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Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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Abyss's Review (1/14/01 CBGB's, New York, NY):
O.K. it’s hard to have beautiful memories of a show when you miss the biggest reason for being there. Although I have no one to blame but myself, I felt like crying when I realized my tardiness had caused me to miss Lamb of God. All the beers in the world couldn’t take away the pain. Thank God my friends were there to keep reminding me how they stole the show, and how all of the other bands paled in comparison, and how stupid I was for missing them. Hey what are friends for? I say target practice.
Anyway, I did get there in time to see the final three acts, the first and best being Skinless. I’ve seen this band a couple of times now, and they’re just damn fun to watch. It’s evident that they enjoy what they do, and they are anxious to get the crowd involved. And involved they were. They seemed to have the best crowd support of the acts I was witness to, and the crowd seemed to enjoy them the most, thrashing and moshing all over the place. The lead singer pulled out all the stops, willing to turn anything into a prop. Including a big, gray, plastic garbage can, which rode the crowd about as often as the young denizens that kept leaping off of the stage. Hey is this thrashing or trashing? Sorry that was really bad…. anyway Skinless is approaching the top echelon of the gore/death scene, and each time I see them I get more anxious for their Relapse debut.
Catastrophic
Photos by CYNCatastrophic, the band sporting ex-Obituary member Trevor Peres, was the next to hit the stage. And while there was nothing overtly wrong with their performance, there was nothing all that exciting about it either. The crowd seemed to concur, as activity was curtailed except by those who seem to mosh to anything. You know, the ones who start slam dancing in the subway, until they realize that it’s the noise from the train rather than music that is making everything vibrate. Catastrophic did attempt to get the crowd involved, but the material just seemed below par. Every once in a while they would go into a new song that would grab my attention for a moment, but would lose me after the first few bars.
Immolation were on next, and were just as tight as one would expect, and while I’ve always liked this band, I’m afraid they looked a little stale after Skinless. They played a great deal of their older material, which was a welcome development for their old fans. They did play a good deal of new tracks near the end, and while I like the new album, it’s not what I remember when I think about the show. I think of Skinless, and I think of the fact that I missed Lamb of God. With so much great metal coming out now, I find that bands that I’ve enjoyed for a while need to do more and more to keep my attention.
Death's Review (1/14/01 CBGB's, New York, NY):
There was a great big death metal party Sunday night in New York City in honor of hometown heroes, Immolation. With many fans still hung over from celebrating the Giants’ Super Bowl birth (and me lamenting the untimely death of the Silver and Black), others were hung over from last night’s sojourn to Brooklyn to see the new Dying Fetus lineup. Still, the crowd was active, enthusiastic, upbeat and large. People came out for this one, justifying the billing and even the inclusion of a small vendor area downstairs. Death metal is alive in New York City, and here in celebration of their new Metal Blade release Close to a World Below, this night Immolation were the kings.
I got there just in time for Lamb of God and was shocked by their performance: I can’t believe they keep getting better each time I see them. Not only are they playing incredibly technical and intricate music, they are becoming one of the tightest and most powerful live bands I have seen in some time. Last time Lamb of God played New York at Wetlands a few months back, they were met with far too many blank stares. This time, people knew the band and were hungry for the performance. A large crowd, perhaps buoyed by WSOU’s recent attention to the band, was held captivated throughout the set. Lamb of God, although much more intricate and extreme, has the kind of power about it that I felt the first time I heard Pantera’s Vulgar Display of Power and songs like “Hollow”. Lamb of God are nothing like Pantera, mind you, but I think the point is that certain bands (Pantera, Slipknot, Slayer’s Reign in Blood) seem to be able to bottle up that instant feeling of aggression and power, and I witnessed a significant release of that kinetic energy at CBGB’s Sunday night. Don’t be surprised if Lamb of God somehow catches on in a big way this year.
Lamb of GodNext was Skinless, the new Relapse-signees from Albany, NY, and almighty purveyors of pure and total death. Skinless had a loyal and enthusiastic following that made Catastrophic’s relative lack of support all the more noticeable. Skinless did not disappoint, amusing even non-believers with the dialogue samples which often introduced their songs. All fans of straightforward death metal will appreciate the refreshing brutality of the Skinless attack when their album drops later this year.
Then came Catastrophic, new Metal Blade-signee featuring guitarist Trevor Peres of Obituary fame. Yawn. Well, not really. I think there were unresolved sound issues for the first few songs while I was forming my opinion. And after a while I started digging the almost old-school thrash vibe of their Obituary meets Motorhead meets Celtic Frost meets Scream Bloody Gore Death kinda-sound. His guitar sounded exactly like it did in Obituary. But the drummer seemed off time in places and the energy level just could not match the pace set by Lamb of God and maintained by Skinless, and as it starts to get later on a Sunday night any kind of down-turn in energy is a real issue.
SkinlessOf course, the place was still packed when Immolation went on at the end of the night. Their performance was a tribute to the old-school fans as well as just one big celebration jam. Fans were treated to Immolation classics like “Into Everlasting Fire” early in the extended set. But more impressive than the performance was the thriving scene that centered around these veterans on this January night. Both young and old came out, and all were treated to classic performances and extended set tributes complemented by merchandise tables, fanzines and the aura of the CBGB’s name.
If in the darkest days of nineties death metal I asked you whether you thought Immolation would be reigning over a high-profile and prosperous scene not unlike an underground, New York death metal version of Ozzy’s role on the Ozzfest in 2001, would you have believed me? That might be taking things a bit too far, but you know what I mean. Immolation were cool, this night was cool and death metal is alive and well in New York City in 2001.
Hel's Review (1/14/01 CBGB's, New York, NY):
This is the perfect example of "When being late works". When I walked in, the band onstage ended. Next band up: Lamb of God. I had no time to waste this evening, and as it was, I did arrive in the nick of time. Others were not so fortunate.
I admit, I was most psyched for Lamb of God this particular evening. Additionally, I have lately been feeling like I'm seeing the same show over and over. Both of these were strongly confirmed and reinforced this evening.
ImmolationIt was a comfortably-sized crowd at CB's for most of my time there, with many a familiar face. This is undeniably an intimate local scene, and many present were also to be found in the distant borough of Brooklyn the night before, at the infamous venue, L'Amour, to bear witness to Dying Fetus' appearance there. Yes, it was a big metal weekend in the big city.
I've seen Dying Fetus a ton of times, mostly at the various Koshick events. I've also seen Immolation and Skinless a bunch of times, many of them, again, Koshick events. In fact, the majority of shows that come to New York involve at least one band that also participates in those events. So it's no wonder I feel like I'm seeing the same show over and over.
Then there's the fact that Immolation is truly a local band, and Skinless are from Albany, which is sort of like a hop-skip-and-a-jump away (just longer), so they play a lot of shows in this area.
Yes, all my babbling is going towards a point, I'm attempting to illustrate the precise reason I was so much more excited for Lamb of God than for the others. Lamb of God is still all shiny and new - they have just one great album, and I'd only seen them perform once before. And I wasn't the only one excited, others who caught there set at the Wetlands were clearly in evidence, as the crowd was far more into the show then the last time.
Once again, Lamb of God showed New York what astounding drumming, and other metal highlights are supposed to look like. And how. Let me just say two things: 1) if you have not heard New American Gospel yet - run, run now; and 2) if you have not seen them live yet - subscribe to the Metal Update and look out for a date near you. It's worth a road trip if necessary.
So Skinless was on next, and as always, they put on a truly entertaining show. Always able to add a twist of fun to the evening, tonight was profoundly pro-stage-diving. The culmination of which was a dude surfing up the aisle - yes, up that damnably narrow space they call an aisle. I have no idea how far he got, since I was near the front, but regardless, the entire spectacle was one of the most entertaining things I've ever witnessed at CBGB's. I get more excited for their Relapse debut each time I see these guys.
SkinlessCatastrophic was news to me. I had vaguely heard about it, but an album I don't have yet generally doesn't exist to me these days, since my listening slate is kept quite full. I was intrigued however, and was disappointed to hear a ragged beginning. Part sound problems, part musicians not yet totally comfortable with each other - the early going was rough. Farther into the set the sound issues were smoothing out, and I could tell there might be some captivating stuff there, but looking around, it was clear they had already lost most of the audience. Sad to see, but I'm sure the album is better.
So it was up to Immolation to pull things back up and toss them over the top. I was reluctantly forced to leave, being one of the few in the place having to work on Martin Luther King Day (a U.S. national holiday, for the foreigners), so I cannot fill in that final blank completely. But unless something went horribly wrong, I'm certain Immolation kept the joint hoppin' late night. The certainly seemed determined to when I left, and while there were still some problems plaguing the sound, they were putting on one of the most energetic performances I've seen from them. And as I've said, I've seen several.
The honest truth? I don't think it's even possible for me to not have fun at a metal show. I love live music, that's the simple truth. Painful feedback, smoky clubs, sweaty crowds, it's all a part of the experience, but the live music - the ear-splitting, thunderous, live music - that's what keeps me coming back for more. No matter how many times I've seen the band.
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