I couldn't think of a clever name for a review thread

[larvtard]

EDIT: changed title of thread... I'd like to think that the confusing title is the reason nobody has been commenting on here

Expect a Top 10 Performances of the year up soon (opting to do this rather than shows themselves).
In addition, I shall have my Top 10 Albums of the Year list up sometime next week

In the meantime, let's get this off to a controversial start, shall we?

Most Surprising Performances (not ranked)
*that is, the bands I hated/disliked on record that weren't half-bad live*

Suicide Silence @ Lakewood Amphittheatre
Warped Tour

First of all, I don't hate these guys on record. They've got a couple of decent/pretty good songs. They're definitely not a favorite of mine, though.

A couple of kids at my school have told me how great this band is live. Obviously, I'm not one to side with scene kids, but in this case, I have to. They were actually pretty good live and held my interest for a little while. Mitch Lucker is a loser, constantly calling for circle pits and telling the crowd to put their middle fingers up in the air, but he does have a decent stage presence, to boot. "Wake Up" and "Lifted" were pretty sick

Carnifex, Veil of Maya @ Masquerade- Heaven stage
Summer Slaughter

I hate both of these guys on record. Their breakdowns and overall tone are pretty fucking horrendous. However, neither band particularly sucked balls that day. Carnfiex weren't good per se, but they were by no means bad, either. Veil of Maya, on the other hand, were actually really good live. They sounded so much different. Since the show, I've read that their gimmick is the guitarist playing his stuff back through his pedal or something. It made everything sound more electronica-esque.

Gaza @ Masquerade- Heaven
Converge, Gaza, Black Breath

Gaza's label as "sludgy grind" definitely appeals to me. I like sludge and I love grind. However, these guys are just way too slow and boring for my taste. Their grind parts are too few in number and not interesting enough.
However, they did impress me live. The band was energetic and they sounded heavy as fuck. Very fun performance, actually.

[larvtard]

Top Live Performances of the Year

10. Vital Remains @ Masquerade- Heaven
Summer Slaughter

A crushing set. 20 minutes of painstaking kickassery and brutality. Admittedly, the sound could have been better- which may have contributed to my somewhat failed expectations. Nevertheless, it was fucking sick. "Dechristanize" ripped my face off, and more.

9. Black Breath @ Masquerade- Heaven
Converge, Gaza, Black Breath

They only played a 20-minute set, but wow, what a set! The frontman definitely played the part of hardcore frontman onstage, maybe without any jumping into the crowd. I can't really add anything else, except confirm what everybody else is saying, that Black Breath are a great live band, indeed.

8. Testament @ Tabernacle
Megadeth, Testament, Exodus

My single biggest piece of evidence that Testament is a fantastic live band? They played all of The Legacy...I hate that album. (Oh yeah, they played "Into The Pit," too )

7. Malevolent Creation @ Masquerade- Heaven
Exodus, Malevolent Creation, Holy Grail, Bonded by Blood

They blew away Exodus without a doubt. I didn't recognize anything they played, but by god they fucking killed it! They played about 40 minutes and savagely beat my ass all the way through. Oh god, it was sooooo brutal....

6. Goatwhore @ Masquerade- Hell
Watain, Goatwhore, Black Anvil

Awesome performance. I was right up front, shouting most of the words and headbanging my ass off. Ben looked at me a bunch and gave me a . Great setlist, too. Ben has such an amazing stage presence. I waited so long to see these guys (I actually missed 7 different chances to see them) and they definitely did not disappoint.

[larvtard]

5. Cephalic Carnage @ Masquerade- Heaven
Summer Slaughter

Even though their new album sucks, I cannot deny the sheer awesomeness of this performance. I was in love with Xenosapien at the time and so I had looked forward to them, for sure, but I did not expect them to blow my mind to such an extent. They played for about 25 minutes and totally kicked my ass that night. Although this was my first grind "show," I still had yet to fully grasp the power of grindcore in a live setting...

4. Every Time I Die @ Masquerade- Hell
Every Time I Die, Trap Them, Howl

This was on their "intimate venue" tour. Though the venue wasn't as intimate and small as I would've liked, it was still very nice and much better than the venues they usually play. The place was fucking packed, and the crowd was crazy as hell. But what do you expect at an ETID show? The setlist was amazingg, though I do wish they played for more than an hour. I can't complain, though. Even though the crowd probably drowned out the band at times, I still heard the band perfectly and enjoyed myself immensely. I wish I had the balls to stage-dive, though...

3. Death Angel @ Masquerade- Heaven
Death Angel, Halycon Way, Brazen Angel, Force of Habbit

I kind of liked these guys before I saw them live, but I didn't think they were that good. The Ultra-Violence was a pretty good album but that was about it. Still, in the back of my mind I thought/hoped that Death Angel would be one of those bands who completely surprises me live. I was right. They were intensely captivating, just simply amazing, really. I felt bad for them, though: barely 40 people showed up, and the venue was almost 900-person capacity. I had to leave before the encore, unfortunately, but all in all it was a great night. Thrashtastic


2. Wormrot @ Eyedrum
Phobia, Maruta, Wormrot

These guys did not fail to meet my expectations. In fact, they exceeded them. Wow... even after Cephalic, I never realized how fun grindcore could be live! Seeing them in an art gallery with 25 other people seemed oh so fitting. They rocketed through Abuse as well as a bunch of new songs from their recent split with I Abhor. How a three-piece band could make so much fucking noise is beyond me. All of us were crammed right against the stage, headbanging and going crazy in general. The moshing was the best I've experienced at any show. Perhaps this was because there was not a traditional "pit," just people running around apeshit. Best show all year without a doubt.

1. Vektor @ 585 Wells St
Vektor, Severed Faith, Living Decay

Wow... Just wow. Wormrot may have been the show of the year, but this was definitely the performance of the year...even if I only saw one song. Yep, one song ("Black Future"), and that song alone was the best performance I've seen by any band ever. It was so immensely powerful. Amazingly enough, I wasn't even a Vektor fan at the time. I thought they were good, but like Brad here, I didn't think they were anything special. Seeing them live in an old warehouse with 30 other people changed all of that for me. And pretty much everyone else who has seen Vektor live will tell you the same thing, that they are probably the best live band in metal, today, yesterday, and tomorrow

[mankvill]

Originally Posted by loganarchy

1. Vektor @ 585 Wells St
Vektor, Severed Faith, Living Decay

Wow... Just wow. Wormrot may have been the show of the year, but this was definitely the performance of the year...even if I only saw one song. Yep, one song ("Black Future"), and that song alone was the best performance I've seen by any band ever. It was so immensely powerful. Amazingly enough, I wasn't even a Vektor fan at the time. I thought they were good, but like Brad here, I didn't think they were anything special. Seeing them live in an old warehouse with 30 other people changed all of that for me. And pretty much everyone else who has seen Vektor live will tell you the same thing, that they are probably the best live band in metal, today, yesterday, and tomorrow

FUCK YEAH SON

[DethMaiden]

ONE song made them your #1.

WHAT THE FUCK AM I MISSING

[larvtard]

See them live. Before I saw them live I was on the same boat as you.

[larvtard]

The 5 Worst Performances of the Year...

by bands I had already hated/disliked beforehand:

5. Megadeth @ Gwinnett Arena
Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax

I don't particularly dislike Megadeth, I just had no expectations for them after their shitty performance w/ Testament and Exodus. Unlike Slayer, however, I wasn’t hoping that I would be pleasantly surprised by their second performance, because I don’t really like Megadeth anyway (but like I said, I don't dislike them either). So yeah, Mustaine is a loser, and his vocals have gone down the shitter. That’s basically it, really.

4. Devin Townsend @ Masquerade- Heaven
Between the Buried and Me, Cynic, Devin Townsend, Scale the Summit

I didn’t expect much in the first place, so I can’t put this in the Disappointing category, but wow, this guy was bad. Even before he had to use the metronome or whatever, he wasn’t very good. Also, my friend, a huge Devy fan, thought he sucked.

3. Howl @ Masquerade- Hell
Every Time I Die, Trap Them, Howl

similar to Zoroaster in terms of loudness (you'll read about that below), but not as loud nor as bad.

2. Bonded by Blood @ Masquerade- Heaven
Exodus, Malevolent Creation, Holy Grail, Bonded by Blood

Decent thrash, I guess, but the vocals absolutely killed it for me.

1. The Faceless @ Masquerade- Heaven
Summer Slaughter

I cannot see how or why people go so crazy over their live shows. They sounded so flat, so weak. I do hate the band, but I was honestly surprised at how fucking bad they were live.

by bands I had never listened to before:

5. Batillus @ Eyedrum
Kowloon Walled City, Batillus

Like Zoroaster, I knew that they were doom metal, which is why I didn’t listen to them beforehand. Incredibly loud performance, maybe even louder than Zoroaster. Fortunately, their music was better. (Honestly, once I retreated into the other room and the music wasn’t nearly as loud, it actually sounded okay.)

4. Zoroaster @ Criminal Records (in-store performance)

This show alone probably gave me tinnitus. A half-hour set of the LOUDEST music I’ve ever heard. And it all sounded the same and wasn’t very good, but man, the VOLUME.

3. Holy Grail @ Masquerade- Heaven
Exodus, Malevolent Creation, Holy Grail, Bonded by Blood

I didn’t dig the power metal-thrash thing they had going on, and the vocals were just horrendous.

2. Brazen Angel @ Masquerade- Heaven
Death Angel, Brazen Angel, Force of Habbit

Really, really cheesy power metal. Or maybe just power metal, I'm not sure. (I don't listen to power metal, so I dunno if this would be considered any good.)

1. Force of Habbit @ Masquerade- Heaven
Death Angel, Brazen Angel, Force of Habbit

see above.

[larvtard]

The 5 Most Disappointing Performances of the Year
*measured by extent to which I was disappointed, not the shittyness of the performance itself*

5. All Shall Perish @ Masquerade- Heaven
Summer Slaughter

Yes, I admit it. For a deathcore band, I’m quite fond of All Shall Perish. But they were pretty shitty live. Well, no, I take that back. They were probably the shittiest band at Summer Slaughter, with The Faceless a close second. I dunno if they sounded weak per se, but something about their live performance made me question why I had ever liked them in the first place. They definitely did not transcend the deathcore genre on stage.

4. Megadeth @ Tabernacle
Megadeth, Testament, Exodus

I knew that Cumstaine’s vocals weren’t very good anymore (which is why my friend and I passed on the tour with High on Fire a couple years back, before I knew about High on Fire). But I did not realize how bad they actually were. The band sounded horrible as well (maybe bad sound? I doubt it). Then he went blabbering on about his childhood for about ten minutes. What a douche.

3. Exodus @ Masquerade- Heaven
Exodus, Malevolent Creation, Holy Grail, Bonded by Blood

I enjoyed these guys a lot when I saw them with Megadeth. Honest to Satan, I did. However, they just flat out blew this time. I think the sound was off as well, but I finally did realize the extent to which Rob Dukes is a douche. I mean, I don’t think he’s a particularly mean guy, but he’s just a fucking loser, with his anti-terrorist t-shirts and rants. I like him the best out of all the Exodus frontmen, but I still think he’s pretty annoying. And what a shitty setlist! I’m glad they did “Children of A Worthless God,” but c’mon, no “A Lesson in Violence”?

2. Between The Buried and Me @ Masquerade- Heaven
Between the Buried and Me, Cynic, Devin Townsend, Scale the Summit

All their songs sounded the same live, despite the fact that they clearly don’t on record. And the crowd…don’t get me started on them.

1. Slayer @ Alcatraz (Milan, IT)
@ Tabernacle
Slayer, The Haunted
Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax

You can read all about in my review (it’s a good, lengthy one), but here’s the short version: This summer, I was on vacation in Italy at the time with my family, and Slayer was playing in Milan (through which we had originally planned to pass on the train). So I saw my favorite band. And they were not as good as I expected. Not nearly as good. True, I had set my expectations way too high….but really, Slayer? Really? For the next few months I was convinced that it was the sound that sucked, not the band itself. When they rolled through Atlanta with Megadeth, I went to find out whether my theory was correct. Still hard to say, but I’m guessing No. They were still terrible. I mean, this place wasn’t particularly known for having good sound, either, but that would be a bit of a coincidence, don’t you think?

[Wizard in Black 666]

Originally Posted by loganarchy

The Worst Performances of the Year...

2. Bonded by Blood @ Masquerade- Heaven
Exodus, Malevolent Creation, Holy Grail, Bonded by Blood

Decent thrash, I guess, but the vocals absolutely killed it for me.

I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU 100% ON EVERYTHING.

I have only seen Bonded By Blood once in concert, but goddamn they were one of the worst live bands I have ever seen in my life. Holy shit, they were fucking terrible. The riffs and drummings didn't sound too bad but it was the VOCALIST that totally killed it for me...Holy hell, he sounded like a 12 year old girl with down syndrome(His Lyrics and voice is so goddamn corny and lame I couldn't take this band serious). I saw them in May of this year at the 4th annual Thrasho De Mayo Metal Festival before the original singer left. I don't know how the new singer sounds but the one I had to endure couldn't sing for shit even if his fucking life depended on it....I don't get how some of the people on this board can like this piece of garbage

Bonded By Blood =

inb4 cool story bro

[IrritatedTrout]

You saw Slayer in a foreign country and it was your biggest disappointment along with another Slayer show and 2 Megadeth shows? And your best performance was 1 song by some underground band? I feel bad for you man.