I showed up at the venue around 7PM, and was very much dissapointed by the turnout for this event. “So like the people in South Florida,” I thought, “I bet if there was an extreme death metal band like Cannibal (and they only play here twice a year, this place would be jam-packed!” However my fears proved to be unfounded, as people started slowly to trickle in and eventually built up to a decent sized aoudience.

The first band on the bill was Aghora. For those who are not familiar, they are an Indian raga and Mahavishnu Orchestra inspired fusion/progmetal outfit. Sean Malone and Sean Reinart of Death and Cynic fame played on their first album. Their music is an eclectic formula of the singer Danishta Rivera’s minimalistic but quaint vocals, hard hitting staccato riffs, odd time signatures, and Eastern sounds. The guitar playing is the highlight of this band - the band’s lead guitarist and mastermind Santiago Doubles is often described to have a sound that’s more Vai than Vai himself. It must be said that this is not something that would appeal to everyone, especially not to a lot of metal fans who live for speed, double-bass drum beats and manly vocals. But seeing as the headliner is a band that is rather eclectic in their own right and tends to diverge from metal cliches, Aghora fit snuggly into this bill.

Their setlist consisted of a variety of old and new songs, which were executed tightly. Knowing that the band has only rehearsed with the current lineup for a short amount of time, the level of tightness at which they performed was impressive. Danishta’s vocals were spot on, and Santiago’s guitar playing was flawless as always. A level of musicianship that one would expect from a progressive band was met and exceeded. As the band is based in Florida, they have a fan-base here that came out to support them. Due to the fact that they’ve been going through some lineup difficulties, Aghora has not been able to play many shows; this was the second show they’ve played since 2002. Things are looking good for them however in 2005; with a permanent lineup of Andy Deluca, Danishta Rivero, Santiago Dobles, and Ian Hayes they are currently recording their second album with Neil Kernon and prepare for a tour in the fall.

Next up was Single Bullet Theory. I’ve never heard of these guys before, and did not know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised that these guys were full on metal (I confess that I kind of expected some metalcore band based on the title): pummeling death/thrash, with an old school vibe and shredding guitar solos. Lead by vocalist/lead guitarist Matt Difabio formerly of Pissing Razors, they reminded me at times of Testament, Slayer, Malevolent Creation and old Nevermore if you can imagine that. The vocals from guttural growls to some clean but aggressive vocals and sometimes even Rob Halford-esque wails. I definetely look forward to seeing more of these guys and their killer formula of pummeling modern metal and old school attitude.

Beyond the Embrace is another band that is deeply rooted in the old school. One of the guitarists was wearing an Iron Maiden shirt, which was only appropriate since Beyond the Embrace also features three guitarist, with heavy emphasis on harmonies. While many of the Swedish Death metal bands have abandoned the style of metal that is now famously called the ‘Gothenburg sound’, Beyond the Embrace proudly carries that torch here in US. The band played a variety of songs from their debut Against the Elements and their sophomore release Insect Song.

Being a guitarist myself, I was very excited to see a three-guitar melodic death metal band in action. To my dissapointment, one of the guitarists played power chords the entire time, leaving the other two to old In Flames-style harmonies. I guess I just expected more out of them guitar-wise, but I could not complain about the quality of the songs. They were heavy and melodic, albeit slightly generic. They were the first band to really get the crowd moving – there was some serious pit action and I almost got my digital camera knocked out of my hands. The strongest asset of the band is not one of the three guitarists, as one may expect, but the vocalist Shawn Gallagher. Not only did he have a lethal growl, but also very memorable clean vocal hooks. The overall sound was akin to a lovechild between Swedish Metal and Iron Maiden, with just a tad of metalcore thrown in for a good measure. I enjoyed their set and as I am sure this up and coming band will continue to improve; they will surely become a force to be reckoned with.

And so at last, it was time for Amorphis. The band that went through many a metamorphosis through the course of their career, and it was pleasing to see that the fans stuck with the band despite its relentless chopping of their roots, so to speak. On recent albums Tuanela and Am Universum the band moved away from their folk death metal sound, opting for clean vocals and keyboard oriented songs.

Before seeing the show I knew that the band had a new vocalist Tomi Joutsen, who is a death metal singer. There was some doubt as to his ability to sing the clean parts. Not only was Joutsen able to sing clean parts, but in my opinion his clean vocals are superior to Pasi Koskinen’s, which I’ve found to be a little on the pop side of things. But what really made the jump back to growling vocals is how they worked with the new songs. Rather than sing the songs as they appear on the albums, Joutsen added his own style, mixing beastial growls with his deep singing voice. Not only did that give a heavier edge to the newer songs, but also created a contrast to the melodious music, which gave them a sound both unique and interesting.

At this point I must mention that prior to this show, I have never been a great fan of this band. And without having any pre-dispositions, I can honestly say without any bias that Amorphis put on an ublelievable show. The guitarists used digital delay and other effects and worked with keyboards to create rich soundscapes. The rhythm section was tight, and the sound was excellent. In fact, it was the best I’ve ever heard at this particular venue. Every nuance of the music was crystal clear, and the band perfeormed with machine-like precision. Tomi Joutsen’s is a great addition to the band. Like any great frontman, he drew complete attention of the audience, and his vocals fit both new and old songs.

Needless to say, the fans went all out for the headliner, moshing and headbanging. After an extensive set, the band closed the night with a three-song encore. The closing song was a fan favorite Black Winter Day from the album Tales from the Thousand Lakes. The kings of Finnish death metal have made a new fan, and I am eager to see what the future albums will sound like with the great addition of Tomi Joutsen to the fold.

This entry was posted by Deathshred King on Friday, 1st April, 2005 at 17:02 and is filed under Live Performances, Amorphis, Aghora. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response below. You may view a   printable version of this page. You may download this page in   PDF format.