Primal Fear

Meshuggah

Jorn

Firebrands

Eluveitie

A.O.T.W.

more interviews?

Band:He Is Legend Album:Suck out the Poison Record Company:Solid State Writer: CFH Media: MySpace Click Album Cover To Buy Now

Killswitch Engage/DragonForce/Chaimara/He Is Legend, Portland, OR, Roseland Theater, March 27, 2007.

After three months of being stuck in Eugene, I looked forward to this day like no other in quite some time. Why? Because I not only was leaving that damn town in favor of Portland for a week, but I also could not wait to see DragonForce that very evening. However, because the friends I got a ride to Portland from decided that bullshitting around in Eugene was a good idea I didn’t arrive there until around 8:30. As a result, I missed all of the performance by He Is Legend.

Band:Chimaira Album:Resurrection Record Company:Ferret Music Writer: CFH Click Album Cover To Buy Now

Once I finally made my way to the upstairs portion of the Roseland Theater, Portland’s finest venue for metal as far as I’m concerned, it turned out that I was just in time to watch Chaimaira play their final song. When it comes to this band, I just can’t win, or they can’t win with me depending on how you look at it. Why? Because when I saw them in the Roseland last year, they played between Nevermore, who totally blew me away, and Arch Enemy, who I was specifically there to see. With that said, I did my best to give Chaimara a fair listen, and succeeded on some level, but due to Nevermore’s lasting impression and my growing anticipation for Arch Enemy, I just didn’t let their material register with me to the level that I should have. Then, once again, I showed up near the end of their set just in time to get a loud, resounding “you should have got here a hell of a lot earlier, asshole” in the form of an immensely brutal track that could knock a grizzly bear out cold in a second flat.

Band:Dragonforce Album:Inhuman Rampage Record Company:Roadrunner Records Writer: CFH Media: MySpace Click Album Cover To Buy Now

After spending a half an hour or so wondering when I would get to see Chaimaira again, I noticed that the moment I had been waiting for all day had finally come: “The fastest band on the fucking planet,” according to an announcer, was taking the stage. Within a few seconds I realized that DragonForce could pull off the insane, sonic acrobatics I had heard a few days earlier when I finally gave them a chance via “Through the Fire and Flames.” Since they refrained from playing any ballads, DragonForce succeeded in playing six or seven songs that spanned at least five minutes a piece while rarely dipping below the 250 beats per minute mark. Such a feat would have made nearly any other band drop dead afterwards. All in all, every member of the band nailed their performances, and DragonForce pleaded a nearly indisputable case that said “we are the fastest band on the fucking planet!”

Band:Killswitch Engage Album:As Daylight Dies Record Company:Roadrunner Records Writer: CFH Media: MySpace Click Album Cover To Buy Now

Then came the final turn that easily made Sunday, March 27, 2007 the most memorable day of this year for me thus far: Killswitch Engage’s performance. Damn have I ever had an interesting history with this band! I first heard them last summer thanks to a CD featuring artists that played on various legs of Jägermeister music tours that was given to me after Disturbed played the Roseland in January of 2006. Anyway, as I was bored as hell during that summer day, I finally decided to listen to this CD that had been sitting around in my place for five months. The opening track turned out to be Killswitch Engage’s “A Bid Farewell,” a song that made me believe that KSE would soon become one of my favorite bands. I then rushed to pick up a copy of the band’s 2004 album The End of Heartache, and was thoroughly disappointed. While I didn’t view any of the songs as crap when I listened to them that day, I became more and more impatient when each track went by and didn’t give me the “damn that song was spectacular” feeling that “A Bid Farewell” did. As a result, I stopped the disc after the sixth track and swore off of Killswitch Engage.

Going back to the moments that followed DragonForce’s performance and preceded Killswitch Engage’s, I vividly remember wondering “should I get the fuck out of here and visit some friends who I haven’t seen in three months, or should I give this band one more chance?” I then decided to stick around, and after a few seconds of the band’s opening song, I knew that leaving would have been a colossal mistake. Since I’m not familiar with KSE’s tracks other than “A Bid Farewell,” which they did play, I have no idea what they played other than that song and a scorching rendition of Dio’s “Holy Diver.” However, I can legitimately say that every note played by guitarist Joel Stroetzel, fill-in guitarist Pat Lachman (formerly of Damageplan and Halford) and sung by vocalist Howard Jones sounded absolutely flawless during every melodic section. Then there were the heavy sections, in which Jones, Lachman, Stroetzel, drummer Justin Foley and bassist Mike D’Antonio totally slayed. However, the band demonstrated for the duration of their set that its calling card consists of riffs, grooves and melodies that seemingly come from out of nowhere. Yes boys and girls, Killswitch Engage know how to not only keep a song fresh, but an entire set because they truly can come up with unpredictable song sections that seamlessly flow together by the truck load. On a side note, I don’t know if I have ever experienced such a moment at a metal show as the one in which a truly deafening sound followed this question asked by Howard Jones: “Ladies, let me hear you scream!” With that said, damn is it ever comforting to know that a lot of good looking women are into metal these days. All in all, I must say “thank you” to Killswitch Engage for providing an excellent ending to a tremendous day.

To post comments CLICK HERE!