Dimmu Borgir with Cryptopsy, Krisiun and Diabolic
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Dimmu Borgir with Cryptopsy, Krisiun and Diabolic |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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| Go to Reader Reviews |
Abyss's Review (2/22/02, Hard Rock Café, NYC):
Ageless Odorous
I think it's time to address an issue that we all probably have some experience with. I find it to be one of the ugliest parts of the metal underground. I'm talking about B.O. Now, I realize that I'm supposed to be reviewing a metal show, but sometimes something far beyond the responsibility of the band or the venue affects you and has lingering effects on your metal experience.
For instance, during this show I had to spend a significant amount of my time talking some idiot down from trying to jump from the balcony railing right in front of me to the floor... the floor a good 30 feet away. Now I know what you're thinking, and I agree. I kinda wanted to see him try. I knew there was no way he could make it and that added somewhat to my morbid curiosity. But the real reason I stopped him was to keep him from getting so close to me. This guy really stank. Shit literally smells better than this guy did. And of course, I had been drinking heavily so it wasn't doing my stomach any good. So once the bouncer got sick of telling him to get down and moved him, I was able to breathe much easier. However, I couldn't stop asking myself how someone could possibly smell that bad. Not showering for one or two days wouldn't do it. This enigma made it very difficult for me to concentrate on the show. I still can't really get over it. My point to all of you out there with hit or miss hygiene is, just because we're metalheads and everyone else thinks we're scuzzy, you don't have to prove them right. If you're going to get into a pit, please shower first... it's just a common courtesy. Anyway, thank you for indulging my rant... now it's all over except for the nightmares.
Diabolic
Photos by CYNThis was my first show at the Hard Rock Café (How can it be called that when it's got memorabilia from Crosby, Stills, and Nash on the walls?). Death had told me it was a cool place to see a show. He almost made it sound relaxing. So I was completely surprised to see the madhouse inside. Wall to wall leather and hair. It had been awhile since I'd been to a show this completely packed. I mistakenly sexually assaulted numerous people just trying to squeeze by them (or at least that's my story).
The first band I saw was our Brazilian friends Krisiun, who got a hell of a response from the crowd. Unfortunately, they were cramped on a little slice of the stage that was allotted to them, giving them little room to thrash about. They made up for it with a tight set, however. I've never been the biggest fan of this band's albums, but seeing them live is another story. I think their live sound sounds so much more original than the production of their records, which reminds me of Slayer and Morbid Angel every time. If only they could capture that magic in the studio... maybe next album.
Our neighbors from the North, Cryptopsy, came out next, showing off their new lead singer. First impression? Well, to be honest, it was... "He's got hair!" But he's also got a good amount of stage presence. The last time I saw this band, which I think was at the Wetlands, I was a little bored with their presentation. But this time they blew me away. Technically adept and start/stop on a dime accurate, they plowed through their setlist and I found myself wishing they'd continue at the end of their time, even though Dimmu was the band I was most excited to see. I've since put their last two records back in heavy rotation on my playlist.
KrisiunDimmu came on in their theatrical atmosphere and perfect corpsepaint. They all looked good, well, except for the Drummer That Ate Nick Barker, he didn't look so good (but damn! He can play the drums!) So what can I say about their performance? Not much that you probably don't already know. Their whole presentation is just dead on, rivaled only by Cradle of Filth, but with a much smaller budget. The sound was perfect and the crowd was avid and ever-thirsty for more. The band played for what seemed like a long set, and I can't think of any songs that I wanted to hear and didn't. You know it's a good show when it's three o'clock and you still don't want to go home yet.
Go see this show if you get the chance. Just please be sure to shower first.
Death's Review (2/22/02, Hard Rock Café, NYC):
So the date was two-twenty-two-oh-two, and this year it landed on a Friday night. What better way to celebrate than a night at the Hard Rock, 'cause only in New York City do the themed tourist restaurants feature the occasional bouts of metal mayhem. Dimmu Borgir at the Hard Rock? Morbid Angel at the WWF? If Cannibal Corpse comes to the ESPN Zone, I'll know things have truly gone off the deep end.
I should have known when I saw the high-profile piece hyping the show in Time Out New York (a decidedly non-metal weekly New York entertainment magazine) earlier that week. Instead, we told Redwolff, Musashi and Cyn that we'd meet them at the venue 'cause the Hard Rock shows we'd been to in the past had always been decidedly unpacked, mellow affairs. I kinda like it, kicking back in a well-polished brass and wood-colored museum full of rock artifacts and memorabilia, with multiple layers of tables and bars and food and drink. At the shows I've seen, they literally clear out a few tables from the middle of the restaurant. I've seen it there where PEOPLE NOT THERE TO SEE THE SHOW were literally STILL EATING while the metal was raging below them. This was not the scene for Dimmu Borgir.
KrisiunHel and I met the mighty Abyss at a swanky after-work piano bar in midtown where he and a couple of friends had already been for a few hours before we showed up. It was a funny scene inside, and we decided to all stick around and have a beer or two and chill there for a while before heading over to the show. When we left I checked my cell phone: I had messages. Three of them. Instinctually, I called Musashi, without even punching in voicemail. Apparently, he and Redwolff had been standing there for some time trying to get into a show that was very, very sold out. Musashi told me that the place was packed to the gills already, and that there was still a very long line of ticket-holders outside still trying to get in. Fuck, I thought. I told them to stay put, we'd be there in a minute.
Musashi wasn't kidding. The place was packed. Nobody else was getting into this place tonight. I could not believe how many people showed up for this show. It could have played Irving Plaza. I am now more convinced than ever that-- by the end of 2002-- this commercial-style black metal (Dimmu, Cradle, Satyricon) is going to blow up big. Young kids are seriously into this shit. It is, dare I say, almost becoming "hip" to be into Dimmu Borgir. I honestly had no idea, until I saw the crowd. I say, what the fuck? Bravo for metal. Bring it on.
CryptopsyOne problem with that theory: Musashi and Redwolff couldn't get in. Due to the extreme overcrowding, only the Judgment Committee itself (and of course, photographer Cyn, who had long since already been inside photographing Diabolic) was allowed entry. Musashi and Redwolff each gracefully took one for the team, and so the three of us (Abyss, Hel and I) said our goodnights and ventured into the mass of bodies in search of metallic adventure.
I guess you could say we found it, but most of the time I was occupied looking for a mere place where I (at 6' 1") could even see, upstairs or down. Eventually I gave up and hit the bar and downed a couple of beers before finally culling together some semblance of a viewing spot for the opening songs of Krisiun's killer set. The Brazilians received a warm and energetic response, generating a mighty pit and lots of headbanging and shouting along. The execution and musicianship lived up to the usual Krisiun standards, while the music seemed to possess a more organic and visceral element in the live setting. A very, very good showing from Krisiun, and it was heartening to realize that a substantial number of the fans in the place were not only familiar with Krisiun, they might have even come to see them as opposed to Dimmu Borgir.
Cryptopsy is a band I've always wanted to like more than I actually did. So after walking around and chatting in between bands and checking out the shit on the walls upstairs (stuff from Anthrax, Life of Agony, Alice in Chains, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Chilli Peppers, Ozzy, Van Halen, etc. - the Life of Agony display was cool but was in the way back by the bathroom and reminded me of the episode of "Just Shoot Me" where Nina has her bikini displayed in the Fashion or Model Café and when she goes to see it she is really upset because they put it out back by the dumpster), I threw back a few more and didn't even really try to get in good position to watch the band. Until they came on, and I started listening: This shit kicked ass!!! I muscled for a spot. The new singer was killer, a perfect addition to the band. I hope I'm not like somehow influenced by the fact that he is a long-hair and the last guy was bald, but it honestly sounded a lot more like sick, technical, precision death metal than it did the band with the subtle hardcore element that I remember. Cryptopsy simply smoked, the best of I've seen of them in four or five tries. I can't wait to hear their next record.
CryptopsyOK, so now I'm pumped. And drunk. I don't really even remember what happened in between Cryptopsy and Dimmu Borgir, only that at some point we met up with Cyn (we had seen her from the balcony down by the stage but never thought we'd ever be able to move between where we were and she was, it was that packed), and at some other point it was really, really late and Dimmu Borgir was playing. I forgot to mention earlier, that the bands this night were not playing on the restaurant floor like Deceased and others had, they were playing on an actual stage, with concert lighting and the works. And Dimmu Borgir made it all work, putting on a wonderful show full of gothic and commercial black stylings together with a quality live mix (keys and guitars sounding full and appropriately balanced) and a masterful performance from Nick Barker, formerly of Cradle of Filth, an amazing and underrated drummer. While I'm not a huge fan of the band, it generally worked for me. I definitely started to get tired as the clock neared 3 a.m. and Dimmu played what seemed like their 37th song (just kidding), but perhaps it was just the beer wearing off and the sheer energy of the hardcore fans was enough by itself to keep me going anyway. Expect big things from Dimmu Borgir in 2002 and beyond.
All in all, an excellent night. Definitely way too packed, to the point where the fun factor definitely suffered. What was set up to be a wasted night of laughing with friends while downing expensive drinks and listening to extreme metal turned into friends getting turned away at the door and the whole place being way too packed to comfortably hang out and bullshit with other fans and just have fun. I'm frightened at what this place is going to look like for Iced Earth/In Flames.
Hel's Review (2/22/02, Hard Rock Café, NYC):
What a wild and wacky night this turned out to be. I'd only been to a couple shows at the Hard Rock, and both times they were under-attended affairs. Those evenings did not prepare me for the scene on this particular evening. We arrived at nearly 11, to find a huge crowd milling about outside. Musashi and Redwolff were already there and had scoped the scene. They reported that the line was much shorter now than it had been before, and that those were all ticket holders still waiting to get in. Moreover, the show was now sold out. There was nothing to be done for poor Musashi and Redwolff, and they were forced to seek their Friday night entertainment elsewhere. Props to both of them for coming out to represent, even though they were not able to see the show.
Finally through the door, I was awed at the number of people inside, particularly considering the substantial line still outside. I immediately headed for the least crowded spot I saw, over on the side all the way upstairs. Arriving at my destination, I was relieved that there was at least breathing room in this spot, if nowhere else in the place. The next issue was clearly going to be seeing the band, but this is not unusual for me, since I often find myself in this situation because of my diminutive stature. So I positioned myself the best I could and waited for a band to take the stage.
Dimmu BorgirDiabolic had finished playing before we arrived, so it turned out that Krisiun was the next band onstage. Everyone knows that I love this Brazilian three piece, and I was able to watch the drummer's every move from my bird's eye perspective. Unfortunately, I couldn't really see either guitarist unless they leaned particularly far over, since there was a large speaker hanging, suspended from the ceiling, directly between them and me. You see, the Hard Rock Café is a themed restaurant, not a nightclub, so the layout is just not suitable for a large number of people to see a band play on a stage. Nor is the sound what it should be for a live show. I was pleased to note that they actually brought in a stage for this, so at the band was elevated above the crowd this time, unlike previous occasions. Krisiun put on a great performance, and their set was of an extremely acceptable length, considering their opening act status. Judging by the screaming and yelling between songs, I know that I am not the only one who enjoyed it, my night was off to a promising beginning.
Cryptopsy would be next. I was curious to see them again, as their vocal turnover is quickly becoming near Vital Remains-level legendary, and tonight would mark the debut of the newest recruit for the position. I had decided that as long as he wasn't a hardcore singer I'd be happy, and the sight of waist-length dark hair on the guy holding the mike was instantly reassuring. He proved to be entertaining to watch, with lots of expressive gestures and other appropriate frontman behaviors. His voice held for the entire set, which again, was a hefty length for an opener, and all in all he seems like a promising addition. I had benefited from the set change, and managed to move to a vantage point where I could see the guitarists a bit better, in addition to their astounding drummer, which made it all much more enjoyable. The rest of the band was phenomenal, as I have come to expect, and the crowd was enthusiastic in their approval. All told, it was well worth the trip to midtown.
Dimmu BorgirAnd the night was not yet over! Dimmu Borgir was the headline attraction of the night, and they apparently have the ability to draw people from all walks of life to their shows. Not only were there the goth-loving teens wearing corpse paint and black leather and lace, there were a cadre of bullet belts, an entire pack of punk pre-teens (complete with spiky hair and homemade Sex Pistols jean jackets!), and even a couple of lost-looking girlfriend-types clutching Hard Rock Café beanie bears wandering around. Go figure.
Dimmu took the stage in all of their theatrical glory, movie-soundtrack intro and all. They played a substantial and energetic set, with several of the songs selected featured the black/clean vocal combo, which seemed to go over great with the punk kids in particular. The pit was incredibly entertaining to watch throughout the night, with my only disappointment in that area stemming from the fact that no one ever did knock that dumb fluorescent green hat off that one dork's head. The vocal performances were the highlight for me, I think the singer has one of the best black voices around, and the 2nd vocal line took on new dimensions when seen performed live. Dimmu was a pleasure to watch, particularly once I had moved over again, and could see all the people onstage at the same time!
Dimmu BorgirMy biggest complaint about the evening is that this is not a proper venue, and while I'm happy to see metal anywhere anytime, I prefer to see it in an optimal environment, all else being equal. The turnout was heartening, and hopefully, if attendance at metal shows like this continue to be this good, perhaps some real venues will get booked for these shows! Wouldn't that be nifty? On the whole, it was a great metal night in New York City.
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