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With Special Guests COAL CHAMBER And Crush Efekt |
Columbus, OH 9/17/97 |
| This was my first time at the Alrosa, and I was really impressed. The
sound system was really good, they had giveaways at the bar, and it just
seemed like a very relaxed club. A refreshing change from the venue I usually
go to. About half the area of the club is the moshe pit, which was put to
good use on this occaision. "Golgotha" was the first opening band, and I was not the least bit impressed. The lead singer sounded like he was belching every word and you couldn't make anything out. He had his back or side turned to the audience most of the time, so I never even saw his face. They played your typical death metal sound, and aside from the singer's voice, it just wasn't at all interesting. I actually went out to the patio about halfway through it so I wouldn't have to listen anymore. Next up was "Crush Efekt," the biggest surprise of the evening. I loved this band. They're also local, but I think they deserve recognition. The moshe pit was in high gear for most of their set. They had a sound similar to old Metallica, but didn't ever sound like they were trying to copy them. Their music was all their own. If you're like me and miss real metal music, you should check this band out. They talked to the audience a lot and made us feel like we were a real part of things. I've come to realize that this is common for bands at Alrosa. Everyone I've seen there so far has been very talkative and good with the audience. Their songs included "Fear And Lies" off their new CD, then "Real" and "Power Trip," which spawned quite a bit of stage diving. Next on the list was a song that started out slower and then picked up as the members of the band started slam dancing with each other. It was a blast. Whenever a slower song would be about to change tempo, the lead singer would shout something like "Rock the place" or "Hit the pit" I guess so we'd know that it was time to dance. It wasn't a very long set, but I could have listened to them for a quite a while. I was a bit sorry to see them leave the stage. Then the old familiar tune "Mr. Sandman" played as the lights dimmed, teasing us as we waited for "Coal Chamber" to get onstage. The theme from "Halloween" was next, and the band come out to cheers and screaming from the audience. You could tell who a lot of people were there to see. I can't say I heard good things about them, so I was in for a treat. I thought this band rocked! |
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| The music was terrific, the songs were pretty screamy, for the most part,
but there's screaming that's interesting, and then there's just screaming.
This was the good stuff. It seemed like everyone in the crowd knew most
of the songs, which was a good thing, because I was totally lost for a while.
Most of what they played was from their new album. I only had two real complaints.
The lighting for this band, and throughout the entire night was terrible.
They were backlit and you could hardly see the faces of anyone onstage.
The other problem was that there was an insane amount of stage diving, since
there's nothing between the pit and the stage. These things are probably
minor, but it made taking pictures difficult as well as just not being able
to see the band well through the set. Because of this, I unfortunately missed
a couple of songs at the beginning because I was trying to concentrate on
getting something good to show you all. They played "Oddity" and the crowd was thrilled. It was, however hard to tell which songs the audience was most happy about because they seemed to be in love with every song. I could understand why. I thought it was the best band to appear onstage that evening. |
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| Then lights began to spin in all sorts of lovely colors over the crowd
as the band sang something that sounded like "I Tried." These
are, I think, the most special lighting effects available at this venue,
but it was a really nice bit of show. After that, the band went into "Bradley,"
which was a much slower song and let us know that Dez, the lead singer,
was actually capable of singing. He's got a terrific voice and I found myself
wishing he would use it a bit more for the slower stuff. I can't say the
fast music didn't get me excited though. I was also amazed at the strength
of his voice, It has to be something special to go through what he puts
it through night after night. It's a toss up which song I enjoyed the most. When they played "Clock," I thought that had to be the coolest song. It was trippy. The music was extremely cool and the singing was fantastic. Then they closed with "Sway," and I thought that song might be even better. The entire place was screaming "The roof the roof the roof is on fire" with the band and it was the most exciting time I had. Everyone was screaming and dancing and moshing and just having the best time. I hated to see them go, but was looking forward to"Machine Head" next. |
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| When they stepped onstage, I looked around and it seemed that almost
half the crowd had gone. I guess they came for "Coal Chamber,"
because the place looked packed when they were on. I have to say that I've
listened to "Machine Head's" music countless times trying to figure
out what the heck they were singing, and I just can't do it. I picked up
lyrics here and there, but they don't seem to match anything I can find
anywhere else. The lead singer seems to have a habit of yelling "f***," which seems to be a common ailment these days in the music world. I don't know if it's for shock value or what, but it's lost it's effectiveness on me and now I mostly think it's annoying, pointless, and silly. The band seemed really friendly and into the crowd, which was great, but I can't say I really enjoyed the music. The first song I could make out was "A Thousand Lies," which was about the best song I heard the whole time they were onstage. It sounded like classic metal with a 90's edge. Lots of fun and I was dancing. "Ten Ton Hammer" was also pretty good to listen to, but not interesting lyrically. |
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A guy that had appeared throughout the show to be part of security
came onstage and sang a "Green Day" cover from "Dookie."
It was very fast and a real blast, but no matter how many times I listen
to that CD, I still haven't been able to pick out which song it was from
there. The band didn't bother to give the title at the concert. From there
(and actually a little before that) it seemed to go downhill, and all the
songs started to sound alike. |
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