10.The Red Chord (12/21,The Palladium, Worcester, MA)
A Red Chord reunion show was the single most pleasant surprise of 2014. I didn't expect them to break their hiatus anytime soon, so when they announced in October that they were going to be playing with Despised Icon- another recently reunited band- in December, I was legitimately shocked and unfathomably excited. Even with my ridiculously high expectations, The Red Chord managed to deliver. They haven't lost any of their unique brutality or overall cohesiveness as a band in their 3 years of inactivity. It may be a overdone cliche said myself and many other writers countless numbers of times, but you truly wouldn't have known this was only their second show since November 2011 unless you were told. The setlist nicely spanned their whole career with a number of longtime staples ("Black Santa", "Antman", "Dreaming in Dog Years"), prime cuts from their last LP Fed Through the Teeth Machine ("Hour of Rats", "Hymns and Crippled Anthems"), and even a couple of deep cuts thrown in for good measure ("Tread on the Necks of Kings", "Lay the Tarp".) They even played a new song that was just as pummeling as the best of their old material. I'm well aware The Red Chord will never be a full-time, touring band again, but I really hope they continue to exist in a limited capacity. The extreme metal world is a much better place with them in it.
9.Meshuggah (6/18, House of Blues, Boston, MA)
Swedish metal titans Meshuggah celebrated their 25th anniversary tour this past summer by going on a relatively small tour in the United States. Boston was one of the dozen or so cities to get a show and I'm beyond glad that I was lucky enough to see them on this tour. Meshuggah blew the doors off the last time I saw them in February 2013 in every possible way. The setlist was substantially better, Jens Kidman sounded much sharper vocally and they somehow managed to be MUCH heavier this time around. Meshuggah is a unique force to be reckoned with and they need to be seen by anyone who fancies themselves a connoisseur of heavy music.
8.The Faceless (8/9, The Palladium, Worcester, MA)
This performance is that much more valuable now that the entire lineup the played at this show save for lead guitarist/clean vocalist Michael Keene has left the band. This lineup of The Faceless was the single tightest and musically-gifted they've ever had. While the entire lineup was essential to their success as a band, vocalist Geoffrey Ficco was the X-factor that made their recent performances so memorable. Ficco was a phenomenal vocalist who also served as the charismatic, energetic frontman that The Faceless sorely lacked in the past. It was an added bonus that during this particular performance, Keene's clean vocals were audible throughout the set. Being able to actually hear the vocals brought out the full potential of the Autotheism material and proved that when properly executed, it's every bit as good as the tracks from Planetary Duality and Akeldama. It's a damn shame that I'll never see this incarnation of The Faceless again. I hope what ever lineup Keene throws together next can match the chemistry, talent and immense stage presence that the most recent version of the band had.
7.Unearth (5/28, Brighton Music Hall, Allston, MA, also saw on 7/19)
I had the pleasure of seeing a few noteworthy albums from my early teenage years played in their entirety this year. The first of which was Unearth's 2004 classic The Oncoming Storm and it was every bit as glorious as I expected. Unearth typically plays just shy of half of The Oncoming Storm in their standard setlists, but it was awesome to finally see them play the other 5-6 songs from that album that aren't in their regular set rotation. Tracks like "Failure", "Bloodlust of the Human Condition" and "Lie to Purify" should join the likes of "This Lying World" and "The Great Dividers" as permanent fixtures of their setlist. Making this performance stand out even more was Unearth's energy level. Their typical absurdly high energy level was only expanded due to the intimate setting of the Brighton Music Hall. Vocalist Trevor Phipps is a master of getting a crowd hyped. His powerful stage presence paired with numerous stage dives throughout the set ensured that the crowd was every bit as relentless as the music. The high levels of energy they exert at each one of their show is a large part of why they've enjoyed the longevity that a lot of their peers in the metalcore genre have not. Unearth is consistently one of the best live bands in all of metal and that was further evidenced by their near-flawless performance here.
6.Converge (7/22, The Middle East Downstairs, Cambridge, MA)
Of all the bands I saw for the first time in 2014, none left a greater impression me on than Converge. Their headlining set at Deathwish Inc's (vocalist Jake Bannon's record label) inaugural festival was one of the most relentlessly intense performances I've ever seen. Every bit of the chaos they create on record is the same, if not greater in a live setting. Their sound is so uniquely wild with rapidly changing compositions and a tornado-like aura of destruction running through just about every song. The band themselves matches the general chaos of the music with their performance as each member doesn't stop moving the entire time they play. I also attribute this set to finally opening my eyes to how great of a drummer Ben Koller is. I have no clue why I was blissfully unaware of his chops for so long, but I'm glad that I finally realized that he's an excellent player that is easily amongst the best drummers in the genre. Converge's reputation as one of the most batshit insane live bands in metal is well-deserved, and I'm glad that I finally got a chance to take in that chaos firsthand in 2014.
5.Every Time I Die (7/11, XFINITY Center,Mansfield, MA, also saw on 12/11)
There was absolutely no way Every Time I Die could top their borderline euphoric performance from March 2013, but they certainly came in the vicinity with their performance at Warped Tour this past July. It's staggering to see how far Every Time I Die come as a live act since I first saw in 2010. They've morphed from a respectable yet not overly impressive live band to one of the most pure fun and flat-out best live acts in the genre in just a few years time. Their setlist was perfect for a 30 minute festival set as they played a few of the best tracks from their newest record From Parts Unknown alongside a majority of the biggest "hits" from their decade-plus career. Every Time I Die once again delivered the goods live and ended up being the clear stand outs on a stacked bill at this year's Warped Tour.
4.Coheed and Cambria (9/28, House of Blues, Boston, MA)
Coheed and Cambria's In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 is one of my all-time favorite albums, so getting the chance to see it played in its entirety live on the IKSSE3 Neverender tour in September was a dream come true. The opportunity to see the deeper cuts from this album live, many of which are amongst my favorites from the entire record, was simply amazing. "Cuts Marked in the March of Men", "The Crowing" and "The Camper Velorium" trilogy were every bit as spellbinding live as they are on record. Singles like the title track and "A Favor House Atlantic" were also more potent than usual in the context of the entire album. Coheed punctuated the set with a strong assortment of tracks from their Afterman series, Second Stage of the Turbine Blade and From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness. The fiery "Welcome Home"- complete with vocalist/guitarist Claudio Sanchez playing the solo behind his head on a 12-string guitar- served as a fittingly epic conclusion for this special evening. Coheed and Cambria is always great live, but this performance stands out from the previous three times I've seen them by a pretty wide margin.
3.Run the Jewels (11/28, Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA)
Ladies and gentleman, I now have a new favorite live hip-hop act. Run the Jewels was excellent the first time I saw them in August 2013, but they hit another level with this performance. The fun they were having on stage together was apparent to anyone that was in the room. Both Killer Mike and El-P were smiling, dancing and laughing the entire them they were on stag. That enthusiasm was infectious as the crowd was substantially more rowdy than the first time I saw them. There was not a person in the densely packed, sold out room standing still for more than a minute or two at a time for the entire duration of their set. Aside from how much fun they had on-stage, Run the Jewels is beyond precise on the mic. In a genre where a lot of artists take shortcuts and half-ass their material live, it's refreshing to see a pair of rappers who put 100% into every verse on every track. Thanks to a pitch-perfect setlist, flawless rapping and amazing atmosphere, Run the Jewels put on the best hip-hop performance I've ever witnessed.
2.Between the Buried and Me (2/23, Royale Boston, Boston, MA, also saw on 6/18)
It's well-documented that I'm a Between Buried and Me fanboy. It's not as well-documented that the reason I become so absurdly obsessed with this band is because of their live show. I was only a casual fan of theirs before I saw them for the first time in October 2008 with Children of Bodom and The Black Dahlia Murder. Their performance that night was chill-inducing and that special feeling has been repeated every single time I've seen them since then. This particular show at the Royale in February-which marked the third time I've seen them headline and ninth time I've seen them overall, was quite possibly the best I've ever seen from them. The primary reason this show stood out was the setlist. Seeing so many of the best tracks from their discography ("Selkies: The Endless Obsession", "Bloom", "Foam Born A+B", "Obfuscation", "Swim to the Moon") in the same set was fucking incredible. Not even having to leave before they played the last two songs to catch the subway/bus back to my house couldn't even take away from how great this performance was. Unless I become senile or suddenly start hating metal with a passion, Between the Buried and Me will always be my favorite band to see live.
1.Killswitch Engage (7/19, Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel, Providence, RI)
Just like Run the Jewels, Killswitch Engage also managed to top their excellent performance in 2013 with an even better one in 2014. Emotions were heavy at this show as guitarist Joel Strotezel was forced to sit out this tour due to a family emergency that had occurred the night before this show. In addition to the distress they were feeling from Strotezel's absence, this was also Jesse Leach's first show in his hometown of Providence since rejoining Killswitch Engage in 2011. The combination of these two events gave this show a overwhelming emotional vibe that brought out the absolute best in Killswitch Engage. The whole band sounded amazing as they flawlessly ripped through a set that was primarily loaded with tracks from their 2002 classic Alive or Just Breathing. I honestly can't put into words the amount of sheer power and emotional weight of every single song they played that night. I can't recall another time in my nearly 10 years of going to shows where I've a seen band put so much heart into a single performance.This performance was a surreal, beautiful and incredibly poignant experience that I will never forget as long as I live.
Honorable Mentions: Amon Amarth (2/1), Skeletonwitch (2/1), Battlecross (4/5), Mastodon (5/16), Gojira (5/16), Fall Out Boy (6/22), Goatwhore (8/9), Fallujah (8/9), Morbid Angel (8/9), The Black Dahlia Murder (10/8), Alterbeast (10/8), Limp Bizkit (10/10), Monuments (12/5), Animals as Leaders (12/5), State Champs (12/27 also saw on 7/11)
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