Concert Reviews

Corrosion Of Conformity – Live Life Loud Tour Review

Published

2 years ago

December 3, 2022

Pittsburgh, PA – By Jason Sealand

Corrosion of Conformity brought their Live Life Loud Tour to Pittsburgh with supporting acts The Native Howl and Spirit Adrift. The Pittsburgh show is their second to last stop of the tour as they finish up in Grand Rapids tomorrow.

Native Howl had the honors of opening up the show and they instantly injected an energy into the room as they totally knocked the audience off guard with a blistering set no one saw coming. The Native Howl play fast and tight as they infuse American roots bluegrass into thrash metal. Something they like to call “Thrashgrass”. They opened with the song “Harvester of Constant Sorrow” a 2019 single. Check it out here: The Native Howl – Harvester of Constant Sorrow Official Video. Below is one of my favorite shots of the night I got of Alex Holycross.

Next up was Sprit Adrift, which is a 2015 solo project start up of of multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Nate Garrett, who is also from Tempe Arizona based Gatecreeper. Spirit is melodic, riff-forward doom metal which kind of reminds me of a Dio inspired Black Sabbath with some Maiden mixed in. They seem to have dumped everything that is good metal into their bags from metal legends of past and shook it up to deliver something new yet familiar to the ear. The crowd was headbanging for most of the set and the band set the stage for what was to come. Spirit Adrift is playing 3 more dates as a headliner and finishing up in Little Rock Arkansas at the White Water Tavern. A shot of Nate Garrett below:

When Corrosion of Conformity took the stage at Mr. Smalls Theatre this Saturday it was immediately clear that the audience was filled with metal heads looking for that COC fix, blend of punk and metal that the band is famous for. I got a peek of the setlist and was instantly stoked for what I was about to see. I knew it was going to be an incredibly loud and heavy setlist and I was not disappointed.

The band came out washed in the shadows with a cutting light of red hues as bassist Mike Dean opened the show with a deep yet rumbling chug of a doom bassline with a bit of audio feedback as the band took the stage before tearing into the opening song, “Bottom Feeder” Whereas headbanging was the preferred audience show of appreciation for the opening bands, an instant circle pit opened up. Anywhere you looked people were smiling and having the time of their lives. Corrosion of Conformity fans knew all of the words and they screamed them as loud as they could. COC fed off of this crowd energy and gave all of it back and more.

The setlist contained material from the band’s back catalog of albums and included the slow groove of “13 Angels” from Americas Volume Dealer along with “Who’s Got The Fire”. Before closing out the night with an encore containing “Albatross” and “Clean My Wounds” from 1994’s album Deliverance. The setlist flowed incredibly well with no drop in energy nor time to rest. Guitarist and lead vocalist Pepper Keenan, were joined by bassist Mike Dean, lead guitarist Woody Weatherman, and drummer Jason Patterson of Cry of Love who is currently sitting in. The band played tight and were totally in control and clearly loving the energy in the room, Corrosion of Conformity looked as if they were having as much fun as the audience. As a fan I cannot wait to see them again and I am keeping my ears to the ground hoping for any news as far as new material coming out.

I have included their setlist below.

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY SETLIST:

1. Bottom Feeder (Wiseblood ’96)
2. Paranoid Opioid (In The Arms Of God ’05)
3. Shake Like You (Deliverance ’94)
4. Seven Days (Deliverance ’94)
5. Diablo Blvd. (Americas Volume Dealer ’00)
6. Senor Limpio (Deliverance ’94)
7. Wiseblood (Wiseblood ’96)
8. Who’s Got The Fire (Americas Volume Dealer ’00)
9. Stonebreaker (IN The Arms Of God ’05)
10. 13 Angels (Americas Volume Dealer ’00)
11. Vote With A Bullet (Blind ’91)
12. Born Again For The Last Time (Wiseblood ’96)
13. Albatross (Deliverance ’94)
14. Clean My Wounds (Deliverance ’94)

CORROSION OF CONFORMITY

SPIRIT ADRIFT

NATIVE HOWL

About Author

Jason Sealand

Jason is one of the newest talents that has joined forces with Empire Extreme. Not only is he a skillful photographer and journalist, he is owner and founder of Mad Viking Beard and Mustache Company and Brewtality Coffee Co. www.madvikingbeard.com

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Concert Reviews

King Diamond brought the Halloween party to Silver Spring MD

Published

3 days ago

November 2, 2024

Ron

King Diamond who’s on tour now with Overkill and Night Demon.

Overkill always puts on a great show and shows that face pace thrash metal is still kick ass. Led by NJ’s Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth Overkill has that distinctive sound with Bobby’s high pitched and raspy vocals. With songs like “Scorched”, “ Rotten to the Core” and “Hello From the Gutter”, Overkill got the crowd into a frenzy and warmed up the stage before the king.

You know it’s gonna be a good night when it’s 3 days before Halloween and you get to see a kick ass set from King Diamond. King Diamond who’s 68 right now still commands that stage and sounds amazing with his insanely falsettos. The stage show at a King Diamond show is always such a great sight to see. With a multilayer setup of stairs and little pieces of elaborate set all over it’s such a great view and perfect setting to watch a King Diamond set.

The set list was amazing too we got to hear songs from such a great career like “A Mansion in the Darkness”, “Halloween “, “Spider Lilly”, “Welcome Home”, and “Eye of the Witch” and of course ending the night with “Abagail”.

If you’re a fan of King Diamond or just a fan of great music that adds that Halloween haunted asylum themed stage performances then you need to go out and check this tour now. King Diamond never disappoints and always puts on one hell of a show.

About Author

Ron

Ron has keen eye for new talent, a love for the underground, and a tremendous passion for music of any genera. You’ll probably bump into him at a horror convention or some seedy club checking out the next need-to-know band.

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Concert Reviews

ITS TIME TO GET YOUR BODY BEAT AND LET THE BLOOD FLOW

Published

1 week ago

October 29, 2024

Ron

Combichrist came into Lovedrafts in Mechanicsburg with an old school electronic set and the return of PA’s own DeathMaschine.

Combichrist took the dark stage armed with Eric on the synths/sampler and Andy on Vocals and an open stage to rampage on. I got to hear some killer kick ass songs I haven’t heard in a while like “Today I woke to the rain of blood”, “This is My Rifle” and This shit will fuck you up”.

The crowd were super excited to watch the set and everyone was having a good time, dancing to the beats, and singing all the songs and having an amazing time. I’ve been wanting to see Combichrist do these old school sets and have always loved that era of the band. We also got to hear “Like to Thank My Buddies” and “Shut up and Swallow”. We also got a super rare treat for an encore Andy went back even further in his musically roots and pulled out an Icon of Coil song “Dead Enough For Life”, which got the crowd in a frenzy.

About Author

Ron

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Concert Reviews

LUDACRIS : THE HALL AT LIVE

Published

2 weeks ago

October 21, 2024

Ron

ATL IS IN THE HOUSE.

Ludacris came into Maryland at the Hall in Live Casino and brought with him the masses that were ready for a good time, good fun and good tunes.

Ludacris said it’s been a long time since he’s been back to Maryland and DC area. I loved that he just came out with his dj and his hype man and himself nothing else was needed when you entertain like Ludacris does. Whether you’re a fan from back in the day or a fan of his movies, Ludacris made everyone happy and made sure they were fully entertained.

Of course Ludacris played some of his hits songs like “Act a Fool”, “Move Bitch”, “What’s your fantasy”, “Get Back” and “Area Codes” but he also played some old school tracks and a few covers like “Holiday Inn” and “Yeah”. The crowd was hitting that good weed as well and threw some blunts up to the stage during “BlueBerry Yum Yum”.

Ludacris made a statement that his first album came out in 2000 and this next year is the 25th anniversary of the album. It was a great night and a great time, Ludacris knows how to keep the fans engaged and entertained all night. He’s very fan friendly and charismatic which makes sense that he’s also a great actor.