Coal Chamber April 16, Worcester Palladium

"Ain't no grave gonna hold my body"

A photo posted by GreenChamber (@greenchamber) on Apr 4, 2013 at 8:23am PDT

I want to take you back in time a bit - to the 90's. And I know what you're thinking: ‘ugh, why the 90’s?’ or 'hey, I could be watching cat videos right now,' but just stay with me... Every decade claims highs and lows in music. In terms of rock, we witnessed power metal giving way to grunge and then the myriad of sub genres that would follow into the turn of the century. For me, it was a time in which radio heavily influenced my taste - in part because the radio was free and because I didn't have money of my own to purchase music. I had to save a lot pennies to buy my first CD player, let along all the music I wanted to play on it. As I explored more music, I leaned toward louder and heavier. Coal Chamber played a big part in my musical education.

When I heard that Coal Chamber was getting back together for shows in Australia, I was more than a bit excited. Coal Chamber was one of the first bands to introduce me to dark, heavy music. I had their CDs and had to copy their music onto cassette tapes for my car. I don't remember the first time I heard a Coal Chamber tune, but I can still picture that recordable cassette tape, its clear plastic case, white label and two words scrawled as neatly as I could manage: "Coal Chamber." There was nothing better than driving around after school with the windows down, blasting "Loco" as loud as my pithy speakers could handle. And it didn’t matter who was driving with me - I assumed everyone needed to experience this music. After they disbanded, I faithfully followed lead singer Dez Fafara to Devildriver and that opened my world to so many other bands.

After much hype and anticipation, a US tour was announced, and I didn’t hesitate in buy my tickets for their show in Worcester with Lacuna Coil and Sevendust. Following Dez and the rest of the band on Twitter gives you a sense that these guys are friends and love playing together. Perhaps time can heal many wounds. This seemed like so much more than a band’s reunion tour. In fact, don’t even call it a reunion tour. Coal Chamber picks up with the songs they left us with all those years ago and takes it a another level

From Chela Rhea Harper's taunt opening bass riff on “Loco” to the final chorus of “Sway,” Dez and co put on an utterly transformative show. I’m going to say it... This may have been one the best shows of any band that I have ever seen. They sounded great, which at the Worcester Palladium can be a challenge. Somehow Dez's vocals overcome all obstacles and he commands a stage like few others can. He shares his love, his thoughts, and his life with his fans - asking only for their electric energy in return. Meegs Rascon's eerie guitar work and Mike Cox's thunderous drumming brought to life songs that have sat mostly idle for more than a decade. I'd go as far to say that new life has been infused - these songs sounded like they came from an album released this year - with all the affect and emotion of a band passionately playing the music they love and tearing the place apart in the process. Most of set came from tracks of their first and third albums, but I was happy to hear “Not Living” and “No Home,” off of Chamber Music. Nothing left out and nothing held back. As it should be.

Setlist (from Setlist.fm)

1.      Loco

2.      Big Truck

3.      Fiend

4.      Rowboat

5.      Something Told Me

6.      Clock

7.      Drove

8.      Not Living

9.      Dark Days

10.  I

11.  No Home

12.  Oddity

13.  Sway

In Flames & Trivium - Worcester Palladium

Trivium took the stage to the pounding intro to “In Waves”. The palladium erupted with bodies as lead singer, Matt Heafy, dropped the first guttural scream. Trivium played like a seasoned band, enticing the crowd to scream, sing, crowd surface, and to tear the place apart. This is the second time that I have seen the Florida-based metal band. The first was last summer at Montreal's Heavy MTL festival. Seeing them in a small venue like the palladium was a more intimate, face-melting experience. Their sound is heavily influenced by traditional trash, evident on blister tracks from Ascendency and Shogun. However, the real focus was on their latest album, In Waves. On songs like “Forsake Not the Dream,” “Built to Fall,” and crowd favorite, “Down From the Sky,” Heafy mixes screams and clear vocals amid the torrent of guitar and drums, backed up by the screams of guitarist Corey Beaulieu and bassist Paolo Gregoletto. Trivium puts on an energetic show, pausing only briefly between songs to chat with the audience. The harder and louder they played, the more the crowd responded, and Trivium was clearly riding on those metal vibes.

Setlist:

In Waves

Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr

Black

Forsake Not the Dream

Departure

Built to Fall

Like Lights to the Flies

Caustic are the Ties that Bind

Down From the Sky
Throes of Perdition

Normally, a set like the one from Trivium would be hard to follow, but palladium felt electric in anticipation of In Flames. The Swedish metal gods sauntered out on stage, took the reins from Trivium, and drove the dial well beyond 10. In Flames played a career-spanning set, drawing a few songs from early albums like Whoracle and Clayman, and a number of tracks from their latest, Sounds of a Playground Fading. Singer Anders Friden’s tortured vocals crawled above to wall of sounds and out into the crowd, drawing the listener into the dark journey of every song. From the opener, “Sounds of a Playground Fading” to “The Hive,” “Cloud Connected,” and others, In Flames delivered a continuous onslaught of heavy riffs and blistering percussion. In between songs, Ander bantered with the audience and demanded crowd surfing. He's also got an eye for interior design: upon spotting a 'Happy New Year' sign hanging from the balcony section, he refused to continue on until it was torn down. It was great to see In Flames play a headline set, instead of the 40-odd minutes allotted at festivals. Don’t get me wrong, festivals are a great way to see a lot bands all at once, and for less money than seeing them individually. However, for your favorite bands, there is nothing like seeing a full set of songs in small venue where the band is able to pull the audience into the show.

Setlist:

Sounds of a Playground Fading

Deliver Us

All for Me

Trigger

Only for the Weak

The Hive

The Quiet Place

Where the Dead Ships Dwell

Fear Is the Weakness

Come Clarity

Ropes Darker Times

Delight and Angers

Cloud Connected

The Mirror’s Truth

Take This Life

Opeth & Katatonia at the Palladium, Worcester, MA

Opeth kicked of a tour on the eve of the release of their 10^th studio album with long-time friends and fellow Swedes, Katatonia at the Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts. Heritage is another chapter in Opeth's musical journey. For this 'observation' Mikael Akerfedt and company chose to dive deep into their prog rock roots. The sweet, classical-influenced opener, "Heritage" gives way to "The Devil's Orchard," which jumps out with gritty guitars and wild organs. Akerfedt's voice rings clear and desparate, backed by frenetic drums and a rollicking guitar accompaniment. Playing with familar song structure, "The Devil's Orchard" stops and starts, turns down low, and reaches out in a hundred directions before fading away. "Nepenthe" is at times soft and delicate as Akerfedt sings beautifully over jazz-tinged drums and bass. In "Haxprocess" the call and answer between Akerfedt and organ sets up an dangerously intricate play between syncopated rhythm and feverish acoustic guitar. Every song has been crafted with care. Each contains its strengths, subtlety, and technical ambition. You will love this record the moment you hear it because every moment is packed with grooves, catchy vocals, and unpredictable twists and turns. And yet, on every subsequent listen you'll discover something that wasn't there before. There's always another riff, bass lick, or organ squeal lurking just beyond your perception. Heritage is flush with intense musically, just like every Opeth album before it. It's technical and unabashedly exposed to the listener. There are no death growls or blast beats to hide under. Heritage is not prog, it's not death metal, it's simply Opeth.


On another note, it's worth getting the bonus tracks "Pyre" and "Face In The Snow."

Katatonia took the stage for an 11-song opening set. This is another band that I stumbled onto for no particular reason but was immediately drawn their dark, brooding style. Jonas Renske's haunting vocals are racked full of emotion, passion, and sorrow. Their set took songs from their most recent albums, Night Is The New Day and The Great Cold Distance. They also played songs from deeper in their catalog, stretching as far back as 1999's Tonight's Decision. It was a killer set and these 20-year veterans of heavy metal put on an excellent show. There was no fanfare or rockstar stage antics. Instead Katatonia let the music speak for itself. Hearing some personal favorites like July, My Twin, and Forsaker live (and in the front row) was utterly awesome.

Set List:
1. Forsaker
2. Liberation
3. Soil Song
4. Nephilim
5. My Twin
6. The Longest Year
7. Evidence
8. Chrome
9. For My Demons
10. July
11. Leaders

So, as if the Katatonia set wasn't enough fun, Opeth came out on stage and played a brilliant, inspired, and musically exhausting 2-hour set. They played songs from several many different releases including their latest, Heritage. This was a much different set than their typical festival shows. Keeping with the theme from Heritage, Opeth played an incredibly technical and challenging list of songs. They opened with "The Devil's Orchard" and "I Feel The Dark" (from Heritage), followed by "Face Of Melinda" and "Porcelain Heart." They demonstrated their musical prowess as they seemlessly blended new material with old. Face Of Melinda, a staple of Opeth concerts, is from 1999's Still Life. It sounds at home with "Porcelain Heart" (from Watershed) and the vibe from Heritage. 

The middle part of the show was performed acoustically by both Mikael Akerfedt and guitarist Fredrik Akesson. I've seen plenty of bands slow things down with an acoustic song here and there, but this performance was different. Opeth played through a handful of songs, with dual acoustic guitars playing in perfect harmony, backed by subtle organs and solid rhythm. They dove back to into their catalog, to play "Credence," from 1998's My Arms Your Hearse. They even played some very rare songs, including "The Throat of Winter" and "Patterns In The Ivy II."

With barely a breather between songs, the 2-hour show closed with songs both new and old. Opeth sounded amazing from every vantage point in the venue. From the front of stage to the risers in the back of the small theater. It is truly rare to witness such musicianship, especially in the increasingly dilute metal genre. Instead of delivering technically intense music, many bands do all they can throw up a wall of sound, masking imperfections and insecurity. Fortunately, bands like Opeth, show us that metal can still play.

I know what you're thinking... Opeth didn't play their heavy stuff? No death metal vocals? If you've got a complaint then you've missed the point. And that's a topic for another blog. Mikael Akerfedt declared, at the beginning of the show, "We're going to play some new stuff tonight. I hate it when my favorite bands play new stuff, I just want to hear to the old stuff." Thank you, Opeth, for playing one of the best shows I have ever seen.

Opeth - Devil's Orchard

Set List:
1. The Devil's Orchard
2. I Feel The Dark
3. Face Of Melinda
4. Porcelain Heart
5. Nepenthe
6. Throat Of Winter
7. Credence
8. Patterns In The Ivy II
9. Slither
10. A Fair Judgement
11. Hex Omega
12. Folklore