Halloween Homecoming w/ ill Niño and 40 Below Summer

Halloween Homecoming/15 Years of Revolution: ill Niño, 40 Below Summer, Dope, (Hed)PE, Infinitis Mortis, Metal Life Crisis, Ender, Blue Lizard, Negative Sky

I had high hopes for this concert, but I was cautiously optimistic as the New Jersey homecoming of 40 Below and ill Niño was certainly bringing bands that I hadn't seen in several years and most people would say they are past their prime. After seeing this show, I'm not so sure those people would be right! I first saw ill Niño at Ozzfest '02 where I met a drunk Christian Machado (lead singer) stumbling out of a tour bus before his set. He refused to sign autographs because "I gotta fuckin' piss...I'll be back." Although he never returned to the same spot, he sobered up enough to play a blistering set. I first saw 40 Below Summer in March '03 headline a show at the old Birch Hill and then later in the year I saw them open for ill Niño at the same venue. Both times were awesome and lead singer Max Illidge was impressive with his smooth singing, powerful vocal range, and gutteral screams emphasized with his stylized microphone shaking.

Dope was actually the first band I ever saw live at my first concert in NYC's Roseland Ballroom on 2/8/00. Though my friend warned me that they were "the scummiest guys ever," I ended up appreciating their brand of nu/industrial metal. (Hed)PE I have blogged about before, and are another favorite. This was a great lineup for a very reasonable ticket price. Here are some notes from headliner on down:

ill Niño setlist:

1. God Save Us

2. If You Still Hate Me

3. Unreal

4. Nothing's Clear

5. What Comes Around

6. Liar

7. Rumba

8. Predisposed

9. No Murder

10. Rip Out Your Eyes

11. Revolution/Revolucion

12. Te Amo...I Hate You

13. How Can I Live

14. This Is War

(Played All of Revolution/Revoluçion except With You - crossed it off the setlist probably because it was a slow song)
At one point Christian took a backwards dive toward the drum riser, but it was more of a trip than a drunken stumble. At a couple points his mic stopped working, seemingly due to a wire connection problem. Besides these minor stumbles, the band sounded tight. They maybe weren't as energetic as in their younger days, but they interacted well with the crowd and playing the old songs was a refreshing sound!

40 Below Summer setlist:

1. Bottom Feeder

2. Rope

3. Falling Down

4. Snake Charmer

5. Rain

6. My Name is Vengeance

7. Monday Song

8. Wither Away

9. F.E. (f/Christian Machado of ill Niño)

10. Step Into the Sideshow

40 Below were also not as violently in-your-face as I remember from the old days, but they sounded as good or better. They didn't play my favorite song "Self-Medicate." However, hearing "Wither Away" and having Max call out Christian from backstage to play "F.E" was so friggin cool, especially with me being near the stage rail.

Dope
Again, I saw Dope at my first concert in 2000 and I hadn't seen them since 2004. They have several different members now, but they still sound great. They played a mix of old and new songs including
F*ck the Police, Die MF Die, Bitch, and Blood Money

(Hed)PE
I love Hed PE, but not as much as when they were heavier back in the day. Jared sounded better than the last time they played Starland when he was really high and drunk. He seemed to be having fun on stage. They played a very similar set to last time with their reggae re-working of songs like Bartender and Killing Time. Guitar player Gregzilla is out and Will Von Arx is in, which I think is a downgrade because Greg could shred and his solo was the highlight of their set the last time I saw them. I also got to meet Greg at Stanhope House and he was a really nice, chill dude. Bassist KB sounded good and was impressed when I called him out by name and dapped him after the set. The surprise highlight this time around was a full on rap-metal version of 2009's Renegade.
https://www.facebook.com/jason.bink.3/videos/1779386922103872/

Infinitis Mortis
They are fronted by a female singer with a pretty good voice. The band is a motley crew. They weren't bad, but suffer from immature song writing in my opinion.

Metal Life Crisis
They have a black lead singer that sounds a lot like Ronnie James Dio. They were definitely my favorite of the openers and spiced up their set with an Iron Maiden cover.

Ender were kind of posers. They had a bleach blonde brown guy singing and you couldn't understand the lyrics. The entire band was dressed in their own t-shirts. 'Nuff said.

Blue Lizard
These guys were pretty good. They had their own songs which were decent and they worked in covers of Helmet and Rage Against the Machine. Pretty awesome for openers.

Negative Sky
This band had a tatooed guy with a shaved head singing hardcore scream vocals. Their lead guitar player was great and the lyrics had positive messages about living your life. I saw the singer in the crowd after their set and told him I liked them and he was appreciative and seemed like a cool guy.

From the Depths I came in to the venue while they were wrapping up. They sounded pretty hardcore as well.

Rock review 2013

November 4, 2013 The return of Diary of a Madman! 

I haven’t written about music in awhile - partly because I’ve been preoccupied by other things and partly because there hasn’t been enough noteworthy music to write about.  I have been reinvigorated by some conversations with friends about following my passions and reenergized by a resurgence of some solid rock albums of late.  My goal is to get back to writing about once a month including album reviews, concert reviews, and other editorials.  This first issue of the year is going to be kind of a “state of the union address” for hard rock.

            The early 2000s was a big time for rock with the popularity of nu-metal.  That was followed by a wave of screamo bands and then a small resurrection of thrash and hardcore inspired outfits.  The last couple of years have been pretty disappointing for rock.  Ticket sales are down, cd sales are down, and most hard rocking bands haven’t been able to put out back-to-back releases with any degree of continuity or growth.  I had to resort to reminiscing through my back catalog listening to things like Buckcherry, Rob Zombie, Taproot, and Mudvayne.

            Slowly but surely, a few glimmers of hope emerged throughout this past year. First, Ill Niño put out their new album Epidemia that harkens back to their major label debut mixing equal parts aggression, chugging guitars, and Latin percussion.  I still think they were at their best in terms of lyrics and overall composition of songs on Revolution Revolucion, but Epidemia is a step up from their last few albums.  Then, Device brought back some of the original nu-metal magic that made Disturbed popular.  David Draiman’s new band has the angst and hostility that had faded when Disturbed got commercial and went more melodic with their sound.  Then Filter mounted a comeback.  They too captured some of the energy and anthemic rock from their younger years on their latest album The Sun Comes Out Tonight.  Some other noteworthy releases this year include new albums by Oleander, Pop Evil, Skillet, Soil, Devildriver, Trapt, and Mindset Evolution.

            There have also been some new bands that have caught my ear.  The Winery Dogs are kind of a throwback band that have blues and classic roots with good lyrics and hooks, sounding sort of like Chickenfoot, but with a style all their own.  Gemini Syndrome is a new hard rocking group that could really be something big if they get some publicity.  My uncle says they rocked live too.  Eve to Adam is another band that is on the rise and is carrying the torch for dynamic heavy music.  There is not a throw away track on their aptly titled Locked and Loaded.

            It’s not all good news.  Korn and Blue October took big steps backwards, in my opinion.  Queens of the Stone Age, Sick Puppies and Black Sabbath all released albums much softer than expected.  Others that have had some breakout moments are struggling just to make ends meet.  Ozma and MadamAdam are looking for fans to donate toward their recording sessions.  Nonpoint has similarly taken to social media to solicit funds to help them expand their touring schedule.  Is this a sign of a lack of label support for hard rock or just a new way for bands to connect with their fans?  I think its both, but only time will tell if this becomes the new normal.