Face-melting metal meets Philly masses

By Eric Jaen
Collegian Editor
October 4, 2006

The Electric Factory played host to a packed house of rabid metalheads anxiously awaiting the three-and-a-half hour face-melting that was about to ensue on Sept. 27. With a bill featuring a solid lineup very well capable of pushing the envelope straight off the table, those lucky enough to be in attendance were about to give their sound-detecting organs a delicious treat.

The show kicked off with California natives, and “Nintendocore” labeled act, HORSE the Band. After prematurely departing from a tour with The Great Gatsby’s and Portugal the Man this past summer due to “pizza”-related issues, the quintet found themselves back on the road in support of the recent release of their new EP, appropriately christened Pizza. Armed with a dynamic stage presence and Nintendo-inspired synthesizer, the band served as a memorable opener, performing such hits as “Birdo” and “The Black Hole” off of their 2005 release, The Mechanical Hand. Despite much crowd hostility towards their experimental style of musicianship, singer Nathan Winneke dealt with the nay-sayers through humor rather than anger.

Next up was Massachussetts heavy-hitters All That Remains, who were fresh off a stint on this year’s Ozzfest, as well as the release of their new album, The Fall Of Ideals. They proved capable of pleasing the masses with their brand of brutal metallic hardcore mixed with a hint of beautiful melodies and a setlist composed of new tracks as well as songs off of 2004’s This Darkened Heart.

Though faced with early microphone difficulties, the band did not miss a beat with the opener, “Focus Shall Not Fail.” Continuing the onslaught of relentless rock, they followed up with “We Stand” and kept things moving with “Tattered On My Sleeve,” a song that any human cannot help but sing. The lyrics of “I am falling away. All my life is falling away, as time goes by,” sucked the crowd in.

All That Remains should be commended on their ability to control the flow of their set rather than wasting time with too much unnecessary banter. Guitarists Oli Herbert and Mike Martin showed off their talent with their explosive riffs and blazing leads on songs like “And Death In My Arms” and “The Air That I Breathe,” while Jeanne Sagan kept things rounded out on bass.

To the delight of the crowd, they unloaded fan favorite “This Darkened Heart,” keeping the set as heavy as a bag of bricks laced with concrete. They capped off their set with the first single off of The Fall Of Ideals, entitled “This Calling,” where fans gladly sang along to the chorus, “And I hear this calling, still you don’t see so seem so far at all.” The song featured the solid drumming of Shannon Lucas, with his machine gun-like bass drum matched with the versatile vocals of Phil Labonte, ranging anywhere from deep growls to dead-on melodic singing.

Last but not least came the moment every fanatic soul in The Electric Factory was waiting for: DragonForce. In true larger-than-life fashion, Slayer’s “Reign In Blood” echoed throughout the darkened building, as the British power metal band stepped out onto the stage to an intense crowd reaction that was beyond words.

The face-melting began with “Storming Through The Burning Fields” from their latest release, Inhuman Rampage. From there, they continued into the epic “Fury Of The Storm,” off of 2004’s Sonic Firestorm. They went on with their style of emphasized, speedy, mind- blowing dual guitar harmonies, delivered courtesy of Herman Li and Sam Totman, with the ballistic tracks, “Operation Ground And Pound” and “Revolution Deathsquad.”

Like many bands, DragonForce encourages and feeds off of crowd participation. Singer ZP Theart could be described as a father-like figure using positive reinforcement to get those in attendance louder, sometimes followed up by genuine disappointment should they not deliver. After tugging on the crowd’s heartstrings with the ballad, “Trail Of Broken Hearts,” keyboardist Vadim Pruzhanov was given the opportunity to showcase his skills with an intense solo on not only the keys, but the legendary keytar as well.

DragonForce got things moving again with older favorites, “Soldiers Of The Wasteland” and “My Spirit Will Go On,” as well as newer jams such as, “Cry For Eternity.” The encore consisted of the first single off of Inhuman Rampage, entitled “Through The Fire And Flames,” before closing the night with their classic anthem, “Valley Of The Damned.”

When the dust cleared by the end of the night, fans were left partially deaf and reaching for their phones to schedule appointments for much needed reconstructive surgery due to the absurd amounts of rock all three bands threw at them. Be sure to check out all the recently released albums from DragonForce, All That Remains and HORSE the Band. Visit MySpace for more tour dates, information, songs and anything else regarding these artists.

jaene1@lasalle.edu