There have definitely been a lot more interesting concerts around Nebraska lately. The latest to hit the stage in Omaha was the Kill/Thrax tour on Saturday night. Four bands, led by Killswitch Engage and Anthrax came through town on a rare Saturday night concert. Which meant that we could actually sleep in instead of having to get up early and go to work the next morning. Which is awesome.
It was cold Saturday night. And raining most of the day. Simply miserable conditions, so we were not in a big hurry to get there. Besides, the other band we knew were playing was The Devil Wears Prada, a band I have made my disdain for on this blog very clear. Unfortunately when we arrived at the venue, another band that we had no idea would be playing was on stage. It was some group called Code Orange, who play a metallic hardcore style. That can be done well, just look at Nails among other bands. Unfortunately, I was not at all impressed with Code Orange, and my wife pretty much hated them. To each their own I suppose, hardcore has never really been my thing.
After that, Christian hardcore band The Devil Wears Prada started their set. I really dislike this band. But I was curious about their name, because of course most people are aware of the movie starring Glenn Close and Anne Hathaway, which does not exactly scream badass rock band. Apparently the band named themselves after the novel after misinterpreting one of the messages of the novel being an anti-materialistic stance (due to not actually reading the fucking thing). After realizing they were incorrect, they decided to keep the name and create a new definition of anti-materialism in the name of God. So apparently, they are idiots as well and did not bother to read the book that was the source of their name. Their set was predictably annoying. There was the occasional decent moment and singer Mike Hranica has a pretty good voice, but there is a reason I successfully avoided them when they opened for Slayer and King Diamond and tried to avoid them Saturday.
Next, Killswitch Engage played. I will admit to not paying much attention to them for over a decade. I honestly had no idea Jesse Leach was back with the band, and apparently that has been the case since 2012. I was a little surprised then that the band played so many songs that I recognized from The End of Heartache and As Daylight Dies, the only two albums from the band I owned. Leach sounded great singing them though, very similar to previous vocalist Howard Jones. KSE was very charismatic on stage and definitely got the crowd going, a large number of whom were apparently there just for that band (lots of people left after their set without staying for Anthrax). Overall I was pretty impressed with the band's set. The highlight was them closing things out with a cover of the Dio classic "Holy Diver" which even featured Anthrax singer Joey Belladonna coming out and providing lead vocals. That was definitely my wife's favorite moment as well.
Finally, Anthrax came out. Anthrax was the last of the Big 4 thrash metal bands that I had yet to see. I first discovered Anthrax during the John Bush years, and I still think that Sound of White Noise is an underrated album. But nothing really compares to their earlier stuff with Belladonna and they played a lot of the classics. They took the stage playing "Among the Living" and followed that up with "Caught in a Mosh", which got the crowd going. They played a couple of newer songs, including the infectious "Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't" which is my personal favorite track off of Worship Music, their reunion album with Belladonna. After that they ran through a number of other classics before closing out the set. Honestly, I was even more impressed with Anthrax than I was with Slayer in concert. I have developed a newfound appreciation for the band now. I am going to have to dig out my old Anthrax albums now. Even my wife enjoyed them more than she thought she would. I had second thoughts at one point about going to this one, but I am definitely glad we went.
Showing posts with label killswitch engage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label killswitch engage. Show all posts
Monday, May 1, 2017
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Christian Metal
I feel like ragging on Christians today. So, with that in mind, I present two posts about Christian metal/hard rock.
Christian metal is often thought to be something of an oxymoron. But, in realisty, Christianity in metal has been present almost as long as the genre has. Go back to "After Forever" on Black Sabbath's Master of Reality album for proof. This song is either extremely religious, or extremely anti-religious, it's never been entirely clear. Both Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi are fairly religious people though, so it's not a stretch to believe that their lyrics are honest.
Now, my personal position on Christian metal bands is this: I have no problem with them as long as the music is good. But that's often what gets these bands in trouble. It's no secret that Stryper's work after their first album was crap. It's no secret that Mortification is one of the worst bands in death metal. It's no secret that As I Lay Dying's early stuff is just an Avenged Sevenfold-meets-Trivium-meets-Killswitch Engage knockoff, although their later material clearly shows the band progressing.
Those are just a few names. But, the reality is that a lot of Christian metal bands are not very good. There are some good ones though, such as:
TROUBLE
Trouble does not claim to be a Christian metal band at all. They were marketed as such early in their career though and it didn't help that their first album Psalm 9 clearly dealt with biblical issues. This lyrical bent did change over time, but their early albums were fine examples of Christian-oriented metal done correctly.
BELIEVER
Believer is one of the original technical thrash metal bands and they built up a huge following at the same time that Atheist, Heathen, and Cynic were revolutionizing the metal sound. Believer recently got back together and put out a very strong album on Metal Blade earlier this year.
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
It's true, just look at some of the lyrics. KsE is clearly talking about God here. The metalcore pioneers are one of the better bands in their genre but are unfortunately quickly wussifying themselves. I probably just made up a word. Their early stuff is very strong, powerful music with a somewhat positive message.
There are other bands with fairly outspoken Christian members as well, such as Megadeth (Dave Mustaine once refused to go on tour with Dissection and Rotting Christ), Deicide, Slayer, and others. Metal and Christianity are not mutually exclusive although the genre has built itself up in the eyes of the mainstream as a Satanic haven for lost souls.
The important thing to take away from all of this is that it's music. The message should not be as important as writing good music. I am just as likely to hate a bad Satanic band as I am to hate a bad Christian band. Unfortunately there's a lot of crap out there.
Christian metal is often thought to be something of an oxymoron. But, in realisty, Christianity in metal has been present almost as long as the genre has. Go back to "After Forever" on Black Sabbath's Master of Reality album for proof. This song is either extremely religious, or extremely anti-religious, it's never been entirely clear. Both Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi are fairly religious people though, so it's not a stretch to believe that their lyrics are honest.
Now, my personal position on Christian metal bands is this: I have no problem with them as long as the music is good. But that's often what gets these bands in trouble. It's no secret that Stryper's work after their first album was crap. It's no secret that Mortification is one of the worst bands in death metal. It's no secret that As I Lay Dying's early stuff is just an Avenged Sevenfold-meets-Trivium-meets-Killswitch Engage knockoff, although their later material clearly shows the band progressing.
Those are just a few names. But, the reality is that a lot of Christian metal bands are not very good. There are some good ones though, such as:
TROUBLE
Trouble does not claim to be a Christian metal band at all. They were marketed as such early in their career though and it didn't help that their first album Psalm 9 clearly dealt with biblical issues. This lyrical bent did change over time, but their early albums were fine examples of Christian-oriented metal done correctly.BELIEVER
Believer is one of the original technical thrash metal bands and they built up a huge following at the same time that Atheist, Heathen, and Cynic were revolutionizing the metal sound. Believer recently got back together and put out a very strong album on Metal Blade earlier this year.KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
It's true, just look at some of the lyrics. KsE is clearly talking about God here. The metalcore pioneers are one of the better bands in their genre but are unfortunately quickly wussifying themselves. I probably just made up a word. Their early stuff is very strong, powerful music with a somewhat positive message.There are other bands with fairly outspoken Christian members as well, such as Megadeth (Dave Mustaine once refused to go on tour with Dissection and Rotting Christ), Deicide, Slayer, and others. Metal and Christianity are not mutually exclusive although the genre has built itself up in the eyes of the mainstream as a Satanic haven for lost souls.
The important thing to take away from all of this is that it's music. The message should not be as important as writing good music. I am just as likely to hate a bad Satanic band as I am to hate a bad Christian band. Unfortunately there's a lot of crap out there.
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