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Never really impressed with the few snippets I've heard
from Of One Blood I wasn't too pumped up to see Shadows Fall live.
I arrived a few songs into their set, and I must admit it came across
better live than in the studio. Still, slightly generic thrashy
non-technical metal doesn't do much to set itself apart from the rest.
Some people seem to be really pumped up about them and I believe it's
more about the fact that they're young, new, and carrying on the metal
tradition more than about quality musicianship. Competent, decent, and
average are as nice as I can be about Shadows Fall.
Opening
with Narcosynthesis, Nevermore hit the stage at full speed. In
keeping with the heavier bands playing, Nevermore kept to their fast songs.
No backdrop, no vocal effects, no backing tapes, as stripped down production
as you can get, and they were incredible. Warrel's vocal god
standing was unquestionable, and the rest of the band was tight,
including the un-introduced second guitarist. Technical problems marred
the flow about half way through, and Warrel did his best to keep the
crowd amused asking If we'd seen the newest Britney Spears video.
Remarking that she made a better stripper than a singer the crowd seemed
to agree. Picking up where they left off, they churned out riff
laden chunk after chunk of gloom filled technical metal. We
Disintegrate, Sounds Of Silence, and Seven Tongues Of God were all
highlights, though I was disappointed that the title track from Dead
Heart In A Dead World was missing from the set. It was my
first time seeing Nevermore, and I'm looking forward to seeing them
again in a headlining capacity.
Clearly the crowd favorite, In Flames took to the stage to a glorious
roar. Being ignorant of much of the In Flames catalog, I don't
know what songs they played, though the crowd response was rabid and the
band was dead on tight. They had a more polished sound than
Nevermore, probably due to being the headliner, and having time/room for
backing tapes, etc. In between songs Anders spoke of the Nuclear
Blast/Century Media absorption deal, saying they might be without a
record company in the US and dedicating the show to the fans who came
out to support them. Traditionally Thanksgiving eve is one of the
biggest party nights of the year, and the Trocadero was packed for the
show. It was surprising to see so many younger people in the crowd
coming out to support a metal show, as most metal shows at the Troc are
pretty much the same as far as the crowd demographic in favor of older
fans (25 & up) with maybe a 70%-30% mix. Recent examples being
Testament, Halford, Anthrax, etc. Shadows Fall being new and
young, and In Flames being relatively new, they are absolutely paving
the way to the next generation of metal with this show having a 60%-40%
mix favoring younger. New defenders of the faith, standing tall,
flying the flag of metal.
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