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Sounds Of The Underground Tour
GWAR
Shadows Fall
Every Time I Die
Chimaira
Job For A Cowboy & more...
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SaltAir Pavilion
Magna, UT
8/01/2007
By: Caz* Bevan
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 The Sounds Of
The Underground tour prides themselves in
celebration of "good music for the right reasons." Shadows Fall
seemed to be the spokes-band in favor of this unity as they
expressed their dire need for the music that they play and their
absolute love for it - as well as for the other bands on the tour.
The unity was heartwarming and left me with the most unifying
emotion I have felt about any particular concert or musical
movement in years.
Reminiscent of the "anti" days of punk rock, I thought to myself,
"Hell yeah!" as I looked around in excitement at my fellow
show-goers, instantly being put back into the cold feeling that
we all stand alone.
Not quite like the old days, the thought is at least nice. A heavy
mix of hardcore and what I now appropriately refer to as "deaf
metal" as I may be hard of hearing for the remainder of my life
after about eight hours of consistent and extremely loud music.
I am at least reassured that this is most likely the only genre in
which I would be able to withstand eight straight hours.
Hardcore and metal is surprisingly motivating.
I actually think the reason for the lack of unity among the
diverse crowd of spectator-fans is probably due to the general
feeling of "I'm a badass" that everyone gets when standing
particularly so, with arms crossed, glaring at the band with
absolute no movement or facial expression unless you find a
moment or a song in which you are a die hard fan and you chose
to throw a fist in the air, devil horns, rock-ons or participate in
invisible ninja fighting (aka hardcore dancing). Regardless, the
overall attitude of a metal show is "to each his own" and
somehow it's just as empowering as the punk rock days of
unity.
Either way, I haven't quite decided if it's heart-warming or
disheartening to see a band such as The Devil Wears Prada
standing for what they believe in, beginning their set with a
prayer - privately said but publicly displayed, and ending their
set with a small speech, "Believe whatever you believe in, we are
not here to judge, but we stand and play in the name of God..." I
found it ironic that the only band with "devil" in their name
would be the hardcore Christian band.
This was entirely opposite of Goatwhore who played just before
The Devil Wears Prada and ended their set with a very apparent,
"All Hail Satan!" It's no wonder there's an obvious divide in the
nature between metal kids and hardcore kids. Nonetheless, it
was entirely entertaining to see the older metal crowd with their
worn black T's and unfashionable mullets get into drunken fist
fights with girl-pants-wearing hardcore dancers. There really
should be a flight attendant type of display prior to shows like
this expressing the kosher aspects of hardcore dancing and how
not to take such things personally despite the Bud that backs
you up. And by Bud I mean beer...and by beer I mean this
concert was out of control!
Goatwhore and Job For a Cowboy were probably the
longest-seeming sets maybe due to the aspect of not very many
people knew of them or their music. I must say, to my own
surprise, I actually fell asleep during Job For A Cowboy sitting in
a corner. The music was not compelling enough to keep me
standing let alone keep me entertained to a waking level.
Despite the roaring music, I was out cold only to be startled by a
nearby door slamming. I laughed that a door of all things would
be what scared me.
Amon Amarth and the Acacia Strain were highly entertaining, yet
still mostly unfamiliar. Not just my opinion but by the reaction of
the crowd, the best bands by far were The Devil Wears Prada,
Darkest Hour, Chimaira, Every Time I Die and Shadows Fall. All I
can say, is that I am definitely a fan with a whole list of new
albums to look forward to as the majority of these bands have
either recently released or are releasing an album this Fall. With
propelling riffs and compelling breakdowns, each of these bands
kept the entire crowd entertained and wanting more.
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