Kreator -- Kansas City, MO -- Septembe 16th, 2012

This is the old-school heavy metal tour of the year for sure. Swallow The Sun is old-school heavy (despite not being old), Accept was old-school rocking, and Kreator was old-school brutality! Despite a few sound issues for some of the bands, it was a solid night overall.

Hellevate opened the night as people were still coming in. They only had time for about four songs, but they made the most of it. The whole band is really animated, especially the vocalist. He reminds me of a young Bobby Blitz. The riffing was solid and they had a nice thick bass sound, but it all kinda went to moot because not a ton of the crowd was feeling them. Tonight was their album release show, too, so it kinda sucks they didn't get at least a bit longer. Great warm-up, though.

It was my first time seeing Swallow The Sun since they played with Soilwork, Darkane and Warbringer back in 2008. This band seems to get on really odd tours. But they were still really heavy. They played six songs, but only two of them had any clean vocals - they catered their set to appeal to the fans of this tour, obviously. When all the instruments just started riffing together in one of their painfully heavy and slow breakdowns, it was so awesome. Swallow The Sun here and then Katatonia a few days ago? I'm in melancholic death/doom heaven. Awesome.

Up next was the legendary Accept. "Legendary" is a fair title, because they've absolutely earned it. A very high energy performance from all members of the band, spot-on sound and great crowd interaction. They were good and loud without being overbearing. The lead guitars came through perfectly, especially during the solos. The new vocalist also sounded fantastic. The band didn't spend that long chatting up the crowd in between songs, but it's okay because they spent most of their time rocking out! Lots of singing along with them. Old-school awesome!

Kreator was very punishing and very brutal, but unfortunately the sound problems that had been reported for previous shows were prevalent here. About half of their set, I could barely hear the guitars when they weren't soloing. Fortunately, this didn't deter from the overall performance that much. Their mix of likable new songs and classic ones went over very well with the crowd and there were several large mosh and circle pits during their set. They unfortunately cut out Betrayer, but the rest of the set was the same. Mille's vocals were great and the whole band sounded awesome for being able to play so fast. If you see Kreator, expect to mosh!

Kreator:

Mars Mantra
Phantom Antichrist
From Flood Into Fire
Enemy Of God
Phobia
Hordes Of Chaos (A Necrologue To The Elite)
Civilization Collapse
Voices Of The Dead
Extreme Aggressions
People Of The Lie
Death To The World
Coma Of Souls/Endless Pain
Pleasure To Kill
The Patriarch/Violent Revolution
Flag Of Hate/Tormentor

Accept:

Hung, Drawn, and Quartered
Hellfire
Restless And Wild
Losers And Winners
Stalingrad
Shadow Soldiers
Pandemic
Breaker
Bucket Full Of Hate
Princess Of The Dawn
Up To The Limit
Teutonic Terror
Metal Heart
Fast As A Shark
Balls To The Wall

Swallow The Sun (I think):

Emerald Forest and the Blackbird
Hate, Lead the Way!
Psychopath's Lair
Cathedral Walls
New Moon
Swallow (Horror Pt. 1)

Kreator: 8/10
Accept: 8/10
Swallow The Sun: 8/10
Hellevate: 8/10

Devin Townsend Project -- Lawrence, KS -- September 13th, 2012

Man, the drive there was stupid. The highway was down to one lane for most of the way and it was pouring down rain. I was ANGRY, but I'm really glad I stuck it out and went!

I got to the Granada about halfway through Stolen Babies' set. I wasn't really all that impressed with them. I guess I'm used to accordion's being used in a kick-ass, folk metal way, but it just kinda didn't serve a purpose in their set. I thought their bassist and drummer were pretty good, but other than that...nothing really stood out for me. And they're the second band I know of where one person's sole job is to bang on an empty oil drum during shows.

Paradise Lost was awesome! Those kinda old-school, late 80's/early 90's doom bands always bring it. They were very heavy, although the vocalist seemed like he was struggling on a few songs. I guess he had some voice problems and ended their set early at an earlier date. The whole band was really into the performance, though. Really good though.

The big response of the night came from Katatonia, however. One word: Wow. These dudes can put on a show. They were heavy, melodic, had some amazing solos and just absolutely ripped everyone's face off. There was a ton of headbanging in the crowd and lots of singing along, too. Jonas' vocals sounded spot on, and both of the guitars really crunched and brought the house down around them. I can't believe I even entertained the thought for even a second that I might have skipped them. Never again!

I was actually going to leave after Katatonia, but I'm pretty glad I stuck around for Devin Townsend. Although he wasn't nearly as jaw-dropping as Katatonia, I was really glad I stuck around for him. First and foremost - he is an entertainer. I don't think I've ever seen a frontman for a band engage an audience like he does. Whether it's talking to the crowd in-between songs or playing to them during songs, Devin is just really fun to watch. Most of the stuff they played was on the heavier side, although the song "Life" has a really upbeat, almost pop sound that was fantastic! Set went really fast, and I really hope he'll be back many more times.

Devin Townsend set:

Seventh Wave (Ocean Machine)
Life (Ocean Machine)
Supercrush! (Devin Townsend Project)
Kingdom (Devin Townsend/Devin Townsend Project)
Liberation (Devin Townsend Project)
Truth (Devin Townsend)
Regulator (Devin Townsend)
Color Your World (Devin Townsend)
Vampira (The Devin Townsend Band)
Lucky Animals (Devin Townsend Project)
Juular (Devin Townsend Project)
Grace (Devin Townsend Project)

Katatonia:

1. Dead Letters
2. Buildings
3. The Longest Year
4. Deliberation
5. My Twin
6. The Racing Heart
7. Lethean
8. Teargas
9. Walking by a Wire
10. Sleeper
11. Hypnone
12. Forsaker
13. Leaders

Paradise Lost (included(Out of order and incomplete):

Enchantment
Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us
Tragic Idol
One Second
Say Just Words
The Enemy

Devin Townsend Project: 8.5/10
Katatonia: 10/10
Paradise Lost: 8.5/10
Stolen Babies: 6/10

A couple new HUGE shows!

Show 1:

Megadeth will be performing all of Countdown To Extinction on November 28th at the Midland in KC! Kyng + TBA will open! Cool!

Show 2:

Dethklok w/ Machine Head, All That Remains, The Black Dahlia Murder will be at the Midland on November 17th! First time Machine Head has been around these parts since the first Mayhem Fest, I think. Awesome!

New shows alert!

Got some new shows announced lately! Remember - always check the sidebar for upcoming shows. I update that more often than actually posting about shows!

That Lamb of God tour that got canceled has had its make-up dates announced. It's all different bands this time, though. They'll be at the Uptown Theater in Kansas City along with In Flames, Hellyeah and Sylosis. Last time they were at the Uptown, a huge crowd showed up. Wouldn't doubt it to happen again at this show. So get there early!

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The Sword will be returning to the Record Bar in Kansas City almost exactly 2 years after their triumphant show in 2010. They'll be there on December 3rd with Gypsyhawk and American Sharks. They were really heavy 2 years ago, so I expect no different from them this time.

If you are really keen on  Gypsyhawk, they have a show at the Aftershock in Merriam, KS on September 20th with Vanlade and Alsatia. A great headliner with amazing local bands. Totally worth seeing them twice!

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Converge is coming back to the Granada theater with an absolutely stacked bill. Opening the show is local boys Mansion, then Kvelertak and Torche will light everyone on fire. The Lawrence date is special because after Torche, local legends Coalesce will take the stage to open for Converge! Legendary. Don't miss this show, because it'll be full of stage dives!

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If you want to slow things down, drone-doom pioneers Earth will be at the Record Bar on November 19th. Earplugs are recommended, they can get loud! Eagle Twin and Stebmo open.

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Keep an eye out, here and on the sidebar and all the local venue's websites. Lots of stuff is getting announced!