Thursday, October 22, 2009

Soulfly w/ Prong, Cattle Decapitation, Mutiny Within @ Blender Theater - 10/19/09

If Soulfly is looking to sell tickets, then my advice would be for them to beef up its billing potential. No offense to the other bands like Cattle Decapitation, whose stage performance really betrays all the hype that they get in the metal media, but they really don't measure up to the kind of billpower that one would expect. Prong is an admirable find, and bode well with the thrash/groove style of Soulfly, or at least Max Cavalera-era Sepultura, but nothing on this bill suggests the average concertgoer got his $30 worth in tonight's performance.


MUTINY WITHIN - For a band signed to Roadrunner, they're pretty tepid and weak. Set Grade: C+


CATTLE DECAPITATION - The singer drools and slobbers his way through the set while the rest of the band members try to keep up with the speed that proves too exhausting for the listener in the crowd. For a band that has so much push from label Metal Blade, the band falls short of capturing any interest or respectability. Set Grade: C


PRONG - Tommy Victor rebounds admirably despite an extremely slow start. Prong has lost considerable steam in recent years, but the crowd seems to warm up nicely as Victor leads the crowd into groovy choruses and pushes those in the back to sing along. Still, the crowd is merely saving itself for the Soulfly onslaught, provided that some classic and familiar Sepultura tunes are played. Set Grade: B-


SOULFLY - They barely manage to salvage the lackluster show by pulling out favorite metal gems and classic Sepultura songs because, frankly, no one really cares about Soulfly's catalogue, save for a few songs. Still, not as exciting or original as shows past, and a somewhat dismal appearance by Richie Cavalera on "Unleash" doesn't really help much, but Max and company still move the crowd in fits and cause near riots in the front row. Set Grade: B-


Show Grade: B-