On Friday April 26, kings of cyber metal Fear Factory returned to the McGuffy’s stage to assault the crowd with mechanized sounds and metalized mayhem. Bringing the Industrialist to Dayton for human assemblage of skin to skin symbiotic fusion, battle and praise, all models shown obsolete were cast into the drone pit center floor and decommissioned. Tour mates Hate Eternal brought their technically unique death metal onslaught along with Canadian power-metal outfit Kobra and the Lotus helmed by the intriguing Miss Kobra Paige. Local thrash pounders Chambers of Chaos and Architects of Doom opened the show.
Lighters and Moshpits alumni Chambers of Chaos emerged as the sunglass wearing, middle finger flailing, attitude adjusting, smirking Shaun Clark entered the proverbial staged ring as musical fists flew. Yelling the spoken word Hype train with plenty of pissed off attitude. They end slow, dark and melodic on the Kiss of Goodbye. CoC are not to be Pushed, played around with or pissed off in any way, shape or form. Why, because they said so.
The local architecture of metal continues to forge as Dayton’s designers of doom play their first of a two night stint marking their 5-6 stage appearance. They instigate the Collapse of the Tyrant and deal with that one annoying a—hole that everyone knows. Vocalist Keith Hamilton visits the crowd calling people out making sure they’re having fun. Hamilton resembles a diabolical Nicolas Cage and might have some of Galron’s blood in the family tree so offer him a beer if he’s coming towards you. One less drama queen means One Less Worry. Tonight’s show marked the one year anniversary of Hamilton at the helm. They celebrate with Danny ‘balls and buns of steel’ Doom cranking out the Ritual Punishment finishing off with some hand delivered Bloodshed.
The great white north comes to Dayton in the form of Kobra and the Lotus and the dreadlocked coiled Canadian Miss Kobra Paige, bringing her operatic four octaves to the mic and our appreciative eardrums. Opening with the spellbinding Nightwish’esk Nayana they invite us to their funeral. Decked in war-paint, tribal feathers, leather and lace Paige’s vocals carry the spirit of Tarja Turenun, with a sharper rock edge, encompassing the attitude and bravado of Angela Gossow. We are joined together Forever One in metal as Heavens Veins open a Lotus flood of classical symphonic power provided by guitarists Jasio Kulakowski and Charlie Parra Del Riego. Into their private inner Sanctuary we go for the dark fairy tale shredder 50 Shades of Evil. For the K&L video experience check out Forever One/Welcome to My Funeral/50 Shades on Facebook.
Hate Eternal came out bellowing death metal like a dark sonic thunder-blast starting their onslaught with the loud beating heart of Rebirth, blast beating into Haunting Abound and the evil uprising and temptations of the dark one. Erik Rutan (Morbid Angel/Ripping Corpse) wrenches his guitar twisting and mangling sound into a beautiful growling tirade of mind possessing demonic disturbia. They bring hell’s fury on stage as the blazed Phoenix Amongst the Ashes arises to the call of its thunderous skyward summons accompanied by the soaring notes carried on the wind of its wings. They are ye humble Servants of the Gods, as the Art of Redemption is played at a thousand notes and beats a minute. Ancient robed druids roam the forests asking the Powers That Be for answers to the extinction of ancient lost civilizations. After summoning the Fire of Resurrection they finish with the spell-casting, necromancing Monarch. Thunderous guitars with soul screaming notes, echoes and harmonies. It’s quite possible when they play, angels cry and God takes notice. Hate Eternal are the perfect blend for electric chair head-banging.
The bio-mechanical factory doors opened with industrial smoke and steam pouring out and the sounds of robotics being gnarled into form permeated the air. Endoskeleton was forged together by assemblage bots and the soul of a new machine was created. West coast lords of industrial cyber-kinetic metal Fear Factory came on stage. The band that made its early career based on the moment Skynet became self-aware was here. Started in 1989, 8 steel shredding albums later including ‘95’s ground-breaker Demanufacture, a slightly different approach of man and machine becoming one on 2001’s Digimortal while 2004 cemented them as the Archetype for other bands of mechanic elk to follow. In later efforts they focused more on government, religion and police states. They’re currently supporting new concept record The Industrialist about a machine collecting memories and the will to exist which will eventually be mankind’s demise.
The voice of the machine pushes through the speakers warning of mankind’s ignorance and destruction. Its four mortal messengers stand before the audience of slave laborers ready to disconnect body parts on command. But be forewarned… due to the graphic nature of this show, listener discretion is advised. The Industrialist begins and the evening’s event in subhuman assembly begins. A familiar Shock to the system hits us next. The Edgecrusher breaks humanity away from the machines, What Will Become? Our ears Linchpin to the onslaught of Dino Cazares’s guitar work. They powershift into government sponsored fear… the mind is fear, a Fear Campaign. Spiked gnarling guitars riffs grind through Recharger as the Smasher/Devourer is deployed to scan and salvage for defectors turning mankind into Martyr’s. The barcode spinal cord snaps, from chains of imprisonment tossed into scrap for Demanufacture as the crowd roars for the classic crowd pleaser. They end with a song of hope about the lone wolf, the human savior, the Self Biased Resistor. Bell’s instantly recognizable vocals range from dry throat scraping, yelling, to harmonious singing. When the world does end, we can only hope they’re around to write about it.
