After years of inactivity and petty bickering between the original members of Fear Factory -- you know, that band with two white guys and two Spanish guys -- has returned to Irving Plaza with two more white guys and minus one Spanish guy. In case you were trying to keep up-to-date with the members, former drummer Raymond Herrera (the one Spanish guy) has been replaced by the zombified giant Gene Hoglan and former bassist Christian Olde-Wolbers was replaced by the wooly mammoth-looking Byron Stroud, and these guys join with original mainstays Burton C. (unt?) Bell and that other Spanish dude, the portly Dino Cazares. I wasn't around to see the original four perform, so I have nothing to compare last night's performance to, but from my vantage point, which was across all the douchebag yokels in the V.I.P. section, it was a pretty solid show.
The preliminary bands were capable and gave it their all, but there was nothing spectacular there. Baptized in Blood, After the Burial, and 36 Crazyfists (not too crazy about these fists) all belong on a bill in that horrid Summer Slaughter package, which I am happily going to skip this year, and don't belong on a bill of this caliber. Divine Heresy, who were actually second on the bill, is Dino Cazares' chance to warm himself up for the grand finale. Sadly, DH comes across to me as FF's bastard child or bratty little brother. After the shakeup with Tommy "Vext" Cummings, who seems to enjoy beating up on his bandmates' wives, like Jennifer Cazares, and was promptly fired, it doesn't seem that Divine Heresy will last much longer. It has been relegated to being nothing more than a side project for its participants with Cazares, as mentioned earlier, in Fear Factory and drummer Tim Yeung is filling in for Pete Sandoval in Morbid Angel, which leaves bassist Joe Payne and newest frontman, Travis Neal, with nothing to do but wait for everyone to come around. A member of the band even confessed to me that this was in fact Divine Heresy last tour, for a long time.... perhaps forever. Divine Heresy's performance is promising, but in the long run, I don't see them carrying on much longer.
Fear Factory starts with smoke and fog, a bit of ridiculous theatrics that signals nothing special but the arrival of the final act. The rotund body of Gene Hoglan is easily seen in the dark as he is lead to his drum kit, and the other three men - Bell, Stroud, and Cazares - take their place on the forefront as the crowd starts up madly even before they hit the first chord. They go through most of their catalogue, playing every incarnation of industrial metal, nu-metal, groove metal, death metal, and thrash while the pits break off into two separate areas. Fear Factory are able to sustain my interest for a while before the yawns and clock-watching begin for me. Granted, Fear Factory are NOT on my iPod and I am unfamiliar with their music, which will be rectified once I free up some space on my computer, but they are able to pepper their set with some songs that you can't help but bob your head too. I have to commend frontman Burton Bell for bringing up the BP issue in the Gulf Coast. He leads the chant of "BP must pay!" which fills the venue with cheers and applause. Even the neanderthals in the mosh-pits find time to stop kicking each other's asses long enough to chant and cheer as well. Bell, who didn't seem to want to divulge any information to me concerning his and Cazares' problems with Herrera and Olde-Wolbers as Raymond had and thereby making him look rather lame in my eyes, seems to channel his inner Hetfield rather well, but he loses his power and presence and shrink when the spotlight goes to the heavy-set Cazares and even heavier-set Hoglan. Fear Factory are not as devastating as I was led to believe, but they are good. I mean, they must be doing something right if Metallica chose them as their support act.
AFTER THE SHOW
The cro-magnon-looking Fear Factory bassist Byron Stroud proves that he is a douchebag and pulls the usual trash-bag, rock-star move of promising fans that he'd return to sign autographs after putting away his gear on the bus. But, of course, he never returned. He deserves to get cancer and die.
I asked Burton C. Bell and it's apparent that the "C" stands for cunt. When I asked him why he and Cazares cannot seem to make peace with Herrera and Olde-Wolber, his only response was a juvenile "why?" and my response was "why not?". Wouldn't it make good business sense just to write better songs with the lineup that actually wrote GOOD SONGS? Whatever went down with these four morons has bruised their precious egos to the point of unforgiveness. Bell was right, I haven't walked a mile in his shoes, but I'm saavy enough to know that if something works I keep my mouth shut and let that shit roll. Okay, Bell, you be content playing second-fiddle to the big boys and you guys will always headline the mid-card bills. DICK!
And could Gene Hoglan look any more unhappy having fans? He and I have had issues in the past, and have since made up, but watching him interact with other fans is like watching a mindless zombie straggling around on the streets. He's kind enough to take pics and sign autographs, but there's too much huffing and puffing coming from him. I know he's a large guy and large people tend to huff and wheeze a lot, but his seemed more out of irritation than just being a fat guy.
It would have been nice to say hello to Dino Cazares, but apparently he seemed more content to spending the little time he had with his lady than say hello to his fans who pay to see him play. And what the fuck is up with this "VIVA MEXICO, CABRONES" bullshit? Dude, we know you're Spanish and you're proud, but must you get all these little spics in the crowd all riled up like animals in a zoo? I'm Spanish and even I was embarrassed when you said it not once, BUT TWICE! A simple thank-you would suffice, old man. Is Mexico a corrupt and crooked country to begin with? Why would you advocate such a country?
Baptized in Blood: C+
Divine Heresy: B
After the Burial: C+
36 Crazyfists: C
Fear Factory: B+
Show Grade: B
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment