Fear, decaptitation, hypocrisy, suffocation
Machines of War Tour hits the Garrick
WILLIAM O’DONNELL VOLUNTEER STAFF
The Machines at War Tour trudged its way through Winnipeg on the night of Nov. 29 and, for lack of a better phrase, ran like a well-oiled machine. The doors of the Garrick opened on time, the band-merch was decently priced, the alcohol was plenty and the bands played a solid show from before 8 p.m. until after midnight.
First on the bill was Poland’s Decapitated. Appearing like typical long-haired metalheads, proving that the metal look spans across many time zones, these boys served up a hearty slab of death metal without grinding into a nonsensical, noisy oblivion. What I mean to say is: I could actually make out what they were playing. Badly mixed opening bands at metal concerts are a common problem, I’ve found. Decapitated wasn’t perfect, but was a fine opener.
Hailing from Sweden was Hypocrisy. Frontman Peter Tägtgren added a black metal rasp to the mix of wonderfully dark metal that the band churned out. Despite focusing on longer, more instrumental-based songs, Hypocrisy kept the pit moving.
Suffocation was a highly anticipated act that night since their last visit here was roughly a year ago. They were so anticipated, in fact, that some people referred to the concert as the Suffocation (or Suffo) show instead of referring to headliners Fear Factory. Nobody was disappointed when they hit the stage. Suffocation displayed the most finesse of all the bands that evening, and were the most dazzling with their instrument tricks (although Fear Factory drummer Raymond Herrera was a definite competitor for top position).
An electrified crowd waited patiently, through a long, pre-recorded intro bit, for Fear Factory to start their portion of the show. Diving into their death metal-influenced roots, FF assaulted the listeners with a barrage of tracks off of their major label debut Soul of a New Machine. Their setlist was voted for by fans in earlier months. What the band then compiled was a list of favourites that they sectioned off by album, save for their big closer “Replica.” No album was left behind; not even Digimortal, a lesser album according to some fans, as it often gets lumped into the nü-metal quagmire of a few years back. Despite not providing an encore (which the crowd was eager for), FF gave a very satisfying performance.
The whole show seemed to be for the fans. Rarely do I witness an audience be enthusiastic for every single act on a bill, but this show had just that. Pit monsters circled and forced their way to the front during each band’s performances. The floor was a sea of raised horns and fists as the bands were met with loud cheers and vocal accompaniments. Winnipeggers proved to the bands that they were in a metal-loving city, and they acknowledged this in many different talkbacks to the audience. The crowd was having a great time and, in turn, the bands seemed to be enjoying themselves very much.
There was also a high degree of pit-etiquette during the more beastly moshes. The very second somebody would hit the ground, at least three others were ready to pick them up. I even saw strangers helping others find lost items on the beer-stained ground. All in all, it was a great evening for metal fans. Each band was in great form, and the crowd lapped up every bit of it.
