The Concert Review:
Top Ten of 1999 Judgment Committee Reviews
Abyss
Death
Hel
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    Abyss's Top Ten:
    1. Milwaukee Metalfest
    Who cares about cancellations and rushed sets? This is the best it gets for us North Americans.

    2. Mr. Bungle
    Innovative, eccentric, talented, and true musicians. Words can't describe.

    3. March Metal Meltdown, Asbury Park, NJ
    Just what metal should be. Cold, dark and brutal. Look for this show to improve in leaps and bounds.

    4. Emperor/Borknagar/Witchery
    Finally Americans are treated to what black metal is all about. Excellent live presentation of a genre which is hard to pull off outside the studio.

    5. Slayer
    No statement necessary.

    6. Testament/The Haunted
    Thrash lives and evolves. An album and tour that shows what a veteran band can do. Swedish newcomers hide inexperience with overwhelming enthusiasm.

    7. New England Metal and Hardcore Festival
    Great metal, too much hardcore, but all around aggression. Helps me to crossover.

    8. Iced Earth
    By far the best power metal past or present. Made me a believer in a style I generally avoided.

    9. Overkill
    Another veteran band that proves the eighties aren't necessarily over.

    10. In Flames
    Stole the show in Milwaukee and then tore up the rest of the country. Already awesome songs are improved in a live setting.

    ABYSS  Email Abyss

    Death's Top Ten:
    1. Iron Maiden, Hammerstein Ballroom, NYC, July 16, 1999
    What I expected was a solid reunion from my metal heroes. What I got was the live performance of the year. The band was in top form, perhaps as good as they've ever been.. Bruce's voice was spot-on, the sound was utter perfection, and the production was as over-the-top as the Maiden tours of yore. An incredible evening, with fan participation as intense as the "Fear of the Dark" live MTV video. After seeing this show, if their new studio effort doesn't smoke it will be a major disappointment.

    2. Mercyful Fate / Nevermore, L'Amour's, Brooklyn, NY, October 8, 1999
    An amazing night filled with drinking, debauchery, mayhem, and -- oh yeah -- utter perfection. Nevermore stole the evening, solidifying their already safe position as one of my favorite bands. My concern that they would not be able to duplicate their studio efforts in the live setting was obliterated when they actually sounded BETTER live. And Mercyful Fate did not disappoint either. Going in, I found my lack of enthusiasm for live Fate curious. Coming out, I knew why that notion didn't sit well with me. The band rules, and sounds great live. Probably the year's best double bill.

    3. Testament / The Haunted, Birch Hill Entertainment Complex, Somewhere in New Jersey, August 13, 1999
    The Haunted were cool. Testament was masterful. Seeing songs from the brilliant The Gathering performed live for the first time was monumental. Seeing Dave Lombardo play drums with Testament bordered on a religious experience. And the setting, amidst a summertime bar-be-que, volleyball courts, swimming pools, and BEER, lots of BEER, sealed the deal. An amazing night.

    4. March Metal Meltdown, Asbury Park, NJ, March 12-13, 1999
    My first true metal festival. My first Koshick experience. Everybody remembers their first time, right? Never have I felt more immersed in all that is metal. Throw in my virgin Amorphis and Hypocrisy performances and top it all off with killer sets from Iced Earth and Cryptopsy and a fun and colorful beer garden upstairs, and you have the formula for one of the year's best. Can't wait for the 2000 edition.

    5. Slayer / Meshuggah, Roseland Ballroom, NYC, March 31, 1999
    I'll admit I missed Meshuggah. As disappointing as that was at the time, this show didn't need anyone but Slayer to make the top ten. I had a bloody nose within the first two minutes after Slayer took the stage. I put on a shit eating grin, fought back against the swirling tides, and lost myself in the epic Slaytanic attack. They still have it, and this show cleared up any doubts for all in attendance.

    6. Milwaukee Metalfest, Milwaukee Auditorium, Milwaukee, WI, July 30-31, 1999
    The only reason this isn't higher on the list is the rash of last minute cancellations and the relegation of Flotsam and Jetsam to a remote side stage at the end of the night. Otherwise, as close to the metallic promised land as you're gonna find in the U.S. Soilent Green, Nile, Pessimist and In Flames carried the day(s), but even without the bands, this was a great event. Hanging with all my metal brethren from all over the country for two straight days rates high even if we had just been listening to a stereo. But we weren't. Hope eveyone heads back this year, in spite of the other, possibly more individually convenient, Metal Mania events.

    7. Contamination Tour (Dillinger Escape Plan, Soilent Green, Exhumed, Morgion, Nasum), CBGB's, NYC, August 8, 1999
    A week after Milwaukee, and I needed a little metal community. I found it at CB's, where many highlights from the Relapse roster converged for an evening of mayhem. Mike Patton of Mr. Bungle's joining Dillinger for a cover of Slayer's "Angel of Death" only added to the night's legendary status. The inclusion of Release acts like Amber Asylum made it one of a kind.

    8. New England Metal and Hardcore Festival, Worcester Auditorium, Worcester, MA, April 30-May 2, 1999
    Another great U.S. festival. Skinlab, Candiria, Vital Remains and the mighty Overkil all shredded. Gwar was just silly. But a metallic three days was had by all.

    9. Hypocrisy / Vital Remains, The Bank, NYC, March 15, 1999
    As the Contamination Tour was my comedown from Milwaukee, so was this show necessary to ease myself down from my March Metal Meltdown high from two days earlier. My introduction to Vital Remains, and an improved performance from Hypocrisy compared to their problems in Asbury Park. I finally got to see "Roswell '47" live. That might be enough right there. Excellent.

    10. Black Sabbath / Pantera, Meadowlands, East Rutherford, NJ, February 5, 1999
    The metal gods. Oops, that's Judas Priest. The metal godfathers then. Perhaps the last time I'll ever see them. Well, I saw them at Ozzfest '99. Perhaps the last time I'll see them indoors. But seriously, they smoked, and Pantera was the perfect opening act. Phil even read a flier on stage promoting the March Metal Meltdown. Fuck yeah.

    DEATH  Email Death

    Hel's Top Ten:
    1. Testament (with opening act The Haunted) The Birch Hill Entertainment Complex, Birch Hill, NJ, 8/13/99.
    Yeah, I know it's lame to have the same band for number one album and number one concert in the same year. I don't care. These guys earned both spots by serving up awesome riffs and amazing energy. Maybe seeing them with Lombardo had something to do with it. All that really matters - the crowd was grinning as much as Chuck Billy himself.

    2. Hypocrisy (with opening act Vital Remains) The Bank, New York City, March 3/15/99.
    I think this probably ends up so high on my list because of some sort of reverse backlash. The sound quality was so poor at the March Metal Meltdown, it was hard to believe that it was the same band two nights later. Toss in my introduction to Vital Remains, and number 2 it is.

    3. Milwaukee Metalfest Milwaukee Auditorium, Milwaukee, WI, 7/30-31/99.
    Hey, it's the METALFEST, THE U.S. metal event of the year. How does it NOT make it into my top ten? Read more about it in the Metal Judgment Concert Review Archives. Not enough space here.

    4. Nevermore and Mercyful Fate L'Amour, Brooklyn, NY, 10/8/99.
    My first trip to the infamous L'Amour was made memorable by two incredible bands. Nevermore was the highlight for me, but Mercyful Fate never disappoints. Two such electric acts on the same bill will inevitably end up in the top ten concerts of any year.

    5. Iron Maiden Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, 7/16/99.
    It was great to see Iron Maiden again. I loved that the show was just like I remembered, but this time in front of around 3,000 screaming fans in a really nice venue. Few things have been as disappointing to me than when I saw them in 1992 playing for only a hundred or so people. But, as they say, what goes around comes around, and I'm happy to see both the fans and the band come around.

    6. Iced Earth (with opening acts The Quiet Room and Jag Panzer) The Bank, New York City
    I saw Iced Earth again, after this show, at the March Metal Meltdown and I had a very similar reaction as the one I just described regarding Hypocrisy. Only backwards. Seeing them play again, this time in a place with shitty sound and where few people seemed to know who the hell they are made me fully realize what strong performers they guys are and made me appreciate getting to see them rock in an intimate club even more.

    7. Overkill The Birch Hill Entertainment Complex, Birch Hill, NJ
    Overkill is one of the best live bands around. They always have been, and as I keep saying, they have integrity and consistency, so how could they not put on great show in 1999? I saw them a couple of times this year, but seeing them play in front of their almost literal home-town crowd truly stands out. The energy in the room was amazing.

    8. Slayer (opening acts Meshuggah and Sick of It All) Roseland Ballroom, New York City, 3/31/99.
    Slayer is still awesome live. The band and their performance are not the reasons this show ends up ranked so low. There are several reasons, all unrelated to Slayer themselves, that made this show much less than it should have been. The crowd was there for the "scene" more than for the music - fucking New York trendmeisters - and there were way too many of them. I won't continue, you'll just have to take my word for it. Bottom line, despite the shit, Slayer's performance landed them here.

    9. Crisis - Two show, pre-move, one night. CBGB's, New York City, 12/3/99.
    If you're going to blow town and kiss all your loyal fans good-bye, this is the way to do it. Granted, it was a little weird to pay twice, to be kicked out of the club in-between, and not be able to come and go or even to go downstairs, but I really didn't mind helping them out. The two shows were different, and they were both lengthy. It's a true testament to their spirit and stamina to do a second show the same night and STILL play 'til 3 am. Best of luck in LA - I hope it happens for them.

    10. The Contamination Tour CBGB's, New York City, 8/8/99
    Relapse took many of their heavy hitters out on one big tour this summer. So, in addition to seeing most of these same bands at the Milwaukee Metalfest, I got the full-on, not overwhelmed with 100 bands at the same time, replay of the Relapse Stage. Again, my favorite was Soilent Green, but they all kicked ass. In a one-off appearance on this tour, Release's Amber Asylum, while not metal, knew how to handle the metal crowd and played a Black Sabbath cover and gained the enthusiatic approval of the audience. Oh, and Mike Patton joined Dillinger for a Slayer cover. Great stuff.

    I know, there were lots of opening acts I left out. I mentioned the ones I did because they were bands I already know and remember that they played. I'm sure Jimmy's Shit Kickers or whatever are a great local band, but I won't remember who they are for a while unless the knocked me on my ass. Get over it.

    HEL  Email Hel

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