Crowbar/Battlecross/Lord Dying
July 2, 2015
Atlanta, GA
The Masquerade (Heaven)
The Summer of Doom tour rolled verrrrrrrrrrryyyyyy slooooowwwwwlllyyyyyy into Atlanta the on July 2nd and it was a show that I have to say piqued my interest. Headliners and the reigning New Orleans kings of doom Crowbar this time around had Portland based doomers Lord Dying and frantic metal warriors Battlecross in tow as their opening act. It had been years since I had seen Crowbar and since I had never seen either Lord Dying or Battlecross I figured this would be quite an experience to take in.
Lord Dying
Lord Dying kicked things off and I have to say that right off the bat I knew that this band was going to be something to be reckoned with. After having heard their albums and not really loving them, seeing them live put them in a whole new light for me. Opening things up with ” In A Frightful State Of Gnawed Dismemberment” was absolutely flooring. Lead vocalist/guitarist Erik Olson was a total powerhouse of riffage and vocals that sounded like he was ripping his vocal chords out. The MVP award does have to go to drummer Nickolis Parks as he had all the stage presence of a front man. He was without a doubt the “pump ’em up” guy.
As a whole, Lord Dying’s 30 minute set was powerfully moving and surprisingly dynamic but I just found that I can only take this kind of music in small doses. The band’s music had so many different layers that it kept my interest but I just don’t think I could’ve taken much longer of it. Lord Dying is without a doubt one of the best bands out there playing this kind of music and while I feel like I would totally enjoy seeing them again in a support slot, I just don’t think I would go out of my way to see them headline. Again, nothing to do with the band as a whole but more to do with the fact that I’m just finding that my threshold for this kind of music has dramatically shrunken over the years.
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Battlecross
Detroit’s Battlecross is a band that I have been hearing so much about. They are one of those bands that every time they are mentioned someone says, “… but you gotta see ’em live.” Well, this was my first opportunity to see Battlecross and as they took the stage opening with “Push Pull Destroy” I knew right away what they meant. What an exciting fucking band to watch. These guys completely worked the crowd and opened up the pit like seasoned veterans. Guitarists Hiran Deraniyagala and Tony Asta traded lick after lick while lead singer Kyle Gunther worked the crowd with his powerful presence and entertaining banter. By the time the band got into the 4th song “Man of Stone”, I was pretty much ready for them to be done. Why I’ll tell you.
Similar to that of Lord Dying, I just don’t have much of a threshold for this kind of music. As a whole, Battlecross are some of the most amazing musicians I’ve seen play and they were insanely entertaining but she sheer speed of their songs one after the other just started to wear me thin. I wished for a bit more dynamics in the band’s sound but I totally get that Battlecross makes music for a specific audience that loves this kind of breakneck speed. Unfortunately, I’m just not one of those fans. Battlecross is a truly great live band and again, if I ever saw them in a support setting I would thoroughly enjoy them.
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Crowbar
New Orleans sludge lords Crowbar took the stage as headliners to a hefty roar from the at most 1/3 full room as they launched into “Burn Your World” and right off the bat I have to say, I wasn’t moved, I wasn’t floored, and I wasn’t really much of anything. Even after hearing them do my favorite song “High Rate Extinction” I just didn’t feel anything. As a matter of fact, I felt bored. I’ll be honest. I was bored to fucking tears. I was so bored that I started to hallucinate I think. At one point, a friend of mine came up to me, stood beside me and poked me with his finger to make sure I was still alive. I just didn’t get it. This was a band that back in the day I held in the highest of regard but now, there they were; up on stage just boring me with their songs.
Having this feeling as I watch Crowbar just proved to me that we, as fans, can completely outgrow bands. There are plenty of bands from my youth that I have out grown; bands that at one time I absolutely loved and held in the highest regard but now I just don’t find much about them that connects with me. As we grow up and experience other bands and other styles of music it’s more than normal for some of those older bands just not have much of a place in your life anymore. I have to say, I am very appreciative of all three of these bands for showing me just what my threshold is for bands who play this kind of music and that threshold is very small.
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