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July 20, 2008 |
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w/ CHILDREN OF BODOM/THROWDOWN
October 26, 2004
Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, BC
By Tony Antunovich
All photos Copyright © 2004 METALEATER - Do not use without permission.
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It's no secret that Vancouver is one of the major stop-off points for many of today's most popular international metal acts. Throughout the last couple of years, we've seen some big names roll through town - ICED EARTH, LAMB OF GOD, CRADLE OF FILTH, DIMMU BORGIR, CHILDREN OF BODOM, W.A.S.P., CANNIBAL CORPSE, FEAR FACTORY, IN FLAMES - the list goes on for miles, really. Let's grab three of those names from that list - LAMB OF GOD, FEAR FACTORY, and CHILDREN OF BODOM. All three bands have played at The Commodore here in Vancouver at least once within a year's time. Richmond, Virginia's LAMB OF GOD were here on November 14, 2003 as part of the Headbanger's Ball tour with SHADOWS FALL, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, and GOD FORBID; Los Angeles-based FEAR FACTORY performed a headlining gig on May 18th of this year;
and Finland's CHILDREN OF BODOM made their first-ever appearance in these parts back on December 1, 2003 as one of the supporting acts for the DIMMU BORGIR show (with HYPOCRISY and NEVERMORE), and yet again just a mere five and a half months later with ICED EARTH and EVERGREY on May 14, 2004. These same three bands (along with THROWDOWN) have teamed up for an extensive North American tour, which kicked-off just a little over three weeks ago. Two Canadian dates were added into the itinerary (Vancouver and Toronto), and Vancouver was the lucky winner to be first in line to witness this extraordinary event, but not before a special treat.
Hours before show time, LAMB OF GOD made a special in-store appearance at Vancouver's very own metal-source, Scrape Records (which has held several of the same kind of events to give fans the opportunity to meet their favorite bands, and maybe get a CD, poster or t-shirt signed at the same time), and we were there. The boys from LAMB OF GOD arrived at the store shortly after 6 P.M. (PST) and not surprisingly, fans were screaming outside waiting to greet them. For the better half of an hour, the guys took the time to interact with their fans and it was great to see that everyone had the chance to participate. Overall, I think the turn-out was great, and I'd like to thank Lyle from Sony Music Canada for arranging the in-store and JJ from Scrape Records for hosting the event and making it such an enjoyable experience for the fans. I would also like to express my thanks to Randy, Mark, Willie, John and Chris for taking time out of their busy schedule to be there.
LAMB OF GOD AT SCRAPE RECORDS IN VANCOUVER
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Although more and more bands ARE making their way to this neck of the woods, it's still important to realize that shows like this just don’t happen every day, so when you get powerhouses like LAMB OF GOD, FEAR FACTORY, and CHILDREN OF BODOM all on the same bill, you do NOT want to miss it. I was fortunate enough to see CHILDREN OF BODOM both times when they were last here, but sadly, I missed LAMB OF GOD and FEAR FACTORY (both not by choice) on their respective tours, so I was not going to make the same mistake twice. Now, without further ado, let's get on with the show.
CHILDREN OF BODOM
Not surprisingly, this one was a complete sell-out. THROWDOWN were on first, but I didn't get down to The Commodore until about 20 minutes before CHILDREN OF BODOM were set to hit the stage. As it turns out, everything was running ahead of schedule, so CHILDREN OF BODOM's set started 10 minutes earlier than expected. Just like both times before, the five virtuosos from the mighty far north (Alexi Laiho - vocals/guitars, Roope Latvala - guitars, Janne Warman - keyboards, Henkka Blacksmith - bass, Jaska Raatikainen - drums) showed Vancouver once again what metal is all about, Finn-style!
Welcomed by a symphony of "BODOM" chants, the band burst out onto the stage. The crowd went nuts and it was pretty obvious that all the fans were pretty damn happy to see the CHILDREN back in Vancouver. The band performed a variety of their ass-kickers like "Needled 24/7", "Six Pounder", and the blistering "Hate Crew Deathroll". The energy these guys can produce on stage is just amazing, and their rapport with the audience couldn't be better, especially when you hear the words "You guys have been a fucking kick-ass audience tonight!" coming from Laiho himself. It's no wonder that these guys keep drawing huge crowds wherever they go. The 40-minute set wrapped up with "Downfall", followed by Warman keying in a "Psycho"-sounding intro leading into "Hate Me!" As always, it would have been nice if the set could have been more extensive, but the band accomplished what they had set out to do, which was to deliver another first-class metal show. Let's all hope that CHILDREN OF BODOM will be back soon on their
own headlining trek.
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FEAR FACTORY
Earlier this year, FEAR FACTORY released one of their strongest efforts in a long time, "Archetype", and then ventured out on a headlining tour in support of it. The band made a stop here for one of those dates this past May, but once was not enough. Vancouver got its chance to see the quartet yet again as one of the co-headliners for this tour with LAMB OF GOD, and what we saw was a revitalized FEAR FACTORY - back with a vengeance. After about a 20-minute changeover, darkness fell, and the "FEAR FAC-TO-RY!" chants began. Roughly after a two-minute intro, the band emerged on stage and kicked it off with the paralyzing opening track, "Slave Labor", from their new album. Man, talk about caliber! I'm embarrassed to say that this was my first time ever seeing the band play live, and I was almost knocked off my feet.
Burton C. Bell dished out some very impressive screams/growls, Christian Olde Wolbers abused his axe with some earth-crushing riffage, while the rhythm section provided the driving force - Byron Stroud (STRAPPING YOUNG LAD) slammed the bass and Raymond Herrera hammered those drums like a submachine gun. The band carried on with "Cyberwaste", followed by a "Demanufacture" double-shot - "Demanufacture" and "Zero Signal", and then right into yet another double-shot - "Shock" and "Edgecrusher" from 1998's monumental "Obsolete". Although it was pretty dark through a lot of the show, there were times where flashing lights dominated, giving the audience that true, authentic FEAR FACTORY live "experience".
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After playing a few more songs, the band went out in style with perhaps one of the most popular FEAR FACTORY anthems, "Replica". Everyone in the audience was banging their heads violently in unison with the rhythm, including yours truly. FEAR FACTORY played a total of 10 songs and I was extremely impressed with the band's performance. I overheard some people saying that Burton's voice was cracking a bit, but I didn't notice it at all. Regardless, FEAR FACTORY put on a great show and I'm looking forward to seeing them play live again.
SETLIST:
Slave Labor
Cyberwaste
Demanufacture
Zero Signal
Shock
Edgecrusher
Martyr
Scapegoat
Archetype
Replica
LAMB OF GOD
To say that LAMB OF GOD kick some serious ass is the understatement of the decade. I am only sorry that I missed them when they played here on the Headbanger's Ball tour last November. LAMB OF GOD was in town for one purpose, and one purpose only - to inject Vancouver with a crippling dose of their "pure American metal", leaving after-effects that would last for days, weeks, months, years - essentially for a very long time. I should state that I have attended many, many metal shows in my day, and this was by far one of the best metal-hungry crowds I have ever seen.
As the lights went out, the audience began shouting "LAMB-OF-GOD! LAMB-OF-GOD!" louder than fans cheer after the singing of the national anthem at a hockey game. Hanging behind the drum kit was a huge "Ashes Of The Wake" drop-banner, displaying the band's logo in a colorful shade of gold. Well-equipped and ready to destroy, LAMB OF GOD hit the stage with all guns blazing, opening up with the aggressive "Laid To Rest". Axe-masters Mark Morton and Willie Adler ripped that place right down the middle with a barrage of crushing riffs, while John Campbell (bass) and Chris Adler (drums) delivered the pounding backbone rhythm. Randy Blythe's screams/growls echoed through the entire venue, bouncing off the walls straight into the hearts of the mass metal-hungry minions in the audience. Talk about a shock to the system (a good one of course).
The band continued on with "Hourglass", "As The Palaces Burn", and the lashing "Now You've Got Something To Die For". Heads were banging, fists were pumping, and the mosh-pit was absolutely insane - probably one of the most "active" mosh-pits I've seen. It was great to see such an awesome, non-stop positive reaction from the crowd during each song. It seems the band's popularity has forged a larger fan-support base than I had originally thought.
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They pushed forward with some more LAMB OF GOD favorites like the infectious "Ruin", "Vigil", "Omerta", and another new one, the thrashy "What I've Become" before finishing off the evening with "Black Label". The band played with an equal level of consistency all the way through their entire 75-minute set, and in the end, there was not a single sign of disappointment from anywhere or anyone. Once thing is for certain - LAMB OF GOD kicked Vancouver's metropolitan ass! Hopefully it's not too long before they get the chance to do it again.
SETLIST:
Laid To Rest
Hourglass
As The Palaces Burn
Now You've Got Something To Die For
11th Hour
Terror And Hubris In The House Of Frank Polard
Ruin
Omerta
Pariah
The Faded Line
Bloodletting
Subtle Arts Of Murder And Persuasion
Vigil
What I've Become
Black Label
To sum it up into one sentence, the entire show was nothing short of amazing. All the bands put on a great show and if this tour is coming to your city, I would strongly suggest that you pay the money and see it for yourself. You'll thank me for it - I guarantee you.
Our thanks to Jamie at House Of Blues Concerts Canada for providing the ticket and photo pass.
» Official LAMB OF GOD Website
» Official FEAR FACTORY Website
» Official CHILDREN OF BODOM Website
» Official THROWDOWN Website
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