By Andrew Bansal
August 20th 2014, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood CA: Based out of Cleveland, Ohio, Chimaira have been purveyors of the modern American heavy metal sound for over 15 years. They released their seventh studio album ‘Crown Of Phantoms’ in the summer of 2013 and began touring immediately after, carrying on the touring cycle this year and embarking on the ‘Artery Metal’ North American run with support from The Plot In You, Upon This Dawning, Allegaeon and Silence The Messenger. The caravan made a stop at the Whisky-A-Go-Go in West Hollywood last Wednesday August 20th, for a gig that turned out to be a mixed bag of the good and the bad, and a roller-coaster ride for the attendee.
Doors opened as early as 6 PM but by the time I arrived at the venue I had missed the two local opening acts and the first touring band Silence The Messenger, but thankfully my timing was perfect to catch the entirety of Allegaeon‘s set. The Colorado tech death squad came in with a sense of purpose and were in their element as they put forth an immensely enjoyable display of extreme music, turning more and more of the crowd onto their side with every song, vocalist Ezra Haynes’ injection of well-placed humor playing an important role in doing so, and Allegaeon succeeded in garnering an appreciably positive response overall. Performance-wise they seem to get better on every tour and each aspect of their live musicianship speaks for itself, with exemplary guitar work and a solid rhythm section complimenting Haynes’ vocals. Their next tour is with Arsis and Exmortus immediately after this run, and for the Arsis fans attending those shows, Allegaeon would be far more ‘up the alley’ in comparison to the Chimaira/deathcore audience present here tonight.
Related:
Interview: Allegaeon Vocalist Discusses New Album, Lineup Changes & Lyrics
Allegaeon links: facebook | twitter | instagram
Allegaeon tour dates with Arsis and Exmortus:
09/01 – Empire – Springfield, VA
09/02 – Championship Bar – Trenton, NJ
09/03 – Santos – New York, NY
09/04 – Brighton Music Hall – Boston, MA
09/05 – Foufounes Electriques – Montreal, QC – Canada
09/06 – Dagobert – Quebec City, QC – Canada
09/08 – The Foundry – Lakewood, OH
09/12 – The Zoo – Winnipeg, MB – Canada
09/13 – Rock Bottom – Saskatoon, SK – Canada
09/16 – Red Room – Vancouver, BC – Canada
09/17 – Studio Seven – Seattle, WA
09/18 – Tonic Lounge – Portland, OR
09/20 – O.C. Music Hall – Anaheim, CA
09/21 – New Royal Dive – San Diego, CA
09/23 – Moon Room – Denver, CO
09/25 – Rail Club – Fort Worth, TX
09/27 – Haven Lounge – Orlando, FL
09/18 – The Orpheum – Tampa, FL
The only bad part about that Allegaeon set was it came as early as it did in the evening, and the next two bands didn’t make any positive impact on me whatsoever, but they seemed to bring their own fans to the show and fair play to them for doing that. Upon This Dawning relied much too heavily on backing tracks which more than anything bewildered me into wondering why they didn’t use a live keyboardist, while The Plot In You brought forth an overwhelming dosage of breakdowns which drove me to the exit. The headline act’s set couldn’t come soon enough.
Finally at 10:50, the six members of Chimaira descended upon the stage amidst huge cheers from a crowd which had thinned a little bit as some of the Upon This Dawning/The Plot In You fans chose to leave the venue after seeing the band they’d come here for, but the atmosphere during Chimaira’s set was still great as their fans were highly vocal in support. I was hit with the self-realization that I hadn’t seen Chimaira perform on a stage since 2009, and the most striking difference between that incarnation of the band and this one is guitarist Emil Werstler who laid down some epic grooves and scorching solos as a perfect representation of his talents. His performance alone made it worth enduring the two bands that played prior, and then of course there was vocalist Mark Hunter, the embodiment of the Chimaira personality and attitude on and off stage. His vocal delivery was great and he maintained command over the fans with a powerful stage presence. Hunter and Werstler’s band mates did a fine job on their respective instruments as well, and guess what, they use a live keyboardist and it beats the hell out of using backing tracks any day.
For fans of groove-laden American metal, Chimaira clearly still serve up quite an enjoyable offering when they get on stage to present an hour’s worth of apt selections from their catalog, and their live show is most definitely worth the time, effort and money invested into it by the paying attendee.
Chimaira links: website | facebook | twitter | instagram
Set List:
01. The Flame
02. Kings of the Shadow World
03. All That’s Left is Blood
04. I Despise
05. Severed
06. No Mercy
07. The Venom Inside
08. The Dehumanizing Process
09. Power Trip
10. Secrets of the Dead
11. The Transmigration
12. Crown of Phantoms
13. Pure Hatred
14. Resurrection
15. Wrapped in Violence
Remaining tour dates:
8/25: Odessa, TX @ Club Patron
8/26: San Antonio, TX @ Korova (basement)
8/27: Austin, TX @ Dirty Dog Bar
8/28: Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live
8/29: Dallas, TX @ Trees
8/30: Oklahoma City, OK @ The Chameleon Room
Whisky-A-Go-Go links: website | facebook | twitter | instagram