It was a mini-Ozzfest last Sunday at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium in Saint Paul. Headlining was Godsmack, but from seeing all the various Godsmack or Five Finger Death Punch or Drowning Pool T-shirts and jerseys, I would say that all three were headlining.
I'll start with the band that started the metal mania party: Drowning Pool. Chatting with two Drowning Pool fans, they tell me that this band's been around for ages. That their original singer (Dave Williams) died on tour. The singer was temporarily filled by Jason Jones, but this recent show was the first time that the two fans will finally see the band with ex-Soil singer Ryan McCombs as lead singer of Drowning Pool.
From what I can tell, McCombs did a great job filling in the shoes of Dave Williams, but understandably most of the songs on their setlist is from the recent self-titled album, starting with "37 Stitches". However, for their finale, they did an oldie, "Bodies", from Sinner. For that last song, McCombs did a bold move and climbed over the barrier and sang in the crowd.
There was a long setup time for Five Finger Death Punch, but as soon as the Drowning Pool backdrop was replaced by the 5FDP logo, the crowd went wild. You can tell who the Five Finger fans were (hint: they had mohawks or wore skelley masks), and just feeling the buzz, and you were in for a great show. And they did not disappoint, from the custom mic stand (the mic was a chrome hand holding a gun) to the hydraulic drummer lift (for the drum solo, the kit was sent up about seven feet in the air).
Before Godsmack took the stage, we were shown what basically was a commercial for singer Sully Erna's debut solo album. It sure look like he's gone acoustic/organic with his solo stuff, which makes sense, since he probably has a ton of songs that just won't fit into the alternative metal sound of Godsmack.
We were also shown another movie intro before the band took stage, this time it was a little more interesting. They were basically a historical clips of anti-metal in the news. From suicides to accusations to metal equals evil. But you know what ? Metal is still here, and it's bigger than ever. At least that's the point the intro was trying to make.
When Godsmack took the stage, I quickly realized that music and video plays a huge role in their performance. Each song was accompanied by a specific video, so I'm assuming they cannot go off their setlist randomly without the OK from the video guy. They started their set off with "Cryin' Like a Bitch", their lead single from their third consecutive #1 Billboard album, The Oracle. It was followed by "Straight Out Of Line" and "Awake" and then a long, long, very epic instrumental song (sorry I'm not a major Godsmack fan that I would know what the song was called).
My personal favorite was their performance for "Love-Hate-Sex-Pain", which featured some suggestive videos while they hit the chorus.
Based on the high production of these artist's elaborate stage sets and an excellent bill (all three bands can easily headline) and if you like at least one of these three bands, I'd say you're getting your money's worth. Below are some photographs and tour dates.
I'll start with the band that started the metal mania party: Drowning Pool. Chatting with two Drowning Pool fans, they tell me that this band's been around for ages. That their original singer (Dave Williams) died on tour. The singer was temporarily filled by Jason Jones, but this recent show was the first time that the two fans will finally see the band with ex-Soil singer Ryan McCombs as lead singer of Drowning Pool.
From what I can tell, McCombs did a great job filling in the shoes of Dave Williams, but understandably most of the songs on their setlist is from the recent self-titled album, starting with "37 Stitches". However, for their finale, they did an oldie, "Bodies", from Sinner. For that last song, McCombs did a bold move and climbed over the barrier and sang in the crowd.
There was a long setup time for Five Finger Death Punch, but as soon as the Drowning Pool backdrop was replaced by the 5FDP logo, the crowd went wild. You can tell who the Five Finger fans were (hint: they had mohawks or wore skelley masks), and just feeling the buzz, and you were in for a great show. And they did not disappoint, from the custom mic stand (the mic was a chrome hand holding a gun) to the hydraulic drummer lift (for the drum solo, the kit was sent up about seven feet in the air).
Before Godsmack took the stage, we were shown what basically was a commercial for singer Sully Erna's debut solo album. It sure look like he's gone acoustic/organic with his solo stuff, which makes sense, since he probably has a ton of songs that just won't fit into the alternative metal sound of Godsmack.
We were also shown another movie intro before the band took stage, this time it was a little more interesting. They were basically a historical clips of anti-metal in the news. From suicides to accusations to metal equals evil. But you know what ? Metal is still here, and it's bigger than ever. At least that's the point the intro was trying to make.
When Godsmack took the stage, I quickly realized that music and video plays a huge role in their performance. Each song was accompanied by a specific video, so I'm assuming they cannot go off their setlist randomly without the OK from the video guy. They started their set off with "Cryin' Like a Bitch", their lead single from their third consecutive #1 Billboard album, The Oracle. It was followed by "Straight Out Of Line" and "Awake" and then a long, long, very epic instrumental song (sorry I'm not a major Godsmack fan that I would know what the song was called).
My personal favorite was their performance for "Love-Hate-Sex-Pain", which featured some suggestive videos while they hit the chorus.
Based on the high production of these artist's elaborate stage sets and an excellent bill (all three bands can easily headline) and if you like at least one of these three bands, I'd say you're getting your money's worth. Below are some photographs and tour dates.
|
♥ Drowning Pool |
♥ Five Finger Death Punch |
♥ Godsmack |
|
10/22/10 Freaker's Ball @ Verizon,
Dallas, TX
10/23/10 Buzzfest @ Woodland+ Houston, TX 10/24/10 Bell County Expo Center, Belton, TX 10/26/10 Santa Ana Star Center^ Rio Rancho, NM 10/27/10 1st Bank Center* Broomfield, CO 10/29/10 The Joint* Las Vegas, NV 11/01/10 Fox Theater* Oakland, CA |
10/30/10 Memorial Coliseum @ State Fair* AZ
11/02/10 Arco Arena* Sacramento, CA 11/04/10 Nokia Theatre* Los Angeles, CA * with Drowning Pool & Five Finger Death Punch + with Seether & Papa Roach ^ with Papa Roach |
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