Sounds Of The Underground Tour – Live (July 7th, 2005)

Before I begin this quick review, let me get one thing straight. I was very excited to see the Sounds Of The Underground. A Handful of bands I enjoy were playing, including Fear Before The March Of Flames, From Autumn To Ashes, Every Time I Die, and Norma Jean. Now, the Sounds of the Underground is an all-day concert with other hardcore acts such as Poison The Well, A Life Once Lost, Lamb Of God, Throwdown, Opeth, GWAR, and more. Yes, this is what you call a “Metal-Fest.” I am not one to listen to a large amount of Metal or Hardcore, but I do enjoy a few bands of the genre here and there. With that said, I shall move into the review.

My buddy and I left early for the show, 10a.m. early. The show started at Noon and we didn’t want to miss anything good. As we walked up to large arena, we could already see the large groups of kids hanging around the venue. My friend and I scoped out the area and decided to head inside and see if my ticket had arrived at the box-office yet. Here is where the trouble starts. The show was to start in 30 minutes and I was told that only 2 of the bands had sent their tickets and guest lists down to the box-office. Since I was writing a review and also planned on taking pictures, I was forced to wait until the ticket with my name on it was sent down to the main floor. 15 minutes passed. 15 minutes led to 30 and before I knew it, the show was starting without me. At this point I was quite outraged due to the fact that Fear Before The March Of Flames was the first band up, and they were who I had most anticipated watching. I did not end up getting inside the arena until 12:30, after I had completely missed FBTMOF’s set. To add to my distress, I also found out that From Autumn To Ashes would not be appearing at the show. This wasn’t the best start to the show for me. I didn’t even get a chance to catch two of the bands I most wanted to watch. Not letting all the bad news get to me, I made the best of a bad situation and found my friend.

To cut the story down, I’ll get right to the bands. My friend and I were able to catch a few sets – MadBall, Every Time I Die, Norma Jean, Throwdown, A Life Once Lost, and GWAR. There were a few bands playing in between the previous, but most of them were not my type of music and did not appeal to me.

Madball put on a great set. The band, hailing from New York City, proudly represented the New York hard-core scene. What I liked about this band was that they are a catchy, sing-along hardcore band. Not too hard, but not too soft either. The crowd was a tad sleepy for these guys – something they did not deserve. They are a great group of guys and they put on a solid rock show. I do reccommend watching their show.

Throwdown was insane fun. Many more kids knew who they were, which was surprising to me. This band really got the crowd moving. They convinced every kid on the floor to turn around and rush the entire standing area to the very back of the venue. I was somewhat near the back, and completely in the way of these rushing kids. It was like a stampeed of metal-heads running towards me at full speed. I ran to the side and stood in safety as I gazed upon the crowd and realized the dedication these fans had for the band. Throwdown, one of the harder acts of the day, performed a fun and exciting show. If you plan on going to this show, make sure and catch their set.

The next band we watched was Every Time I Die. This was the first band of the day that I was already a fan of prior to the concert. I had heard nothing but good things about their live show up until when I saw them. Everything I heard was true. This band knows how to tear up the stage. Fast-paced crunchy guitar, top-of-your-lungs shouting, claps, breakdowns, and even cowbells. Yes, Every Time I Die knows how to entertain. I had nothing but fun watching these guys perform on that stage.

Norma Jean followed ETID, and they had a lot to live up to following a set like that. Have no fear: they lived up indeed! Norma Jean was one of the heaviest, hardest bands playing at the Sounds Of The Underground. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were the only Christian band performing as well. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine just how much of an insane hardcore show a Christian band could put on, but Norma Jean will blow your expectations right out of the water. The energy and emotion in their set is high. In other words, they will make you sweat. Take it or leave it – this band put on another great set.

After Norma, I watched my last band for the day. I had been anticipating this band’s show for a while. I hadalso heard tales of their live sets…tales of blood, masks, props, everything. It was time to watch GWAR. Now, I am not an actual big fan of Gwar’s music, but there is NOTHING that can compare to this band’s live show. Everything I had heard was true. Gwar shoots “blood” onto the audience, Gwar wears huge monster masks and outfits, Gwar has one of the most exciting sets I have ever seen. Even if you don’t like this band for the music, do yourself a favor and just watch them live. I can garuntee that you’ll leave happy. You just might walk out with a stained-red shirt as well.

After GWAR, my buddy and I decided to leave. We watched about half of the bands and had seen everything we wanted to see. If someone asked me whether or not the Sounds Of The Underground was worth going to, I would say Yes – for sure, if you like hardcore and metal, that is. If you are a fan of that type of music, then you should do yourself a favor and catch this event.