>>PREVIEW
A TASTE OF CHAOS TOUR FEATURING: AS I LAY DYING, ATREYU, DREDG, DEFTONES, THRICE, SILVERSTEIN, AND STREET DRUM CORPS
Thursday, April 6
Saddledome
It seems that every year, a number of monstrous hardcore, punk, rock and heavy metal tours sweep into and back out of the province before anyone’s had a chance to really take the time to review and reflect upon the array of talent they have to offer. Some of these multi-artist extravaganzas are obviously theme-driven events revolving around certain seasons or sports, others boast a loose affiliation of players who seemingly have little more in common than the signature on their paycheques.
With the soaring cost of ticket prices in mind, one must seriously ponder whether one’s hard-earned dollars are well-spent on a concert that promises an extended list of bands performing in one conveniently located venue, even though you’ve never heard of 80 per cent of them. What’s needed here is research.
Reading an interview with one or two of the headlining acts might persuade you that a given tour is worth checking out, but wouldn’t it be so much better if you could see what some of Calgary’s most stalwart headbangers have to say about that tour’s entire lineup? Now you’re talking! To that end eight locally based hardcore and metal music fans assembled at a downtown pub to rub elbows, down a few pints and dish the dirt on A Taste of Chaos (TOC).
The panel: CP Walsh, Camille Stengel, Wolfgang Baumann, Nat Kaos, Sonja Bloomer, Gregor Kristianson, Giovanni Pietrovito and Christine Leonard.
The bands – a rundown in alphabetical order:
· As I Lay Dying
Est. 2001. San Diego, CA
Wolfgang Baumann: They have a cool image, heavy guitars, very screamo. I'd like ’em more if they stayed with the straight hardcore sound and dropped the clean vocals.
Christine Leonard: I found these guys to be very methodical in their approach. They have a punk edge, but the structure is very Metallica-like. They know how to build the intensity to an extreme level. The mosh pit will be a-churnin’.
Sonja Bloomer: A Cali, metal-hardcore crossover.
Gregor Kristianson: Interesting. They’re right on the line. They have the melodic aggressiveness of screamo-punk and the virtuosity and technical proficiency of early heavy metal.
CL: Maybe emo-metal is the new (nu) rap-metal? I think that having both the mid-range melodic vocals and the Slayer-style demon-cookie monster vocals gives them twice the appeal. They sound like the more mature version or big brother of some of these Alexisonfire generation bands.
Nat Kaos: These high-low vocals aren’t anything like the Napalm Death version I’m used to.
GK: That’s because they’ve translated inherent evil into sheer emotional rage.
NK: Better than their fellow "heavenly spiritual worshippers" P.O.D., and they don't come across sounding preachy ... which isn't saying much. Pretty good guitar riffs, a bit uninspired but OK.
WB: I thought they were heavier and more authentic sounding than these other bands. I’m surprised to hear that they’re a Christian act.
GK: I saw them play at a punk bookshop in Detroit back in 2003. They had just released their first album on Metal Blade. I’d have to say that I didn’t mind them, but I certainly didn’t think much of their fans – beer-jocks who like to mosh by swinging their arms and throwing roundhouse kicks. I go to a show to listen and watch a band, not to be threatened.
· Atreyu
Est. 2001. Orange County, CA
CL: Atreyu was the name of the wild boy in The Neverending Story. Unlike many of their ilk, they actually have an esthetic going on. A kind of romantic, gothy, vampire thang. They even understand what a chorus is used for in terms of songwriting.
These guys have enormous potential. They throw themselves into every anthemic, horror-show track. I can detect traces of Helmet, Slayer and Nine Inch Nails in their sound.
SB: My first thought when I heard Atreyu was "Man, these guys listen to Maiden."
Giovanni Pietrovito: Yeah, I totally heard Maiden in there. I was like "Thanks for the memories!"
SB: They go from emo to screamo seamlessly. You can tell they really put in a lot of effort.
· Deftones
Est. 1989. Sacramento, CA
SB: I really like the wall of sound they create. There’s a lot going on. They have a thick sound that just makes you want to put on the headphones and listen to the whole album.
CL: Thunderous. Pantera-like. Echo-heavy metal with plenty of flashy sonic distortion and sultry synth thrown in. Forget the cowbell. These guys like their cymbals front and centre. Thank-you, Zildjian!
WB: Erie, melodic, heavy. Definitely a band that helped popularize the screamo trend. They’re starting to sound a little more electronic than they did in the beginning. An awesome band, emotional without being emo sounding.
NK: Slightly heavier than their "nu-peers," Korn, but just like them, their tunes are uninspired, repetitive and boring.
CP Walsh: That "Shove It" song drives me nuts. I can’t stand it.
GK: Their pedigree is late ‘80s early ‘90s hardcore-metal. They are stylistically schizophrenic by nature. They come out of that whole grunge movement that saw metal relying less and less on image, hair and clothes. They have a more sludgy Soundgarden type feel to them.
SB: Yes. I can see the relation to grunge. Nirvana, Pearl Jam….
WB: But they still don’t stand out from the others at the end of the day.
· Dredg
Est. 1993. Santa Cruz/Los Gatos, CA
WB: Emo. Alternative sounding, almost Smiths sounding, melodic - good.
Not nearly as heavy as the others.
Camille Stengel: Weird. A little too experimental and all over the place for my liking, but not terrible.
NK: Incorporating a little bit of prog-rock influence, Dredg does show more variety in styles and sounds. However, the "emo-ish" vocals just kill it. If you want real progressiveness, go with Opeth or Blind Guardian.
GP: I had a Who flashback when I heard them. They had me tapping my fingers, which is a positive sign. Good vocal effects.
SB: Definitely more on the sludgy side of things.
CL: They have sort of a surf thrash thing going on here, too. Surprise. I like how they throw the vocals into the background. Very soundtrack-oriented in nature. They are clearly comfortable in their own skin.
GK: I love prog-rock bands like Porcupine Tree, so I clued into Dredg’s style right away. In a way, they kind of remind me of some of the new bands, like Coheed and Cambria.
CL: These guys haven’t listen to anything new for years.
· Silverstein
Est., 2000. Ontario, Canada
WB: They are a Taste of Chaos. Typical screamo.
CS: Potentially sweet hardcore melodies ruined by a lame screamo singer.
WB: Heavy screamo with pop-punk melodies. They have a good sound, but it’s kinda typical.
SB: Yet another really generic post-hardcore emo band from Ontario.
CL: They’re the lone Canadian offering on this tour, but no matter how hard I try to like them… those vocals! So help me, those terrible acne-prone, boy band on fire vocals. Singer Shane Told needs to be told.. Won’t someone please tell him?!
GP: Generic! Shoot the drummer, shoot the guitarist and for God’s sake blow up the vocalist. It’s sad that they’re the only Canadian representatives on this tour.
· Street Drum Corps
Est. 2004. Las Vegas, NV
SB: These guys have a cool philosophy behind them. They try to promote the scene and take people who aren’t in the best place and through music help them to better their lives through a communal love of drumming and practice. Their website has an open invitation to join them. They pick up people as they tour around.
WB: Very cool visually, this band would be great to see live. Although, it gets boring after awhile. A hardcore version of Stomp.
· Thrice
Est. 1998. Irvine, CA
WB: Strong dirty voice, couple of heavy tunes, some radio-friendly. They have an emotional indie sound that then switches to a heavier voice. Not like typical screamo. Much better than the other screamo styles.
SB: Each of their records is different. The newest one is not so commercial as the others, and not as good.
CL: Their guitar work is competent enough, even if they do sound awfully juvenile. They have a really slick urban feel with a surfy edge to their melodies. They do a scary cover of "Eleanor Rigby" that disintegrates into noise a la A Day in The Life. Look out! Here come the lonely people! Like some zombified march of the dead.
NK: Just another whiny, emo-ish, so-called punk rawk. And that Beatles cover makes Hillary Duff's version of the Go-Go's look like a masterpiece.CS: I had to turn it off. It’s like they’re saying, "Look, we listen to old music!"
SB: I like that they’re a bunch of skate punks who know each other from high school.
CS: It’s angst with an edge. Metallic hardcore in a radio-friendly package. Dangerous within acceptable confines.
GK: They’ve got some rabid fans. They’ve been around long enough to have been leaders rather than followers. They put a lot of thought and precision into their arrangements compared to the rest of the genre. Other bands look to Thrice
SB: People get Thrice tattoos.
CS: And Thursday tattoos.
· Thursday
Est. 1997. New Brunswick, NJ
SB: At one time these guys were one of the biggest hardcore bands around. Their last album wasn’t so successful, though. I met them at Warped.
CS: More angst, more screamo, emphasis on the emo. They remind me of My Chemical Romance, another NJ band that performs in bulletproof vests.
CL: These guys like to grandstand. They’re constantly coming up with new takes on old tricks. Big vocals and big melodies give Thursday an appealing sound that’s not too light. Explosively poetic, they really like to emphasize the storytelling aspect of their lyrics.
GP: They sound like they’re always on the verge of exploding but don’t quite make it. Something was going to happen, but then it didn’t, as if they are holding back their own potential. Still, they use rhythm to good effect on their latest album and it was refreshing that it wasn’t political. If you’re going to be political you’ve got to be smart about it, or don’t even bother.
Final judgment
GK: Why is Avenged Sevenfold missing from this lineup? They’d do amazingly on this tour.
CS: They do well enough on their own. The kids love them.
WB: Another band that has toured with TOC to take note of is American Eyes – they’re kinda New Wave, but they have their own sound against the others on tour. More radio-friendly, catchy, pretty and good.
CL: It should be interesting to see what order the bands will perform in at the show. I’m looking forward to Deftones, Dredg and Atreyu.
NK: Overall, out of this lineup, I would just check out As I Lay Dying and Atreyu. Not nearly as exciting as Wacken Open Air Festival (annual metal festival in Germany) or Inferno Metal Festival (annual event in Norway).
CL: I remember when heavy metal was about evil. What ever happened to the evil? These new incarnations are bereft of the fantastical trappings that make the metal genre so much fun. Do these bands drink beer and smoke weed, or, is it all Red Bull and video games on the TOC bus?
WB: Taste of Chaos does for screamo what the Warped Tour did for punk. Alexisonfire would be perfect for this tour.
I hate screamo - I'll stay true to rock ’n’ roll even if it's not cool anymore.
SB: TOC has done a great job in selecting bands that are at the forefront of the emo, hardcore, metal genres. While so many bands in this style of music are repetitive and sound alike, all of these bands have a unique sound and have in some way had a large impact influencing the sound of up-and-coming bands.
One question though – Why aren’t there any women on this tour? |
Copyright ©2006 FFWD. All rights reserved.