Kreator -- Lawrence, KS -- November 7th, 2013

The aptly named Legends Of Thrash tour made a stop at the Granada in Lawrence on a chilly Thursday night and performed to an unexpectedly enthusiastic turnout of metal heads, young and old alike. The night was full of riffing, guitar solos, blastbeats and lots of smiling, moshing maniacs.

The show wasted no time in getting things going, with California thrash maniacs Warbringer. Coming off the release of their fourth album "IV: Empires Collapse," the band showcased a side of their musicality not seen before. The album, which comprised the majority of their set, has a very strong heavy metal influence, although it still has some breakneck thrash moments - the kind of which Warbringer does better than most of their recent contemporaries. Their performance was spot-on and the mixing was great, very easy to hear vocalist John Kevill and and the guitar solos came through great. Warbringer's drummer Carlos Cruz (ex-Hexen, ex-Mantic Ritual) was one of the most impressive drummers I've ever seen in a band. "That dude has serious chops" is the understatement of the year. Warbringer can still blast off at lightspeed, but now they've shown they can take a page from Slayer's "South of Heaven" and slow it down but keep it heavy. The future for this band looks exciting.

The most impressive part of Overkill is that they're one of the first thrash metal bands in America, but they're faster and heavier now than they've ever been. Opening with 1987's "Deny The Cross" sent the crowd into a frenzy of moshing and singing along that didn't let up for a second. Overkill has one of the most impressive discographies in all of thrash metal, and this co-headlining set touched on the classics, the contemporary greats and even a couple of left-field surprises. One surprise in the set came from their performance of 1999's "Necroshine" - the track itself isn't necessarily a rarity or anything, and it comes from an era that Overkill was experimenting more towards groove metal, but it just came across as insanely heavy - maybe another nod to the stellar sound mixing from the Granada that night? As Bobby Blitz and crew ripped through their standard set-closer for almost 30 years of a cover of Subhumans' "Fuck You," it's apparent that Overkill is quite possibly the best American thrash band that is still active from the 80s.

When Kreator played the Beaumont Club last year, the only fault I could find was they came across muffled because of the sound system. Not only did the band sound clear and vicious, they outdid themselves and put on a devastating performance. Whether it "Endless Pain" from their debut album, or "Phantom Antichrist" from their fantastic album last year, each Kreator song was performed with just as much ferocity and technical brilliance as the last. Frontman Mille Petrozza is legendary for his unique vocals and his stage presence - he was constantly playing to the crowd and getting people to circle pit all night long. There was actually a part during "United In Hate" that had the crowd vocalizing along with the guitar melody - I don't think I've seen it done with that much vigor in the crowd outside of an Iron Maiden show. Mille raised the Kreator flag, as he always does, before launching into "Flag of Hate" and "Tormentor," the last two songs of the night, and the weary but appreciative crowd gave their all one last time. The crowd left everything they had on the floor for these three bands, and it made for one of the best all-around heavy metal shows that this area has seen in quite some time.

Kreator:

1. Phantom Antichrist
2. From Flood To Fire
3. Warcurse
4. Coma of Souls (intro only) > Endless Pain
5. Pleasure To Kill
6. Hordes Of Chaos (A Necrologue For The Elite)
7. Riot of Violence
8. Enemy of God
9. Phobia
10. Violent Revolution
11. Acoustic guitar solo > United In Hate
12. Civilization Collapse
13. Flag of Hate/Tormentor

Overkill

1. Deny the Cross
2. Bring Me The Night
3. Electric Rattlesnake
4. Hammerhead
5. Rotten To The Core
6. Hello From The Gutter
7. Ironbound
8. Necroshine
9. Thanx For Nothin'
10. Overkill
11. Elimination
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12. Horrorscope
13. Fuck You (Subhumans cover)

Warbringer:

1. Living Weapon
2. Severed Reality
3. The Turning Of The Gears
4. Hunter-Seeker
5. Living In A Whirlwind
6. Scars Remain
7. Towers of the Serpent

Kreator: 9/10
Overkill: 9.5/10
Warbringer: 8.5/10 

Upcoming show reminder/update!

Hey dudes and dudettes! It's been a while since some new shows were added, but there have been some and I'll put em all here in a sec! But here's a quick reminder of some killer shows coming up between now and the end of May:

Overkill w/ God Forbid, Suidakra, Diamond Plate, Marasmus at the Beaumont Club on April 26th!
Kittie w/ Warbringer, Pathology, The Agonist, Bonded By Blood, Blackguard at the Beaumont Club on May 9th!
Bible of the Devil at the Riot Room on May 9th!
Origin w/ Cattle Decapitation, Aborted, Decrepit Birth, Battlecross, Troglodyte at The Granada on May 18th!
Danzig and Doyle play Misfits! w/ Hammerlord at Uptown Theater on May 31st!

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Now, here are some shows that have been announced recently:

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The father of theatrics and shock rock, Alice Cooper, returns to Kansas City after a long while on June 15th at the Midland Theater! I saw him a few years back at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson, and he put on an amazing show! Can't wait to see this legend again.





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Torche is taking a break from their tour with Corrosion of Conformity to bring possibly the heaviest show of the year to the Riot Room on June 17th! Also with them is The Slowdown!





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A pretty big concert for Kansas City - Dream Theater will be making a semi-rare appearance at Starlight Theater on June 29th! Opening for them will be a King Crimson cover band featuring ex-members of the band! Should be a fantastic show.




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My personal concert that I'm super excited for is the return of probably the heaviest duo on the planet - BLACK COBRA. They'll be bringing crazy awesome sludgey/crusty/grindy guru's Gaza to the Riot Room on July 2nd! I was floored when I saw these guys a couple years ago. Their last album was amazing, so this show will be off the charts crazy.






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And finally, just announced - Nightwish will be returning to Kansas City at the Beaumont Club on September 27th. Along with them is Kamelot. It's not often you see these two bands around these parts, so it's a can't-miss show!

2012 update

Hey all! Thanks for sticking with the blog. I was getting some year-end stuff taken care of, so I'll try to be updating more regularly now.

I was going to attend the Rites of Darkness fest (feat. Antaeus, Zemial, etc.) in San Antonio, but that fell through. My last concert of the year will be Sunday, December 11th at the Jackpot in Lawrence: Touche Amore! Also appearing: Pianos Become The Teeth and Seahaven!

A couple last-minute 2011 shows:

As I Lay Dying returns to Kansas City to the Beaumont Club on December 8th. Opening is a whole bunch of bands, including The Ghost Inside, Of Mice And Men, iwrestledabearonce and Sylosis.

Also on the 10th (this coming Saturday) at the Beaumont Club in Kansas City is BLACK LABEL SOCIETY! I doubt you'll get a chance to see these legends in such an intimate setting ever again. Opening is Texas Hippie Coalition and Hammerlord!

Now onto 2012 concerts so far:

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The movie Slow Southern Steel is going on tour, and with them are the bands Hail!Hornet (sludge/stoner/doom supergroup) and Zoroaster (one of the loudest bands you'll ever see) and it's stopping at the Beaumont Club on February 1st! The movie plays first, then Zoroaster slays, then Hail!Hornet kills!







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Returning to the Granada theater after years of absence will be Children of Bodom! They'll be appearing on February 6th along with Eluveitie, Revocation and Threat Signal!









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Sad that In Flames and Trivium canceled their Kansas City appearance this year? Well fear not, they'll be returning to the Beaumont Club in KC on February 11th! Along with the two bands will be Veil of Maya and Kyng!









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And now for something a little different. Scott Kelly, frontman of Neurosis and frequent Mastodon collaborator, will be bringing his acoustic tour to the recordBar in Kansas City on February 21st. Eugene S. Robinson opens.







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Get ready progressive/power fans, the tour of the year is on February 26th at the Midland by AMC in Kansas City: Iced Earth & Symphony X! It looks like it's a co-headlining show with Warbringer opening. Awesome!







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And now for the show in 2012 that's been announced that I'm super excited for:

Killfest 2012 will be coming to Kansas City on April 26th! This legendary thrash band is bringing along a ton of awesome bands to open: Belphegor, Aborted, Suidakra, System Divide, and Diamond Plate! THRASH!













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And that's it! I know of a few more shows happening, but they haven't been announced just quite yet. But safe to say, when they are, they will blow your minds.

October preview: Warbringer

Ending October will be WARBRINGER on their America Torn Asunder tour! They are consistently one of the best newer thrash bands live, so this is a must-see. Opening is Lazarus A.D., Landmine Marathon, Diamond Plate, and Marasmus. Great end to the month!

October: Always busy for metal

A couple of shows have just been announced for October!

First up:

The Black Dahlia Murder will be returning, YET AGAIN, to Lawrence to slay us! They'll be headlining The Granada in Lawrence on the strength of their new album, Ritual. Opening for them is All Shall Perish and Cannabis Corpse. The Black Dahlia Murder always have the best live shows, so get ready to headbang!







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The next October show is quite a doozy:

WARBRINGER comes back to KC on their headlining tour for their new albums, Worlds Torn Asunder! It'll be at the Beaumont Club on October 30th (Halloween Eve!) with LaZarus A.D., Landmine Marathon, Diamond Plate, Vanlade and Meat Shank! Spoooooooooky!

Megadeth -- Kansas City, MO -- December 5th, 2009

This was not a concert. This was a religious experience.

First band was Arcanium. They were marginally better than "Seasons After" who opened the Cannibal Corpse show a couple weeks ago. Again, they sounded like they'd be right at home on a rock station or nowadays Headbanger's Ball. Not so much clean singing, but still pretty lame. Props for them at least for winning over most of the crowd. 4/10

Tonight was the first date of the Endgame tour that had Warbringer instead of Machine Head. I thought for sure that the crowd would be full of scene kids hating on thrash, but Warbringer completely leveled the place. This is my third time seeing them and easily the best. They were top-notch. All the solos sounded just like they do on the album, and they got the crowd to pit and scream along all throughout their set. As always, Total War is always amazing to hear live, but Combat Shock is fantastic as well. Best straight-up modern thrash band today. 9/10

A small part of me (a very small part of me) thought that since Suicide Silence was so incredibly popular, that maybe they'd have enough crossover appeal to metal fans like me that I'd find something to like in their set. I mean, I like 2 songs (kinda) by Job For A Cowboy! But, alas, they were pathetic. Their stupid ways of getting the kids in the crowd to rebel against God in "Unanswered" was just about the dumbest part of the night until the final song, "No Pity For A Coward". I couldn't believe how amazingly retarded the lyrics are to this masterpiece. Everyone chanted along "Seconds from the end/What's it gonna be?/Pull the trigger bitch" and I couldn't help but laugh at how terrible it was. I assumed maybe some of the band would have some talent, but what little they gave us was soon followed by ten minutes of breakdowns. Killswitch Engage still may be the worst band I've ever seen, but Suicide Silence is a very close second. On a positive note: The song "Smoke" by them has maybe 20 overall seconds of what I consider "good" but that's about it. 2/10

But nothing was gonna bring me down for Megadeth. The place was absolutely packed for Megadeth and there was a push to the front as soon as the lights dimmed. As soon as Dialectic Chaos started, the crowd was whipped into a frenzy that didn't let up until the end of the set. I was eventually pushed from the front of the venue to around the middle because the chaos was too much. But about Megadeth: Dave Mustaine and Chris Broderick are solo machines. They nailed each note of each solo no matter how challenging or how long they were. Insane. And the crowd pretty much drowned out the vocals with their own singing on every song. Dave let the crowd sing the entire first part of "Sweating Bullets" and the end of "A Tout Le Monde" and, of course, "Peace Sells". If you step back and look at this Megadeth set, you might think that it's pretty weak. But I think that Megadeth falls into the same category of Iron Maiden. No matter what their setlist is, hearing any song in a live setting is amazing and unique. I will be telling my grandchildren to tell their grandchildren about how amazing it is to scream along every word of "Peace Sells" live in concert. I was covered in sweat, blood, beer, and everything else imaginable by the end of the concert, but I was euphoric. Nothing even compares.

Highlights: Sweating Bullets, Peace Sells, Wake Up Dead, Tornado Of Souls (THAT SOLO!)

10001230129/10

Warbringer:

Jackyl
Living In A Whirlwind
Severed Reality
Total War
Prey For Death
Beneath The Waves
Combat Shock

Megadeth:

Dialectic Chaos
This Day We Fight!
Wake Up Dead
Skin O' My Teeth
Headcrusher
A Tout Le Monde
She-Wolf
Tornado Of Souls
1,320'
In My Darkest Hour
Sweating Bullets
Hangar 18
44 Minutes
Trust
Symphony Of Destruction
Peace Sells
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Holy Wars

Skipping Kansas: Overkill

Dang. Overkill will be skipping us on their amazing tour next year. Closest date looks like Oklahoma.

Vader
Overkill
God Dethroned
Warbringer
Evile
Woe Of Tyrants

Apr. 01 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Trocadero
Apr. 02 - Worcester, MA @ The Palladium
Apr. 03 - Hartford, CT @ Webster Hall
Apr. 04 - Quebec City, QC @ Imperial de Quebec
Apr. 05 - Montreal, QC @ FouFounes
Apr. 06 - Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theater
Apr. 07 - Cincinnati, OH @ Bogarts
Apr. 08 - Detroit, MI @ Blondies
Apr. 09 - Chicago, IL @ The Metro
Apr. 10 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
Apr. 11 - Minneapolis, MN @ Station 4
Apr. 13 - Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre
Apr. 15 - Vancouver, BC @ Red Room
Apr. 16 - Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
Apr. 17 - Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
Apr. 18 - San Francisco, CA @ The Grand Ballroom
Apr. 19 - Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues
Apr. 20 - Los Angeles CA @ House of Blues
Apr. 21 - San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
Apr. 22 - Phoenix, AZ @ O.K.'s
Apr. 23 - Tucson, AZ @ The Rock
Apr. 24 - Farmington, NM @ Gators
Apr. 25 - Tulsa, OK @ Marquee
Apr. 26 - Austin, TX @ Emu's
Apr. 27 - Houston, TX @ Scout Bar
Apr. 28 - Dallas, TX @ Trees
Apr. 29 - Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall
Apr. 30 - Springfield, VA @ Jaxx
May 01 - New York City, NY @ Nokia Theater

Exodus -- Kansas City, MO -- March 31st, 2009

Exodus:

Bonded By Blood
Iconoclasm
Funeral Hymn
A Lesson In Violence
Children Of A Worthless God
Pirahna
And Then There Were None
Deathamphetamine
Blacklist
Fabulous Disaster
War Is My Shepherd
Strike Of The Beast
Toxic Waltz
Shovel Headed Kill Machine

Warbringer:

Total War
Whirlwind
Dread Command
Severed Reality
Systematic Genocide
Combat Shock

Notes: I didn't get in (21+ venue) so I stood outside for 4 1/2 hours in freezing weather to watch. It was worth it The sound and view was surprisingly good. Koktopus sounded great, and did a Slayer cover (Bloodline). Hammerlord sounded the best of the night. Seriously, they are something you need to watch out for. Warbringer were better when I saw them a couple weeks ago, but still good here. And Exodus. What can I say? There's a reason they rule so much. During Exodus' set, the singer from Hammerlord hung out with me outside. Definitely gonna try and catch em on Friday.

Exodus - 9/10
Warbringer - 8/10
Hammerlord - 9/10 (CHECK THEM OUT http://www.myspace.com/hammerlordslaysyou )
Koktopus - 8/10

Soilwork -- Kansas City, MO -- March 12th, 2009

More of a review than setlists.

Got to the venue at about 6, but didn't get out of my car until about 6:30. It was a coooold, cold day. And I STILL had to wait outside for half an hour. But it was worth it.

The first act was local band Serated. It was appropriate that their singer wore a Slipknot shirt, as the last half of their set could be mistaken for them. At times they kind of went into a halfway decent melodeath/thrash groove, but at least 2 of the songs had the kind of spoken vocals/rapping thing.
5/10

The first band I came to see, Swallow the Sun, were next. Very heavy and very awesome, although the sound mix was kind of crappy. Couldn't really hear the guitars too well until near the end of their set. These guys were awesome. They really need to tour the states some more.

Partial/Out Of Order setlist:

Don't Fall Asleep (Horror Pt. 1)
Plague Of Butterflies
Swallow

8.5/10

Oh man. Anyone who says Warbringer isn't a real thrash band or are posers has obviously never seen Warbringer live. They are just thrash as hell and absolutely outstanding live. They played a lot off their new album but it sounds sick. Can't wait for it.

9/10

Total War
Whirlwind
Severed Reality
At The Crack Of Doom
??? (New song)
Combat Shock

Darkane played as a 4-piece tonight, but their guitarist is a monster. Crazy awesome solos, and they surprised me. They were a lot better than I thought they were gonna be. Aside from a couple of songs with stupid breakdowns in them, they were extremely enjoyable.

8.5/10

Leaving Existence
Convicted
Fading Dimensions
Chaos Vs. Order
Distress
Execution 44
Secondary Effects
Innocence Gone

Oh boy. Soilwork. I wasn't even going to stay for them, but I heard that they were playing good songs on this tour, so I gave them a shot. I didn't stay for the whole thing. Actually, I think Soilwork would be a lot better suited for a mainstream tour, like Ozzfest or Mayhem Tour. But here, i just didn't get them. Clean vocals + metalcore parts just overshadows the parts I heard that could've been decent. I left about halfway through their set.

6/10

Overall, a very good concert for under 20 bucks. Looking forward to seeing Warbringer again in a week or so with EXODUS!

Exodus One-Off show!

Kreator announced a fantastic tour with Exodus, Belphegor, Warbringer and Epicurean. It doesn't make a stop in Kansas or Missouri, but Exodus is doing a one-off show at The Riot Room on March 31st. Warbringer is stated as support, but no word on whether Belphegor or Epicurean are as well.

Remember: The Riot Room is a 21+ venue, so get those Fake ID's ready!

Full Exodus off-dates here.

Soilwork does a real concert tour.

It's not common these days to see a band play in almost every state possible while on a tour. Most tours consist of twenty or so dates with 3 dates in Texas and 3 in California and, for the most part, skip entirely over the Midwest. THANKS IRON MAIDEN!

But not the new Soilwork tour next year!

The lineup is:
Soilwork
Darkane
Warbringer
Swallow The Sun

The support bands are all fantastic and I've heard good stuff about Soilwork live. Mark this one down as a "Yes"!

They'll be at the Beaumont Club on March 12 and full dates can be found here.