DevilDriver and Whitechapel Lead a Formidable Line-up on the Winter Kills Tour
DevilDriver
By Alyce Hayes
As someone only in her late twenties, all ages shows make me feel like I just walked into a metal-themed high school dance and was [involuntarily] volunteered as a chaperone. I’m not so far removed from my high school days that I think of myself in these circumstances at “the grown up,” but I know I’ve also matured a lot since then and am no longer “one of the kids.” A limbo-ish time, I guess, but it does give me a great perspective on people-watching. While waiting in line, I overheard boys brag to first-time concert-goers about how many shows they’ve been to at Mojoes, and later, girls in the bathroom discuss the lengths they’d gone to in hopes of “…gaining the attention…” of musicians (and no, I couldn’t make it out of the bathroom in time to avoid witnessing a pair of pierced nipples that had apparently gained some of the aforementioned attention. That being said (and now reading my own words and realizing that even though I know how to have a damn good time and party with the best ~ c’mon, I review rock and metal shows for a living!), it’s time to admit that yeah, I’m one of the grown-ups ~ but make no mistake, a pretty damn cool one), I have to give props to the fantastically entertaining younger generation (can I call them that?) that helped make the Devildriver/Whitechapel show one of the best metal shows I have ever attended, so posturing and pierced teenagers, I thank you…don’t ever change.
The all ages crowd in their glory!
With the show starting earlier than most (6:00?! Those poor adults with day jobs who had to miss some of the action…) and featuring 2 headliners and four openers, I knew I was in for a long night ~ but what night it turned out to be! Every single band was going all out for this tour, aptly named the Winter Kills Tour, after DevilDriver’s highly successful 2013 album of the same name. And all six bands killed it, hands down; Joliet, IL had its proverbial face melted for six straight hours.
Fit for an Autopsy’s bravest crowdsurfer meets Mojoes’ security
Starting us off not so gently was NJ death metal band Fit for an Autopsy.
Fit for an Autopsy
With three guitarists ~Will Putney, Patrick Sheridan and Tim Howley ~ I’m sure you can imagine just how intense this band could be…and was. Bassists Shane Slade and drummer Josean Orta rounded things out with some much needed bottom and precision. I’ll admit to some initial misgivings about their set, knowing that vocalist Nate Johnson had left the band, but replacement Greg Wilburn gave a stellar performance from the moment he stepped onto the stage…misgiving gone within a millisecond. The audience received him very well ~ quite literally, in fact, when he went crowd-surfing during one of their last songs, much to the surprise of Mojoe’s security. Tip #1 for delivering a kickass metal show? Always keep ‘em on their toes, and kudos for Greg for doing just that ~ and for winning over die-hard Fit for an Autopsy fans who could easily have refused to accept him. The band is in prime form and you’ll be hearing a lot more from them soon.
Rivers of Nihil
Rivers of Nihil, a death metal band from Pennsylvania, was next. The musicians (Brody Uttley and Jon Kunz on guitars, Adam Biggs on bass, and Alan Balamut on drums) had a very tight sound, and vocalist Jake Dieffenbach’s screams are no doubt the envy of many singers out there in the world. Adding to my people-watching enjoyment was a Rivers of Nihil super fan in the mosh pit…I shall call Him “Tin-Tin,” thanks to his distinct hairstyle, which consisted of nothing more than a blond tuft that stood straight up in the front. He stalked the people of the pit on tip-toe with jazz hands waving in front of his face. My spidey senses tingled with the suspicion that a certain psychedelic may have been involved, but it didn’t matter. The dude was clearly having the time of his life...as was most of the crowd, just minus the jazz hands/spirit fingers moves.
Carnifex
San-Diego based death metallers Carnifex continued the auditory assault with the assistance of what I believe may have been the Roadrunner on drums. Shawn Cameron’s feet were almost as speedy and flawless as renowned drummer Gene Hoglan; the amazing sound he produced reverberated in our chest cavities, and bear in mind that we were on the upper balcony). Guitarists Jordan Lockrey and Cory Arford, along with bassist Fred Calderon, gave us a refreshing change-up to standard death metal; their music embraced a little more melody than the typical fare, but not for a second did it lose an ounce of brutality. And it definitely didn’t stop Carnifex vocalist Scott Lewis from commanding the now-sweaty throngs to create circle pits and cause mayhem on the floor throughout the band’s ferocious set. Tip #2 for putting on a kickass metal show? Don’t let the fans rest.
Closing out the openers was Revocation, a death/thrash metal band from Boston, MA (and a personal favorite). Of all of the openers, I’d heard their name the most from fellow metalheads who were seeing the Winter Kills tour on one of its stops ~ they were all dying to hear the band play live.
Revocation
Revocation proved to be the perfect bridge from the brutal death metal of the previous three bands to the metal of DevilDriver and Whitechapel. Guitarists David Davidson and Dan Gargiulo, bassist Brett Bamberger, and drummer Phil Dubois combined the best of dark, bitter grooves and classic metal artistry to create their sound. Were they heavy? Hell yes. Were they melodic? Absolutely. But they also had a distinct style that included inserting bluesy influences into their songs…and in a tongue-in-cheek sort of manner. Vocalist/guitarist David Davidson wove in those bluesy moments as a musical interlude right before taking us into a brutal breakdown, or would slip on into the middle of one of his ridiculously sick guitar solos.
Whitechapel
Before deathcore heavy hitters Whitechapel ~ vocalist Phil Bozerman, guitarists Ben Savage, Alex Wade, and Zach Householder, bassist Gabe Crisp, and drummer Ben Harclerode ~ even got to the stage, the venue was packed from barricade to sound booth with a nice, juicy mosh pit nucleus.
Whitechapel
And when the band started, all ages whipped themselves into a frenzy on the main floor, echoing the musical frenzy that was coming from the stage. The Tennessee natives have a little touch of that southern groove metal (like Lamb of God), enhanced by Bozerman’s percussive guttural growls ~ and when that combination is performed live, it produces a vicious attack that brings a smile to your face as you throw yourself at the person next to you. In other words, there were a lot of grinning moshers who were going to be super-proud of their Revocation-fueld bruises the next day. As the set went on, people began chanting “Wall of Death,” and, as promised, toward the end of the set, Bozerman instructed the ever-attentive fans to separate into two sides. On his mark, at the start of the song, those brave souls slammed together like the Red Sea after Moses had gone on to better things, while those of us on the upper balcony looked on in a mix of amusement, slight befuddlement, and horror (I was probably the lone representative of the “horror” as I had never seen the Wall of Death in person).
DevilDriver
Reigning supreme and finishing out the night were heavy metal Santa Barbara natives DevilDriver, who’ve long been known (and worshipped) for their near-violent energy.
DevilDriver
Playing to a slightly more packed house (how the newcomers managed to squeeze in is beyong me, the guys (Dez Fafara on vocals, Jeff Kendrick and Mike Spreitzer on guitar, Chris Towning on bass, and John Boecklin on drums) got started immediately, keeping the crazy metal fervor and fury going and, who would have thought it possible, inciting the crowd even more. Their music, not altogether dissimilar in terms of groove but with an undeniably more go-for-the-jugular style (there’s no arguing that when DD says that “This Beast is alive and won’t ever die. You have been warned,” they ain’t kidding), was a fitting contrast to Whitechapel. I noticed a bit of a White Zombie-esque “accessible madness” in their music, which could account for why their following includes not just the fans who live for having blood pour from their ears, but also those who like it hard, heavy, unforgiving, but sans the blood…Remember the young ladies I mocked in my Lacuna Coil/Anti-Mortem/Eve to Adam review, the ones who half danced, half headbanged, and did justice to neither? Well, take the dancing down to ¼, up the headbanging to ¾, add in a little anti-spasmodic, and it might just be an appropriate reaction to some of DD’s music…not all, but some ~ they can and do still bring the Beast.
DevilDriver
This grand finale of a set was the crowning glory of a particularly well-rounded night (well, early evening into night) for metal fans of all kinds, ages, and hair dos (“Tin Tin,” keep doin’ what you’re doin’). There was non-stop crowd-surfing (many surfers had the opportunity to high-five Fafara at the end of their “ride”) and the pit was never less than 15 people ~ Have to say, I kind of had the urge to get in on the action myself! When DevilDriver played their cover of AWOLNATION’s “Sail,” a total masterpiece (original and cover), the excitement reached new heights, and stayed there for the final track, fan favorite “Clouds over California,” a song that swelled the pit to enormous proportion. And let me tell you, Mojoes was a sweltering cauldron of insanity by the end of the night from all the heat generated by the energy in this show.
…If only we could harness that kind of sweaty intensity to power the world…
DevilDriver
Dez from DD flipping off the camera ~ but then giving Julie a wink and a huge smile…
Editor’s note: FlashWounds was extremely lucky to have the opportunity to chat with Dez the night after this show, so make sure to stay tuned for that audio interview coming soon!
