This evening’s show was moved at the last minute from Corona to MTelus. The appropriately named tour Rise Against The Machine brought five bands along for the ride. At a fair price too, considering Ticketmaster constantly gauging fans for fees. Usually, this would be a stadium show.
It was the right choice of venue – more space to move. For a soggy crowd who had lined up early for premium spots in the pit, but mainly on the balcony. The late nineties nu-metal fans had grown up and could no longer stand for five consecutive bands. I remember when the adrenaline rush would fuel the rest of the night. Now I find myself wishing they sold coffee at venues to make it past 10 pm. I feel old.
For me, the night was a trip down memory lane. At some time in the early 2000s, I had witnessed most of these bands come to town at venues that no longer exist. To have them all under one roof over twenty years later was a fun throwback experience.
Cultus Black
There seemed to be a key theme going on this evening. Who doesn’t love the allure and the mystery of a masked band? Cultus Black were the amuse-bouche for the evening. A newer band that had just released their first self-titled album.
An aggressive music project created in the ashes of frontman L’s former band Motograter, which identifies as a cult. Not much information on their origins but the music and performance spoke for themselves. With the raw and guttural growls in You Make Me Sick. Switching to opposite haunting melodies in Killing The Beautiful. I fully appreciated the versatility and entertainment aspect of the band.
As an unknown act of the tour, they had only six songs to wow us with. Throwing in a bonus, they played a reworked darker rendition of Negative Creep by Nirvana. It took a few moments for the audience to catch on, but I think they enjoyed it, and I did. It’s fun to discover a new band live, a true test of any band these days, that can they live up to the hype.
Dope
On to the appetizers, known for their more obscene lyrics and references to a certain obvious drug, Dope were up next. Hailing out the harder New York metal scene, best described as angry simple and full of middle fingers.
With songs such as Violence and Die MF Die, I have to wonder why so angry? They managed to get the crowd cheering and giving them the finger plenty throughout their short set. The audience was familiar with some of the songs that had commercial success, being featured in WWE wrestling and The Fast And The Furious.
As the crowd expelled more energy going ’round and ’round in the pit, the band appropriately ended their set with their cover by Dead Or Alive; You Spin Me Round.
Mushroomhead
By far, the most theatrical act of the night was Mushroomhead. A band inspired by their humble beginnings, having had the honour to have been invited to play their second show with Gwar. That character-driven story has carried the band until today, eight studio albums later.
Comprised of seven members, they were undoubtedly left starving for space onstage. They still made the most of every inch of the stage. With two water drummers on each side of the stage, climbing and leaping off them. While the lead singer made sure to connect with their fans crowd surfing as much as possible.
Having been accused of plagiarism from Slipknot back in the early days, you can’t help but see the similarities. It’s not every day though that you get to see an elaborate set as such. I think they’ve evolved their characters to be something quite unique. They look more like spooky puppets than clowns. By the end, they had broken into a medley of Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath, Empty Spaces and Warpigs.
Fear Factory
Only days before kicking off the tour, Fear Factory had to find a new singer. Facing many member shuffles throughout the length of their career, Milo Silvestro was chosen out of three hundred auditions. With zero masks or costumes, it was their turn to win over the fans.
A look of surprise was painted on Silvestro’s face as he walked onstage to the immense roaring crowd. The pit had opened up as they shredded through Shock off their third album, Obsolete. You could feel the power of the drums in your chest, almost with the precise subsonic power of a machine gun. A few friends, the water percussionists from Mushroomhead, appeared onstage to complete the wall of sound for the hit Edgecrusher.
Providing there were plenty of songs to choose from in their vast back catalogue, fans were shocked when they went into the next one. “We’re going to play a song I said I’d never play live, but here we are… this is Archetype,” yelled Silvestro. I witnessed almost everyone around me familiar with this era lose there shit. Fists and heads banging along to the beat as they sang along at the top of their lungs.
Static-X
I had a chance to see the original band back at the spectrum. Since the tragic, untimely passing of their singer Wayne Static in 2014, I hadn’t really followed the rebirth of the band. I wasn’t sure what to expect, as I am weary of tributes or just making money off the artists after they’ve left this mortal coil. But this was more like friends coming together to keep the memory and music alive. I can respect that.
I think the band had the right to build a little suspense since the whole night went pretty smoothly with changeovers and set times. Fifteen minutes later, they came out to the song Time Warp, with the famous X mascot and his shovel from the band’s music videos. The new singer Zer0, who is rumored to be in Dope, ascended to a riser high above the crowd.
Zer0 adorned a custom-designed mask the band and Wayne’s family had created in tribute with Eddie Yang, a famous Hollywood artist. Peering eerily over the masses with glowing red robotic eyes and towering spiky hair. The idea of wearing a mask would allow the freedom to get lost in the vibe and to completely disconnect from his own identity to ultimately serve Static-X.
This tour was for the 20th anniversary of their album Wisconsin Death Trip, with the obvious delay, as everything stood still for COVID. The band sped through at least six songs from said album. Surrounded by screens and oversized spotlights that could easily knock a plane out of the sky.
I realized I wasn’t as familiar with later albums. The songs were full of long moments of distortion. I felt, in some ways, they lived up to they’re name more than anything, being a little static on stage. I can imagine it’s not easy to wear such a monstrosity of a mask and play music. It definitely takes more focus than the average show.
The main highlight was the tribute to Wayne. Inviting the crowd to sing along to Cold, a slower melodic and sombre song. With images of him throughout the years projected on the screen, it ended in a brief moment of silence. RIP Wayne.
Leading into the very last song that made the band famous. Push It, a song even my dad knew back in the day because music video channels would play it to death along with the usual suspects. It was a long evening of loud, unapologetic music that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Review – Samantha Morris
Photos – Kieron Yates
