What a show. This was the most intimate show I've ever been to. It was at a bar and it was just insane that I got to see bands of this caliber in such a small venue. It was a completely surreal experience to say the least.
I got to Wally's Pub around 6. My friends and I got there in time to catch the second local opener, Carnivora. They are from Danvers, Massachusetts (which is near where I live), which was kind of surprising. Unfortunately, they weren't very good. They did have some talent. Their drummer was excellent and they had some good solos, but the vocals were just terrible. They ruined any momentum that the band had built up. It's a shame too, if the vocals were better these guys would be pretty good.
The last local band, Acaro, was up next. I have seen Acaro a couple of times before and they are always great. I would go as far to say that are the best local, unsigned band from Massachusetts. They have a hell of a stage presence(their singer did the entire last song walking through the crowd) and they play a brand of old-school metalcore that is pretty rare now-a-days. I wish I had a record label so I could sign these guys. If you haven't heard of them, check them out. Great band and it's always a pleasure to see them.
The first band from the Unearth tour, Molotov Solution, hit the stage next. I checked out their new record, Insurrection, and it's pretty standard deathcore, but it's actually pretty good. This was my second time seeing them and they don't come across as good live as they do on disc. They go have a good stage presence and they are still a pretty decent live act, it's just that they have too many breakdowns. They somewhat remind of Within The Ruins in regards to having too many breakdowns. It waters down their music and makes it not as good as it could be. They are still a solid band and I enjoyed their performance.
Skeletonwitch was on next and as usual, they killed it. They are one of my favorite bands right now and their live show just solidifies that. Chance Garnette is just such an amazing frontman. He just has so much fun on stage and sounds pitch-perfect vocally. A lot of people were actually there for them which kind of surprised me considering how different they are than the other bands on the bill. The setlist was awesome and evenly divided between all three of their albums. It was especially cool to hear the stuff of Forever Abomination live ("This Horrifying Force" was fucking amazing live). I talked to Chance, guitarist Nate Garnette and new drummer Dustin Boljtes, all of them are extremely nice and humble guys. They thanked me multiple times for buying a shirt and for the kind words about their new record. Skeletonwitch destroyed as always and I am stoked to see them again whenever they come to the New England area again.
Chimaira was up next on the bill. I was really happy to see them on this tour considering it's their last tour with guitarists Rob Arnold and Matt DeVries. This was my second time seeing them and they were great. I like them better live than on disc. Mark Hunter sounds great live and the band was very tight. The new stuff came across very well live (especially "Clockwork" and "Losing My Mind). My only complaint is there wasn't enough old stuff and too many songs off The Infection (easily their weakest album). I don't how much longer Chimaira will be around due to their insane number of member changes in the past year, but I hope they can stick it out. They are a damn good band and I would really like to see them live again at some point.
Unearth closed out the night and they were in top form. This was a pretty much a hometown show for them. It was the closest they were playing to Massachusetts on this tour and they had a ton of their family and friends in attendance. I have never seen them play this good in the prior times I had seen them. They came out rolling and their relentless energy was kept up for the entire 50 minutes they were on stage. It was awesome to see how into their performance they were. The setlist was top-notch. It blended old favorites with some new stuff and older songs that aren't played that much live. I finally got to hear older stuff like "Giles" and "Zombie Autopilot" which I hadn't heard before live. They also played "Arise The War Cry", my favorite track off their new record Darkness In The Light. Watching Buz McGrath play the intro to that song was worth the price of admission by itself. Best performance I have ever seen from Unearth and I can only hope they are as good the next time I see them.
This was an incredible show. Unearth and Skeletonwitch tore shit up, Chimaria was great, and Molotov Solution was pretty solid as well. This is a great overall lineup and if they are coming to your city on this tour, please go. I still can't believe I saw this lineup in a bar, it was almost too good to be true.
Scores
Carnivora 4/10
Acaro 8/10
Molotov Solution 6.5/10
Skeletonwitch 9.5/10
Chimaira 8.5/10
Unearth 9.5/10
Setlists
Molotov Solution:
Sin and Sacrifice
The Final Hour
Awakening
Injustice For All
Collapse
Rise
Skeletonwitch:
Blinding Black Rage
Reduced To the Failure Of Prayer
Beyond the Permafrost
This Horrifying Force (The Desire To Kill)
Sacrifice For the Slaughtergod
Repulsive Salvation
Crushed Beyond Dust
Choke Upon Betrayal
Within My Blood
Chimaira:
The Age Of Hell
Clockwork
Losing My Mind
Power Trip
Nothing Remains
The Flame
Pure Hatred
Destroy and Dominate
Severed/Drum Solo
The Disappearing Sun
Year Of the Snake
Born In Blood
Secrets Of the Dead
Resurrection
Unearth:
My Will Be Done
Giles
Watch It Burn
Endless
This Lying World
Arise the War Cry
The Great Dividers
Disillusion
Zombie Autopilot
Sanctity Of Brothers
Black Hearts Now Reign
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