The “Dream Calls For Blood” Tour 10/29/13

 

2:30pm…thats the time I stepped into the halls of Webster Hall to experience Death Angel. Never was a better time to show up 3.5 hours before showtime to catch the soundcheck of Thrash royalty. Thanks to members of Nuclear Blasts newly added recording artists “Generation Kill” This chance encounter was merely the tip of the iceberg for what was held in store. There is NO coverage of Diamond Plate or 3 Inches of Blood as they are also on this tour.

The night began with Rob Dukes fronted band “Generation Kill” 5 bands in a tour package of this caliber was NOT enough so they had to add Rob. IF you are ill informed, Rob Dukes is the current singer of Nuclear Blast recording artist’s “EXODUS” yes, I said it. So, by this point in time your mind should be wrapping itself around the concept of Robs new band. Joined by Rob Moschetti (Pro-Pain/M.o.D), Jason Trenzcer (Mutilation), Jason Velez  and Jim DeMaria (Merauder), Generation Kill has succeeded in having a very successful debut album “Red, White & Blood” along with solid new singles such as “Prophets of War” (Hitting the SiriusXM Dirty Dozen for a few weeks now) and “Vegas” being the recent addition (Theres a lyric video which you can search for on youtube, or check the link below in the photo gallery section) The band opened up this NYC with a healthy amount of people in the audience which was highly unexpected. I say this mainly cause of the odds of having over 60+ people in a room on a Tuesday night at 6:30pm can be illogical for an opening act. I have seen this go down where REALLY good opening acts barely have an audience. The best part however, was seeing Rob KEEP the fans around and give them a taste of their new upcoming album “We’re all Going to die” which comes out on 11/26 via Nuclear Blast. The set was for me, a powerhouse. The band forms a thrash unison with compelling stances on current events and solid thought provoking lyricism. Generation Kill has evolved since the first time I met them at Fontana’s a year and a half ago. I am happy to see the success pour on for these gentlemen right here and am eager to hear more sound barriers being destroyed in the days to come.

Another band who I have yet to encounter for over a year now was David Davidson’s own “Revocation” yes, far from the tours at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn they arrive with a force that was TERRIFYING… in a positive way of course. Being that there was no photo pit in The Marlin Room at Webster Hall, the floor was mine for the taking. The mosh pits and crowd surfers also had the right idea which made shooting Revocation quite a challenge. Not to mention the entire set-time was basically done in RED. However, They were the most photogenic for the night, especially their bassist Brett Bamberger. His up-close shots and facial expressions with the microphone were so detailed I could not stop shooting. David also made his rounds looking at me as I snapped shots. Off the stage he was a normal man. He wrote his set-list on my Iphone and snapped a photo with me as I was honored to tell him how insanely good they are. Like the rest of the bands on tour, each band member stayed at their respected merch booths to talk to fans and take photos. Their setlist from that night is as follows: “The Hive”, “Teratogenesis”, “Fracked”, “Invidious”, “Dismantle The Dictator” and “No Funeral” I got to know “No Funeral” very well, mainly because I ended up getting knocked in the back of my head harder than I have been hit before, but I survived.

One of my top favorite bands across the U.S right now, Battlecross, was dead in the middle for the night. I consider these guys family bar none so excuse me if I play bias for a minute. It was standard operating procedure for these guys… DESTROY EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING! it never seems to fail at this point. MY fear grows when I see a tour of this caliber and I enter under my own free will knowing that this THRASH MANIA was going to occur. Battlecross gave me some of my BEST photos of the night Next to Death Angel of course. Kyle “Gumby” Gunther was more friendly with the microphone, allowing front row audience members to sing and scream with him during songs. I just enjoyed the fact that they have become much more photogenic as the friendship between myself and the band evolved. Never the less, Seeing Battlecross DOES NOT get old, it sure as hell won’t for a very long time to come. The future of Thrash is here. SO EMBRACE THE GOOD! Their setlist is as follows: “Man of Stone”, “Forced Fed Lies”, “Never Coming Back”, “Flesh and Bone”, “Breaking You” and of course “Push Pull Destroy”

Finally we come to Death Angel. Dear God another band I have not seen since Early 2012, Death Angel was on tour with Anthrax and Testament when “Relentless Retribution” was already released. I was hooked then and with newly released “The Dream Calls for Blood”, I was hooked now. The band appeared fresh and lively as they hit the stage. Only crazy part was the setlist and their energy intensified as the night went on. Oh, did I mention it was for TWO HOURS??!!!! Death Angel played one of the longest sets I have bore witness to with a ticket of admission only being $20. Really goes beyond how much they love their fans. I am proud to be one of those members. Their soundcheck was killer as all members of the band came down and greeted me and other members watching with hand shakes and photo opportunities (To which I took a photo with all 5 members) even the birthday boy Rob Cavestany came down and handed me and the other fellas of the audience his signature guitar pick which he recently acquired for this current tour as a “souvenir” The entire show was madness and the sincerity coming from Mark and his bandmates shows how much they care for the genre they reside under and the fans that keep them moving in the dream that they built. This was a great Birthday for Rob Cavestany. The band began drinking on stage and taking shots for Rob, singing him Happy Birthday and continuously playing. The band began doing musical trivia, playing songs from other legendary bands to keep the crowd moving and involved. I remember giving Ted a hug off-stage after the show and exclaiming to him what I just witnessed and he says to me “Dude, Rob just wanted to keep going I was so tired and I just was like “MAKE IT STOP!, I love it all but I can only go for so long” It was almost as if the band wanted to party and play all night even though they had a 5 hour ride to Virginia that same night. Death Angel will always be one of my top 4 Thrash bands no matter what. The soul and passion that is exhumed from their spirit is a Testament of time. That testament clearly states “Thrash Metal is BEYOND alive and well” P.S, I managed to snag Ted Aguilar’s pick at the end of the night as he made me wait for it last minute. Better late than never I guess. Check out the photos below of all the bands in their respected order and check down here for the ENTIRE setlist.

FOR FULL FLICKR HI-RES PHOTOS CLICK HERE!!!

Generation Kill Gallery

Video Link to Song “Vegas” http://youtu.be/rMgKaMlpy58

Revocation Gallery

Battlecross Gallery

Death Angel Gallery