March Metal Meltdown
3
Asbury Park, New Jersey- April 6 & 7th, 2001
As with just about every Jack Koshick-hosted metal extravaganza, this
one was fraught with problems and nuisances, mainly to do with scheduling
conflicts: for instance, Saturday's headliners, Cathedral, were given
only twenty minutes to play after flying in from England, and Electric
Wizard were bumped off the bill altogether! Nile and Soilwork also canceled,
for reasons unknown to me. Of course, every year I break my promise never
to support this sham by attending; that said, there were still a handful
of high points. A select rundown of the highlights is probably the best
approach, since a couple hundred acts played (and about 90% of them, well,
sucked!):
Cathedral: these Sabbath-worshippers were pretty much the reason
I went to the fest, as they've been one of my absolute faves since 91's
"Forest" classic. Despite getting in only 5 songs, Lee and the lads were
in top form, getting a rousing welcome from the American doom contingent.
Mr. Dorrian was his usual mad-fuck self, simulating anal sex with a roadie
and good-naturedly berating the audience, amongst other antics. Surprisingly,
they didn't play any songs from their new album Endtyme, but maybe that
was simply on account of their shortened set- old favorites like "Ride",
"Soul Sacrifice", and "Midnight Mountain" (which had most of the crowd
clapping along to the disco breakdown!) were more than enough to satisfy
me, though. Hopefully they'll be back on American soil for a proper tour
soon.
Warhorse: These guys are causing quite a stir in the doom and stoner
rock scenes lately, and I found out why. Going on just before Cathedral,
they kicked out a fearsome set of downtuned, fuzzed-out scuzz-rock that
simultaneously invoked the spirits of Sabbath, Frost, and just about every
obscure 70s acid combo you can think of. The tempos were generally sluggish,
but active enough to keep the crowd interested. I guess the term 'stoner
rock'-which I hate-applies to these guys, but they create an atmosphere
far more sullen and, well, evil than it would suggest. They definitely
have more in common with Electric Wizard than Kyuss or Fu Manchu, if that
clues you in- Southern Lord have done well to sign Warhorse up.
Amorphis: another old favorite of mine since '92 at the latest,
the Finns were back in America after less than a year since they toured
here with Moonspell. By this point in time Amorphis have pretty much exorcised
any lingering vestiges of death metal from their sound, but that doesn't
really matter if you rate them solely on the quality of their tunes. Guitarist
Tomi has lost interest in singing altogether, so the set consisted only
of material from their last two albums, on which new vocalist Pasi has
taken over completely. The band's atmospheric, polished brand of metal
carries over well from cd to stage, and new number "Alone" was a definite
highlight. An excellent set, I'd say, but I do wish that they'd played
something from "Tales from the Thousand Lakes". Maybe next time!
Avulsed: making
the trek from warm Spain to absolutely miserable, rain-soaked New Jersey
must have had an adverse effect on Dave Rotten and co.'s spirits, because
theirs was without doubt the best pure death metal set of the weekend.
Utterly fucking raging riffs, ferocious guttural growls from Rotten, and
a very good sound equal death metal bliss, in my opinion. Not surprisingly,
their American-style, pit-friendly Cannibal/ Suffocation approach went
down very well with the attendees, 95% of whom were 'death metal-only'
types as it was.
Vintersorg: vocalist Vintersorg has a very unusual voice, and I'll
admit that when I first heard him I thought it was dreadful; when I got
used to it, though, I actually came around to it- coupled with his vicious
black-ish screech, he is one of the more versatile and dynamic frontmen
you'll come across. Their folky metal with black influences is a lot more
rocking and groovy live than on disc. This was the Swedish band's first
show in America, but they came across as fairly confident and comfortable
in this setting. I think the fact that a band like Vintersorg is even
playing here shows how much the state of metal has improved in the U.S.
over the past few years-in, say, '95 this would have been unthinkable.
Extra points must be awarded to the fill-in keyboard player, who had very
little time to learn the material but rocked like a bastard anyway!
Pain: it's a little surprising that Pain played the fest since
neither of their albums has been given a domestic release, but they definitely
turned a few heads with their performance. The thing you have to bear
in mind is that Pain is a product- an unashamedly contrived outlet through
which Peter Tagtgren can release music that wouldn't fit in with Hypocrisy.
Rumor had it that they were NIN clones, but that's not really correct-rather,
they were poppy pseudo-industrial metal with strong death metal underpinnings.
The fusion of speed-picking and blatantly poppy vocal harmonies may sound
strange, but it worked this time, and more than a few heads were bobbing
along enthusiastically. Tagtgren played the part of Rock Frontman with
aplomb, and it was amusing to see him posturing so when he's normally
a down and dirty death metal guy.
Dying Fetus: when the Fetus are on, they are the best live brutal
death metal band on the planet, hands down. Tonight, though, things just
didn't gel for them. Maybe it's because they were breaking in two new
members (a 'high' vocalist and a bass player to replace departed bassist/vocalist
Jason Netherton); maybe the mix wasn't clear enough; or maybe it was just
an off night for the guys. Normally their incredibly catchy grooves are
what stand out, but tonight they were barely audible, buried underneath
a wall of distortion and fuzz. Whatever the case, I'm expecting better
things the next time around!
Stampin' Ground: after reading Glasper's contributions to Terrorizer
for several years now, it was cool to actually see him on stage. I only
caught three songs of their set, but what I did see impressed me: an energized
fusion of new-school hardcore with some razor-sharp thrash riffing. Vocalist
Adam was a bouncy-ball of energy, and seems to be a natural frontman.
The band seemed to go over with the audience pretty well, although it's
sad to say there are still some people who refuse to get into a band simply
because they don't look 'metal' enough. Fuck those attitudes-and come
over for a longer tour, SG!
Vesperian Sorrow: "What? A black metal band from Austin, Texas??"
I'm sure that's a pretty common reaction, and these guys are probably
used to it by now; but regardless of that tired 'true vs. false' debate,
musically speaking VS delivered, despite suffering through a poor sound
mix. Their sound is somewhat akin to that of Emperor or Limbonic Art:
symphonic and rich on the keys, but still suitably vicious. At times,
though, the synths were out of synch with the other instruments, and maybe
a case could be made for VS simplifying their approach to maximize live
efficiency. Regardless, I was pretty impressed, and promise not to break
into laughter next time I hear the phrase "Texan black metal" uttered!
Opeth: This may be come as a surprise to some, but Opeth drew the
largest crowd of the weekend. These Swedes are so un-hyped (at least in
the US), and care so little about image, that the phenomenal turnout can
only be attributed to their excellent, original music. I saw a wide range
of people headbanging, grooving, or just 'taking it in'-- from be-mulleted
cock rockers who got off on the flashy solos to hardened death metallers
who appreciated the sheer weight of it all. Given that their music contains
so many prog and 70s rock elements, I'm surprised that it translated so
well in a live setting. Amazingly, scores of people were singing along
to the three songs aired off of new release "Blackwater Park"-which hadn't
yet been released in the States! (I guess Napster et al really have had
an impact on music) The band even dusted off "Forest of October" from
their first album "Orchid", thereby sating an old-timer like me. Highlight
of the fest, without question
my top 40
albums
of 2001
Friend Of The Devil online album of 2001
Friend Of The Devil online album of 2001
Fennesz- 'Endless Summer'
(listed in alphabetical
order)
Anaal Nathrakh- 'Codex Necro'
Agalloch- 'Of Stone Wind And Pillor'
Angel Crew- 'Another Day Living In Hatred'
Autechre- 'Confield'
Bastard Noise- 'Throne Is Melting'
Big In Japan- 'Destroy The New Rock'
Cadaver Inc.- 'Discipline'
Cathedral- 'Endtyme'
Corrupted- 'La
Victima Es Tu Mismo'
Cripple Bastards- 'Misantropo A Senso Unico'
Cult Of Luna- 'Cult Of Luna'
Darkthrone- 'Plaguewielder'
Deranged- 'Deranged'
Emperor - 'Prometheus'
Entombed- 'Morning Star'
Failed Humanity- ' The Sound Of Razors Through Flesh'
Filth Of Mankind- 'The Final Chapter'
Firebird- 'Deluxe'
Gammera- 'Smoke
And Mirrors'
Godflesh-
'Hymns'
God Forbid- 'Determination'
Gorerotted- 'Mutilated In Minutes'
Groinchurn- 'Whoami'
Ill Disposed- 'Kokaniium'
Iowaska- 'Vine
Of Souls'
Isis-
'Celestial'
Kataklysm-
'Epic (The Poetry Of
War)'
Khanate-
'Khanate'
Khold- 'Masterpiss Of Pain'
Morser- '10,000 Bad Guys Dead'
Mortiis- 'The
Smell Of Rain'
Opeth-
'Blackwater
Park'
Phobia-
'Serenity Through Pain'
Planesmistakenforstars- 'Fuck With Fire'
Purgatory- 'Blessed With Flames Of Hate'
Rocket From The Crypt- 'Group Sounds'
Set Fire To Flames- 'Sing Reigns Builder'
The Convocation Of...- 'Pyramid Technology'
Warhorse- 'As
Heaven Turns To Ash'
Zyklon- 'World
Ov Worms'