Most of the shirts including the tour were $15. Longsleeve was $20 and the plain black shirt with just "Skeletonwitch" on it was $10. I don't recall CD's but I'm pretty sure they had them all. I know they had all of them on vinyl available.
I arrive at Dte around noon and I call up Will and he says he is looking for Brad and Dayna so I start walking looking for them. End up spotting Will from two rows over and find Brad, Dayna, Will, and Elliot where we chilled for a while. This guy next to their car kept coming over and spewing random shit and at the end he kept offering me Crown Royal. So he then spots me drinking from another bottle and insists me drink some Crown Royal it twas good shit. After that its about time we should head to the gates after a couple minor setbacks we started making our way up to the gate where Drew was somewhere in line. By this time the line was stretching past where we were parked. I was thinking oh shit this in gonna be awhile after not being able to get a hold of Drew we found this opening and made our way into it. Anyways we end up making it into Dte with only missing the local Jager opener and half of Betraying The Martyrs. Picked up a Whitechapel shirt and their new cd. Will, Elliot and I chilled in the Rockstar tent until Betraying The Martyrs were done(they fucking sucked btw). We made out way up for a good spot for Whitechapel.
Whitechapel- The first band I was excited for in the day and I was not disappointed. Right when they started the pit opened up in front of us and I got separated from Will and Elliot. i just stayed where I was which was a good spot. Whitechapel came out and opened with Possession which in my opinion is a great opener. The moved right into The Darkest Day Of Man which was fucking heavy live. after that they played This Is Exile which they finally stopped closing with it which was refreshing. At this point it was time for Whitechapel to do their wall of death I figured why the not. I chose the right side and right when I hit the dude it front up me bounced me right into the third row which I stayed for the rest of the show. They chose I, Dementia for the wall of death which just sounded kind of strange but whatever. They then played Section 8 and closed with Possibilities Of An Impossible Existence which I thought was the best song of the set. Only thing that bothered me was nothing from The Somatic Defilement but it was all goo. 8.5/10
After Whitechapel I grouped back up with Will and Elliot and Will decided he wanted to buy the Slipknot cd to meet them. Elliot got some water and I went to get some Rockstar. After drinking some Rockstar I spent the whole time during Asking Alexandria looking for someone I knew and flipping off Asking Alexandria. Also I was walking past the Metal Blade tent and the guy have me a bag to carry my stuff in which was cool. Ended up talking one of my teachers it was weird as fuck seeing her outside of school. But anyways picked up a AILD shirt and ended seeing Jay, Mikey, and Elliot they said they were going to the med tent to see what was up. After we found out everything was alright we decided we wanted to get a good spot for Anthrax though this meant we had to watch The Devil Wears Prada.
The Devil Wears Prada- Shit...Nothing really else to say they might have been slightly better than Asking Alexandria but not by much. It felt like they played forever. 4/10
Anthrax- Best side stage band of the day in my opinion. Opened up with Caught In A Mosh and the crowd loved it as did I. Went right into Got The Time which sounded fantastic live. Now I'm not that familiar with the new album but the one song they played from it sounded good. They went right back into it with Antisocial and Indians where they tried to combine the two pits where we were right in between of. I'm not sure if they succeeded because I ended up right on the side of the main pit and I made my way back to the group. After that they played I Am The Law and closed with Madhouse. Great set and I hope I can catch them with Testament and Death Angel in September. 9/10 Caught In A Mosh Got The Time Fight 'Em Till You Can't Antisocial Indians I Am The Law Madhouse
At this point I felt hella tired from the sun beating down on me for the past few hours so few a couple hours I was really out of it. We met up on the hill with Brad and Dayna and here comes Will with a Anthrax set and dumps a Rockstar all over his head. We get a group picture which looks like I'm staring out into space. Also because I was in need of water I chose to go with Brad, Dayna, Will and Brad's sister and friend to get some water so I didn't watch As I Lay Dying oh well I am sure I will see them again. After walking around Dte and losing Brad's sister and friend we found them and made our way back to the group for Motorhead
Motorhead- I was still kind of it but Motorhead was very good. I have seen them once before and from what I recall it was pretty much the same everything minus the set. I enjoyed myself though and would probably catch them again. 7/10 Bomber Damage Case I Know How To Die Over The Top Stay Clean The Chase Is Better Than The Catch Going To Brazil Drum Solo Killed By Death Ace Of Spades Overkill
Finally start feeling better and I was so fucking ready for Slayer.
Slayer- Great the best band of the day. They opened with Disciple which was a lot better of an opener than World Painted Blood. Went into War Ensemble, Die By The Sword, and Hate Worldwide. They played Mandatory Suicide which I couldn't hold it in and went crazy. Then which was probably one of the best song selections they put into the set they played Altar Of Sacrifice and Jesus Saves which were phenomenal to hear live. Then my favorite Slayer song live came up it was Seasons In The Abyss I just love that song so much and it sounded great again. They went into Hell Awaits and then Dead Skin Mask. Then Angel Of Death all I can say about that song in dat scream it is second to none. Closed the set with South Of Heaven and Raining Blood and during Raining Blood it looked like Will was having a fucking seizure and I had to catch him to keep from falling it was so fucking funny. On a side note they had the weakest Slayer pits I have seen to date at this show oh well. 9.5/10 *Order may be off* Disciple War Ensemble Die By The Sword Mandatory Suicide Dead Skin Mask Seasons In the Abyss Hell Awaits Altar Of Sacrifice South Of Heaven Angel Of Death Raining Blood
Chatted with the group before I said goodbye to find my original group where I found one of my friends all fucked up and I asked him what happened he said he called some dude with a White Power tattoo a dumb fuck racist and proceeded to get his ass beat. It was all good though he told me. I told that was probably the dumbest fucking thing he could've done he didn't care. Anyways now onto Slipknot.
Slipknot- I have always like Slipknot to a certain extent I wouldn't say I am a maggot by any means but I do enjoy them. By the judging of the crowd it was gonna be a good show. They came out into (sic) and that sounded damn good live. Went right into Eyeless and Sulfur. Corey started talking to us and this was the first I had heard that Detroit sold out so that was cool. I asked one of the employes after the show and he said they sold out at about noon but back to the show. Slipknot then played Wait And Bleed and holy fuck the crowd was loud lol. They played Before I Forget and I don't recall them but my friend told me they play Disasterpieces which I don't remember them playing. They played Gently which was pretty good. Vermillion sounded fucking awesome. Then my favorite song from Slipknot as Corey entitles it "This song is called The Heretic Anthem". They played Psychosocial which was probably my least favorite of the set but it was still pretty good. They then played Duality which is always good. They closed the show Spit It Out, People=Shit, and Surfacing. Very good set and good to see them back in the game. 9/10
A very interesting Mayhem to say the least but a very fun one. I can't wait to do it again and hang with all the forum peeps again.
Great review, but the only thing that stuck with me is that your friend is a dumbass lol. There had to be a couple dozen skinheads there, was he gonna pick a fight with all of them? lol
I guess the guy was preaching to him saying "fuck niggers" and "white is the only true race" my friend is very against that stuff and said something to him the guy got up in his face and then he got his ass beat.
Well that is a very different situation. In my head I pictured your friend going "LOOK A SKIN HEAD" and then going out of his way to attack him....then get his ass kicked.
Left my house around 11:30 got some chipotle, went to the bank, then headed to the venue. Little did I know epic storms would be in my future again. As I was coming down the hill towards the venue the skies just went black. Warnings were going off like crazy on the radio and within 10 minutes 36 thousand people in the area were without power. They said some places got an inch of rain every five minutes. So I pull into the parking lot and just sit tight thinking the apocalypse is coming. Turns out it just grazed where I was at so it rained for like 2 minutes and that was it. Score for me. I sat in my car until 12:45 and then went to get in the early entry line. The storm had everyone confused as to what to do and they were running behind on letting everyone in. They at one point even tried to say I didn't have a real ticket because they hadn't seen the early bird one from pre sales yet. All was straightened out within a couple minutes then they let everyone in. I walked around for about ten minutes checking everything out. Didn't buy shit. All I did was ask about the lifetime passes for booking the cruise which is lawn tickets unless you upgrade. Then I went to the jag stage. Our venue has the main pavilion and a second one half the size so that's what they use for the jag stage. I got front and center which is where I stayed until main stage.
Slow intentional damage - Never head of them they were meh.
Betraying the martyrs- Better than I had thought they would be. They worked the crowd well. The singer/keyboard player decided to use my shoulder as a step while going out into the crowd. It didn't bother me though.
Whitechapel- I think they are best suited for big outdoor festivals. I saw them on summer slaughter last year and hated it this time I enjoyed them much more. The first big pits opened up for them.
Asking Alexandria- The only band on the tour with a female fronted singer and boy was she annoying. They worked the crowd well and there was obviously a lot of people there for them but I'm sure if there's a picture out there of the crowd you'll see me looking like I'm stuck in hell
The devil wears prada- *facepalm* go away already I hate you don't you get that! They brought some heavy which was more appealing than asking Alexandria yet they still sucked. Crowd enjoyed them. I did not.
Anthrax- Fucking awesome! I'm glad I waited to see them on mayhem. It seemed like their set was over in minutes it was so good and entertaining. I must see them again. Highlight for me is Indians.
Jag stage was running 8 minutes ahead of time so as soon as anthrax finished I booked it to the main stage and made it right as the next band came out.
As I lay dying- Always awesome but I hated them being on main stage. There was no room for moshing in our little pit area so I was forced to just stand there. I think they switched some things up from what they had been playing earlier on the tour they opened withcondemned and then 94 hours. The ready I think was the same they may have removed a song to maybe anodyne sea? I would have to go back to earlier set lists and look.
After them I went to search for food all lines were long so I just took rockstar up on the free drinks. Had three real quick which I think led to me feeling like ass later on.
Motorhead- compared to everything else they seemed rather boring. Nobody was really getting into them and especially not until ace of spades and overkill. I'm glad I got to see them though.
Slayer- In 09 I forgot earplugs. Set sucked for that reason since I was on the barrier it was so loud I couldn't understand what was going on. Not this time though I remembered even with ear plugs it was loud as fuck. Their set kicked ass though I was front and center on the barrier. Where I stayed
Slipknot- the best of the now 5 times I had seen them. They sounded awesome and had a ton of energy. I loved the stage and all the pyro. Sid was in the crowd 3 times. He had the people behind me throw him in the air and at one point he climbed up one of the pillars to the rafters at our venue. I did not enjoy his hugely fat security guard chasing him everywhere seeing as when he came into the crowd he entered where i was at. Awesome set. Would like to see them again. I really enjoyed the snow/foam during gently.
My take homes- Betraying the martyrs pick Whitechapel pick Asking Alexandria pick Anthrax pick Lemmy pick Kerry king pick
Ended up driving 2 1/2 hours to see this show as I just couldn't miss out on Killswitch. This town is like in the middle of Texas and there were lots of rednecks and old people that dressed like young people. Could have done without that but still had a great time regardless. Anyways, on to the review...
Battlecross - Hell of a start to the show as they friggin brought it right from the beginning. I didn't realize the singer is so skinny btw, but he made up for it with his voice and stage presence though. These guys were just insane, music sounded great, light show was sweet and all the members moved around constantly. I'd really like to catch them on another tour sometime. 8.5/10
God Forbid - A band I've been listening to for quite some time and I always have a good time seeing them live. The only problem is that I've seen them 4 times now, and never seen them play for longer than 30 minutes. The opening song "Don't Tell Me What To Dream" was a great way to open up the set, but I'd really like to hear more of their older stuff throughout the rest of the set. Also, I didn't really care for the last song as it was the title track of the album they just released. Doc's voice also cracked at one point to which kinda made me laugh, but they played a solid intense set other than that. Never a bad show from these guys, I'd just love to see them play longer. 7.75/10
Emmure - I'll admit, I'm and Emmure fanboy, so don't be too surprised when I say that I loved their set. I completely understand the hate for this band, but their show is just so damn fun/catchy. I hadn't seen them in over 2 years so it was awesome to finally hear songs from the last 2 albums played live. They sounded really good too, and Frankie's vocals come off great in a live setting. I was probably 1 of only like 5 people that gave a shit about them, but I kinda saw that one coming. Oh, and Frankie kept telling people to "bounce" throughout the entire set and only a couple really did lol. I still really enjoyed watching them, and would like to see them in a bit more fitting crowd next time. 9/10
Pop Evil -
Trivium - Ended up watching these guys from the seats for most of their set, but I had a good view and loved watching them. They sounded really tight, and put on a real impressive set. Multiple pits opened up for them as well, as they were a nice change back to the heavier side of things after the last band that played. I wasn't as familiar with their setlist, but all the songs sounded great and I'm glad they didn't play that terrible radio single that they played last time I saw them at Mayhem. 8.5/10
Killswitch Engage - This was the band I had come to see, and my god was it ever worth the wait as it had been almost 3 years since I had seen them last. I have to admit, I didn't know what to expect from Jesse, but holy shit this guy is one hell of a front man. Seeing him live now convinced me that they're much better off with him than they were with Howard as he was simply phenomenal. The rest of the band didn't miss a beat either, everything they played sounded amazing, and I couldn't have hoped for a better setlist given the time they had. Adam D was funny as always too. The only complaint I have is that the set went by so fast, I really need to see them headline sometime. 9.5/10
Five Finger Death Punch - Now while I knew there was no way that FFDP could follow up KsE, but they still put on a very entertaining show. Lighting effects were awesome, the sound was really good, and the setlist was pretty much what you'd expect as there was a pretty good mix of heavy and soft songs thrown around in there. The drum solo was cool I guess, but nothing too special. I did enjoy the acoustic song they played though, as Ivan is actually a pretty good singer IMO. There wasn't nearly as much "America, fuck yeah" stage banter as I had been expecting after seeing Jake's review, especially since the venue we were at was only miles away from one of the biggest army bases in the country (Ft. Hood), so that was a bit of a relief. Ivan actually seemed a lot more upbeat and joked around more than the previous times I had seen this band, which was a nice change because there's only so much I can take of his "uber macho tough guy I'm gonna shove my knuckles up your ass" demeanor before it starts to get old/annoying. Overall it was a really fun set to watch and I'm glad I made the trip down to Belton to see this tour. Also got a pick and setlist from FFDP so that always makes the show better too. 8.75/10
Comments
I arrive at Dte around noon and I call up Will and he says he is looking for Brad and Dayna so I start walking looking for them. End up spotting Will from two rows over and find Brad, Dayna, Will, and Elliot where we chilled for a while. This guy next to their car kept coming over and spewing random shit and at the end he kept offering me Crown Royal. So he then spots me drinking from another bottle and insists me drink some Crown Royal it twas good shit. After that its about time we should head to the gates after a couple minor setbacks we started making our way up to the gate where Drew was somewhere in line. By this time the line was stretching past where we were parked. I was thinking oh shit this in gonna be awhile after not being able to get a hold of Drew we found this opening and made our way into it. Anyways we end up making it into Dte with only missing the local Jager opener and half of Betraying The Martyrs. Picked up a Whitechapel shirt and their new cd. Will, Elliot and I chilled in the Rockstar tent until Betraying The Martyrs were done(they fucking sucked btw). We made out way up for a good spot for Whitechapel.
Whitechapel- The first band I was excited for in the day and I was not disappointed. Right when they started the pit opened up in front of us and I got separated from Will and Elliot. i just stayed where I was which was a good spot. Whitechapel came out and opened with Possession which in my opinion is a great opener. The moved right into The Darkest Day Of Man which was fucking heavy live. after that they played This Is Exile which they finally stopped closing with it which was refreshing. At this point it was time for Whitechapel to do their wall of death I figured why the not. I chose the right side and right when I hit the dude it front up me bounced me right into the third row which I stayed for the rest of the show. They chose I, Dementia for the wall of death which just sounded kind of strange but whatever. They then played Section 8 and closed with Possibilities Of An Impossible Existence which I thought was the best song of the set. Only thing that bothered me was nothing from The Somatic Defilement but it was all goo. 8.5/10
After Whitechapel I grouped back up with Will and Elliot and Will decided he wanted to buy the Slipknot cd to meet them. Elliot got some water and I went to get some Rockstar. After drinking some Rockstar I spent the whole time during Asking Alexandria looking for someone I knew and flipping off Asking Alexandria. Also I was walking past the Metal Blade tent and the guy have me a bag to carry my stuff in which was cool. Ended up talking one of my teachers it was weird as fuck seeing her outside of school. But anyways picked up a AILD shirt and ended seeing Jay, Mikey, and Elliot they said they were going to the med tent to see what was up. After we found out everything was alright we decided we wanted to get a good spot for Anthrax though this meant we had to watch The Devil Wears Prada.
The Devil Wears Prada- Shit...Nothing really else to say they might have been slightly better than Asking Alexandria but not by much. It felt like they played forever. 4/10
Anthrax- Best side stage band of the day in my opinion. Opened up with Caught In A Mosh and the crowd loved it as did I. Went right into Got The Time which sounded fantastic live. Now I'm not that familiar with the new album but the one song they played from it sounded good. They went right back into it with Antisocial and Indians where they tried to combine the two pits where we were right in between of. I'm not sure if they succeeded because I ended up right on the side of the main pit and I made my way back to the group. After that they played I Am The Law and closed with Madhouse. Great set and I hope I can catch them with Testament and Death Angel in September. 9/10
Caught In A Mosh
Got The Time
Fight 'Em Till You Can't
Antisocial
Indians
I Am The Law
Madhouse
At this point I felt hella tired from the sun beating down on me for the past few hours so few a couple hours I was really out of it. We met up on the hill with Brad and Dayna and here comes Will with a Anthrax set and dumps a Rockstar all over his head. We get a group picture which looks like I'm staring out into space. Also because I was in need of water I chose to go with Brad, Dayna, Will and Brad's sister and friend to get some water so I didn't watch As I Lay Dying oh well I am sure I will see them again. After walking around Dte and losing Brad's sister and friend we found them and made our way back to the group for Motorhead
Motorhead- I was still kind of it but Motorhead was very good. I have seen them once before and from what I recall it was pretty much the same everything minus the set. I enjoyed myself though and would probably catch them again. 7/10
Bomber
Damage Case
I Know How To Die
Over The Top
Stay Clean
The Chase Is Better Than The Catch
Going To Brazil
Drum Solo
Killed By Death
Ace Of Spades
Overkill
Finally start feeling better and I was so fucking ready for Slayer.
Slayer- Great the best band of the day. They opened with Disciple which was a lot better of an opener than World Painted Blood. Went into War Ensemble, Die By The Sword, and Hate Worldwide. They played Mandatory Suicide which I couldn't hold it in and went crazy. Then which was probably one of the best song selections they put into the set they played Altar Of Sacrifice and Jesus Saves which were phenomenal to hear live. Then my favorite Slayer song live came up it was Seasons In The Abyss I just love that song so much and it sounded great again. They went into Hell Awaits and then Dead Skin Mask. Then Angel Of Death all I can say about that song in dat scream it is second to none. Closed the set with South Of Heaven and Raining Blood and during Raining Blood it looked like Will was having a fucking seizure and I had to catch him to keep from falling it was so fucking funny. On a side note they had the weakest Slayer pits I have seen to date at this show oh well. 9.5/10
*Order may be off*
Disciple
War Ensemble
Die By The Sword
Mandatory Suicide
Dead Skin Mask
Seasons In the Abyss
Hell Awaits
Altar Of Sacrifice
South Of Heaven
Angel Of Death
Raining Blood
Chatted with the group before I said goodbye to find my original group where I found one of my friends all fucked up and I asked him what happened he said he called some dude with a White Power tattoo a dumb fuck racist and proceeded to get his ass beat. It was all good though he told me. I told that was probably the dumbest fucking thing he could've done he didn't care. Anyways now onto Slipknot.
Slipknot- I have always like Slipknot to a certain extent I wouldn't say I am a maggot by any means but I do enjoy them. By the judging of the crowd it was gonna be a good show. They came out into (sic) and that sounded damn good live. Went right into Eyeless and Sulfur. Corey started talking to us and this was the first I had heard that Detroit sold out so that was cool. I asked one of the employes after the show and he said they sold out at about noon but back to the show. Slipknot then played Wait And Bleed and holy fuck the crowd was loud lol. They played Before I Forget and I don't recall them but my friend told me they play Disasterpieces which I don't remember them playing. They played Gently which was pretty good. Vermillion sounded fucking awesome. Then my favorite song from Slipknot as Corey entitles it "This song is called The Heretic Anthem". They played Psychosocial which was probably my least favorite of the set but it was still pretty good. They then played Duality which is always good. They closed the show Spit It Out, People=Shit, and Surfacing. Very good set and good to see them back in the game. 9/10
A very interesting Mayhem to say the least but a very fun one. I can't wait to do it again and hang with all the forum peeps again.
>flipped off asking alexandria
:-/
Left my house around 11:30 got some chipotle, went to the bank, then headed to the venue. Little did I know epic storms would be in my future again. As I was coming down the hill towards the venue the skies just went black. Warnings were going off like crazy on the radio and within 10 minutes 36 thousand people in the area were without power. They said some places got an inch of rain every five minutes. So I pull into the parking lot and just sit tight thinking the apocalypse is coming. Turns out it just grazed where I was at so it rained for like 2 minutes and that was it. Score for me. I sat in my car until 12:45 and then went to get in the early entry line. The storm had everyone confused as to what to do and they were running behind on letting everyone in. They at one point even tried to say I didn't have a real ticket because they hadn't seen the early bird one from pre sales yet. All was straightened out within a couple minutes then they let everyone in. I walked around for about ten minutes checking everything out. Didn't buy shit. All I did was ask about the lifetime passes for booking the cruise which is lawn tickets unless you upgrade. Then I went to the jag stage. Our venue has the main pavilion and a second one half the size so that's what they use for the jag stage. I got front and center which is where I stayed until main stage.
Slow intentional damage -
Never head of them they were meh.
Betraying the martyrs-
Better than I had thought they would be. They worked the crowd well. The singer/keyboard player decided to use my shoulder as a step while going out into the crowd. It didn't bother me though.
Whitechapel-
I think they are best suited for big outdoor festivals. I saw them on summer slaughter last year and hated it this time I enjoyed them much more. The first big pits opened up for them.
Asking Alexandria-
The only band on the tour with a female fronted singer and boy was she annoying. They worked the crowd well and there was obviously a lot of people there for them but I'm sure if there's a picture out there of the crowd you'll see me looking like I'm stuck in hell
The devil wears prada-
*facepalm* go away already I hate you don't you get that! They brought some heavy which was more appealing than asking Alexandria yet they still sucked. Crowd enjoyed them. I did not.
Anthrax-
Fucking awesome! I'm glad I waited to see them on mayhem. It seemed like their set was over in minutes it was so good and entertaining. I must see them again. Highlight for me is Indians.
Jag stage was running 8 minutes ahead of time so as soon as anthrax finished I booked it to the main stage and made it right as the next band came out.
As I lay dying-
Always awesome but I hated them being on main stage. There was no room for moshing in our little pit area so I was forced to just stand there. I think they switched some things up from what they had been playing earlier on the tour they opened withcondemned and then 94 hours. The ready I think was the same they may have removed a song to maybe anodyne sea? I would have to go back to earlier set lists and look.
After them I went to search for food all lines were long so I just took rockstar up on the free drinks. Had three real quick which I think led to me feeling like ass later on.
Motorhead-
compared to everything else they seemed rather boring. Nobody was really getting into them and especially not until ace of spades and overkill. I'm glad I got to see them though.
Slayer-
In 09 I forgot earplugs. Set sucked for that reason since I was on the barrier it was so loud I couldn't understand what was going on. Not this time though I remembered even with ear plugs it was loud as fuck. Their set kicked ass though I was front and center on the barrier. Where I stayed
Slipknot-
the best of the now 5 times I had seen them. They sounded awesome and had a ton of energy. I loved the stage and all the pyro. Sid was in the crowd 3 times. He had the people behind me throw him in the air and at one point he climbed up one of the pillars to the rafters at our venue. I did not enjoy his hugely fat security guard chasing him everywhere seeing as when he came into the crowd he entered where i was at. Awesome set. Would like to see them again. I really enjoyed the snow/foam during gently.
My take homes-
Betraying the martyrs pick
Whitechapel pick
Asking Alexandria pick
Anthrax pick
Lemmy pick
Kerry king pick
TLDR version-
Slow intentional damage - 4/10
Betraying the martyrs -6/10
Whitechapel - 7/10
Asking Alexandria - 2/10
The devil wears prada - 3/10
Anthrax - 9/10
As I lay dying - 8/10
Motorhead - 7/10
Slayer - 10/10
Slipknot - 10/10
I'm not longer the only one with a Lemmy pick X(
Ended up driving 2 1/2 hours to see this show as I just couldn't miss out on Killswitch. This town is like in the middle of Texas and there were lots of rednecks and old people that dressed like young people. Could have done without that but still had a great time regardless. Anyways, on to the review...
Battlecross - Hell of a start to the show as they friggin brought it right from the beginning. I didn't realize the singer is so skinny btw, but he made up for it with his voice and stage presence though. These guys were just insane, music sounded great, light show was sweet and all the members moved around constantly. I'd really like to catch them on another tour sometime. 8.5/10
God Forbid - A band I've been listening to for quite some time and I always have a good time seeing them live. The only problem is that I've seen them 4 times now, and never seen them play for longer than 30 minutes. The opening song "Don't Tell Me What To Dream" was a great way to open up the set, but I'd really like to hear more of their older stuff throughout the rest of the set. Also, I didn't really care for the last song as it was the title track of the album they just released. Doc's voice also cracked at one point to which kinda made me laugh, but they played a solid intense set other than that. Never a bad show from these guys, I'd just love to see them play longer. 7.75/10
Emmure - I'll admit, I'm and Emmure fanboy, so don't be too surprised when I say that I loved their set. I completely understand the hate for this band, but their show is just so damn fun/catchy. I hadn't seen them in over 2 years so it was awesome to finally hear songs from the last 2 albums played live. They sounded really good too, and Frankie's vocals come off great in a live setting. I was probably 1 of only like 5 people that gave a shit about them, but I kinda saw that one coming. Oh, and Frankie kept telling people to "bounce" throughout the entire set and only a couple really did lol. I still really enjoyed watching them, and would like to see them in a bit more fitting crowd next time. 9/10
Pop Evil -
Trivium - Ended up watching these guys from the seats for most of their set, but I had a good view and loved watching them. They sounded really tight, and put on a real impressive set. Multiple pits opened up for them as well, as they were a nice change back to the heavier side of things after the last band that played. I wasn't as familiar with their setlist, but all the songs sounded great and I'm glad they didn't play that terrible radio single that they played last time I saw them at Mayhem. 8.5/10
Killswitch Engage - This was the band I had come to see, and my god was it ever worth the wait as it had been almost 3 years since I had seen them last. I have to admit, I didn't know what to expect from Jesse, but holy shit this guy is one hell of a front man. Seeing him live now convinced me that they're much better off with him than they were with Howard as he was simply phenomenal. The rest of the band didn't miss a beat either, everything they played sounded amazing, and I couldn't have hoped for a better setlist given the time they had. Adam D was funny as always too. The only complaint I have is that the set went by so fast, I really need to see them headline sometime. 9.5/10
Five Finger Death Punch - Now while I knew there was no way that FFDP could follow up KsE, but they still put on a very entertaining show. Lighting effects were awesome, the sound was really good, and the setlist was pretty much what you'd expect as there was a pretty good mix of heavy and soft songs thrown around in there. The drum solo was cool I guess, but nothing too special. I did enjoy the acoustic song they played though, as Ivan is actually a pretty good singer IMO. There wasn't nearly as much "America, fuck yeah" stage banter as I had been expecting after seeing Jake's review, especially since the venue we were at was only miles away from one of the biggest army bases in the country (Ft. Hood), so that was a bit of a relief. Ivan actually seemed a lot more upbeat and joked around more than the previous times I had seen this band, which was a nice change because there's only so much I can take of his "uber macho tough guy I'm gonna shove my knuckles up your ass" demeanor before it starts to get old/annoying. Overall it was a really fun set to watch and I'm glad I made the trip down to Belton to see this tour. Also got a pick and setlist from FFDP so that always makes the show better too. 8.75/10