Metal Army caught up with MIKE CLARK of WAKING THE DEAD at the New England Metal And Hardcore Fest XV. Mike, of course is famous for his twenty-five year stint in SUICIDAL TENDENCIES as the chief songwriter of classic albums How Will I Laugh Tomorrow, Lights Camera Revolution, Art of Rebellion and Suicidal For Life, and many others. Mike is now leading his own band as a front man, and singer for the first time, as well as playing lead guitar too. We hung out in the bands van and chatted about Mike stepping out on his own, starting over, being out on the road, writing and recording his next album, and what the future holds for WAKING THE DEAD.
In less than one month metalheads from all over will descend on The Palladium in Worcester, MA for The 15th Annual New England Metal and Hardcore Festival. The Palladium is widely regarded as the metal capital of the northeast. Starting with the kickoff party on April 18th the weekend long festival boats a who’s who of the best heavy bands in the world such as ANTHRAX, HATEBREED, EXODUS, OPETH, EVERY TIME I DIE, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, D.R.I., THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, MUNICIPAL WASTE, SHADOWS FALL, KATATONIA, SICK OF IT ALL, TYR, TERROR, REVOCATION, THE ACACIA STRAIN, JOB FOR A COWBOY, BLACK BREATH, TRAP THEM, TRAPPED UNDER ICE, GOATWHORE and dozens more. At the center of it all is SCOTT LEE, who helped devise the festival originally and helps book it yearly, along with Mass Concerts. We chatted at length with Scott about the history of the festival from its humble beginnings, what it takes to put on the show and where it is headed in the future. You can buy tickets here.
By David Markey and Jordan Schwartz (Bazillion Points)
“We were young, the music was great, and everything was heavy.”
~Henry Rollins
I know this is hard to imagine, but there used to be no internet. There was no Facebook, no YouTube, no Google and certainly no Myspace or Bandcamp to find out about bands and learn about cool music. There was a lot less of an entire industry build around bombarding our senses with images and sounds about what was cool. We had to make up our own damn minds. Not only that; but we didn’t carry around little computers in our pockets that reach across the globe in seconds, connected by other, giant machines floating in up the stars. Even the best mediums of the times circa 1980s: radio, magazines, flyers, word of mouth and other traditional sources hardly covered underground music properly. Nope, you young padawan learners; back in the day we had ZINES! Glorious, home-made, straight out of someone’s bedroom, down to the newsstand or gutter and right into your greedy hands. Zines had heart and soul, man. Zines had character and many times, much better interviews and stories than the main stream mags because they just cared more. In my experience, people with a personal stake in a scene, just meant it was going to be better quality when you got it, no matter the style. The zines surrounding American Hardcore in particular are a testament to the last time the awfulness of commercialism didn’t pervade everything like a cancer and the music really changed the culture of the nation. I read a lot of zines, but being a pre-teen and not a punk, I only became aware of We Got Power! years after it’s untimely demise. However, from the look of this new retrospective book from the fine people at Bazillion Points, it was clearly ahead of its time.
We Got Power! Hardcore Punk Scenes From 1980s Southern California was lovingly put together by David Markey and Jordan Schwartz who were the co-founders other main contributor’s like Jennifer Schwartz other contributors and a who’s who of iconic names from the SoCal Hardcore scene. Bands of the day are covered in detail through incredible photos and essays reminiscing of glory days and shitty ways gone by. There are no rose colored glasses, so phoned memories no homogenized take on the time. Gritty, raw and real as real can get is the tone delivered on every page. Essayists include Markey and Schwartz, HENRY ROLLINS, CHUCK DUKOWSKI, DEZ CADENA, KEITH MORRIS, MIKE WATT, PAT FEAR, JACK BREWER, STEVE HUMANN, TONY ADOLESCENT, CAMERON JAMIE and LOUICHE MAYORGA just to name a few. The bands covered, some in better detail than anytime in my memory include BLACK FLAG, THE CIRCLE JERKS, WHITE FLAG, THE VANDALS, THE ADOLESCENTS, THE MINUTEMEN, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, THE GERMS, SACCHARINE TRUST, CIRCLE ONE, THE GUN CLUB, RED CROSS/RED KROSS, THE DEAD KENNEDYS and JELLO BIAFRA, JFA, THE BUTTHOLE SURFERS, SOCIAL DISTORTION, THE GO-GOs, VOX POP, GOVERNMENT ISSUE, FIREHOSE, THE DESCENDANTS, YOUTH BRIGADE, WASTED YOUTH and countless more.
As great as the writing and the photographs are, they only tell half the story. The complete history of We Got Power! The publication makes an appearance in the last hundred or so pages of the tome. Full color reprints as well as the unreleased “666th” issue look amazing and in perfect detail. This is the real payoff to me, preserving this as a document forever, as a record of those days. I have met a lot of punks who identify with those times, those bands and that scene as much as any other and it’s easy to see why when you hold this book in your lap. I think my favorite pictures in the book or not just the stunning youth of all the players in intimate settings, but the real people living in the natural landscape of California of the day. Young, angry people who were living in the moment. Idyllic scenes of urban waste, depressing strip malls with tags, the left over 70s duress of economic strife, of the status quo destroyed and the realized (faux) American Dream of the Baby Boomers come undone. Graffiti on the walls and defiant, smart-ass, but especially smart kids displaying true intellectual and spiritual rebellion that goes beyond haircuts, tats and boots. Today’s kids could learn a lot from these words and these images on how to really a movement was really born and cultivated, not just how to dress the part when it’s convenient.
In the first of a new series of interview segments on Metal Army America, we bring you Conversations From the Crypt! We’ll be doing a series of interviews that are more in-depth and longer than our typical pieces usually are. Last fall we caught up with hardcore punk and metal legend CYKO MIKE MUIR. As the front man of the ground breaking SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, the funky and fun INFECTIOUS GROOVES and other projects like CYKO; he has influenced several generations of the most important bands. All of his projects have new releases in the works for 2012 and beyond, including extensive touring in Europe and their recent appearance at the Orion Music and More Festival in June. We interviewed Mike about the excellent collection he released last fall- CYKO MYKO: The Mad Mad Muir Musical Tour Part I, but we covered a host of other topics too. He gave a lot of perspectives on his career in this wide-ranging chat.
MIKE MUIR performs with ST at the recent Orion Music and More Festival in New Jersey. Image by Evil Robb Photography.
So thanks to a crazy amount of traffic and hotel getting to most of Saturday was missed. When got there in time for most of CAGE THE ELEPHANT on the Fuel stage. Then it was time to head to the Damage Inc. stage for SUICIDAL TENDENCIES! I’ve NEVER seen them before and holy hell, were they good! Everyone in that band is a beast! Especially the rhythm section of drummer Eric Moore (T.R.A.M.) and bassist Tim Williams. Kicking it off with “You Can’t Bring Me Down”, they set off a steam rolling crushing set, playing hit after hit up until it was time for an INFECTIOUS GROOVES mini-set with Robert Trujillo on bass. It made the hassle of getting there well worth it!
Over thirty years in the game and Mike Muir of S.T. and INFECTIOUS GROOVES still rules.
I got to check out KIRKS CRYPT. A little museum of Kirk Hamments’ horror memorabilia collection. From vintage posters to painting and full sized costumes and masks. It made me very jealous! It To top it off, Linda Blair was there as well! I look forward to October for the release of his book, TOO MUCH HORROR BUSINESS about this collection. I caught most of ARCTIC MONKEYS headlining set on the “Fuel” stage, and boy are they very British! Granted they are, but still, they reminded me of BLUR and OASIS mainly. A good chunk of the crowd dug them a lot.
Then it was time for METALLICA on the “Orion” stage….
Whaddya mean no “Orion” at Orion Fest?
Starting with “Hit the Lights” they ran through four more songs as the warm up to playing the entire Ride the Lighting album. After a brief and kick ass intro video, they came out ass backwards! No, really! They started with“The Call of Ktulu” all the way to “Fight Fire with Fire”. I Enjoyed “Fade to Black” and “Escape” the most. They came back with a nice three song encore of “Battery”, “One” and “Seek and Destroy”. To much grief from a lot of people about no “Orion” The song, famously attached to the late CLIFF BURTON, for which this fest is named for. I guessed they’d save it for tomorrow.
Kirk shared his horror collection and then some guitar solos.
Set List:
Hit the Lights
Master of Puppets
The Four Horsemen
Sad But True
Hell and Back
The Call of Ktulu
Creeping Death
Escape
Trapped Under Ice
Fade to Black
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Ride the Lightning
Fight Fire With Fire
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman
Encore:
Battery
One
Seek and Destroy
DAY TWO:
THY WILL BE DONE tore it up early on day two.
Now due to a lil health issue, I had a short visit to the ER that morning. As a result I missed GHOST, Oh well, would’ve been weird to see them in the daytime anyway. Some bands just work better at night. I was really bummed to miss LANDMINE MARATHON. I’ve wanted to see them for awhile.
Bummed I missed this band. I heard they were awesome.
So when I finally arrived I caught BEST COAST, like with ARCTIC MONKEY’S it was nice to hear something a little different and mellow. I got to see this cool new band called THE TRUJILLO TRIO, on the “Vans Skate Ramp”. Robert Trujillo & Family put on a dirty, crusty, grindy, punk rock show. I hope something gets released soon!
Robert Trujillo was a triple threat this weekend.
It was good intro to the insanity for THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER! I ended up pitting my ass off throwing crowd surfers left and right. Haven’t really done that a in awhile, holy cardio workout Batman! It felt great!
Ripper Owens and CHARRED WALLS OF TH DAMNED were amazing!
I had to sprint across to the “Frantic” stage to catch the first show of the year for CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED! Ripper Owens’ and Richard Christy’s unstoppable juggernaut! They were awe-inspiring to watch. Then back to “Damage Inc.” for the headlining set from SEPULTURA! They are in the midst of a tour over in Spain, but flew in just for this. The pit felt like a UFC match and some douche was decked out in gloves and a mouth guard. It was a rough pit. Now musically, this band is amazing! DERRICK GREEN has been in this band long enough that I forgot someone else used to sing for them. New drummer Eloy Casagrande, that kids a monster! He even broke a bass pedal. after that I checked out the sick car show there while AVENGED SEVENFOLD closed the “Fuel” stage. They like fireworks and pyro just at much as METALLICA does.
AVENGED SEVENFOLD likes to blow shit up!
After a cool video intro, METALLICA started of the set with “Hit the Lights” and “Master of Puppets”, like last night, then went to “Fuel”, “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “Shortest Straw” before starting “The Black Album” (Metallica) in reverse. I don’t know what it was, but “The Black Album” just sounded better then Ride. Mind you I haven’t heard this about in over ten years. They just sounded tighter on this material. The encore this time consisted of “Blackend” and “One” and then a James spoke about the festival and dedicated the last song to Cliff, “Seek and Destroy” wait what!? Not “Orion”!? What the hell!? This is bullshit! That’s some of the comments I heard around me. My best guess as to why no “Orion”: maybe it’s kind of a bummer to play it and they didn’t want to end the festival on a downer.
Set List: Hit the Lights Master of Puppets Fuel
For Whom the Bell Tolls
The Shortest Straw The Struggle Within My Friend of Misery The God That Failed Of Wolf and Man Nothing Else Matters Through the Never Don’t Tread On Me Wherever I May Roam The Unforgiven Holier Than Thou Sad But True Enter Sandman Encore: Blackened One Seek and Destroy
Day two was more enjoyable than Day One, overall.
All in all, it was a great family festival. It was really good seeing kids there. I’ll most likely bring mine next year. There was enough different musical styles to keep everyone happy and it was worth the long trip to Atlantic City. I want to go back again so lets hope for an Orion fest in 2013!
Metal Army caught up with MUNICIPAL WASTE front man Tony Foresta recently. We chatted about his bands’ just released album The Fatal Feast: Waste In Space (Nuclear Blast) , how the album came together, how the band approaches song writing and their various influences.
MAA: Please tell us about the making of the Fatal Feast?
TF: The idea has been knocking around since the first album. It was actually a song that was going to be on Waste Em All. We knocked it around. And then it ended up getting pushed back and got forgotten about for a few years. We have always wanted to to a “space” album. I don’t know why we have wanted to do that, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. This one is our venture into space. Any band that usually puts out five albums usually puts out a space album. It’s just something you do. This is our contribution to that.
MAA: Is the album a concept album?
TF: Um, not really. The sound and the style, it’s the same typical WASTE style. There isn’t any hidden, deep message really. Sorry. I don’t know if I’ll ever get a chance to do that, but it’s your typical WASTE record. (laughs)
Tony Foresta leads MUNICIPAL WASTE during their recent tour with GWAR.
MAA: Would you say after five albums the band has making music down to a science?
TF: There is definitely a style there. Nothing really goes said or anything. But you know if somebody one busts out a riff and you hear it and say “that sounds like a MUNICIPAL WASTE song”. If not and then it doesn’t if it doesn’t fit. We’re really picky. We actually wrote about four songs that got left off the record because they just didn’t fit. We didn’t even bring those into the studio. I guess there is a style definitely. If you listen to the band and are familiar with the music you would know. You can tell that it exists. We have definitely axed songs that didn’t sound like MUNICIPAL WASTE.
Ryan Waste knows what's up!
MAA: Can you talk about some of the guest appearances on the new album?
TF: I was really stocked to get Tim Berry. I’m from Richmond and I’m a huge AVAIL fan. The stuff that got me going to shows was that band. Some of my first shows ever, my first hardcore punk shows were AVAIL shows. I was really nervous to ask him. I finally worked up the balls to ask him. But he was really cool and said “Hell Yeah!”. Yeah, he’s a friend of the band. It’s not like we didn’t know him. He lives in the same neighborhood as Ryan. He was like “You guys remind me of THE ACCUSED, man!” which was fucking great because I love that band. And of course John Connolly (NUCLEAR ASSAULT). He’s on the song “The Fatal Feast”. It’s cool that we are getting known well enough now where we feel like we can approach these bands and ask them to be on our record. It’s cool that they were excited to be on our album! It’s awesome!
MAA: Any non punk or metal influences?
TF: The band or group that really got into playing music and really got me into performing and stuff was THE BEASTIE BOYS. When I was growing up I was just really obsessed with the BEASTIE BOYS. Two of my talent shows growing up, one in middle school and one in high school school I did BEASTIE BOYS impersonations with two of my friends. I used to dress up the like them rap over their songs. I really loved them. I loved that there was this band that could rap, but they were really funny and had a good time and they didn’t give a shit what anyone thought. I always admired that about them. I still love them.
Phil" Landphil" Hall gives good bass.
MAA: Do you feel MUNICIPAL WASTE are the leaders of neo-thrash as a style.
TF: You know I hear that all the time. Whenever I read something about us and when I hear it when people talk to me. It’s cool. But when all this shit came around, this revival thing, we were writing our third record. We were almost done writing The Art of Partying. When Hazardous dropped there were a million bands doing what we do .It’s really cool, I guess but we don’t think about it. We don’t think about it. I just wanted to be a thrash band. I would like someone to listen to my band twenty years from now and be thought of as a great thrash/punk band. Like SUICIDAL TENDENCIES or something. I don’t pay attention about the “new wave” of this or that. I just want to write good songs and tour my ass off.
MAA: Is ST a big influence on you? They were for me.
TF: Oh totally! They are one of the coolest bands we ever toured with too. No rock star bull shit there, man. They were so amazing and so good to us. I had never toured with a band that big that treated us so well. They were so good to us and treated us with open arms it was unbelievable. They were like “Come on our bus! Come hang out! Tell us what you need, whatever it is you got it!” They were so hospitable and kind to us, it was amazing. They were the best tours we’ve ever done. We toured with them three times actually. I’d go out with them in a heart beat. Any day of the week.
MAA: Who is the most underrated old school-thrash or crossover band?
TF: You know I hate to say it, but don’t you think NUCLEAR ASSAULT is really a little underrated? I mean, they’re known. Everybody knows who they are, but I feel like they are soooo great. They are such a good band. I really feel like they never got the credit they deserved. There’s a lot of bands like that. I think KILL YOUR IDOLS is always kind of underrated, also never got the credit they deserved. They have some huge fans. They are not a thrash band or anything, but still. Normally I can rattle off a million of these. Bands like ASSASIN and TANKARD. Not a lot of people know about the,. I always feel like more people should know about TANKARD. They are kind of under the radar. And one of the bands that put out the one of the best hardcore albums, like fast thrashy hardcore is this band THE SPERMBIRDS from Germany. It’s crazy how many people don’t know about that band. They are really a hardcore punk band, but one of the greatest bands ever. I think Something To Prove is one of the greatest hardcore albums ever written.
MAA: TANKARD could really be like the grandfathers of MUNICIPAL WASTE!
TF: I agree! 100% man! I will give credit where credit is due. Me and Ryan used to always talk about that. We listen to TANKARD and GANG GREEN and shit like that. Just punk, fun, drinking music that is fast and aggressive!
MAA: If you could host dinner at your house with anybody living or dead, who would you invite?
TF: I would say my grandfather for one, because he died when I was really young and he was awesome. Old relatives and dead friends are always on the list, that’s kind of a given. I’ve met Kerry King before, but I’d love to hang out with Tom Araya, I’ve never hung out with him. I’d love to eat with with Anthony Bourdain, because there would be some good ass food. I’d really like to sit down with Bob Odenkirk and David Cross, because I am such a huge Mr. Show fan. (laughs) I love that shit. That would be really cool to hang out with those guys. Louis CK because we were just talking about him. Bob and David would be really cool. And I’d invite George Bush Jr. so I could poison his food, since the guy ruined our country. (laughs hysterically) That’s about it!
MAA: It’s been really good to talk to you Tony. See you at the GWAR show!
TF: Thank you very much!
(Special Thanks to Nuclear Blast Records and Tony Foresta.)
The Mad Mad Muir Musical Tour Part 1 (Suicidal Records)
Cykos of the world rejoice! For thirty years Mike Muir has been an institution (bad pun intended) in hardcore punk and metal circles. Through his ground breaking work in SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, his funky party jams with INFECTIOUS GROOVES or his own screaming stream of consciousness punk rock in CYKO MIKO he has influenced several generations of bands. In the time between relentless touring and recording new albums with each of his projects, he has opened up the vaults for a new release to tide fans over. Self-released on his own imprint, Suicidal Records, The Mad Mad Muir Musical Tour Part 1 is a compilation of unreleased material from all of his bands from over the many years. Normally odds-n-sods type releases like this aren’t representative of the actual body of work, but even in this context the songs are fairly high quality and what you expect from Muir.
Kicking off with the fun instrumental “MMM”, it is a good warm-up for the rest of the album. Funk, punk and soul is what the doctor ordered and you get a heap of it here and on every track. The mellow funkiness of “Happiness” calls to mind the band WAR and is really chill except for the punk rock rave up at the end. As usual you get the deft lyrical intellect that Muir always provides and when he states “happiness if for people that can’t stand being miserable” and you can’t help but smile. “All The Way” is old-school ST, hardcore track just the way I like it. Just enough crunch for the metal heads and also really groovy too. “Got Feelings?” has a frenetic INFECTIOUS GROOVES flavor to it and the is another fun track. There is even an A Capella vocal break down where Mike really shines. He always insists that he is not a fine singer, but that was pretty awesome to hear. The next track is one of the records finest moments, a mellow unplugged take on “Alone”. Formerly a crushing metal power ballad on Lights, Camera, Revolution the song has been recast with haunting Spanish guitars, jazz inflections and impassioned vocals. “Slightly” is a rocking jam that blurs the line between metal, industrial and funk. “Done Gone Stupid” is another laid back thumping IG type of song while “Full of it” matches the intensity of the depths of the ST self-titled album. Other stand out tracks are “Hang On (The Fight Song)”, “Slo Death” and another instrumental, “Soulvation”. The collection also has appearances by former ST alumni Brooks Wackerman, Robert Trujillo (METALLICA/BLS) and Fletcher Dragge from PENNYWISE. A solid bunch of songs that is not strictly limited to the interest of the crazy legion of Cykos.
I went to the Worcester Palladium to see the “Welcome to Hell” tour, Worcester being the scene of many of my local metal escapades. The ante would be raised on this night since THE ACACIA STRAIN call central Massachusetts their home turf and they always pack the house with their crazy fans. Their name was even on the marquee of the venue which normally isn’t done for a second on the bill act. I really don’t care for I DECLARE WAR, CHELSEA GRIN or VEIL OF MAYA so I showed up late to the venue as massive ACACIA banner was going up. The place was nearly sold out for this tour which is impressive with this economy. I think only the SUICIDAL TENDENCIES and HANK III shows were more full of the people in the last year and I am always glad to see a house full of people supporting metal. Even if that means there are a lot of scene kids in the house it still makes me happy so please support your local scenes at all costs!
I found a good spot and settled in as a huge cheer went up as the lights went down. Kids were already moshing to the into music and crowd surfing. They walked on stage to a heroes welcome as frontman Vincent Bennett shouted “we’re the ACACIA STRAIN from right here and we came to rock so let’s do this!”. Then the band launched into their opener, the grinding “Beast”. The crowd was feeling it with a lot of moshing and less of the invisible ninja type stuff I usually expected. Next came the equally crushing “The Hills Have Eyes”. Bennett is one of the best vocalists in deathcore with his gravely voice and great on stage charisma. He had the crowd eating out his hand the entire performance. Classic track “Whoa Shut It Down” followed and had about the sickest breakdown of the night. Considering the loss of founding member DL (he still writes and records with them, doesn’t tour) on guitar the band has soldiered on nicely. Tim Cavalleri and Antonio Diaz are solid players, holding down the detuned grooves that are the foundation of the band. They both keep the energy up high as well with their performance. Drummer Kevin Boutot as usual just pummels the drums and allows the songs to shine by not over playing, which is key for this style of music. Bassist Jack Strong has strong bass chops and provides good backing vocals on a lot of songs. As the band drilled through one smasher after another like “See You Next Tuesday” “Ramirez” “Bay of Pigs” and “Jonestown” they were on their way to putting one one of the best performances I have seen them put on, or anyone at this venue in terms of action, energy and attitude. Closing out with the explosive “JFC/Carbomb” they we joined for the last few minutes of their set by the one and only DL which was really cool.
Set list:
Beast
The Hills Have Eyes
Whoa! Shut It Down
See You Next Tuesday
Ramirez
Dr. Doom
Bay of Pigs
Jonestown
JFC/Carbomb
WHITECHAPEL was getting ready to close out the night next as they changed over the stage. I started reflecting on having seen them rise to prominence from the underground in the last few years. Having seen them play in a tiny room on a little stage at the Scion Rock Fest (Atlanta) a few years ago with a mix of old school deathmetal fans and few core kids, to their big side stage appearance at Mayhem Festival 2009 to the crowd from tonight made up of mostly underagers. They have scaled the heights of the underground and have become very popular within the deathcore sub-genre. When last year’s album A New Era of Corruption (Metal Blade) dropped I thought it was good, but not great. They always put on an energetic show live so I basically knew what to expect which was more recent jams and less older material.
Taking the stage in darkness and the raising the lights at the start of “Devolver” just blew the lid off the place. The six man crew led by vocalist Phil Bozeman did a great job of hyping up the already pumped up crowd that was moshing and crowd surfing over the barricade throughout their set. He is a fine frontman with a beastly, harsh voice. Second cut “Breeding Violence” was equally heavy and again had a multitude of breakdowns. Next track “The Darkest Day of Man” is indicative of most of the deathcore genre and the majority of their songs alternate from thrash riffs to brash grooves that make you nod your head in agreement about how much the song rules. This song best highlights the bands three guitar approach of layers of riffs. Alex Wade, Zach Householder and Ben Savage all split up the rhythms and textural parts while Savage steps out for the leads. “Reprogrammed to Hate” is one of the band’s best songs from New Era… even thought I thought the live version was lacking slightly next to the original that features THE DEFTONES Chino Moreno. New drummer Ben Harclerode killed it most of the night with his wildly fast feet and triggered drums. He was especially impressive on the older material lie “Prostatic Fluid Asphyxiation” and “Vicer Exciser” later in the night.
As night wore on however, it became apparent that the band is much more about where they are musically now than where they started from. That is a bit disappointing in my opinion because while the scene kids eat up the bass drops and scripted mosh parts, the original promise of the band as a hybrid of death metal and deathcore goes unfulfilled. On newer songs like “End of Flesh”, “Unnerving” “Single File to Dehumanization” the band is goes through the motions with formulaic songs that seem like the same song over and over. On the other hand “Murder Sermon” was on the of the best songs of the set, full of original riffs and character. It would have been nice for Vince from ACACIA to come back out and do the song like he did on the album, but he did not appear. The band finished the show with an encore of “This is Exile” and the show which was high on energy and action, but less on originality was over.
Expectations. We all have them in life. Living up or down to them creates divides in people and brings on a world of hurt to the hearts of many. What in the world does this have to do with a concert? Everything if you are a die-hard fan of a band and they let you down. I grew up on a lot of old-school punk and metal and S.T. is one of my favorite bands of all time, in any genre. They informed my art and my personal life in a way that is too deep to describe here in these (web) pages. My first band played “How Will I Laugh Tomorrow” as the encore to our first show ever. Needless to say when I saw them for the first time back in 1998 they were less than stellar and I was crushed. I was as let down as any show I have ever been to out of thousands. Maybe the crux of this was that it was the pre-interwebs days and I was expecting to see Rocky George shred his Pirates cap off and not hear a set list mostly of INFECTIOUS GROOVES songs (love the band, but they are not as great as ST). Plus they were on a ST greatest hits tour at the time (Prime Cuts album). Nonetheless, after years of licking my wounds I wasn’t gonna pass up the opportunity to give them another try, especially when paired with two other titans of punk-metal crossover like THE CRO-MAGS AND D.R.I. As a result of this top notch bill which included six other bands the Palladium was about as packed as I had seen it since HANK III played here earlier in the fall.
UNDERDOG was the opener and and they were a lot of fun. They were a second or third wave NYHC punk band in the mid 80′s and I used to see them skating around the Lower East Side and Astor Place when I was growing up. If he wasn’t singing about skating, revolution or being a disenfranchised kid in Noo Yawk City singer Richie Birkenhead (YOUTH OF TODAY) wasn’t fully alive. Well known in the underground from their classic 1st demo and their record The Vanishing Point, they played a set of their best known songs. I was happy everybody was slamming and stage diving like in the old club days. With the quasi- original lineup of the band Richie on vox, Russ Iglay on bass, Dean Joseph back on drums and guitarist Mark they proved their material stands the test of time. The band is older, but still had the goods in performance, especially Richie. The best songs of their set were Russ Iglay on bass, Dean Joseph back on drums and guitarist Mark they p and of course “Underdog”. Great to these guys back at it!
Added to the list of bands I thought I’d never see again ever is DIRTY ROTTEN IMBECILES or D.R.I. In case you are in a rush. Arguably the originators of crossover punk and metal, D.R.I. Had the deep soul of punks coupled with the anger and speed of early thrash metal and it was beautiful. I wore out my copies of Crossover and Thrash Zone on cassette tape way back when, but I never thought I would ever get to be in the same room as these guys. They are an influence on the grit and attitude of metal that few others have had so make sure the next time you listen to records by MUNICIPLE WASTE, WARBRINGER, GAMMA BOMB or when you break out your PANTERA cd’s- you better thank these guys.
Any case after setting up their own gear and sound checking vocalist Kurt Brecht announced that they “in case you didn’t know we’re DRI and they were here to rock!”. And with that they started off the set with “Snap” and the mania ensued. Everyone was slamming, crowd surfing and basically going apeshit! They reeled off a bunch of fast, killer songs in a row like “I’d Rather Be Sleeping”, “Problem Addict” and “Acid Rain” all in a row. Before playing “Thrashard” Kurt said something to the effect of I “bet you guys know all the words to this one” which was hilarious. D.R.I. were biting listeners in the ass with sarcasm before any of today’s post irony crap was fashionable. Too smart and funny for words. “Who Am I” was played and is another great song. Many people claim to be fans of the band, but some of the crowd was noticeably quiet on some of the deeper album cuts. Spike Cassidy (guitars), Harold Oimoden (bass) and Rob Rampy (drums) just beat the crap out of their instruments and kicked ass on every song. I was especially happy and thankful to see Spike who has beaten his colon cancer scare of a few years ago. Harry was also awesome as a legend of the thrash/hardcore scene and he hung out in the crowd and slammed in the pit the rest of the night. Originally they were supposed to headline their own night at The Palladium, but got added to the ST date which makes sense since they have the same fan base. They played so many songs you might have thought they were the final act. Musical gems like “Beneath The Wheel”, “Wages of Sin”, “All For Nothing” and the highlight of their set “Violent Pacification” were great to hear live . It was over way too fast when they closed with “Five Year Plan”, but I was really happy they went out with such a bang.
Set List:
Snap
I’d Rather Be Sleeping
Problem Addict
Acid Rain
Thrashard
Who Am I
Slumlord
Dead in a Ditch
Suit and Tie Guy
Beneath The Wheel
Couch Slouch
Wages of Sin
Dry Heaves
All For Nothing
Violent Pacification
Five Year Plan
In my pantheon of hardcore bands that have greatly influenced metal THE CRO-MAGS are right behind THE MISFITS and S.T. and just ahead of THE BAD BRAINS. Without a seminal record like The Age of Quarrel you wouldn’t have aspects of Thrash, Punk, Deathmetal and Metalcore that you have today. In addition to being a force of nature live and helping to define the scene of New York Hardcore for what it’s worth every time you nod your head to a half-time feel part of a breakdown- that comes directly from the Cro-Mags and their influence of the early hip-hop acts in the 80’s.
Hitting the stage and starting with occasional closer “We Gotta Know” they just destroyed! WGK is certainly one of the best songs ever the floor went nuts with everybody moshing, leaping up to the stage and singing. The CRO-MAGS are one of those bands that most everybody knows all of the words when you go see them, and tonight was no exception. Rapid like machine gun fire the band churned out a quick succession of hits like “World Peace”, “Show No Mercy”, and “Malfunction”. Frontman John Joseph is still in ass-kicking shape from his vegan life-style and has never sounded better vocally either. He isn’t just up there for no reason- he feels every word his sings and makes you believe it too. His manic stage persona was/is the template for punk and metal frontmen. Since the current lineup has been together for a few years the band has been generous with its set lists tossing in nuggets like “Crush the Demoniac” and switching things up from tour to tour. Although we are unlikely to ever see a complete “classic” reunion line up; between drummer Mackie Jayson , guitarist AJ Novello (LEEWAY) and bassist Craig Setari (SICK OF IT ALL) they certainly have the set down cold. More great anthems like “Street Justice” and “Seekers of The Truth” came next and also went over big time with the adoring crowd. Then they thew us a curve ball when John announced they were gonna do a song by the most important punk band ever in his opinion, BAD BRAINS’ “Attitude”. It was a welcome surprise and the rendition, complete with reggae breakdown was top notch. Then another surprise came after a short jam of LEEWAY’s “Rise and Fall” the went right in to “Jim’s Last Goodbye”, yet another killer song. They finished their tight set with awesome versions of “Life of My Own” and “Hard Times”. John thanked all the bands, everybody for supporting the band and the tour and said their would be a new album from this line-up of the band in 2011 to look forward to. I got to talk to John after the show and as usual he was all class, humble and nice. A tribute to this legendary person in the scene, his home city and his legacy.
Set List:
We Gotta Know
World Peace
Show No Mercy
Malfunction
Crush The Demoniac
Street Justice
Seekers of the Truth
Attitude (Bad Brains Cover)
Rise and Fall/Jim’s Last Goodbye
Life of My own
Hard Times
I tried to catch my breath a little between bands. Again the venue was really packed in with very little room to move except for the pit during bands. As the ginormous banner in the style of a bandana was unveiled with the SUICIDAL crest and logos it was all most go time. I have to admit I had some butterflies as I hoped tonight would erase the bast memories of the show so long ago. Well no sooner had I thought that then the lights went down and the famous intro to “You Can’t Bring Me Down” came over the speakers. People were already moshing and crowd surfing before the band even hit the stage. Each member of ST came out to a cheer, not unlike a roll call at a baseball game. Of course the last one out was Cyco Mike Muir who announced “What the hell is going on around here?” as they peeled the roof of the building with the power of thrash! In typical fashion the band was explosive in their playing with Mike running all over the stage delivering his lines. The whole building seemed to shake as everyone screamed the chorus out. Dean Pleasants (INFECTIOUS GROOVES/GEORGE CLINTON/UGLY KID JOE) has a different lead guitar style than Rocky George, but nonetheless delivered an excellent take on the memorable solo. Following up the monster opener was the bands’ best known song in “Institutionalized” and the craziness got even bigger with an huge circle pit the entire floor wide. Those two songs are a given at any ST show, but after that I was sure that all bets were off. As Mike addressed the crowd in his usual poet/prophet/teacher mode he talked about the three bands on this tour going strong for almost 30 years. And with that Eric Moore kicked of the military drum intro of “Join The Army” and the pit was off and running again. Moore who is absolutely ridiculous and devastating on the kit is really the secret weapon of the band. His deft playing ability either create the pocket or push the tempos of the songs really make this the best the band has sounded in ages. He also had an amazing five minute drum solo later in the show that would have given Tommy Lee a run for his money shot.
In celebrating the bands’ lengthy history this tour they are also promoting their new record of some rerecorded classics. Much to my delight old-school jams like “The Prisoner”, “War Inside My Head” and “Subliminal” were played to perfection. As always ST mainstay Mike Clark (INFECTIOUS GROOVES/NO MERCY/CREEPER) also holds down the rhythms and riffs of most songs and allows Dean to freelance a little more guitar-wise. This kind of brings back a little of the middle-era vibe of the band back to the live show. They mixed the great funky punk/metal songs like “Suicidal Maniac” and “Come Alive” with the hardcore tunes like “Widespread Bloodshed” and recent remake “No Mercy”. Mike also talked about the early days of the Venice Beach scene and how ST was never about a gang, but about peaceful Dogtown skaters, and not trendy guys like Tony Hawk. Ouch! Just then Steve “Thundercat” Brunner played the killer slap-bass intro to “Possessed to Skate” and once again the energy in the building went nuclear. Brunner is brilliantly talented on the bass and more than ably fills the big shoes of Rob Trujillo (METALLICA/OZZY OSBOURNE/INFECITIOUS GROOVES/JERRY CANTRELL, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY). As a bassist myself I was enthralled the entire set by his grooving lines and showmanship.
Of course it always comes back down to Muir who goes full-tilt insane the entire gig. He spent a lot of time between songs pontification on all things Cyko and explaining the meanings of the songs which was cool. Bringing the night towards its conclusion saw the band cut through fine versions of “I Saw Your Mommy”, “I Want More” and “I Shot Reagan” that really took me back to being a kid again. The went off stage for a few minutes as the fans screamed “Suicidal” over and over. They returned and finished with their theme song “Pledge Your Allegiance”. The band invited everyone in the crowd to come on stage to mosh, headbang and sing the epic chorus chant. There must have been 100 or more people on stage with the band and you could barely see them behind a wall of fans. It was a pretty damn cool sight to see. While the die-hard fan in me was still yearning for a “Waking The Dead” or just more song off of Lights… Camera…. Revolution! or How Will I Laugh Tomorrow….. but I really can’t quibble too much. The band was amazing, the song selection was righteous and the fans were some of the best I’ve ever been around.
I was never a big SUICIDAL TENDENCIES fan. I went more down the more metal road as opposed to this Riverside, hardcore/hip hop influenced amalgamation of metal but I know that a lot of our readers are excited that the band is on tour again. Go out and show them some support. If you’re lucky, you just might get a few truth bombs dropped on you by Jared of Hed PE, who is in tow as support for a number of these dates.
