{"id":3236,"date":"2014-04-07T15:10:39","date_gmt":"2014-04-07T22:10:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/?p=3236"},"modified":"2014-04-07T16:36:54","modified_gmt":"2014-04-07T23:36:54","slug":"volbeat-trivium-rock-the-grove-of-anaheim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/2014\/04\/07\/volbeat-trivium-rock-the-grove-of-anaheim\/","title":{"rendered":"Volbeat & Trivium Rock The Grove Of Anaheim"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Andrew Bansal<\/strong>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>April 6th 2014, City National Grove, Anaheim CA: <\/strong>Despite having been in existence since 2001, it was in late 2009 that Danish rockers Volbeat announced their arrival on the North American circuit when they opened for Metallica and played to arena audiences across the continent. It was during this tour that they played an off-date headline show at the Troubadour, to a small crowd of about 100 people. I was one of the attendees at this show, and even though Volbeat impressed one and all with their unique presentation of ‘Johnny Cash metal’, no one in that audience could have predicted the band’s meteoric rise that would subsequently \u00a0catapult them to major mainstream success. Fast-forward to 2014, they’re an active worldwide-touring band, and on their current North American headline run, they played a sold-out show at the Grove Of Anaheim with support acts Trivium and Digital Summer. To be honest, I had lost touch with both Volbeat and Trivium in recent years and wasn’t expecting anything great from this show, but I was in for a surprise.<\/p>\n

Starting quite early in the evening, the queue of ticket holders was elongating to wrap around the building, and very shortly after doors opened at 6:30, the place was absolutely packed. There were custom Volbeat drinks ‘Shady Ladies’ and ‘Outlaw Gentlemen’ on sale at the bar, and a number of attendees indulged to get themselves ready for the rock show. After a 30-minute set by the opening act Digital Summer,\u00a0Trivium <\/strong>took the stage at 8:20. I must admit, the last time I saw them was when they opened for Dream Theater in 2011 and wasn’t at all blown away by their set back then, but this was an entirely different Trivium which took me pleasantly by surprise. They encapsulated their 6-album career within this 45-minute set with obvious focus on the latest Roadrunner Records release ‘Vengeance Falls’, and got a positive response from this large horde of Volbeat fans.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Aside from the undeniably catchy ‘Like Light To The Flies’ which featured on the MTV2 Headbangers Ball Vol 2 compilation, one of my earliest introductions to metal, the three songs off of ‘Vengeance Falls’ namely ‘Brave This Storm’, ‘Strife’ and ‘Through Blood And Dirt And Bone’\u00a0constituted my favorite portion of this Trivium set. There’s clearly a greater focus on big guitar riffs, harmonies and vocal melodies in the new material and less on the generic metalcore growls that are more prominent on older albums. Frontman Matt Heafy’s effort on vocals and guitar was the best I’ve ever seen from him, and he was well complemented by fellow guitarist Corey Beaulieu, while the rhythm section was held strong by Paul Gregoletto on bass and Nick Augusto on drums. After witnessing this performance I came to the realization that Trivium as a group of songwriters and performers have matured a great deal, and aren’t just a metalcore band anymore. If you saw Trivium a few years ago and all but wrote them off just like I did, go see them again. You might be in for a shock.<\/p>\n

Check out a full gallery of my Trivium photos below (view them here<\/a> if you’re on a non-Flash device):<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

Visit Trivium on the web:<\/strong>
\nTrivium.org<\/a><\/strong>
\nfacebook.com\/TriviumOfficial<\/a><\/strong>
\ntwitter.com\/TriviumOfficial<\/a><\/strong>
\ninstagram.com\/TriviumBand\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Set List:<\/strong>
\n01. Brave This Storm
\n02. Like Light To The Flies
\n03. Built To Fall
\n04. Strife
\n05. Black
\n06. Through Blood And Dirt And Bone
\n07. Dying In Your Arms
\n08. Down From The Sky
\n09. In Waves<\/p>\n

At 9:40, the lights went out and Mot\u00f6rhead’s ‘Born To Raise Hell’ was played on the PA as an apt prelude to what was to follow. The four members of\u00a0Volbeat<\/strong>\u00a0appeared on stage to a rousing reception and played a full 90-minute set comprising a hefty dosage of material representing all five of their studio albums released thus far. In my opinion, their first three albums are fantastic and the fourth release ‘Beyond Hell\/Above Heaven’ has its moments, but as for the latest album ‘Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies’, I honestly never even gave it a chance because I was guilty of falling into an elitist mentality and dismissing Volbeat as a mainstream band. So this was actually my first taste of the new material which I was curious to hear, while of course I was looking forward to some of the older gems as well.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Sure enough, a delightfully large portion of the set was focussed on the first three albums, with tunes like ‘Hallelujah Goat’, ‘Sad Man’s Tongue’, ‘Still Counting’, ‘Pool of Booze, Booze, Booza’ and ‘The Human Instrument’ reminding longtime Volbeat fans in the audience the reason why they got drawn to the band in the first place. Frontman Michael Poulsen was at his classiest best in terms of the guitar play and vocals, and this being my first time seeing Volbeat in three years, it was noticeable to me that his stage presence and crowd interaction has improved tremendously over this period. He’s definitely grown into a commanding frontman and all his talents were on full display at this show. New guitarist Rob Caggiano seemed extremely comfortable in his role, enjoying himself on stage and ripping a few solos on his own during the set. Bassist Anders\u00a0Kj\u00f8lholm played a crucial role on bass and backing vocals as well, and drummer Jon Larsen was flawless as ever. In all honesty, the new material didn’t strike me in the same way the old stuff did, but it was certainly better than I was expecting. They also played a short teaser of an upcoming new song which sounded more like up my alley, and set list-wise, my only gripe was the glaring omission of ‘A Moment Forever’, perhaps Volbeat’s best song.<\/p>\n

Other than that, it was a righteously loud, catchy and heavy rock show, and this audience got to witness Volbeat in all their glory. They proved that despite their overwhelming success, they’re no ‘radio rock’ band and are continuing to blend rockabilly and heavy metal in their own unique manner that still holds appeal for fans of their early material and wins them new fans at the same time.<\/p>\n

Check out a full gallery of Kaley Nelson’s Volbeat photos below (view them here<\/a> if you’re on a non-Flash device):<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

Check out Kaley Nelson’s flickr photo page here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Visit Volbeat on the web:<\/strong>
\nVolbeat.dk<\/a><\/strong>
\nfacebook.com\/Volbeat<\/a><\/strong>
\ntwitter.com\/Volbeat<\/a><\/strong>
\ninstagram.com\/Volbeat<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Set List:<\/strong>
\n01. Doc Holliday
\n02. Radio Girl
\n03. Hallelujah Goat
\n04. Lola Montez
\n05. Boa
\n06. Sad Man’s Tongue
\n07. Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood
\n08. Dead But Rising
\n09. 16 Dollars
\n10. Maybellene I Hofteholder
\n11. * New song teaser *
\n12. Heaven Nor Hell
\n13. The Mirror And The Ripper
\n14. The Nameless One
\n15. We
\n16. Still Counting
\nEncore:<\/em>
\n17. Pool of Booze, Booze, Booza
\n18. The Hangman’s Body Count
\n19. Thanks
\n20. The Human Instrument \/ A Warrior’s Call<\/p>\n

Remaining Tour Dates:<\/strong>
\n4.8 Modesto, CA Modesto Centre Plaza
\n4.9 Reno, NV Grand Sierra Theatre
\n4.10 Medford, OR Medford Armory
\n4.11 Spokane, WA Knitting Factory
\n4.14 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre
\n4.15 Missoula, MT Wilma Theatre
\n4.17 Fargo, ND The Venue
\n4.18 LaCrosse, WI LaCrosse Center
\n4.19 Clive, IA 7 Flags Event Center
\n4.21 Ft. Wayne, IN Piere\u2019s
\n4.22 Cleveland, OH The Agora
\n4.23 Louisville, KY Palace Theatre
\n4.28 Nashville, TN Marathon Music Works
\n4.30 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE
\n5.1 Bethlehem, PA Sands Event Center
\n5.5 Niagara Falls, NY Rapids Theatre
\n5.6 Poughkeepsie, NY Mid Hudson Civic Center
\n5.8 Huntington, NY Paramount Theatre
\n5.9 Hampton Beach, NH Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom<\/p>\n

Visit the Grove Of Anaheim on the web:<\/strong>
\nCityNationalGroveOfAnaheim<\/a><\/strong>
\nfacebook.com\/theGroveOfAnaheim<\/a><\/strong>
\ntwitter.com\/GroveOfAnaheim<\/a><\/strong>
\ninstagram.com\/GroveOfAnaheim<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Andrew Bansal April 6th 2014, City National Grove, Anaheim CA: Despite having been in existence since 2001, it was in late 2009 that Danish rockers Volbeat announced their arrival on the North American circuit when they opened for Metallica and played to arena audiences across the continent. It was during this tour that they … <\/p>\n

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