By Andrew Bansal
January 25 2014, The Grove, Anaheim CA: The NAMM convention in Anaheim entered its busiest day of activity on Saturday January 25th, and after a plethora of events, product launches, artist signings and press conferences at the Convention Center itself, the day was capped off with various shows and parties at venues around it. The Grove was host to the Schecter Guitars NAMM Party, featuring the live debut of a new powerhouse in the world of metal, Conquering Dystopia.
Having formed sometime in the year 2013, Conquering Dystopia is an instrumental band that boasts in its ranks Jeff Loomis of Nevermore fame and Keith Merrow on guitars, Alex Webster of Cannibal Corpse on bass, and Alex Rüdinger of The Faceless on drums. The quartet got together in the studio and have already completed work on a studio album which is slated to release in the near future. Here at the Grove, it was an opportunity for them to show for the very first time what the combination of these musicians can bring forth in a live setting. Even though this particular party drew a lot of people for various other reasons, judging by the conversations unfolding in the queue of people waiting outside the venue before the show, it was clear that quite a few music enthusiasts had turned up specially to witness Conquering Dystopia’s first live show and find out whether it lived up to their expectations.
This was an invite-only event but plenty of free passes were distributed by numerous sources at the NAMM convention, to such an extent that entry was granted on a first-come-first-serve basis and wasn’t guaranteed for every pass holder. So, the queues outside were long, doors opened at 8 PM and the horde of attendees rushed in. They were all greeted with free alcohol courtesy of Jagermeister, Stone and Coldcock, and needless to say, almost everyone gleefully indulged. A good majority of the attendees said they were here just for the free booze and to them it wouldn’t have mattered what bands actually played the show.
So, despite the fact that there were probably more people in the lobby and smoking area outside than inside the concert theatre itself, the two frontmost sections of the Grove’s general admission floor were nearly packed with music lovers waiting in anticipation of Conquering Dystopia, who hit the stage at around 9 PM and played a blistering 30-minute set that not only lived up to what fans of any of its members would have imagined, but far exceeded expectations in every aspect. The individual abilities of each of the four members has been well demonstrated in their past endeavors with other bands and solo projects, but their combined musicianship in Conquering Dystopia truly stood out as something that has an identity of its own, and the quality of the tunes on display in this performance vindicates their decision to form this band.
These guys are much too talented to be confined to a single band, and this new project gives them an outlet to express a new facet of their musicality in a manner that finds appreciation amongst an audience, at least in the live setting. Fans of Jeff Loomis were genuinely excited to see him perform here, while Alex Webster also managed to grab just about as much attention as Loomis, with his nearly virtuosic bass playing.
Some people might debate whether the band needs a vocalist, and granted that an element of vocals and lyrics might make the tunes easier to relate to from a listener’s point of view, it’s evident from this performance that the musical talent of these four members gets best utilized and spotlighted under the instrumental arrangement, and Conquering Dystopia should perhaps always continue in this incarnation. Overall, a very successful debut by Conquering Dystopia, easily the musical highlight of the Schecter Guitars NAMM Party, and a performance that makes fans even more eager for the upcoming studio album and the imminent live shows.
Visit Conquering Dystopia on the web:
ConqueringDystopia.com
facebook.com/ConqueringDystopia
twitter.com/ConquerDystopiaÂ