By Andrew Bansal (photos by Alex Lucero)
May 22nd 2016, The Echoplex, Los Angeles CA: Stalwarts of the American metallic hardcore movement that began in the mid-nineties and still continues to survive, Hatebreed released their seventh full-length studio album ‘The Concrete Confessional’ via Nuclear Blast on May 13 2016, and immediately embarked on the corresponding world tour, starting with a North American headline tour with support act DevilDriver and opening acts Devil You Know and Act Of Defiance (select dates). The tour visited Los Angeles county for not one but two back-to-back shows, at the Glass House in Pomona on May 21st, and then the Echoplex in Los Angeles proper on Sunday May 22nd.
Some of us were still sulking from the devastating news of former Megadeth drummer Nick Menza suddenly passing away and couldn’t get out off the couch early enough to catch opening act Devil You Know. The Los Angeles-based band is somewhat of a supergroup, featuring Howard Jones (ex Killswitch Engage) on vocals, Francesco Artusato (ex All Shall Perish) on guitar and Jon Boecklin (ex DevilDriver) as the live drummer, and for anyone attending a show on this tour, by all means they seem like they’re worth checking out.
Soon after, Santa Barbara CA metalcore veterans DevilDriver took the stage for a 45-minute, 11-song set, and put on an underwhelming performance. DevilDriver a few years ago were known to deliver their music with much power and precision, but unfortunately this was not the case on this occasion. The lineup is very different now as their previous core members have left the band, and with no disrespect intended towards the current members, the group simply does not possess that bite it once did. Vocalist Dez Fafara and guitarist Mike Spreitzer are the only recognizable faces in this quintet at this point, and while they performed their roles to the best of their abilities, the set didn’t pack a punch and Fafara talking to the crowd after every song did not help the flow and momentum either. It may be just this writer’s opinion and fellow metalheads might not agree, but the fake tough metal guy act on stage is as old, stale and foul-tasting as expired milk, and the toughness should be represented in the music and lyrics itself, not in the words spoken to the audience between songs. Also, someone needs to find an alternative to the Elvis-style vocal microphones that the likes of Metallica and Dez Fafara keep using, because these microphones are not metal whatsoever. Besides, the new album ‘Trust No One’ has not quite succeeded in creating a positive impression, and it was perhaps a good thing that the band played only two songs off of it, All in all, a very disappointing DevilDriver set and a far cry from what the band once was.
DevilDriver Set List:
01. End of the Line
02. These Fighting Words
03. Not All Who Wander Are Lost
04. Daybreak
05. I Could Care Less
06. Nothing’s Wrong?
07. My Night Sky
08. Before the Hangman’s Noose
09. Clouds Over California
10. Ruthless
11. Meet the Wretched
Next up, headliners Hatebreed arrived to put on a completely contrasting show to that of DevilDriver’s, hitting the audience hard with the all-guns-blazing opening tune ‘Destroy Everything’, and never fading away in intensity at any given moment in the set. Hatebreed is one of those bands that make you a lifelong fan purely on the strength of their live show alone, and it does not even matter whether you like or listen to their albums. That said, their newest studio LP ‘The Concrete Confessional’ peaked at #13 on the Billboard current albums chart, proving that metallic hardcore is alive and well, and there’s none better to wave the flag than one of its originators, Hatebreed themselves. Vocalist Jamey Jasta was in his element, showing yet again why he still is one of the most powerful frontmen in heavy music today. His band mates kept up with him toe to toe and combined to deliver a quintessentially furious Hatebreed set. But the biggest factor in the success of their performance here was the fact that security staff at Echoplex did not interfere with the moshing, crowd-surfing or stage-diving, and fans clearly knew the proper etiquettes for these activities, unlike the previous night at the Glass House in Pomona where fights broke out constantly, songs had to be stopped and the set had to be cut short.
On paper, the Echoplex in Los Angeles’ Echo Park area seemed like an odd choice for this kind of show, but proved itself to be more than suitable and capable to host this event with success. The turnout was great, and if it wasn’t a sellout it was quite close to being one. It is interesting to think that a Hatebreed-DevilDriver show took place at the 700-capacity Echoplex and some people might have imagined these bands playing in a bigger venue, but some sub-genres of heavy music are undeniably getting smaller these days, which is not necessarily a bad thing as it makes for packed, intimate shows and brings back the atmosphere the same bands orchestrated at shows when they were much younger in their careers two decades ago.
Overall, the ever-intense, never-faltering Hatebreed made this show worth attending and then some.
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Hatebreed & DevilDriver remaining North American tour dates:
5/27 – Gas Monkey Bar & Grill, Dallas, TX**
5/28 – Rocklahoma, Pryor, OK
5/29 – River City Rockfest, San Antonio, TX
5/31 – The Masquerade, Atlanta, GA**
6/01 – Hooligans Music Hall, Jacksonville, NC**
6/02 – Baltimore Sound Stage, Baltimore, MD**
6/03 – Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA**
6/04 – Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ**
6/05 – Virgin Mobile Corona Theatre, Montreal, Canada +
6/06 – The Opera House, Toronto, Canada+
6/07 – Mr. Small’s Theatre, Millvale, PA+
6/08 – Upstate Concert Hall, Clifton Park, NY+
6/09 – Higher Ground, South Burlington, VT+
6/10 – Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel, Providence, RI+
6/11 – Toad’s Place, New Haven, CT+
** Devil You Know supports
+ Act of Defiance supports