This was what I thought it would be, a skull crushing metal show! I always enjoy bills like this because there’s at least one or more bands that I’m not familiar with. It’s exciting to see a new band and discover music I wasn’t aware of. They should call this the triple threat tour. Metal shows are special because the fans show up early and see every single band on show. That alone I think makes the bands work harder.
Spite opened the show, and they are a hardcore in your face shove it down your throat metal band. If you like to mosh, crowd surf, and get taken away in the moment of the live show, you are going to love this band. For all practical purposes because I don’t know the official title for some of these things, I’m going to use the term, cookie monster vocals. It’s not meant to be offensive in any way towards the bands, but it helps me explain what I saw for those of you that are not aware of any of these bands.
I could see spite really getting popular over the next few years. There was an element to them that was similar with bands like Lamb of God and Hell Yeah. If you see them on the bill in your town even if it’s at a smaller venue, I encourage you to go check them out. I thought they were very entertaining, and the crowd really loved them.
Nothing Nowhere was the next band up. They were probably the most different band of the three. They were a solid metal band with some hip hop. They reminded me of Linkin Park and other bands who have been able to mix the two genres together.
Right now, supporting their newest record, Void Eternal. Joseph Edward Mulherin whose stage name is Nothing Nowhere, at one point of the show he spoke to the audience. He told everyone some dates that he had cancelled several years back in Minneapolis was due to depression. He said to the audience “if you suffer with depression, and you made it here tonight that is a huge victory and don’t ever forget it”. To me that takes a lot of courage to peel a layer of yourself in front of a huge crowd and talk about some of your personal issues. And the fact that he did that, he’s probably helping people in the audience that are suffering from the same thing. They are a unique band and worth giving a listen to see if that fits into your palette of musical taste.
I’ve seen headliners wage war several times but always as an opening slot on a multiple bill tour. Every time I’ve seen them, I’ve always thought that they were good. But I was surprised that they came back in less than a year now as a headliner and packed the venue. They have a very dedicated fans who were jumping up and down, singing along and crowd surfing through the entire performance.
One of the most obvious things that sets this band apart from a lot of their contemporaries is the vocals. On the one hand you have vocalist Briton Bond with very heavy cookie monster style vocals collaborating with Cody Quistad the rhythm guitar players beautiful melodies. In a way he’s a little bit more of a front man but the Michael Anthony of Van Halen. The two of them, together with the incredible musicians that make up the rest of the band, provide an interesting point of view.
Wage War worked their way through a 19-song set and opened with “Relapse” and closed the show with “Manic”. From my point of view their song “Circle the Drain” is always a crowd favorite. People left the show sweaty and worn out looking like they had just then on a treadmill for the last three hours. That’s what makes this tour skull crushing. It’s loud, fast and the crowd gets involved. It’s the essence of what a real metal show is all about.
