By Carrie Knific
Metal fans flocked to downtown Manhattan on Nov 15th for a killer lineup of some of metal’s legendary knockouts. With Divine Heresy, Terror, Kataklysm, and Chimaira. Divine Heresy took the stage and proved to be one of the more exhilerating opening acts. Featuring
axeman Dino Cazares (formerly of Fear Factory fame), drummer Tim Yeung (Hate Eternal, Vital Remains), bassist Joe Payne (Nile), and NY native Tommy Vext on vocals, this band set the night off to an explosive start.
(All photo credit: Carrie Knific)
After playing a short set of songs off of their debut, ‘Bleed the Fifth’, Terror quickly brought on a pulverizing dose of the hardcore sound that many underground fans know and love. The crowd went rampant as the band played songs from their newest EP, ‘Rhythm Amongst Chaos.’ Kataklysm was next, whose dark death metal sound sparked little movement among the crowd, but the band went on to play an extensive set packed with songs from their vast library of releases from their 1992 debut to their 2006 album, ‘In the Arms of Devastation.’
Despite three sets of metal, the crowd was amped by the time heavyweights Chimaira took the stage. After fog machines fumed and a theatrical teaser filled the pitch dark venue, the band slammed straight into the power-pulse of “Nothing Remains”- until it all came to a screeching halt. All power onstage had died and gave way to the resounding scream of the fire alarm. With no smoke in the air and no heat to sense, it was very obvious that no one was in danger and that Chimaira faced a Spinal Tap moment at the hands of some imbecile prankster. A tech handed a flashlight to vocalist Mark Hunter, who lit up his face and yelled “Apparently there’s a fire!” before doing what any good frontman would do – leap into the confused crowd.
The band left the stage and met with the FDNY for ten minutes before the power was returned and the band started over, executing an otherwise flawless performance featuring songs from the old to the new. To my surprise, Hunter strapped on a guitar while the band played my own personal favorite, “Implements of Destruction,” a 13-minute instrumental track from their ’03 effort, ‘The Impossibility of Reason.’ The crowd reacted as if the set had gone uninterrupted, moshing and dancing straight through until the closer, “Pure Hatred.”
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