Music as a Weapon Tour 2009
By: Joe Toeben
Ahh Music as a Weapon, the time has finally come for you to come to Minnesota. I was looking forward to this concert for the previous four months that I’ve had tickets. Originally, I had wanted to attend the concert because I heard Killswitch Engage would be playing, but after some research I found out that I had not only bought tickets to see Killswitch, but I bought tickets for 2009’s best tour. While on the internet, looking through the upcoming tours that were coming to Minnesota, I decided to see what was all in store for me on May 8th. To my immediate surprise I found out that there were about ten total bands playing! A band little known to me named Crooked X was on the schedule, along with Spineshank who recently had gotten back together after an extended hiatus. Along with them was a band called Suicide Silence, who before this I had only heard of, but never actually checked out. Then, I saw another band playing, Bury Your Dead. I only recently became a fan of Bury Your Dead, since Myke Terry came on board as their new lead singer. Upon discovering all this great information long after I had bought the tickets made me very pleased. Ten bands, nine hours, of near continuous live music for 50 dollars. I think I have just stumbled upon the greatest deal of my lifetime.
So, May 8th rolls around and my roommate and I proceed to drive to Minneapolis for the concert. When we got there, much to my surprise, they had blocked off an entire street for this day-long festival. We spent most of the day outside listening to stellar music. Bury Your Dead, Crooked X, Spineshank and Suicide Silence all had tents where they were selling their merchandise. Surprisingly the actual band members were the ones selling their gear which made me happy to see. The only thing I saw all afternoon that I did not appreciate was internet tycoon company FYE selling albums at an elevated rate to charge for autograph sessions with select bands. They were selling albums from Spineshank, Suicide Silence, Bury Your Dead and Chimaira at two to five dollars more than they would cost at Best Buy or any media outlet. Now ask yourself, is it rock n’ roll to pay for autographs? I hope you all agree with me when I say hell no! Standing outside in the rain for two hours after a concert is over and having your favorite band sign your ticket or t-shirt with a sharpie (that you conveniently stuck in your pocket earlier) is rock n’ roll to me folks.
My roommate and I both agreed that all concerts should be done outside. The afternoon started out with Crooked X. Crooked X is a four piece musical collective out of Oklahoma. All the members of the band were 14-years-old when their self-titled album was released on Capital Records. Some of the songs were even written when they were as young as 11-years-old. For a bunch of kids that are 14 and 15 years old, they put on a pretty good show. They play some pretty decent hard rock, maybe to the likes of Led Zeppelin, since the lead singer looks like a young Robert Plant. You can tell that they are trying really hard to be a rock band. Their stage moves include all the normal head banging, hair twirling and jumping around that a rock band should do. The lead singer also thought it might be needed to try to deepen his voice when singing, which I thought was totally unnecessary since his voice was already pretty deep for a 15-year-old kid.
Next up was my favorite, Bury Your Dead. Bury Your Dead is a metalcore outfit that originates from Massachusetts. Having more than 13 members in its existence, it is hard to believe they are still together. Prominent guitar riffs and heavy drumming make this band sound similar to all the other metalcore bands in the industry. What sets this band apart from all other bands is of course, their vocalist Myke Terry. For some reason I am able to distinguish Mykes voice from any other vocalist out there. They played some old favorites that were written when they had their previous singer, along with some ones off the new album. I was excited to find out that their new album was coming out at the end of May. Next was Spineshank, who I am sort of familiar with, but decided to get something to eat before the real concert started. I caught the last half of the Spineshank set and it was intense as it could be. Spineshank is a nu-metal band who just got back together after a long break caused by musical differences between the band and lead singer, Johnny Santos.
Last to play before the big show started was Suicide Silence. Suicide Silence is a five piece deathcore band that hails from Riverside, California. With their five members bringing all types of metal to the table such as death metal, black metal, grindcore, mathcore and metalcore, Suicide Silence has one of the most brutal sounds of any band I have ever heard. Their music is full of an influx of vocals coming from the front man, Mitch Lucker. Lucker often switches from death growls to high pitched screams, which are most commonly seen in black metal. The bands speed of music is spread throughout, from extreme guitar and bass work to drumming that is so fast it incorporates “ultra-fast” double bass drumming and blast beats. The drumming provides no pattern what-so-ever, but it is so fast, heavy and brutal that it makes it all the more fun to listen and mosh to. I suggest any of you reading this to check this band out, no matter what kind of metal you listen to. I was astounded by the two-faced vocals of the lead singer- to be able to go from a death growl and pull off a high pitched scream like that isn’t easy to do, but Lucker pulls it off with ease.
Now, off to the concert I paid for. Entering the general admission level of the Target Center, all of the attendees were made to give their ticket up and were branded with a neon green wristband that read “No moshing.” Like I previously stated, I purchased my tickets to see Killswitch Engage live. I loved listening to Disturbed from their albums, but was a little skeptical when I thought about seeing them live. The show started out with Chimaira. Before this the only songs by them that I had conditioned myself to was “The Flame” and “Resurrection.” I will say right now, I have not been to many concerts in my day, but seeing Chimaira sing “The Flame” live was one of the most brutal things I have ever seen (and I’ve watched the Faces of Death videos.) Much to my displeasure, Chimaira ended after playing roughly five songs.
Next was Lacuna Coil. For those of you who do not know who Lacuna is, they are a gothic metal band that formed in Italy about 15 years ago. With five studio albums under their belts, Lacuna Coil was raring and ready to hit the road with Disturbed and company. With dual male and female vocals, Lacuna Coil is a band that is easy to decipher from the mass of metal bands out there today. Their lead singer Cristina Scabbia was voted one of the sexiest chicks in metal a few years running and you can see why if you were at this concert. Lacuna Coil also played a five song set with one song off their new album and the other four off of their previous albums. Lacuna Coil put on a pretty good show for the short set list they were allowed.
Finally, Killswitch Engage was next to play. The time was finally here that I could cross one of my life ambitions off my list, to see Killswitch live. Just like Suicide Silence, Killswitch Engage has a new album coming out on June 30th of this year. Being they have a new album coming out, Killswitch decided to play one of their new songs for us called “Light In A Darkened World” after they played us some old favorites. Lead guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz was easily the most entertaining part of my day. He is always joking around, trying to play the big tough guy, but with the six foot, 160 pound or so frame he sits on, no one was able to take him seriously. Killswitch finished off their set list with a favorite in “Holy Diver”, which was previously made famous by Ronnie James Dio in his band Dio from the 1980’s.
Alas were Disturbed, the main event, and the head honcho of the tour. When the lights went dark everyone screamed as normal, but when the lights came on we were all surprised to see Disturbed’s lead singer, David Draiman being lowered from the ceiling on a life-size replica of their symbol from the 2002 Disturbed album, Believe. The order they played their songs gave me the idea that they tried really hard to group them together and do them in chronological order of their album releases, but failed in the end. Being that I wasn’t too familiar with any of Disturbed’s music before Ten Thousand Fists, I was a bit lost for the first couple songs. The first song they played that I recognized was a cover of the Genesis song “Land of Confusion.”
As I stated earlier, I enjoy listening to Disturbed’s albums, but after seeing this concert I decided that I won’t pay to see them live again. I did not enjoy Draiman’s voice at all. I thought it was high pitched and whiny to be brutally honest. The other thing that bothered me about him was that whenever he would go the front of the stage he would raise his arms like he was our savior or messiah. His actions at the concert made me believe that he may have a messiah complex to him and tends to seem somewhat cocky.
The part of Disturbed’s set list that I enjoyed watching was Disturbed’s drummer, Mike Wengren. Wengren uses two, count them, two bass drums in his kit. Along with his two bass drums, both equipped with double pedals, he uses three snare drums. This combination along with a normal drum kit is what is used to produce the overbearing heavy drum filled sound that is Disturbed. I have a joke/assumption that I must make at this point. Does Mike Wengren have prosthetic legs? His legs go so fast and the beats are so quick that he must either have fake legs or be on some sort of accelerant. All kidding aside, Wengren is one of the most talented drummer’s I have ever come across; he would be a great addition to a death metal or extreme metal band in need of some bass drumming skills. When Wengren busted out a ten minute solo after playing 15 songs beforehand, it was time for the final song.
The venue went black and all of a sudden something had arisen from the middle of the arena. It was Draiman on a scissor lift singing, what I think is Disturbed’s most popular song, “Down With The Sickness.” After a long wait and a long day I finally go to hear my favorite Disturbed song. The concert was over and I was ready to go home to bed. I felt the day was a huge success overall. I got to see nine hours of continuous live music all for the low, low price of 50 dollars. I left Minneapolis with my ticket, my brand new Bury Your Dead sweatshirt and sore knees. I cannot wait for the next show I get to enjoy. Normally, I wouldn’t rate a concert but in this case I feel that I must. 12 out of 10 is the only score appropriate for this show. Bravo to all the crew and staff that put this together, you did a wonderful job.
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/disturbed
