Lacuna Coil, Anti-Mortem, and Eve to Adam at Chicago’s Bottom Lounge
Lacuna Coil
By Alyce Hayes
It was a rainy Tuesday night in the Windy City, and the Bottom Lounge was buzzing with concert-goers from all over the area. Sure, everyone had just wrapped up their Memorial three-Day weekend barbecues out in the sun, but now was our chance to let loose (sans sunscreen) just one last time before heading back to the daily work grind.
Anti-Mortem
The first band to grace the stage was Anti-Mortem, an Oklahoma based Southern hard rock band. And in case you forgot where they are from, you were quickly reminded by their intro: a recording of the theme song from the Broadway musical ~ you guessed it ~ Oklahoma.
Anti-Mortem
Then the young quintet took the stage, hair flowing (and I mean, hair, people), and proceeded to take us all for one hell of a ride. The southern roots run deep for these good ol’ boys and every song was dripping with bass-heavy grooves; I could definitely hear some traces of Black Crowes, Pantera and Black Sabbath in their music. The first song they gave us was “Words of Wisdom,” ~ and it pummeled the crowd from note one with fierce riffs and kick drum action. The song “Ride of your Life,” from their new album, New Southern, guaranteed that not one person would walk away or lose any interest during their set ~ just the opposite happened, in fact, with people moving closer to the stage like moths to a flame and forming a mosh pit…because with what was invading our ear holes, not having a pit wasn’t even an option. A-M then played “Truck Stop Special,” an obvious crowd favorite, which started off with a slow, bluesy intro that showed off singer Larodo Romo’s gritty vocals.
Anti-Mortem
Even though the band is relatively young (the average age is 21, so yes, the expression “good ol’ boys” really is in reference to their Southern roots only!), their musical prowess is well beyond their years. Guitarists Nevada Romo and Zain Smith aren’t afraid to demand the most out of their instruments, happily combining elements of Led Zeppelin and Metallica into their own leads. Drummer Levi Dickerson and bassist Corey Henderson kept a steady rhythm and were the key to making the songs hit harder than the standard hard rock (and metal) fare. At the beginning of Anti-Mortem’s set, it was apparent that not many people in the crowd were familiar with the band’s music; by the end, you couldn’t tell fans from first-time listeners, as I’ll bet about 99% of the latter had turned into the former. This band has started a movement, bringing some much-needed fresh blood to the hard rock and metal scene. If this is their version of Southern hospitality, count me in.
Eve to Adam
Eve to Adam, a hard rock band from New York (not known for its Southern hospitality ~ or for much hospitality at all, but I digress…), was next. This show was the last that the five-piece (Taki Sassaris on vocals, Alex Sassaris on drums, Gaurav Bali and Adam Latiff on guitars and Aaron Baylor on bass) was opening for Lacuna Coil, and the band showed Chicago a lot of love. They had a great radio-friendly sound that reminding me a little of Saliva and Theory of a Deadman. Vocalist Taki Sassaris showed versatility with his mix of screams, gritty vocals and clean melodies while lead guitarist Gaurav Bali had the whole crowd mesmerized by his solos. A couple of crowd favorites were “Immortal,” a piece that proved to be quite timely with the recent Memorial Day holiday, and “Straitjacket Supermodel,” one hell of a party song that got us all moving even more than we already were. The band ended the set by doing an amazing cover of Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell.” People don’t realize it, but being the middle band of three (especially when you follow Anti-Mortem and take the stage before Lacuna Coil!) is a tough position to be in ~ you have to keep the momentum from the first band going and get the audience primed for the headliner ~ and Eve to Adam did just that.
Lacuna Coil
If there was a musical intro for Lacuna Coil, I definitely didn’t hear it. The crowd’s cheers were completely deafening as band members Marco Coti Zelati (bass) and Marco ‘Maus’ Biazzi (guitar) made their way to the stage (and you know how it is ~ as soon as the lights dim, everyone goes nuts until the singer takes to the microphone).
Lacuna Coil
As you all can probably tell by now, I’m a true lover of metal. I like it hard, fast, and heavy ~ most of the time. But I have quite an open-minded non-metal side as well. I used to listen to Lacuna Coil on repeat in my college days, but began to drift away as I listened more often to bands like Pantera, Lamb of God and Straight Line Stitch. So imagine my surprise as the set got underway ~ LC were freakin’ heavy!!! I watched in awe ~ and then joined in ~ as the band members and everyone around me headbanged (although a lot of the other girls were, more often than not, doing that annoying dance/headbang combo thing) like we were at a full-on, shake-you-to-the-core metal show…’cause guess what, they were! This band was rocking out just as hard as ~ if not harder than ~ their pretty damn heavy openers.
Lacuna Coil has perfected the elusive formula of mixing the intensely ethereal with the true grit of hard rock and have successfully turned it into something truly one-of-a-kind. Andrea Ferro’s raw voice and Cristina Scabbia’s crisp, powerful tone blend seamlessly ~ and how can you not be pulled into the music even further when they’re so physically expressive (an Italian trait I envy)? The highlight of this show, however, was when Cristina spoke to the audience about the creation of their new album, Broken Crown Halo, and had us all chanting the powerful mantra, “We fear nothing!” as the band began to play their new song “Nothing Stands in Our Way.” It was a perfect moment of connection between this band and its many fans, and I have to say, I’m quite glad I had the chance to witness it. I’ve already put Lacuna Coil [back at] the top of my playlists again, and I urge you all to do the same.
Lacuna Coil
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