thePULSEBy Jillian Locke
I’ve got two words for you. Stillborn Fest. On the chilly night of December 28th, Living Hell, A Thousand Falling Skies, The Wrong Side, Bloodjin, Necro, Turmoil, Shai Hulud, God Forbid, Agnostic Front, At All Cost, and Hatebreed gave the crowd at The Palladium a straight-up fist-to-the-face dose of what the music scene today should be all about. I caught the show as Turmoil (who are, according to their myspace page, from ‘Killadelphia, PA’) was mid-set and the Palladium was half-packed.
The Pennsylvania metalcore (I know that term can send chills up your spine, but they are actually good metalcore) unit ignited the portion of the crowd that was there, making way for one of my all-time favorites, (formerly from FL) New York melodic hardcore masters Shai Hulud. They busted out a good amount from my favorite album, 1997’s “Hearts Once Nourished with Hope and Compassion.” What I love about the bands on this line-up is their never-give-up, f*ck anyone who stands in their way or tells them they can’t do something attitude. Before one song, vocalist Eric Dellon shouted to the crowd, “This song is about not letting this stupid, cruel world turn you into a stupid, cruel person.” Right on.
After SH was done pumping the crowds’ proverbial nards, New Jersey metal staples God Forbid took the stage. I haven’t seen GF since 2001, at the Palladium. To see them again in the same place, and rock the f*ck just as hard as they did 6 years ago, especially “Anti-Hero,” was amazing.
Then New York hardcore legends Agnostic Front (L) hit the stage. An amp went out about three songs into the set, at which time frontman Roger Miret asked a kid squished up against the front rail of the floor if he were bored, to which the kid answered, “Kinda.” Miret smiled and asked, “Would a 9 ½ boot up your face wake you up?” Classic. Shortly thereafter, the amp was functioning, the second half of the set proved to be much better than the first.
And last, but most certainly not least, the mighty hardcore militia that is CT’s Hatebreed, claimed king of the hill. The venue was at full capacity by this time, and never, ever, have I seen the floor at The Palladium explode with such ferocity. Vocalist Jamey Jasta dominates a stage like other vocalists dream about, and Hatebreed creates a booming cannon of tearing riffs, ruining rhythms, and a positive, f*ck all those who oppose you attitude. Somewhere between “Smash Your Enemies” and the set’s epic closer, “I Will be Heard,” Jasta screams out, “I love the people who hate me and disagree with me ~ that gives us the strength and inspiration to do what we do. It doesn’t matter what anyone says about you. You do what you need to do for yourself…I hope you take something away from this show, in one way or another.” The performance was stopped at one point to drag an injured pitter off the floor, and also saw an airborne crutch, to which Jasta commented, “We’ve played a lot of shows and seen a lot of things, but we’ve never seen a crutch fly threw the air and bop someone on the head!” And thus, Stillborn Fest will be remembered as a killer show, sending the audience home feeling pumped, uplifted, and ready to take on the world.
As for February, my favorite band of all time and space – the almighty Clutch – are bombarding the Middle East in Cambridge not one but TWO nights in a row! Joining them are Murder by Death, Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, and HexMachine. “If I could levitate I would sell lots of tickets,” claims front man Neil Fallon on the track “The Great Outdoors.” Snatch your tickets up before they levitate away – and they will.
MA’s own All That Remains (R) will be headlining at The Palladium February 2nd with Chimaira, Five Finger Death Punch, and Divine Heresy. 2008 will not only see a headlining tour but also a new album for ATR, “The Fall of Ideals,” expected for release mid year. According to front man Phil Labonte, “We are gonna be pulling out all the stops for this one. We’re gonna have a far bigger production than we have ever had. I won’t make any promises and we’re probably not gonna play anything off of ‘Behind Silence.’ No time to teach old songs. We have a record to write as well as get ready for a tour. And it’s gonna be a SWEET TOUR!”
Guitar Hero III has certainly been a platform of digital music sales for some bands like Dragonforce, Killswitch Engage, and Slipknot, and this week, I personally contributed to at least one record sale for Priestess, whose track “Lay Down” caught my attention as I completely failed mimicking the riffs. The Montreal righteous-riff-sludge-rock collective has infiltrated the U.S. of A. with their 2007 RCA release, “Hello Master.” Having already shared the stage with such pioneers as Converge, Mastodon, and Clutch, Priestess is joining the ranks of pure rock fury blazed by their predecessors.
I am SERIOUSLY pissed I missed Genghis Tron open for The Dillinger Escape Plan Dec. 18th at the Middle East. Genghis Tron is touring in promotion for their Feb. 19th Relapse release, “Board Up the House,” the follow-up to 2006’s Crucial Blast release, “Dead Mountain Mouth,” which was recorded at Godcity Studios with Kurt Ballou. I can safely say had I been downstairs at the Middle East for that show, my head would have surely exploded, in the best way possible.
Silent Drive, Bane, With Honor (original line-up/reunion) I Rise, and Outbreak brought the heat to The Palladium January 12th, and although I would have LOVED to see the show, Murphy’s Law was beckoning…more on that to come.
February is known to be the coldest and most desolate month of the year. You know what that equals? Metal month. So get thee to some shows, throw some horns, and find warmth and solace in the pit.
__________________________________________________
The Silent Auction Held at Ozzy Osbourne/Rob Zombie Concert at the DCU Center on January 8 Raised over $4000 for The Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center!
In additions to The Osbournes, the following New England teams generously contributed items for the auction:• Worcester Tornadoes (Can-Am Baseball) ~ a jersey autographed by Rich Gedman, Manager and former Red Sox Catcher
• New England Surge (CIFL Indoor Football) ~ helmet autographed by Ozzy Osbourne with 2 complimentary tickets to a New England Surge 2008 regular season home game
• Worcester Sharks (AHL) Package including: commemorative first season yearbook, 4 complimentary ticket vouchers for a 2008 regular season home game, a game-used Thomas Greiss autographed hockey stick with autograph card, and a Jersey autographed by the entire team
• Boston Bruins (NHL) ~ a jersey autographed by the entire 2007/8 team
• Boston Celtics (NBA) ~ basketball autographed by the entire 2007/8 team
• Baseball autographed by Boston Red Sox (MLB) catcher Jason Varitek (#33)
• New England Patriots (NFL) ~ a jersey (Tom Brady, #12) autographed by Ozzy Osbourne
• New England Patriots (NFL) ~ football autographed by Tom Brady
A special thanks goes out to all of them and to all of you who participated and helped raise funds (not only did 100% of the auction proceeds go to the Colon Cancer Program, but so did .50 of every ticket sold!) for this very worthy cause!
For more information about the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program, visit cedars-sinai.edu/osbourneprogram
