Sorry it took me a couple days to post this. My internet was down yesterday and the Super Bowl also interfered with me writing this. Now that everything is back up and running, I can finally do my write-up on this great show.
My friend and I got there around 6:30 and managed to secure a very good spot right above the floor. I was surprised that there was so few people there at that point in time, which was very unfortunate for this show. After about 30 minutes, Darkest Hour hit the stage. They were great as usual. John Henry never fails to impress with his stage presence. He just commands the stage and gets the crowd amped even if they aren't huge fans of the band. On top of his great stage presence, he sounded spot-on vocally. The set was pretty similar to what it was at Summer Slaughter, which was fine because they still played great (Although I wish they would break out a couple more from Deliver Us and Undoing Ruin). They were even better than the first time I saw them and I hope I get to see them again soon.
Suicide Silence was up next. Thankfully the crowd started to get bigger and remained large for the rest of the night. What else can I say their live shows? This marked my sixth(!) time seeing them and I'm just getting really damn bored of seeing them live. I don't really have anything horribly against them, they just don't do anything for me. They are like the herpes of metal for me, they will go away for about six months and then they just pop up and I end up seeing them again (I have never gone to a show to see them specifically, they are just kind of there every time). They played for 45 minutes, which is way too long for them to remain interesting. Mitch Lucker gets on my nerves more and more each time. His stage presence is obnoxious. He just yells out stupid shit like "smoke fucking weed" and "Bounce!" (I don't know why he kept asking the crowd to do this, this isn't a fucking mainstream rap concert) the whole time and it gets really annoying really fast. Also adding to the annoying sections of their performance was the frequent use of the airhorn that appears in every bad rap song of the past couple of years. That was absolutely nothing short of puzzling and I honestly couldn't believe what was I hearing. On the plus side, they did play "Smoke", which is the only song in their discography that I really like. Not completely repulsive, but not enjoyable either. I really hope I don't have to see them again for at least the rest of this year.
Machine Head was finally on next. I had seen Machine Head twice before, but it was in support slots on Mayhem Fest, so my excitement level was through the roof to see them headline. As expected, they completely crushed. For almost two hours, Machine Head mightily impressed with their great stage presence and stunning musicianship. Their style of metal is made for mid-sized venues like The Palladium. They just blew the roof off of the place. Even weak songs from their nu-metal days like "Bulldozer" and "The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears" were immense in a live setting. Robb Flynn sounded amazing all night. How is he able to scream and sing that well for that long of a set at his age is extremely impressive. The band was tight as all hell too. Phil Demmel hit every solo perfectly, Dave McClain was a beast on the drums and Adam Duce was great when you could hear the bass. I can also say that without fail, "Halo" remains one of the most epic live songs ever. It just hits so hard every time and it becomes even more grand in a live setting than on disc (which is very impressive considering how perfect that song is on disc). The only thing preventing me from giving Machine Head a 10 was the fucking lame vocal effects Robb Flynn used on the intro to "I Am Hell" and a couple more times during the set. It was really corny and lame and took away from how awesome Machine Head's performance was. Still, even that small complaint wasn't enough to take much away from the amazing show that Machine Head put on. It was an absolute pleasure to finally see them headline and I hope it won't be another four and a half years before their next headlining tour.
Scores
Darkest Hour 8.5/10
Suicide Silence 4.5/10
Machine Head 9.5/10
Setlists:
Darkest Hour:
The World Engulfed in Flames
No God
Savor the Kill
With a Thousand Words to Say but One
Violent By Nature
Your Everyday Disaster
Doomsayer (The Beginning of the End)
Suicide Silence:
You Only Live Once
Wake Up
Unanswered
O.C.D
Bludgeoned to Death
Slaves to Substance
Lifted
Smoke
Disengage
Fuck Everything
No Pity For a Coward
Machine Head:
I Am Hell (Sonata In C#)
Be Still and Know
Imperium
Beautiful Mourning
The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears
Locust
This is the End
Aesthetics of Hate
Old
Darkness Within
Bulldozer
Ten Ton Hammer
Who We Are
Encore:
Halo
Davidian
Nice review. I agree with you whole heartedly about Suicide Silence. I stood in the back and ate pizza until that garbage got off stage and quit wasting valuable MH time.
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