instead tour bus after tour bus and big rig trucks were rolling in to the infamous conventional hall of Asbury Park. The shore-town was setting up for yet another year of presenting the Taste of Chaos Tour. Now in the 4th year of this metal tour package the producers have proven themselves once again and have put on another great year leaving us to only look forward to the Chaos that next year will deliver.
The line-up was nothing short of amazing and to add an even bigger twist into the mix the first three acts are hard rock bands hailing from Japan. At first, with the not so amazing and very echoey acoustics of Convention Hall, I could not figure out if the bands were singing in Japanese or in English, considering that I did see fans in the pit singing along with some tracks. Turns out after popping an ear plug out and listening a little closer they were singing in Japanese, yet still talking to the crowd in English which made it so much better.
The music from all three bands, MCUU, D'espairsray, and The Underneath was damn good, even though I had no idea of what they were singing. Then again it's much like listening to bands like Rammstein, it's still amazing music and now I can speak broken German but only in the form of a Rammstein song. If you are looking for something new and exciting I do recommend checking these foreign bands out. They offer some new, different and overall great music, yet the CDs since they are imported are relatively expensive and you might be better off finding them on a source like i-tunes which will save you some cash.
The great thing about this year's show was the time in between each set. We as concert goers expect to have breakdown between bands for at least 30 minutes but the tour producers built a second stage next to the main stage and only about 5 minutes later the other band started to perform! All though I loved the idea of not having to wait I wish the lighting rigs were a bit better for the second stage and considering they had video screens I would hanging from both sides of the stage even a single camera would have been nice to have shooting the show. However, the second stage setup really kept the show moving quickly, on-time and kept me damn busy taking pictures to accompany this article. This second-stage idea was used through-out the night up until Avenged Sevenfold who performed on the same stage as the preceding so-cal based, Atreyu. One thirty-minute breakdown for the whole night was not a problem for me at all.
Other acts on this tour included Bellingham, WA's metal-duo, IdiotPilot. The band is beyond unique and I have been a fan of their music for some time and it was nice to finally see them but I don't think I ever realized it was only just the two of them. Just recently releasing their fourth album this band is one that if you have not already heard then you should pick up or download some of their music...of course I mean purchasing downloads.
Following the IdiotPilot duo was Phoenix spawned Christian-oriented screamo band, BlessTheFall. This band is another great choice for the Chaos line-up this year and the band's latest and first label release, His Last Walk, proves to be yet another great album from the Science / records collection. The band had a huge stage presence for a relatively young line-up of musicians and the fan participation was over-the-top. The only other act that might have been a good choice if they didn't make it would have been HasteTheDay. But, the boys of BlessTheFall stood their ground and put on a superb show!
Likely Page Break
Yet another amazing band that I waited so long to release another album and that has successfully crossed our borders is Bridgend, South Wales's, Bullet For My Valentine. Ever since I received one of the bands first U.S. promotional samplers from locally based and the bands U.S. label, Trustkill Records, I was hooked. I couldn't get enough of the album, The Poison, and since its release I have wanted more and in the beginning of the year the release, Hand of Blood, finally hit the shelves. Now, thankfully I also have seen the band live and let me say they put on a great show, worked the crowd and sounded almost dead-on to the album. All I can say is what a great band and I can't wait to see them again and this time I'll wear my BFMV hoodie.
The oh-so SO-Cal stereotypical pretty boys of Atreyu, one of my favorite bands, took over the stage next. Starting the set with one of their new tracks from their latest effort, Lead Sails and Paper Anchors, was a kick to the chest. Wait..I was kicked in the chest? No, I was next to the gigantic subwoofer and when the song started I merely felt like I was kicked. No worries...I'm okay. My first time seeing Atreyu proved to be fantastic and I hope it's not my last. The band put on such a great stage show with blinding lighting and even better audience interaction. They mixed up the set and performed tracks from almost all of their albums, all though unfortunately they didn't perform Bleeding Mascara which my sister was a little bummed about. But, it was Atreyu!! They rock no matter what songs the play.
Finally, with a quick live clip on the video screens the presence was made known that M. Shadows and his crew, Avenged Sevenfold, were in the building and ready to take stage. The projection screens had a countdown of 15 minutes until they took the stage and the crowd chanted A7X . 3...2...1... the curtain dropped and Avenged Sevenfold took to the stage with, Shadows on the piano and the low-lying smoke rolling off the stage leading to one truly amazing, very theatrical and another blinding stage show.
It's my second time seeing this band and despite what many say on how the band may be considered sell-outs, both times they have proven to at least me to be amazing. So what that everyone knows almost all of the new songs...that's what you want if you're in a band. Formed in 1999 in Huntington Beach, CA the band just recently released their fifth album which is self-titled. The previous release, City of Evil, I think had to be one of the bands greatest accomplishment proving to have great singles time and time again from the album, but the new self-titled album is sure do the same in taking over the airwaves now too. You can never have enough A7X!
All in all the Taste of Chaos tour this year was amazing and the producers, crew and bands all did an amazing job. I personally can't wait to see what is in store for next year...but perhaps next year I will see the show at a more audio friendly venue. Camden is always fun too!
Until next time, keep rockin' and Enjoy!
Allen Michael
~Al$T@T!(C)
