MACHINE HEAD
HATEBREED
Current hardcore favourites Hatebreed are standing onstage in Glasgow as if they are headlining the show, but considering the response they are receiving, they may as well be. A large majority of the crowd tonight are Hatebreed fans; not a typical band you would find supporting Machine Head you may say, but it seems to work in their favour. ‘I Will Be Heard’ opens the set, with some of the largest crowd shouts you will hear as the fans scream along to every word with Jamey Jasta as he bounds around the stage. Synchronised jumps and headbangs regardless, Hatebreed are a fantastic live band. The sound is pretty top notch tonight and the band are tight. Fan favourites such as ‘Live For This’ and ‘Doomsayer’ gets the crowd jumping, screaming and the pits start raging, whilst Frank Novinec and Wayne Lozinak swap riffs and rhythms as they constantly scour the stage. Hatebreed are a band who surprise people live; you may not be a fan, but you just have to agree that they are talented and superb live. ‘In Ashes They Shall Reap’ results in en masse sing-along and closing on the aptly titled ‘Destroy Everything’, Hatebreed have ripped this place apart and gained a few hundred fans in the process.
DATE:
VENUE:
Tuesday 23rd February 2010
Academy in Glasgow, UK
MACHINE HEAD
Machine Head have been touring with their newest offering ‘The Blackening’ for 3 years now; they have stated this is their last tour before taking a break to write new material, so there are a lot of fans here tonight who are hoping for a shake up of the set list from the norm due to the occasion and the rest are just avid Machine Head fans willing to turn out whenever they play. ‘Clenching The Fists Of Dissent’ acts as a perfect opener - it builds up at just the right pace as the 4 piece from California take to the stage, the lights are dimmed and the crowd is clapping along to every beat; you can almost feel the atmosphere tonight. Robb Flynn takes center stage in preparation to blast out every hit; ‘Imperium’ takes an unusual place in the set as the 2nd song and the crowd goes insane. The pit swells and takes no pity upon those stood near the sides who get either grabbed or enveloped by the moving mass. Dave McClain is seated high above his band counterparts and he’s hitting every drum beat with precision; it’s strange that he still isn’t hailed as one of the best drummers around in metal more often, the man is a machine live. Phil Demmel and Adam Duce are putting in a high energy set and continuously moving around the stage in a flurry of activity; every member of the band is playing exceptionally well tonight. Songs like ‘Bite The Bullet’ and ‘Exhale The Vile’ aren’t normally played live, but both get a very warm welcome from the fans. The crowd is loving every minute of the set and the band seem to be enjoying every minute of playing. For their encore of ‘Halo’, the sing along reaches breaking point, where the words simply echo over the music and that’s where the thoughts that the metal music community is a ‘family’ come into play as you see people with arms around each other screaming along to every word. ‘Davidian’ comes along and gets the pit raging again; bodies fly through the air as the crowd surfers seize their last opportunity and the audience goes wild for every second left of Machine Head’s brutal set before they leave the venue to chants of the typical “Machine Fucking Head”. A brilliant set from a band who never seem to disappoint live. Long live Machine Head.
HATEBREED
Reviews & Photography by Siobhan Hogarty
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