Now, the show was at the Fillmore in Silver Spring, Maryland. I found the website for the venue so I can get an address and I see the promo for the show. I take a look at the bands on the line up and sure enough, I don't recognize most of the bands. Until I see a band that jumps off the screen because it was a hardcore band in a sea of what I assumed were metal bands, for lack of a better description. That band was Terror. I am not going to pretend that I am a huge fan of Terror, but I do like them a lot. Their first album Lowest Of The Low was great, One With The Underdog was a solid follow up and Always The Hard Way was good from what I remember. But, I haven't heard anything else from them since that third record. Couldn't tell you why? Needless to say, I was excited to see them play since I've somehow missed them every time they came through town. We arrived at the venue in time to see them setting up. Perfect timing! If all the other bands that played last night had sucked, at least I was going to enjoy seeing Terror.
They come out playing 7 or 8 songs in a row. I was tired just watching them go off to their music. They sounded good. Real good. Scott Vogel's vocals were on point and he urged the crowd to come onto the stage for stage dives despite the barrier with the bouncers. This old timer actually considered going up, but decided against it. Not enough of a crowd to risk busting my ass. But plenty of other kids eventually got the nerve to go up and dive off and then it looked like a hardcore show. Only weird thing was seeing a barrier with bouncers actually helping you get onto the stage.
An awesome band that you should know once said "dance and dive and have some fun" and that's exactly what happened after the flood gates opened. I just so happen to be standing next to a couple that may or may not have known who Terror was or been prepared for what could've happened next, but they headed for the hills when all hell broke loose. I loved every minute of their set and I plan on getting reacquainted with their library very soon. I would gladly see them again, preferably with a line up that consists of more hardcore bands than what I saw afterwards...
Terror - Photo by D.C.S.
Next up, Veil Of Maya. Well, where do I start? They sounded like a death metal band (which is a genre that I love) but it was too technical for me. The guitar player was really talented, but the guitar solo's were too much. The guitar player also looked like a scrawny version of Colin Kaepernick. If you have to ask who that is, then I can't help you.
Anyway, they had some background sounds that went along with their music and it just didn't do it for me. Just seemed to be too much going on at one time and my A.D.D. was zoning out. Good energy from those guys and they were definitely going all out, but I was happy to see their set end because I think I started going deaf at that point.
The next band up was Chelsea Grin and the first thing I notice is that there are three guitar players. Why three? I could just tell by all the skinny jeans on the stage that I was going to hate this band. Aaaaand I was right. I thought there was too much going on with Veil Of Maya, but these guys were worse. Maybe the kids nowadays are into guitar solo's being played over each other, but I don't. Maybe I'm just stuck in the past with greats like Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman (RIP) taking turns with their solo's in a song. Now that's how it's done.
Anyway, I tried to get a picture of Chelsea Grin rocking out to their breakdowns because it looked like synchronized swimming to me, but I was too slow to pull out my camera. It was like they were practicing one day and they said "hey, on this part, why don't we all spread our legs out as far apart as possible and rock out at the same time?" At the very least, they gave their hamstrings a good workout.
Despite my negative opinions on these two bands, I will say that they had plenty of people there that enjoyed their sets. These people clearly need to be institutionalized because that was a painful hour or so of music. But I digress.
Now it was time for Every Time I Die. I've heard some of their songs at my friend's place, and they sound just as good live as they do on their recordings. That's a big plus in my book because there's nothing worse than a band playing live that doesn't sound as good as their own albums. They had lots of energy and the place was going off for them. It didn't take long for me to be standing there bobbing my head to their music. The singer, Keith has an impressive vocal range. The man can go from a screaming growl one minute to legitimately singing the next. His brother, Jordan, who is the lead guitar player was all over the stage. His stage presence is very similar to another great guitar player by the name of Scott Ian. The man was just rocking out over every inch of that stage. The bass player and 2nd guitar player were no slouches either. (I apologize for not knowing their names.) As a matter of fact, during their last song the second guitar player went into the crowd to play. He casually walked off stage and the fans were eating it up. Would've been cooler if he had dove into the crowd, but that's just the hardcore kid in me. The whole band played well off of each other and the result was a great performance. I'm not sure how to describe their sound, but it was definitely some hard rocking music. Good music + great energy + tight sound + crowd interaction = the perfect formula for a band's success and these guys have it.
I could see my buddy beaming with pride while watching their set. Either that, or he just had a drunken grin on his face. Who knows?
Funny story that happened at the end of the night. My buddy wanted to say hello to his cousins before leaving, so we go around to the back parking lot to find them. Keith is posing for pictures with fans while my buddy is talking to him and this one little blonde chick walks up asking for a picture and says "hey, I know your cousin." The fact that she threw out my friend's name as one of her friends while standing not more than two feet away from him was priceless. It led to an awkward moment where Keith took a step back and my friend was laughing his ass off because he didn't even recognize her at first. Who knew that my friend was such a celebrity? Keith probably thought it was a gag. In any case he was a pretty down to earth guy and took the time to talk to his fans and sign whatever they wanted. They've got a new fan in me.
My one complaint about their set was the lights on the stage. I thought I was going to have a seizure the way those bright lights were flashing. My video below isn't great and the lights definitely ruined a part of it, but it was the best I could give you all. Enjoy.
D.C.S.
Every Time I Die - Video by D.C.S.
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