Concert Review: Buckcherry/3 Pill Morning/Monster Truck at the State Fair Center in Minot, ND 02/03/14

Anybody who says glam/hair metal is dead is deluding themselves. The hair styles have changed, but the attitude is still alive. The old guard have found a comfortable place working the bar and casino circuit, and their offspring, bands like Hinder, Black Veil Brides continue to have a foothold on what's left of rock as we know it. Buckcherry used to be counted among those latter bands, but after Monday I'm not sure they can be held up as an example of how lively the subgenre is.

First up though, two bands that don't have a damn thing to do with my thesis statement. I first saw 3 Pill Morning when they opened for 12 Stones at the VFW in Bismarck about a year and a half ago. Since that humble day they've gone on to fairly big things, opening for bands such as Hollywood Undead and Shinedown and touring in general like mad men. They've made by my count about a half dozen appearances in the Minot area since then, but this is my first time seeing them since the VFW. Oddly, they played to roughly the same size crowd, but judging by how it grew and grew as time went on, all that work is starting to pay off for them. I remember thinking this band seemed very confident for what I presumed was a local-ish opener and that confidence has only grown with time. All four members, yes, I believe including the drummer, at least bounced and also ran across the stage like crazy men, all of that movement without sacrificing a note of musical quality. The sound mix was a little rough (and would get worse), particularly when the guitarist attempted to use his pedalboard it seemed, but by the end during songs like "Rain" and "Loser", the issues either seemed to have resolved or the band had overcome them to such a degree that it didn't matter. Probably the latter. Hopefully it won't be two years before I see this band again.

When I saw Monster Truck with Sevendust, In this Moment, and Pop Evil last year (the full review of that show can be found here:  http://jakespeare88.blogspot.com/2013/05/concert-review-sevendustin-this.html), I noted them being an odd choice for that bill but praised them as a pleasant retro act that mixed things up a bit. They made perhaps a bit more sense on this one (in that if Buckcherry are an 80's throwback, Monster Truck being a 70's throwback is contributing to an overall time displaced feel), but unfortunately weren't nearly as fun to watch. Part of this isn't the band's fault, the wonky sound mix started acting up again and the bass was almost painfully loud for the first few songs, but most of it was. What felt refreshing in the time given to the first of four bands came off as very long winded when extended out to the second of three's set. Each song seemed to run about two to three minutes too long, and by the end the crowd was very obviously ready to go, with the band only slightly less ready to stop playing for them. There's something to be said for the truth of the statement "great things come in small packages", but perhaps Monster Truck are just having some growing pains. We'll see in another year.

The sound issues didn't return, and the audience apathy quickly dissipated when Buckcherry took the stage. Unfortunately, even at their most enthusiastic, it was hard to ignore the fact that there weren't many of them. Thankfully, the band, even with a sick frontman, didn't seem to care. Buckcherry's a band that I've heard more about than actually heard, and they delivered on all the promises of sleaze and grit that I was given. They actually went too far in some ways. Watching a crowd chant "CO-CAINE" is one thing, but every once in a while there would be a monologue about a crazy bitch (those who know the band can safely guess which song prompted most of these talks) where I found myself going "Wow, does he know what he's saying?". Even more disturbing was the loud cheers from the women in the crowd that accompanied these. Ultimately though, I came for a throwback to when Guns N' Roses were king, I shouldn't complain too much when the equivalent of "Used to Love Her" happens. Part of the package I guess. Overall it was a very good performance, and the band really can actually play. Both guitarists got cool solos, and the frontman was singing sick and it didn't once seem apparent while he was on stage. It's too bad they didn't have a bigger crowd to see it. If rock is dying, it isn't because of the artists, that's for sure.

Album Review: Fight the Silence by For Today

Even given their outspoken history, it would've been unsurprising after recent events if For Today had chosen to quiet down a bit. The band has been on the rise for the last few years thanks to frequent appearances on Warped Tour and a fairly intense fan following, all the while never compromising their Christian beliefs. In 2012 those beliefs led to controversy when rhythm guitarist Mike Reynolds made comments on Twitter about homosexuality in the Christian faith. The group quickly responded with a video apology and offered their phone numbers to open a dialogue with fans about what had occurred, a personal response the likes of which are not often seen, one that should be commended in my opinion. Reynolds left the group shortly afterwards, and it would've been unsurprising if the group took time to regroup after the fracas. In fact, quite the opposite seems to have occurred, because they've come back with a new disc only a little over a year later, and their aim seems to be nothing less than inciting revolution.

Y'know, nothing too big.

Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if the band's aims on this album garner a bit more controversy over the fact that there doesn't seem to be much overt "faith" to the agenda on Fight the Silence. Not that these aren't causes Christian groups wouldn't or haven't gotten behind, but the protests and outcries put forward here seem to be coming from a general social sense of duty without as much overtly religious context. Personally, I think this is a strong, mature step for the band that shows trust in the audience. This isn't them backpedaling after the controversy, the instrumentation is too propulsive, too strong for a group lacking confidence. They've laid the theological groundwork, this is a big step out with that behind them to start tackling larger topics, topics like human trafficking (the major impetus for the album was a video singer Mattie Montgomery found online). This step is, as previously mentioned, accompanied by some of the best music from the band, particularly the rhythm section. New drummer David Puckett and bassist Brandon Leitru lend a sound of thunder to every one of the tracks. Lead guitarist Ryan Leitru actually shows off on a number of soloes, more than the average metalcore effort it felt like, and he joins in with new rhythm player Sam Penner as a vicious unit. All of them are led by Mattie Montgomery, who's been a vocalist that has impressed me greatly on guest appearances in the past and does not disappoint in his first full showcase. I've often said that I love metal singers more the better their clean vocals are, and Montgomery's got a pretty good singing voice. His screams are delivered with above average enunciation and plenty of power, which turns just about every song into a potential crowd singalong anthem. It isn't hard to picture songs like "Call to Arms" and "One Voice" stopping mosh pits so people can scream and pump their fists, and I think that's the greatest compliment For Today could be paid on this one. The death of Pete Seeger has raised some attention about the lack of social consciousness in rock today, and these guys will do a pretty good job of holding the torch for a certain crowd.

Album Review: Clear by Periphery

To those who balk at this being filed as an album review: Yes, Clear is apparently not Periphery's third album. That's Juggernaut, coming later in 2014. But it's not an EP either, according to the band. It's too long for that. Here's the way I look at it. Reign in Blood is one of the greatest achievement in music history, and it is considered a full length album even at twenty nine minutes. Clear is longer than Reign in Blood by nine seconds, and that's enough for me. It's an album.

It's also my first musical love of 2014.

Bringing up Slayer was rather appropriate, because I've been thinking about them a lot lately in relation to the subject of writing credits. One of the many facts I learned from DX Ferris's recent chronicle of that band's history (Slayer 66 2/3, available here: http://www.amazon.com/Slayer-66-Biography-Including-Palladium/dp/0615920306/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391252503&sr=8-1&keywords=dx+ferris) is that in the history of the band, Dave Lombardo has never had a writing credit on a song. Paul Bostaph even got two! Not so for Mr. Lombardo. This realization has sparked a bit of guilt on my part, in that I'm very much of my generation in my lack of interest in liner notes. I don't read them. I flip through and look at the art, I use them for autographs, that's it. Thusly, I probably have an inaccurate idea of who contributes what to which songs pretty much across the musical board. Part of what I like about Clear then is how easy Periphery's decided to make it for me. For those unaware, the concept behind this disc is the band took a single theme (the first track, entitled "Overture"), and each band member contributed a variation on that theme. Now, obviously, this isn't some be all, end all Rosetta stone that will help you determine exactly who wrote what and who had a hand in which when looking back on Periphery's discography, but it does go a long way to establishing individual tastes and setting up some idea of the dynamic of the group. That's a fairly unique takeaway from any kind of musical experience! That alone should sell one on giving Clear a listen.

The appeal goes beyond these heady, conceptual ideas though. None of that would really mean anything if the music wasn't good, and Clear delivers on that as well. Periphery is quickly becoming my favorite band, and this disc is as chockfull of complex, off time guitars, rhythmic bass, and ethereal vocals as either of the band's full lengths. Mark Holcomb's Pale Aura is my favorite track, but one of the great things about the concept of this release is that each track stands out as a great Periphery song, but that individual touch makes it hard to disagree when people want to single one out as their favorite. There are enough unique ingredients to make someone respond to each one differently without denying any of their merits.

It's early, but I hope and believe this one will remain a favorite for 2014. The best part? Apparently, we still have a quote unquote official full length coming, so the excitement is only building.

Review: Intolerance by Throwdown

The idea that Throwdown's doing what is ostensibly a back to their roots record is a little bit ridiculous. I say what I'm about to say with no malice intended, but it isn't like Throwdown got too heady or too arty for anybody. They either consciously decided to be or evolved naturally into a bit more of a groove metal band, but it isn't like somebody going from Venom and Tears into Deathless would find themselves going "Who are these people, and what did they do with Throwdown?". Regardless, after four years the hardcore band that became metalcore that became groove metal has become hardcore again. The haters can trade in their Phillip Anselmo comparisons for Jamey Jasta, Vendetta 2.0 is here.

This record is so clearly a conscious decision to strip things back down that a lot of comes off as disingenuous. To a certain extent, I'm not the audience they want to reach. I've never understood the straight edge movement, and on songs like Avow it is made very clear that they are a part of the Throwdown legacy, but it feels like they're playing those notes so hard in an attempt to bring people back that I can't buy them as a personal stance. It comes off as "Oh man, straight edge is hardcore isn't it? We're straight edge, have been for twenty years!". I mean, if you want to jump into a pit, this'll get the job done. The music's fast paced and brutal, no question there. But hardcore and punk have such ideological goals, and Dave Peters feels like such a literate, thoughtful guy (his vocabulary is way better than three quarters of the singers in any genre today, I'll give him that) that I feel like certain intellectual expectations are not unwarranted, and I don't feel like Intolerance meets them. At this point, when these guys rail against social injustices I feel like telling them they aren't the underground anymore. Fight or Die is a perfectly fine statement to get a crowd riled up, but if it's going to be thrown out there as a rallying cry on a societal level, somebody else is going to have to do it methinks. I don't want to stay stick a fork in Throwdown, because they could come back with something else that convinces me, but this particular chapter in their history is done. The song can't remain the same at this point.