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Abyss's Review (4/6 - 4/7/01 Asbury Park, NJ):
The Evil That Some Men Do
Now Jack Koshick takes a lot of shit, and I do mean a lot. Much of it is well deserved (curtains, anyone?), but I find myself, more often than not, defending the man. He has done a Hell of a lot for the American metal scene, and none of us should forget it. We should also not forget that putting on festivals of this magnitude is no small undertaking. So with my defenses for the man out of the way, it’s now my duty to let you know that Jack Koshick is the pure embodiment of evil. A sadistic madman that delights in watching those among him squirm.
The Artists Formerly Known As Terricon
Photos by CYNWe all remember the “no beer on Friday” debacle two years ago at the inaugural March Metal Meltdown. This I dismissed as first night jitters and poor planning, a mistake that wouldn’t be made again. Well it wasn’t made again; beer and liquor were made available the entire festival. Of course, it was in a different fucking building! Yes you heard me right, any dipsomaniacs would need to receive their crutches at the hotel bar across the street (which seemed to play a hell of a lot of Bon Jovi in the early goings, I guess that’s the hotel industry attempt at being accommodative.) Why Abyss, you might be saying, how bad could that be? It’s just a short walk. I’m here to tell you it’s the sickest test of loyalty I’ve ever encountered. Imagine having to make a choice, alcohol or metal. Isn’t this America? The land of the free, and the home of the Atlanta Braves? Is it too much to ask to be able to enjoy a beer and watch some bands? Some choices are just not fair to ask of people. Could you really ask an adoring parent to choose between their children? It should always be alcohol and metal, never alcohol vs. metal. Can’t we all just get along…. like I said before… Evil.
Anyway, the biggest problem was for the younger bands that us festivalgoers would normally just stumble onto while walking around. This happened less and less often as once the band you were sure you wanted to see was done you inevitably ran to the bar, rather than checking out other talent. It wasn’t until I got home that I realized how few bands I had seen compared to other festivals. This points to a bad set up for the festival, or me having a problem. So let’s just blame it on the festival, shall we? Jack gets so much criticism he won’t even notice.
Don’t get me wrong, there was definitely some good metal at this show. Upon my first arrival the band Terricon was taking the stage. After the first song, however, we were notified that the band was changing their name after finding out that another band was already using that tag. Seeing as how they don’t have a name at present, I’ll just call them The Artists Formerly Known As Terricon. Anyway, they very well might be the best nameless band in the world. They hit pretty well considering their early timeslot, bashing out four tunes of metal that sounded pretty original, but if you had to compare them to another band, it would most likely be Nevermore. Clean vocals (less piercing than Mr. Dane’s) over thick, punishing guitars and craftsman-like songwriting shows the promise that these What’s Their Faces have.
Primal FearNext I split my time between two really cool, but completely different bands. Tapping the Vein is an interesting, heavy-Gathering-like band that employs haunting melodies and an upbeat sound. Good stuff but probably a little too sugary for many, but the gentlemen in the audience seemed to appreciate the lead singer’s penchant for wearing skimpy clothes and her willingness to bend over often to accentuate her body. It was a little distracting, but the music (and breasts) were quite nice. On at the same time was Grey Skies Fallen, a progressive guitar driven band. Part Rush, part My Dying Bride, all metal. This band has a knack for writing ambitious songs that don’t make you want to fall asleep. Great band for those who like musicality and songwriting.
I caught the end of Diecast’s set, silently cursing myself for missing this band due to the fact that I really enjoyed their last album. From what I saw, their energy doesn’t seem to come across as well in a live forum, as I found their show a little flat. They did gain some points, however, for their closing cover of Slayer’s “Raining Blood”.
I personally enjoyed Pain, although many of my friends don’t appreciate the techno direction that this band is taking. As far as I’m concerned, Peter is just too damn talented to screw up. The driving beats sounded thick and heavy under the simple and steady guitar, giving a nice respite from the death metal that predominates these events.
OpethOpeth were by far the kings of the night, and perhaps the festival. These guys kept everyone entranced for their entire set, ending out with the brutally beautiful “Demon of the Fall”. I’m not going to waste time praising this band. There are only two different types of people in this world: people who love Opeth, and idiots. Which type are you?
Amorphis ended the first night, and while they were by no means terrible, their set couldn’t be seen as anything other than a disappointment. Pasi’s voice seemed a bit off, almost fatigued. This wasn’t that bad, but the fact that their set list consisted of material from only their last two albums was just tragic. I, unlike many old fans, still really like this band, but they seem intent on making that harder and harder for me to do. Moving on with your music is one thing, but throwing out a bone to your old fan base is appropriate.
The highlights of Saturday were fewer, due to the fact that I seemed too busy to get around to the metal stages. A Life Once Lost was a band that I made sure I saw, I’ve really dug them ever since I reviewed their last album on these pages. So I was pretty much ready for the kick-ass music, what I wasn’t ready for was the powerful performance that came with it. A thrashing, whirlwind spectacle of instruments and limbs accentuated the passion with which this music is made. The singer, who is a formidable frontman, led the rest of the band in a visual expression of the music. The only thing that was disheartening was their age. No band this young should be this good.
A Life Once LostFlotsam and Jetsam have pretty much always kicked ass. Never attaining the commercial success of many of their peers, these guys have been just as influential, as evidenced by the throngs of youngsters at this show that looked forward to seeing them. I doubt any of those kids were disappointed as F & J came across with a flawless set that I found very nostalgic.
Cathedral finished out the weekend with their brutally heavy brand of doom. I was as giddy as a schoolgirl, this being my first live experience with this band. And while I was disappointed I didn’t hear the new song “Whores to Oblivion”, it was well made up for with “Soul Sacrifice” and “Midnight Mountain”. I’ve been a Cathedral fan for quite a while now, but after seeing them live, I ran home and started listening to all of their CDs again. Only thing wrong was that this band commands a longer set. Bravo!
With the night over and the bar closed, I awaited only my hangover. The (blurred) memories will always be with me, as I quickly shift my attention to the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival next week. It’s hard damn work putting my body through this abuse, but it sure is satisfying. God bless metal and metalheads, I’m off to Massachusetts, where I can watch metal and drink.
Death's Review (4/6 - 4/7/01 Asbury Park, NJ):
Koshick-bashing isn’t even sporting anymore - it’s like shooting ducks in a pond. But damned if I don’t have a great fucking time, every Koshick-promoted festival that I go to. The very fact that people go to such great lengths to overanalyze every little aspect of these festivals simply proves how important centralized gatherings such of these are to the scene. And the bottom line is that if everyone in metal got together every once in a while in a big room to drink beer and listen to Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Judas Priest records all weekend, I’d probably have a great time and give it five skulls. So I suppose the fact that I’m going to tell you that I loved Metal Meltdown III and had a great time will come as no surprise.
Still, we all have expectations. And like most Metalfests, more than enough of them were not being met at Metal Meltdown III to provide ample fodder for those who wish to focus on the events’ less successful elements. For example, when I go to a Metalfest, I expect to be able to drink. The fact that there was no alcohol in the venue itself was the most egregious error of the weekend, forcing us all to walk across the street to the bar and essentially choose to spend any particular stretch of time partying with the crazy metal freaks over there or actually watching bands perform live. I’ll admit to you right now that I spent a lot of time doing both. Which means I missed several artists. Another example - when I decide to go to a show billed as featuring Nile, Black Label Society, Soilwork and Napalm Death, I expect to see some of those bands. While I know the stories behind several of the aforementioned cancellations and I’m sure most if not all of them are attributable to forces external to the Koshick empire, it is disappointing nonetheless. In the end, this event felt really light on top.
Grey Skies FallenStill, the beauty of a Jack Koshick event isn’t always what lies on top - it is what lies on the bottom. So many people complain about the abundance of unknown acts at these ‘fests, but I enjoy the atmosphere that they and their crazy friends who flew in for the band’s twenty-minute set bring to the event. These bands are the core of the Metalfest - a true gathering of the heavy metal underground. They are the bands you are partying with in the bar at 1:30 am Friday night. And the sheer number of bands and metalheads and crazy freaks walking around are what gives Koshick events their atmosphere of an underground heavy metal circus. If you’ve never been, trust me - it is a blast.
You can’t go to the ‘fest and try to hang out and be comfortable. You go to the Metalfest to drink beer and get your face ripped off by loud guitars and blasting drums all weekend. This year was no different, and everyone quickly got used to walking between the bar/hotel complex and the venue. It wasn’t as bad as it is probably sounding in other reviews - the bar was always packed with metalheads - major bands, label people, and fans throwing down listening to pay-to-play bands’ demos over the hotel bar PA under a giant banner which said “Welcome Metalheads”. Who were the kings of the bar at Metal Meltdown III? Too many to list, I’m afraid. Bottom line: the bar, the beer garden, whatever you want to call it - hanging out there is a major part of any metal festival experience. And enough of a good time was had doing this alone that it was worth my time and my weekend in the haunted, decaying funhouse of a town known as Asbury Park, NJ.
I saw some good music, too. A Life Once Lost was the big surprise for me this weekend. I heard the disc and thought they were cool, but seeing them live was a truly crushing experience. Hard to describe, and they definitely look very young and out of place. But they probably had the most intense performance of the festival. At like 3:40 on Saturday afternoon on the Relapse stage. Unexpectedly, the best performance of the weekend.
GorgutsWho else was great? Flotsam and Jetsam smoked. They are totally and completely back. Sure, they played “Hammerhead,” and it was awesome (Jason Ward’s bass playing was particularly killer). And “I Live You Die,” as well as the title track, from the classic No Place for Disgrace. But for me, it was the inclusion of set-closer “Smoked Out” from the wonderful Drift album that caught me by surprise and capped-off this killer set of interesting thrash. Eric A.K. sounded awesome, the band simply ruled. Flotsam and Jetsam are still kings. And from what I heard of the forthcoming My God while partying at the hotel later that night, I think they are going catch a lot of people by surprise. Get psyched: it sounds like a heavier, more modern Drift.
This festival was also about a lot of killer performances by reliable old standbys. Just because bands like Deceased and Dying Fetus always seem to kick our asses at every metalfest, doesn’t mean they were any less fun to watch this time around. I liked Primal Fear, even though they were a total Priest ripoff, even more so than on record. They even covered “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming”. But they sounded good doing it, and put on a great show. What can I say? Metalfests need more power metal, and Primal Fear stepped into the role of power metal flag-bearers, even though they are not the most obvious example of the subgenre.
Opeth were amazing. Not as life-changing as it was at Metalfest last summer, though, for some reason. Perhaps it was the sound, perhaps it was about dramatically increased expectations. They were great, but even though I’d only seen them once before, I’d seen them better.
Amorphis were OK. They sounded good, but amazingly played only new stuff. In this context, “Greed” from Tuonela sounded crushingly heavy, as did “The Way”. That should give you some perspective. Opeth and Amorphis in a row were too mellow for too long while our buzzes wore off ‘cause we were out of the bar for so long. Something tells me the Opeth and Amorphis performances at the full-bar-in-front-of-the-mainstage Palladium next weekend will take on a different dimension.
What else can I remember? Diecast did a cool cover of Slayer’s “Raining Blood”. Local boys Terricon (who said they’ll soon be announcing a name change due to a conflict with another band) played early on Friday and delivered a brief but killer set. Anvil was vaguely Manowar-esque. Cathedral bludgeoned the die-hards late-night on Saturday, and I don’t think Electric Wizard even got to play.
God ForbidFinal thoughts? I’ve got two of them: (1) Koshick burgers aren’t so yummy, are they, Musashi? You should have gone for the chicken fingers; (2) Why the heck didn’t Skinless get to play?
See you in Worcester. Then this summer in Milwaukee.
Hel's Review (4/6 - 4/7/01 Asbury Park, NJ):
There are three things in this world you can count on. The first two are well known: death & taxes. The third is a commonly known fact among loyal Metal Judgment readers: when there is a metalfest, you can be guaranteed that many bands will be missed by Judgment Committee members while beer is being consumed. I would like to take this opportunity to point out that I, personally, do not consume alcohol and have not for many years. I admit I have other vices, but the topic at the moment is alcohol, so let’s stick to that. Although I personally have little to no interest in the bar, other members of my party are drawn to it like moths to a flame, and, in the interest of being social, I find myself there often as a result.
Flotsam and JetsamYou see, there are four important aspects that set these events apart from your everyday show: 1) more bands in on place at one time than you can shake a stick at; 2) everyone who considers themselves to be anyone in the metal scene comes to mingle and self-promote; 3) you will always miss one band that you really wanted to see because times are off and/or you are off somewhere altering your mental state; and 4) you will not only pick up free stuff, you will find flyers and whatnot in your pockets for days afterward. These are the reasons these events persevere year after year, and why we keep coming back again and again, despite our complaining.
My biggest complaint this year is one shared by many - no beer at the venue. At one point during the weekend, I found myself yelling at Death, “You drink another beer! I’m going to go see some metal!” It was much more difficult to socialize with many people at once in this setting than if it were in a more traditional beer garden, and it was difficult to break away since every time we walked out the door, someone else would walk by going in the opposite direction and, more often than not, the whole group would turn around again.
So I had a big problem with this beer-across-the-street concept, not from the drinker’s point of view, but from a time-suck point of view. I couldn’t do what I am in the habit of - ditching everyone and wandering off to keep tabs of who’s on which stage when and returning five minutes later. In fact, it was difficult to keep track of time at all, and I feel I missed an inordinate amount of bands as a result of this crazy conundrum. But enough of my bitching, let’s get on with what I did manage to see, shall we?
Dying FetusArriving later than intended (as always) on Friday, I walked in to encounter a band called Chamber 7 onstage. While their performance wasn’t one of the weekend’s best, I was glad to have seen their set, because they did the best job of just about anyone that weekend of walking around promoting themselves. They tossed out actual t-shirts from the stage, and were seen often in the bar handing things out, as well as having plastered the joint with very nice posters advertising their set time. I spend so much time dwelling on this because, folks, if you are a pay-to-play band, you should know that this is what you should be doing. My biggest complaint with their set was that the singer was just terrible, and it is likely he just couldn’t hear himself, but they were working it so hard I feel they deserve to know that. I think Mushashi ended up with a demo, so we’ll find out more when he reviews it.
The band that came next was really impressive, boasting what tends to be a rarity at these festivals - a singer that actually sings. Due to unfortunate, last-moment circumstance of someone else coming out of the woodwork claiming the name, they were forced to relinquish their chosen name of Terricon, and are currently nameless. Despite this wrinkle, they put on an intense set that had even the people shopping in the vending area at the back of the room cheering. Their material was strong and the musicianship solid, a band to watch out for.
Clearly, beer was in order for the rest of the group at this point, and I joined the posse on their field trip. When I returned, I checked out Grey Skies Fallen for a minute. I’d heard about them often, but had never made it to see them until this day. While they were certainly good, it was too mellow/moody/trance-y for me to cope with at that point in my day and I felt the need to wander quickly.
DiecastTapping the Vein was the next band I saw, recently signed to Century Media. Also a female in this band, and while I admit she looked nice in her outfit, that kind of thing irritates me. Outfits like that encourage drunken idiots to yell, “show me your tits” at women, and I so often find myself as that woman. So do me a favor, sister, put some clothes on! Their music was good, again more mellow than I was currently in the mood for, but it was clear that they have a lot of potential. I am confident that their album will be good, but they clearly need to mature a bit onstage. For example, the singer’s voice was beginning to crack by the third song. All in all, an impressive showing and I’m curious to see what else is in store.
I was saddened at my inability to see Luddite Clone and Rain Fell Within, I’m not exactly certain what happened, perhaps cancellation (that was the rumor regarding Luddite Clone), perhaps it was my error due to the stages running off schedule, I don’t know, it seems to happen with some band every time, but it was a bummer anyway.
I did get to check out a bit of Vintersorg, and I liked what I saw. A new experience for me, I was advised that he sings all in Swedish, and that was just as cool as it sounds. I also liked the combination of clean and death vocals and the entire band seemed to be quite talented. I was happy I caught the end of the set.
This is the point where things spun out of control. I saw a lot of bands for a little while in a fairly short period of time. So while I like to be able to do this chronologically, I can’t, and you probably don’t really care anyway, so here goes…
DeceasedDiecast was, as I had suspected, very cool live. I was able to finally put my finger on why it is that a band who looks so outwardly hardcore, can sound so damn metal. They’ve got a damn metal drummer, that’s why. No only is he clearly a metalhead, and by the looks of things, the only one in the band, he is a freakin’ talented drummer. His training is obvious, and I have decided that he’s the reason this band works for me. And their Slayer cover, while predictable (after all, doesn’t almost every band do a Slayer cover at these things?), was entertaining nonetheless.
Deceased ruled, as usual. They are reknown for a few things, like their loyal fan base, their internet presence, King’s temper, and doing a different cover every set. This time was DRI and I apparently wasn’t the only one who appreciated it. Deceased can always be counted on to deliver a great show, just like you can always count on seeing King Fowley completely wasted later on in the weekend, tipping over tables and storming past muttering, “fucking wiggers”. This is what a Koshick event is all about, and really wouldn’t be complete without.
Pain was another new experience before. Despite my support of the ubiquitous Peter T., I have limited extracurricular metal listening time these days, and I hadn’t experienced Pain yet. As I expected, it was completely different from Hypocrisy, and I knew to expect the techno vibe. I found it to be to be extremely powerful, and was pleasantly surprised to see Peter in full front-man mode, actually singing, and rather well I might add, stalking the stage and being menacing. He is uniquely talented at finding excellent musicians to play with him and for what he is trying to achieve with this project, he it does extremely well.
I stopped for a moment to check out Defiled upon Famine’s recommendation that it was a Japanese death metal band. I have a propensity to want to like Japanese death metal, ever since I saw Yellow Machine Gun, so I was all for it. The sound at the Relapse stage was deteriorating rapidly, which was a damn shame and a large reason while I left, but the song or so that I saw was entertaining and heavy, worth checking out in the future.
CathedralI ran over to see God Forbid when I realized I was missing them, and others were actually telling me they were done, trying to convince me to go over for a beer. I finally convinced them, that it would be only a minute more before we went for beer, just let me walk into the room - and we saw the last minute or so of their last song. Past experience has taught me these guys are solid, and what I did managed to see confirmed that. Looking forward to their first Century Media record soon.
Shadows Fall I missed. I don’t know how, and I was rather disappointed, but then, I have seen them quite a lot lately so I really can’t be that upset. I applaud their decision to take a break from the road to focus on doing a new record for a bit, from what I heard them say at the fest, they already have tons of ideas and just want to get them down. Considering that, with their genre-bending style of music, they can tour with an infinite number of different bands, it seems like a very solid decision, and will prevent impending over-saturation.
Opeth, again, pulled off the best set of the night. My favorite part of the entire festival was when they went into one very quiet passage about 1/2 way through their set, and the entire audience was so enthralled it was totally silent in the auditorium and you could clearly hear the band playing in the next room. Even though they only played about four songs, in Opeth-time that is like an hour, so I didn’t necessarily feel that ripped off. The question I found facing me this particular evening was this: which is better, Still Life or Blackwater Park? A delicious pickle, eh? If, for some bizarre reason, you’ve never experienced this band, then you haven’t truly experienced the best metal has to offer - go do it now!
Amorphis was the biggest disappointment of the weekend. I am still angry and I still feel hurt and betrayed as a result of that set. I go into this story in pretty excruciating detail in my Am Universum review, so I won’t replicate that here. The bottom line is that they only played material from that and Tuonela, and while it is excellently executed music and quite beautiful, the complete exclusion of the rest of their catalogue in front of an audience of their oldest and most loyal fans felt like a slap in the face. One I’m still reeling from.
Saturday, it all just fell apart for me. You can see that I was diligent on Friday, expending effort to see as many bands as I could manage, but on Saturday I felt like it was all slipping away from me. This was the day the outburst I was telling you of earlier occurred.
Bands I saw and liked, but I’d be stretching to come up with anything particularly specific to tell you about them: Mastodon, Pig Destroyer, Burnt By the Sun, Malignancy, and Mortician. Notice a theme? The sound was poor on the Relapse stage throughout the weekend, and that really prevented me from staying and watching too many of the bands on that stage.
Anvil and Primal Fear both gave strong performances, but neither really was able to capture my affection. I enjoyed watching King Fowley going sick to the Manowar-ish stylings of Anvil, but have never fully embraced the metal-anthem style, so my appreciation was limited. The same was true for Primal Fear. While I loved Priest as much as the next metalhead, I was never enamored enough to buy into the bands who worshipped them. And frankly, that guy does not sound “just like” Halford. Even before they actually played a Priest song I had been noticing he always stopped a note short of where Halford would have gone, and that was confirmed when they put him in that position. Every time, one note short. Regardless, they were both entertaining and are both talented bands.
AnvilEach day, I had the impression that the sound on the Relapse stage was better earlier in the day, and then became progressively worse as the day wore on. Not-Terricon was a perfect example from Friday, and A Life Once Lost was the band on Saturday. The album was chaotic and intense, but seeing it live drives it all home. First of all, these are just boys we’re talking about. True prodigies, with funny retro-Beatles haircuts, braces and all, their youth is not evident on their release. It just doesn’t seem possible that a boy that young can drum that well - but he does, and his bandmates are all equally talented. The truly astounding thing I realized, standing there watching in wonder, is the maturity of their songwriting. Generally, you don’t get that level of sophistication from any band, let alone one whose members are so obviously young. A Life Once Lost is the embodiment of the exuberance of youth.
Dying Fetus was good, as usual. They had a good crowd, as usual. But they somehow seemed to lack the spirit they had prior to the entrance of this new singer and there is a hardcore vibe that didn’t use to be there. These death metal icons were the personification of Koshick events in years past, it was sad to see them off their game.
I always tell people that the one thing I know about Gorguts is that my buddy War has a sweatshirt with their logo on it. In fact, he bought it to keep him warm in this very same venue at the very first Metal Meltdown. Thank god it was warmer this year, and as it was, it was plenty cold. At one point as we were walking past the Relapse stage, Famine grabbed my arm and told me, “Here’s something to like about Gorguts besides War’s sweatshirt!” So, of course I paused to listen for a moment, just as I did when I passed by this very band on this very stage at the very first Meltdown. They’ve obviously improved since then, and they sounded as well as anyone could on that stage at that time of night.
AmorphisFlotsam & Jetsam RULED. I particularly enjoyed the appearance of “Smoked Out” at the end of their set, and seeing them play at a decent time on a decent stage was gratifying as well. So fucking great. And just when I was about to start driving myself crazy wondering, when are we going get a new Flotsam & Jetsam album - who appears at my hotel room door but the band themselves, with a copy of their new album in hand. I proceeded to have a long talk with Jason, who filled me in on everything that’s been going on with them, and all about the new album, which was playing in the background. If I’d had a tape recorder, it would have made a great Metal Update interview, but you’ll all just have to trust me when I say that this is going to be one of the best albums of the year. In addition to the band’s dedication and all they’ve put into this new record, the music I heard in the room was incredible. Where the hell’s my press copy??!! Rampage the record stores when this comes out, metalheads - I’ve already reserved a place for it in my top ten, the only question which still remains is which spot?
Cathedral wrapped the ‘fest up for me in heavy style. It was so very late that many people seemed to have gone home. Many more were over at the bar, oblivious to what time it was, among other things. Mortician was playing right next door. All of these things added up to a smaller crowd than I expected, and they were forced to play a shorter set than expected, but otherwise my expectations were met. They were commanding, entertaining and a great way to end the festivities.
Hey, I guess I didn’t do so badly after all. Despite my complaints about the bar being in a remote location, it was definitely a plus to be able to come and go all night, and I hope this continues to be the case at future events. As always, there were scheduling screw-ups, last minute cancellations, and inconveniences galore, but it's all a part of the game.
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