Concert Review: Sounds Of The Underground (Gibson Amphitheater) B+

Date of Show: 8/12/06
Venue: Gibson Amphitheater (Universal City)

I went to this year's Sounds Of The Underground show to basically witness three things: GWAR, Trivium, and In Flames. No more, no less. I couldn't give a rat's ass about Cannibal Corpse, and having seen As I Lay Dying once before, I knew I wouldn't be missing much if I skipped them.

I can count on one hand the number of GWAR songs I actually know. But that's not the point when it comes to GWAR. It's all about the stage show. Gallager-style fluids flung into the audience. Gargantuan costumes. The 'live' murders of world figures (W. and the former pope in this case). Blood, guts, gore, and family fun for all! Well, GWAR did not disappoint. Guided by a strong, straightforward sound, the costumed metallers were highly entertaining, kind of like a heavy metal version of Knott's Scary Farm's "The Hanging" show. You don't go see GWAR for the music, you go for the show.


Trivium was up next and absolutely owned the place while firming up the notion that they might just be the next Metallica. Clad in t-shirts, denim, and some white high-tops, the quartet looked like they could've been playing in 1986. Despite a slightly too-quiet guitar sound, rock solid playing and good stage prescense anchored their set. But for me, what has really made the difference is frontman Matt Heafy's recent switch from screamo vocals to more an angry Hetfield-style yell. It's like night and day. The crowd was ecstatic for anything off 2005's Ascendancy record, which constituted the bulk of the set. Trivium even played a snippet of Master Of Puppets, which further incited an already burgeoning mosh pit. The overall highlight of the set (and the day, for that matter), was the rendition of Detonation, a new song off the yet-to-be-released The Crusade album. Full of melodicism, wild tempo changes, and some epic passages, one can only hope this song is a accurate representation of the new material.

Trivium left the metal throngs hungry for more after only playing five songs (why they were on so early in the day is a mystery to me), and next was Cannibal Corpse, so my friends and I vacated the premise and hung out on the lawn near the amphitheater. The sounds of the nearby Waterworld stunt show (it should be noted Gibson Amphitheater is really still good ol' Universal Amphitheater), albeit brief and intermittant, were more to my liking than the death metal being served up inside.


Finally, the death metal was done and it was time for Swedish metalheads In Flames, who put on a good, not great set. In Flames aren't the most active of groups on stage, but they do have a pretty cool and unique lighting setup that makes up for it. The sound was good, but the setlist relied too heavily upon slower, mid-paced numbers off Soundtrack For Your Escape, which really killed the crowds energy. Also not helping was unusually long dead times between songs. A few more faster tracks off Come Clarity and a tighter song transitions would've helped immensely.

All in all, not a bad day.

Grades: GWAR - B+ / Trivium - A- / In Flames - B