Suppose I ought to dust this thing off a bit, maybe.
I'm going to preface this by giving a shout out to Rock 100.5 The KATT - without their ticket contest, I wouldn't have made it to this show at all. Winning sure does feel good, for a change.
Moving on...
The Date: April 4, 2013
The Venue: The Diamond Ballroom
The Line-up:
Candlelight Red
Lacuna Coil
Coal Chamber
Sevendust
Candlelight Red wasn't bad for an opener. I didn't find any of their music super compelling, but that's not to say it isn't good. I wasn't familiar with them going in, and I don't find myself aching to learn more after coming out. But I'm not you, so don't take my word for it.
As for stage presence, I got the "new band" vibe from them pretty strongly...too much attempting to amp up the crowd without quite enough energy to back it up.
That said, the mosh pit and crowd surfing had started by the time Lacuna Coil took the stage.
I'm not going to pretend that these little excerpts are actually unbiased - I have a penchant for girls who can rock any form of musical instrument (that includes the voice, for those keeping tabs.)
Thus you might imagine that I would do dirty, dirty thing with Cristina Scabbia, given the opportunity. You would not be wrong.
I've seen Lacuna Coil before, and I confess to preferring them at smaller venues. I don't really know why...something about their stage presence just seriously shines when you can see them clearly, I guess.
This set drew pretty heavily from Dark Adrenaline, and I was perfectly happy with that. If you haven't given Lacuna Coil a listen in awhile, you're missing out. Their sound has done nothing but evolve and improve as time has passed, as far as I'm concerned.
Coal Chamber coming out of retirement...
You know, I'm not sure if time had softened my memory of them or what, but I was -not- ready for the level of energy they brought to the venue. In a phrase? Holy. Shit.
I was near the front for their set, and I've got the bruises to prove it. I seriously did not remember Coal Chamber being that -aggressively- metal. But they have certainly not lost their touch.
Coal Chamber says to the nonbelievers? "Don't Fuck With Me."
(If you don't know the reference, go listen to some damn Coal Chamber.)
Sevendust.
I've seen them before, at Edgefest in Little Rock. They surprised me then - having not seen them before, I wasn't prepared to headbang so damn hard.
Well, this time I was prepared. They introduced their new album during this show - Black Out the Sun - and it kicks some serious ass. That basically sums up their set - kicked some serious ass. I was pleased to see the Ballroom as crowded as it was by that point, especially for a metal show.
Closing thoughts: go listen to some good headbanging music. If you can't think of any, try Coal Chamber or Sevendust. If you love female-fronted metal/rock groups, dig in to some Lacuna Coil.
And don't forget to support live music, whether it's your cup of tea or not.
