DISTURBED
SHINEDOWN
Shinedown are the only support act for tonight. Have you ever noticed that when there is only one supporting band, you get to enjoy it so much more? Well, I have, and Shinedown was definitely a perfect starter to this evening. Kicking off with ‘Devour’, the southern rockers from sunny Florida don’t waste time in getting the whole of Brixton to vibrate. Brent Smith admits to the crowd that they have waited 7 years to play here and we can wonder why judging by the quality of their set. ‘Second Chance’ slows the tempo down and mesmerizes the audience, partly thanks to Smith’s powerful and enchanting vocals. A lot of their fans seem to have turned up tonight and, lost there in the middle of them, I feel like I could be the only one not to know the lyrics. From their last album, ‘The Sound of Madness’ brings some more sing-along and frenetic clapping to follow the heavy drum beats. Apart from a handful of silly youngsters moshing in the middle, the atmosphere is just perfect. ‘Fly from the Inside’ closes their show with heavy guitar riffs and catchy groovy rhythms. Certainly one band to check out!
DATE:
VENUE:
Saturday 4th October 2008
Brixton Academy in London, UK
DISTURBED
Those Chicago rockers seem to have made a confident comeback on the “metal” scene this year. Releasing ‘Indestructible’ over the summer got them to appear at Download Festival and headline this year’s Metal Hammer Golden Gods awards. Now, does this prove that the band is now fully and duly accepted as a metal act? Not quite if you ask most metalheads around but frontman David Draiman seems to think so: “We are metal, whatever people say!”. Taking to the stage on a medical stretcher, Draiman is wearing a white camisole and a Hannibal Lector type mask. Helped by a male nurse, he is let free to perform the appropriate ‘Perfect Insanity’. A couple of tracks later the now classic ‘Voices’ strikes. The fans present today are definitely of the die hard kind but it’s hard to describe them. From the gothic to the hardcore cyber, from the teenage emo girl to the metalhead, they couldn’t be more diverse. No wonder why this band is pretty unclassifiable. One the crowd’s favourite, ‘Prayer’, kicks in and it’s mayhem down the pit. Sometimes it does look as though some guys down there are just going to a gig to mosh and piss people off as it’s pretty obvious that they don’t have a clue about what’s going on the stage. Or maybe it’s just me getting old. ‘Stupify’ gives Brixton an awesome groove and ‘The Game’ ends the main set on powerful drums and techno beats. By now, any Disturbed fans can easily guess what the encore will consist of. Draiman’s and co reappearance causes the audience to scream so loud that I wish I had kept my ear plugs in. Wow, those guys have some power! ‘Inside the Fire’ opens the encore, followed by ‘Stricken’ which brings an amazing drum solo. ‘The Sickness’ will close the show as expected. Don’t get me wrong, this is also my favourite track but it is rare these days to see bands so attached to a song that they constantly use it to end their performance. All in all, Disturbed put on a good and smooth show although very predictable and lacking in surprises and highlights.
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SHINEDOWN
Reviews & Photography by Kristell Gathoye
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