The opening act was a local deathcore group from Lowell called Pathogenic. They seemed decent enough (read: not that many breakdowns), albeit they did begin a song with "GOD. IS NOT. FUCKING. REAL!", but all in all I didn't feel too strongly about them. If you're so inclined, you can listen to them here.
Next up was the first act of the tour, the Australian beatdown Thy Art is Murder. After a truly rapid soundcheck (something like 7-8 minutes), the band killed the lights and, in total silence, took the stage. The tension mounted as vocalist CJ McMahon stalked about the stage in a hoodie, glaring at the audience as they cheered raucously and put their horns up, before exploding into 'Immolation'. McMahon roared "if I don't see your horns up, I'll find you after the show and punch you in the FUCKING face!" and the set began in all its crushing heaviness. McMahon hit the beautiful balance between badass and hilarious, crooing 'circle pit time, motherfuckers!' in a falsetto, and dedicating 'Whore to a Chainsaw' to 'the beautiful girls of Massachusetts'. Thy Art is Murder played five or so songs before going out in a blaze of glory.
I'll admit, it would have been hard to follow an act like those Aussies, and while Rings of Saturn definitely had the same confidence, the show was truly...mediocre. I really hesitate to use the term 'tech wankery' because lots of incredibly technical bands - Behold the Arctopus, for example - are really, truly talented, but get flak for it. But in the case of Rings of Saturn, the term is totally applicable. The band didn't even use a bassist and relied entirely on swept riffs and tapping to accomplish their end. Add in a total screw-up on one of the guitarists' end (which led them to have to start over), and Rings of Saturn were probably one of the less amazing bands on tour.
I'd never heard Aeon before, and while their set was enjoyable (gargantuan bearded Swedes playing death metal, what could go wrong?) my lack of knowledge prevented me from really enjoying it. Revocation, on the other hand, really stole the show. I'd previously heard 'the Hive' from their upcoming self-titled, but seeing them live was a totally different experience. It was easy to recall seeing Trivium a few years back, and my respect for them grew even more when I realized they were all performing drunk - as they came to the end of their set vocalist David Davidson slurred 'we're doing shots all night.' In a funny twist, I found myself chatting with the bassist's parents, as they had come to watch their son's show. The music was viciously tight tech death that would have put Rings of Saturn to shame, and the pit didn't quite stop moving the whole time.
The next two bands - the Ocean and Cattle Decapitation - were more of the same. I don't particularly like grindcore, so Cattle Decapitation's set was utterly lost on me, but the Ocean were a bit of a disappointment. Two of my favorite albums of the summer have been Anthropocentric and Heliocentric, and I'd heard nothing but praise for their most recent record Pelagial, but it felt as though their specific blend of prog was utterly destroyed in trying to make a setlist conductive so a live audience. It didn't particularly sound good, and though there were parts that got me headbanging with the rest of the crowd, the Ocean's live delivery was ultimately what made me consider them a headphone band.
Norma Jean, to my chagrin, couldn't play that night, so instead we got Boston seminal metalcore act Unearth to fill in. It was a spectacular set - the breakdowns were the tightest I'd ever heard, and for a minute I remembered why -core concerts are so much fun. Once again, the crowd was whipped into a frenzy as the band pumped out song after song. Before any of us knew it, their 40 minutes were up, and they chose to leave to the fast and heavy 'My Will Be Done'.
Following Unearth, the tour went into its headlining acts, beginning with Periphery. Time for a confession - I don't understand the djent craze. Okay, Misha Mansoor is a brilliant guitarist and the djent tone is really cool sounding, but I just can't really get into it. Periphery's set was a lot of fun - at first. Yes, I did really enjoy 'Icarus Lives' and 'Scarlet' when the band played them, but otherwise the set pretty much devolved into an AxeFX wall of noise that, while catchy, I couldn't really find anything positive to say about. It wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination, but I just couldn't get into it. More power to Periphery and their fans, but it just isn't for me.
Animals as Leaders came on next, and comprised potentially the coolest set of the tour. Despite technical difficulties involving their drummer, Tosin and the boys cranked out a mind-blowing mix of technical prog that, when combined with two projectors displaying a visualization of the music, was beautiful to behold. Again, I couldn't help but think back to Rings of Saturn as I watched Tosin's guitarwork in awe - I honestly think I swore off guitar three or four times in the course of that set. Truly incredible.
Finally, after nearly nine hours, it was time for the headliners. Amidst a sea of strobe lights, projectors displaying creepy film clips, and a giant, flickering banner with their name, Dillinger Escape Plan took the stage to the stacatto one-two-three of 'Prancer'. While their stage antics were undoubtedly hampered by Massachusetts venue laws, it was thrilling to see Greg Puciato leap into the crowd as guitarist Ben Weiman - luckily recovered from a terrible hand injury - swung his guitar at dizzying speeds about his head. It was just as I suspected, and the band even managed to make the pop-y 'Milk Lizard' the most brutal part of the tour.
As I left the venue with ears ringing (and they're still ringing today), my Intronaut shirt covered in sweat and exhausted out of my mind, I remembered exactly why metal shows are so fun. Despite the somewhat 'meh' supporting acts, this is a tour you do not want to miss. If you have the opportunity, see these bands. They will not disappoint.
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