solos were fast, tight, sweeping, shredding and actually original sounding a lot of times. Amazing completely death metal show for my first time seeing bands on the Palladium’s upstairs stage.
Looking back in 2010: Were the only adjectives I knew back then “awesome” and “amazing” and “kick-ass”?
Also: Photo via Return to the Pit, a tremendous site run by just one or two guys who relentlessly document the metal scene throughout New England. Many forthcoming Palladium concert entries will feature their photos (indicated solely by their thankfully unobtrusive watermark from here on out).](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ld6xfjAHFV1qf0jano1_500.jpg)
Feb. 18, 2005: BEHEMOTH @The Palladium [upstairs stage] in Worcester, Massachusetts
►Misery Index [second time]: They were brutal and fast death metal, again. Drummer was fast as hell, again. They had an additional guitarist this time…it’s time to try out some solos, guys. More fun than last time, anyway.
►Cattle Decapitation: Craziest band I’ve seen since Bad Acid Trip. Wild, frantic stage show. Some nice solos and sweeping by the guitarist, who we met and talked to after. He works in a law firm, hah.
►Behemoth: The band we drove through an hour of traffic and an hour of snow to come see. They delivered. Inferno (drums) was insanely fast on the kick pedals. Bassist Blaze is awesome, did a sweep (!) on a five-string bass with his fingers, no pick. Played lots from the new album—‘Slaves Shall Serve,’ ‘Demigod,’ ‘Sculpting the Throne ov Seth’ all ruled. Frtonman/lead guitarist Nergal kicks ass.
►Suffocation: Awesome semi-legendary death metal. All members of the band kick ass at what they do. Solos were fast, tight, sweeping, shredding and actually original sounding a lot of times. Amazing completely death metal show for my first time seeing bands on the Palladium’s upstairs stage.
Looking back in 2010: Were the only adjectives I knew back then “awesome” and “amazing” and “kick-ass”?
Also: Photo via Return to the Pit, a tremendous site run by just one or two guys who relentlessly document the metal scene throughout New England. Many forthcoming Palladium concert entries will feature their photos (indicated solely by their thankfully unobtrusive watermark from here on out).
Hey, I should birthday-gift you some Ani DiFranco tickets, high school girlfriend who greatly adores Ani DiFranco! No way could we possibly break up before the concert rolls around!
—
—Me, being wrong.
Dec. 3, 2004: Ani DiFranco @The Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts
Took Mel to this. Very energetic, different guitars for every song. I’m not a fan, but it was entertaining.
Looking back in 2010: What an awkward situation. Spent more than I’d ever spent on a girl buying these tickets for her October birthday, just in time for our November breakup, right before our awkward December drive four hours from Maine to Massachusetts. Eek. But hey, the trip eventually helped me proudly notch my 20th visit to the Palladium years later, and the girl and I are now friends.
Nov. 27, 2004: CANNAE and FORGING A MEMORY @Auburn American Legion Hall in Auburn, Maine
►Forging a Memory: Okay local band. Good double bass and some nice shredding (including sweeping). Talented guitarists. [Eventually became Last Chance to Reason, who will figure prominently in this concert bible as it unfolds]
►Hatred Alive: Decent local death metal.
►Misery Index: Kicked ass. Fast, intense death metal. Drummer was amazingly speedy and did blast beats all over the place.
►Cannae: The one band I knew any songs by. Decent set. All the hardcore kids dancing kinda ruined the whole show though.
Looking back in 2010: The first time I saw the soon-to-be Last Chance to Reason, a year before I’d spark up a friendship/working relationship/biggest-fan-ever bond with them that persists to this day. I’ve looked back at this entry in the gig notebook many times to remind myself of my first impression of a band I’ve followed through years of evolution.
I also know I knew some Cannae songs pretty decently at the time, but I can’t remember what they sound like at all today. I went to YouTube and listened to songs I know I knew, and they don’t ring any kind of bell. What stands out about this show was how miserable I was sitting through something like seven almost entirely local bands (I didn’t have the foresight to write them all down), and now realizing how many vivid memories I have of the night. Listening to KillWhitneyDead on the drive down; talking to the Hatred Alive guitarist about Slayer’s true, non-hardcore breakdowns; sitting on folding metal chairs when I was too bored or tired to stand up and be a cool metal kid.
![Nov. 6, 2004: ARCH ENEMY @The Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts
►Himsa: Only got to see their last few songs.►Bleeding Through: They were okay. Pretty monotonous. Wicked hot female keyboardist. Somebody hit Miah in the pit so I punched him and ended up getting nailed in the head five times. Fun.►Arch Enemy: !!!! So amazing. Kicked so much ass. Jesse and I brought Swedish flags and held them up. The set was awesome. Opened with ‘Enemy Within,’ closed with ‘Ravenous,’ played everything in between. Flawless, godly solos. Ten of our friends went to the show and made it a blast. We met Michael [pictured] and Christopher Amott after, which stands currently as one of the greatest moments in my life [2010 Zach: Eaaasy there, 2004 Zach. Wow.] They were so cool, hanging out and talking and giving us hugs. Doubt I’ll ever meet any musicians better than these guys.►Cradle of Filth: Not too bad. Played a lot of sweet songs. Dani’s mic was really quiet. They should’ve been a lot louder in general. Arch Enemy was tough to follow.
Looking back in 2010: Freezing outside Arch Enemy’s tour bus and waiting to meet these dudes, and the subsequent glory, is still damned vivid in my memory. One of the more fun shows of that era.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lcek53Mzoq1qf0jano1_500.jpg)
Nov. 6, 2004: ARCH ENEMY @The Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts
►Himsa: Only got to see their last few songs.
►Bleeding Through: They were okay. Pretty monotonous. Wicked hot female keyboardist. Somebody hit Miah in the pit so I punched him and ended up getting nailed in the head five times. Fun.
►Arch Enemy: !!!! So amazing. Kicked so much ass. Jesse and I brought Swedish flags and held them up. The set was awesome. Opened with ‘Enemy Within,’ closed with ‘Ravenous,’ played everything in between. Flawless, godly solos. Ten of our friends went to the show and made it a blast. We met Michael [pictured] and Christopher Amott after, which stands currently as one of the greatest moments in my life [2010 Zach: Eaaasy there, 2004 Zach. Wow.] They were so cool, hanging out and talking and giving us hugs. Doubt I’ll ever meet any musicians better than these guys.
►Cradle of Filth: Not too bad. Played a lot of sweet songs. Dani’s mic was really quiet. They should’ve been a lot louder in general. Arch Enemy was tough to follow.
Looking back in 2010: Freezing outside Arch Enemy’s tour bus and waiting to meet these dudes, and the subsequent glory, is still damned vivid in my memory. One of the more fun shows of that era.
—Hatebreeder [live]
Oct. 15, 2004: CHILDREN OF BODOM/FEAR FACTORY/LAMB OF GOD @The Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts
►Children of Bodom: So good. Awesome keyboard and guitar solos and great drumming. Jesse and I printed out Finnish flags and held them up during the set. We met the frontman, Alexi Laiho, after. [Song, ‘Hatebreeder,’ above.]
►Fear Factory: One of the best live bands I’ve ever seen. Christian, the guitarist, is incredible to watch. Burton’s vocals and Raymond’s drums were flawless. Too short of a set by an awesome band, but it was fun.
►Lamb of God: Also AMAZING live. Played about a 15-song set. I went into the pit on a few of their heavier ones. Intense. Met the singer and Shadows Fall’s singer after the show.
Looking back in 2010: My first concert entirely comprised of bands I loved; a pinnacle of show-going at the time. Below, photo with the miniature Finn/master-shredder Alexi Laiho:
September 18, 2004: KILLSWITCH ENGAGE @Ushuaia in Orono, Maine
►Nobis [second time]: Kicked ass again. The best local band I know of.
►36 Crazyfists: Awesome band from Alaska. The singer was wicked fun to watch. Great stuff live.
►Eighteen Visions [second time]: I hate this band. They have decent breakdownish parts with good double bass, but that’s it. They ate next to us at Denny’s after the show but no one cared since they suck.
►Killswitch Engage: Awesome live band. Metalcore. They have sweet squeals in almost every song and great drums. AT one point in their set, the singer, this huge dude named Howard, stopped the song and pointed to the right of the crowd—“Whoa, whoa. I don’t care what happened. Next time I see security put a chokehold on a fan, I’m returning the favor.” Excellent. People jumped off the stage like it was their personal diving board for the rest of the night.
Looking back in 2010: I’ve told the “I’m returning the favor” story many times since; classic moment in show-going. At Denny’s after the show, met the guitarist of the actual best local band (Nobis was far from it) then and to this day, Last Chance to Reason’s AJ Harvey, and became great friends with him and would go on to see his band more than 20 times. (And later formed the band’s unofficial PR team with AJ’s cousin, the second lifelong-friend-to-be I met after the show, Jess.)
Meeting AJ wasn’t why we ignored/laughed at Eighteen Visions at that finest of 24-hour American plasticfood diners, though. This is why:
August 20, 2004: Dog Fashion Disco @Ushuaia in Orono, Maine
►East Coast Stomp: Lame band. Got kicked out for moshing, but they let me back in.
►Nobis: Pretty good. Frantic guitar and bass riffs and a good drummer and singer. The singer sounds kind of like System of a Down when he sings clean and Meshuggah when he yells.
►Bad Acid Trip: Wild stage show. Bassist played a seven-string. The band members all looked and acted totally crazy and off-the-wall. Fun time.
►Dog Fashion Disco: Less extreme version of the same circus metal type music as Bad Acid Trip. Ended with a Metallica cover. Katie beat the crap out of a guy in their set.
►Tub Ring: Didn’t like them. Left in their set.
Looking back in 2010: The first show I went to where I knew none of the bands, just for the sake of going to a show.
July 13, 2004: DEVIL DRIVER @The Edge in Augusta, Maine
►Malus: Not that good. Copy of 36 Crazyfists.
►Unscarred: Okay. Guitarist’s euipment was messing up and he was trying to tune during songs.
►Magna-Fi: Pretty good. Really cool guys. The lead singer/rhythm guitarist played Van Halen’s ‘Eruption’ for my friends and I. It was awesome.
►Devil Driver: One of my favorite bands, and I had to leave after two songs to make it home in time for my curfew. I got to see them play ‘Nothing’s Wrong’ and ‘The Mountain.’ They owned. Dez was absolutely frigging kick ass. My friends got me a signed shirt and water bottle.
Looking back in 2010: The gross, yellowed T-shirt has since been discarded, but the water bottle is pictured here. Having to leave this show after two songs by the band I was obsessed with seeing felt like the end of the world. Fortunately I saw Devil Driver a few more times over the years, and fortunately it wasn’t the end of the world after all. The water bottle from my friends did feel extremely significant, though.
—Raining Blood [live]
July 11, 2004: SLAYER/SLIPKNOT @August Civic Center in Augusta, Maine
►God Forbid: Pretty good metal. Most memorable part of the band was the huge black singer with dreads. He did tons of the pig-getting-killed style vocals. Awesome.
►Hatebreed: Alright hardcore/metal band. This band made the biggest pit I’ve ever seen.
►Slipknot: Frigging awesome. Opened with ‘Sic,’ played ‘Eyeless,’ ‘The Blister Exists,’ ‘Pulse of the Maggots,’ ‘Duality,’ ‘Wait and Bleed,’ ‘Surfacing’ and a bunch more. SUCH an awesome live performance. The entire crowd got on the floor and jumped at a part in ‘Spit It Out.’ Corey hit every note perfectly, including the melodic parts. Corey and and Mick and the clown drummer’s hair were so awesome to watch. Brad [friend] got Joey’s drumstick.
►Slayer: Also frigging awesome. Opened with ‘Disciple,’ played the whole album of ‘Reign In Blood’ and played a bunch of other songs including ‘Payback’! They’re making a live DVD of this performance. Awesome. They closed with ‘Raining Blood,’ which was intense—Jesse [friend] and I owned a pit (no one would even come near us) and the band got covered in fountains of blood coming from the ceiling. Amazing.
Looking back in 2010: Embarrassing as it may seem to look at this enthusiasm about Slipknot, it was a phenomenal concert and the final step into years of going almost exclusively to metal shows. Bonus: Had my first minor car accident after this show, leaving the Denny’s parking lot. I kept a piece of the smashed headlight:
