FOLIO
by Ora ?Tre? Brasel
Poor ticket sales for the show almost got it canceled, but the bands chose to give their fans a show despite the fact that they might not make a dime. It was quite shocking no more of the metal community came out to support an event offering up such a strong line-up at the reasonable price of just twenty dollars. Regardless, there were still a fair amount of people who showed up to offer up their support. Even the consistently poor production of the sound crew didn’t manage to hamper the spirit of this devoted audience. A good time was the ultimate goal, and when all was said and done it appeared as if that had been achieved despite everything that tried to stand in the way.
Hate Eternal started things off for the night, and they churned out a powerful set despite the sound issues. Their music came out much clearer than that of Born of Osiris and Unearth, but perhaps this was only because of the very inconsistent work by whoever was in charge of mixing on this night. There were several moments that just seemed quite dull, and it was evident it wasn’t any of the bands at fault for this happening, but it still hampered their music from being what it could be.
When Cannibal Corpse took the stage there was much craziness from the audience with death growls and cannibal chants. It was quite evident their fans continue to be loyal, and have not lost any of their passionate aggression over the years. As they started playing it was upsetting to realize the sound issue was still going on, and actually hindering the set worse than the others. At one point the drummer stopped playing, and was yelling at the sound tech on the stage about not being able to even hear the drums over anything else. It even looked like for a moment that they were just going to stop playing all together as he got up from the drums, and the singer was also complaining over how poorly his vocals sounded. Eventually the sound technicians tuned things up enough that the band was satisfied enough to continue, and before they re-started they came down to the front row of fans and apologized and shook hands with those of us there witnessing it all go down. The next half of the set went down quite a bit better, though it was still poor in comparison to the shows they normally put on. Songs like ‘Butchered at Birth’ and ‘Hammer Smashed Face’ managed to still cause the proper insanity in which they deserve, and salvaged the set.
It was evident the majority of the audience were here to see Hatebreed, and they crowded closer up to the front to get a bit more personal with the band. Miraculously the sound was quite clear and precise for this performance. Once the band came onto stage with ferocity the crowd went berserk working themselves into a nice lather of perspiration. It was nice to hear this so clearly, but at the same frustrating to think how all of the other bands had to suffer with the poor quality. Regardless of any of that Hatebreed was truly a force to be reckoned with on stage, and each song pounded you in the chest just right way. It was truly nice to leave out on such a good note after all the sour ones that had occurred.
It is quite refreshing to know that there are still bands out there who continue to look out for their fans as much as themselves. All of the bands involved in this tour did just that on this night when they agreed to play on despite the fact they most likely wouldn’t be getting paid for doing so. That takes a lot of integrity, and a great love of their fans to agree to do something like that. Maybe other artists could take a queue from what these bands did, and be a little less selfish themselves. After all without all of those dedicated fans supporting you where would any of them be in the first place?
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