THE RED CHORD / A LIFE ONCE LOST / IF HOPE DIES / IN THE WAKE OF... / LEVIATHAN
Jewish Community Center Rockford, IL 5/20/05 by Dr. Abner Mality
It's
probably been 38 years since I've been in the Phillip Behr Jewish
Community Center in Rockford, Illinois. Yes, this locale was once used
as a daycare center, harboring the likes of young Dr. Mality and a
passel of other rugrats.
Now, though, I return to the JCC as a full grown mad scientist and oh,
how times have changed. The Center is now mostly shuttered , but opens
occasionally for a concert. Tonight it was to play host to more than
just a concert...it was ground zero for MAYHEM INCARNATE!
Wow! Hard to believe that the up and coming extreme metal terrorists The
Red Chord are playing my former Romper Room! Not only that, but they
bring with them other top notch young lions of the metal scene, A Life
Once Lost and If Hope Dies. This show was hotly anticipated by many, and
managed to surpass the already high expectations of those in
attendance.
It's certainly not a big place. The bands set up on the floor of what
looked like a large family room with all the furniture taken out of it.
No chairs were in evidence. Except for the merch tables and sound board
in back, there was only room for the bands and the crowd. A more
intimiate, in-your-face set up could hardly be imagined. I for one
thought it was damn cool and it made tonight's show one of the most
memorable I've ever been to.
First, before we delve into the meaty main events, I must tell you
of...Leviathan. No, not a Mastodon tribute band, I am very hard pressed
to describe exactly what the hell these guys are. There's a lot of
smart-ass jokers in the underground metal scene right now and I would
say Leviathan are among them. Check out the accompanying pics to see
what I mean. None of these guys could have been over 20. Wearing cheap
ass masks, tight gym shorts full of strange bulges and "silly" T-shirts
sporting pictures of the biker from the Village People and Campfire
Brownies, this was one of the dumbest looking bands to ever exist. Just
as they intended. Add to this the fact that the lead singer played a
ridiculous mini-guitar the size of a ukelele and you had a visual
experience that even the most jaded kids in the crowd had difficulty
comprehending.
Musically, I don't know, there might be something worthwhile. It was
mostly slower, sludgy hardcore with a lot of shouts and strange
breakdowns. But the real capper came when the band suddenly stood as
still as mannequins on the stage as a weird synthesized instrumenal
played...and played...and PLAYED! I mean, this fucking kiddy music went
on for 12 or 13 minutes while Leviathan stood frozen on the stage.
Finally, crowd members started having their pictures taken next to the
motionless geeks. And then boredom really set in. Finally, the band
attacked their instruments with a noisy fury, but only for a couple of
minutes before stopping. The end. Without taking off their masks, they
broke down their gear. It was about the goofiest goddamn thing I've seen
in a musical context in a long time and truthfully, I think Leviathan
were making fools out of everybody, including themselves.
With that hilarity out of the way, we got a much more "traditional" band
next with In The Wake Of... I expect you will be hearing more of this
Chicago band soon. They play super technical and violent metalcore with a
very sizable dose of classic Norwegian black metal injected into it.
Yes, this band owes as much to Emperor and Satyricon as they do to
Converge and Bleeding Through. The lead singer was a vocal maniac who
squealled, grunted and rasped with such intensity that I almost had to
laugh. This guy is REALLY wild! But it works and the band is quite tight
as they play their fast and furious ditties. They also have a good
sense of humor. During a track called "Cowboys", the singer tried to get
the crowd to make lassoing motions with their hands. The response was
tepid, but it shows In the Wake Of... don't take themselves that
seriously. They were about as intense a local opener as you could want
for a show such as this.
If Hope Dies don't get the recognition they deserve. Their monicker
makes them sound like a bandwagon-jumping metalcore band but they have
been around for seven long years and their brand of melodic thrash is
more akin to Shadows Fall than anything else. They kicked ass earlier
this year in Freeport and tonight was no different. Opening with the
blistering "Roddy Piper's Magic Sunglasses", they got the ninjas doing
their thing out on the dance floor. I've said it before, I'll say it
again, if any of these buffoons ever hits me with their silly kung fu
moves, I'll decapitate the motherfucker.
Back to IHD, vocalist Alan French showed energy and class as the band
hit tracks like "Time Is On Our Side" and "So It Goes". What I like
about these guys is that their twin guitar work is impeccably melodic
but their crunchy breakdowns are equally effective and not quite as
predictable as most metalcore bands. Their set was broken up by a brief
and violent dispute between French and bassist Gary Mann over the merits
of the latest Star Wars movie. French loved it and Mann gave it the
thumbs down. Check out my interview with Gary elsewhere.
I next managed to speak to Guy Kozowyk from The Red Chord. Actually,
"speak" is a pretty poor description of what Guy and I did. We sat and
exchanged some incredibly detailed opinions about the extreme music
scene. It was one of the more intellectually stimulating discussions I
ever had. The only bad side: I missed the first half of A Life Once
Lost's set.
After finally concluding my business with Guy, I raced back inside the
JCC to find chaos unleashed on the floor. This was my first encounter
with A Life Once Lost either live or on record and I must say I was very
pleasantly surprised by them. This band had a lot of hardcore swagger
but they sure knew how to hit a groove. I mean, prime Pantera couldn't
have matched some of the swampy, dirty riffs kicked out by ALOL. I
muscled my way up to the front lines and I mean, the FRONT lines. I was
virtually on the stage and singer Robert Meadows was literally in my
face most of the time. With veins and eyes bulging and sweat flying,
this dude left nothing behind in his performance...it was all right
there in front of us, a raw and bleeding wound. It was completely
exhilerating and the old Doctor was starting to lose his cool and
headbang derliriously despite his delicate neck. A Life Once Lost
actually tired out the kids on the floor, they were too much. It was a
total adrenaline rush seeing this ferocious explosion of metal fury so
up close and personal.
You wouldn't think there would be anywhere to go after A Life Once Lost,
but you would be wrong, for the Red Chord were the headliners tonight.
This band is really the future of extreme music. Whether you are into
Napalm Death, Hatebreed, Dillinger or what-not, they've got something
for you. I cannot believe how tight the band is. As far as studio goes,
sure, you can sound that way, but live? I wouldn't have thought it
possible. But Red Chord did it. Guitarists Kevin and "Gunface" were the
picture of furious concentration as their fingers blurred over the
strings. Bassist Greg not only kept up, but put on a very entertainting
show in himself, often lifting his bass high and playing to the crowd.
But of course, it's Guy who is the frontman and the pivot for the Red
Chord live. Bellowing demonic roars and screeches, he is right there in
the crowd's face and urging them on to new heights. We didn't have a
world class crowd at the JCC but we did have world class energy from the
fans who were there. Nobody was disappointed. Guy interacted superbly
with everybody and even threw a shout out to yours truly, who was now
shaking like an epileptic. The guys mostly hit stuff from their awesome
new album "Clients", including "Black Santa", "Antman" and "Dragon
Wagon", but they did find the time to pound out some old favorites from
their debut "Fused Together In Revolving Doors" such as "Like a Train
Through A Pigeon" and "Dreaming In Dog Years". The titles may be funny,
but if you would have fired a Fouth of July rocket off in that room,
you couldn't have seen more fireworks. Despite the relentless pace of
Red Chord's set, the technical abilities of the band never flagged. And I
would be very remiss if not completely stupid if I didn't give props to
the cyclonic drumming of Brad Fickeisen .
There was a great vibe during this concert that you hope and pray for
every time you see a metal show. The fans were into it, the bands were
into it and everything clicked. I saw Mossy, Corey and Toast from The
Heavils there supporting their labelmates The Red Chord and guys from
Blood of Creation and Hastings Way were also there. I wish more of the
local bands could have come out tonight, not only to show unity, but to
see what sort of performance they should be shooting for.
A lot of people remember being at Rockford's legendary concerts of the
past, whether it was Ted Nugent and Nazareth at the Speedway in 78 or
Deicide in 91. Well, you will hear people talking about this one for a
long, long time to come. I am more optimistic about the future of
extreme music than ever after seeing these bands in action.
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