Written by Alison Aird
Thursday, December 10th, 2009
Taste of Chaos with Killswitch Engage, In Flames, Every Time I Die & Maylene and the Sons of Disaster: 3rd Dec 2009, Hammersmith Apollo
I am personally not a huge fan of metal. Nor am I fan of large venues, particularly the Hammersmith Apollo. I am, however, very much into the Southern hick sounds of Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, and Every Time I Die have been my favourite live and recorded band for the past 5 years. This review is going to cover these two bands as I feel they are the most relevant to the scene this site covers. I’m sure some of you will agree with me when I say Killswitch Engage are ironically great whilst being hugely samey. Meanwhile In Flames fans at the Apollo on this particular night put me into an utterly shameful “I only like hardcore” frame of mind. Call me prejudice, but long hair on dudes and studded bracelets aren’t my deal.
It’s obvious however that it’s not only me that senses this divide between the two halves of this tour. As MATSOD take to the sake it is evident that appreciation in the metal scene consists of arms folded and a monotonous nodding head. MATSOD’s fans up front try to counter act this with hoots, hollers and dancing hard. It’s not hard to get into the vibe of MATSOD’s set as well as new vocalist Schuylar Croom (of He Is Legend) pulls some moves I’d expect I’d expect to come straight from the swaying swinging sixties and seventies. Croom definitely looks the part for this band, but MATSOD’s only problem is the lack of original line up. Some of the filling members clash with Croom and guitarist Jake Duncan’s bohemian image to a point that it just doesn’t look like the all the members are playing the same gritty Southern sound. As a MATSOD fan though I enjoyed the set, but would prefer to see them in a smaller venue with a more appreciative audience.
Next up is Every Time I Die. Following the release of New Junk Aesthetic earlier this year I’ve been desperate to see some of this truely epic record performed live. And oh boy they do not disappoint. Perhaps it’s the new material, perhaps it’s the addition of new drummer Ryan Leger, maybe it’s both, but ETID seem to have a whole new lust for life in this performance. The audience they draw is a testament to their increasing popularity at the recognition of their 10 year history. Despite pulling a significantly larger audience than MATSOD, the metal heads are largely unresponsive, but all the ETID fans in the venue attempt to make up for that and the announcement of a headline show at the Borderline on December 21st sends a flurry of excitement through the venue as people start frantically texting friends that might be anywhere remotely near a computer.
As they wrap up their set with some old favourites such as “Floater” and “The New Black”, as well as the new tracks as well, I feel as though the night’s ended for me after ETID. Despite catching a few songs here and there of In Flames and Killswitch Engage (the latter of which I have seen on TOC several times before), they don’t seem to match up musically with ETID and MATSOD, though the improvement in the audience’s reception and energy is evident and impressive.
Perhaps it goes to show that booking agents are acknowledging that music fans have varying tastes and that tours consisting of similar sounding bands can end up just being a drag, but this combination of two metal and two hardcore/rock bands just doesn’t seem to fit too well. Perhaps that’s just me getting more stuck in my ways the older I get, but I feel that Taste of Chaos has lost some of the originality that created such excitement around the tour in its early years. This tour just feels like a metal show, but with fantastic support.
That said, I am psyched out of my mind for Every Time I Die’s headline date at the Borderline (now announced with support from Maylene and the Sons of Disaster). Hopefully this club show will allow Maylene to put on the live show I had hoped to see, and cement ETID’s reputation as an amazing live band into the public psyche.
