Review/Photos by RockMusicStar.com - Mike Suicide

Rochester, NY-This past Friday I had the opportunity to catch the kick off show of Hatebreed’s ‘Decimation of the Nation’ Tour in Rochester, NY. This tour is featuring Chimaira, Wings of Plague, Dying Fetus and Toxic Holocaust. I was fairly excited to check this show out since I have been a pretty big fan of both Hatebreed and Chimaira for years.

Before the concert I had the chance to catch up with Chimaira guitarist Rob Arnold who discussed the tour, Dubai, his signature series guitar, a new instructional DVD he released and a new band he has formed called ‘The Elite’. He is always a cordial guy who is a pleasure to speak with, you can check out the video interview in a few days right here at RockMusicStar.com.

I got to admit that I’m not real interested in some of the newer death metal bands out there. Dave Mustaine once said that these bands album covers and names look like someone broke a bunch of tree branches and threw them in a pile. Its an odd phenomenon and slightly annoying for a guy like me. Anyway, I was able to listen (I was behind the venue where the bands load in) to Dying Fetus and Winds of Plague and thought they were decent enough.

Chimaira hit the stage at roughly 8:45 pm and opened their set with ‘The Venom Inside’ of their newest album The Infection. This song is appropriate for an opener since it has a great intro. They followed it with one of my personal favorites ‘Resurrection’ of the 2007 release of the same name. There is no doubt that this crowd was here to see Chimaira as much as they were to see Hatebreed. The pulse of the crowd had enough energy to power the amplifiers. Mark Hunter is a commanding front man who can belt out lyrics with ease. Rob Arnold played a bit with his eyes closed, seemingly a conduit for the music that flowed through him to the crowd. Matt Devries was a blur of hair and riffs. The bassist Jim LaMarca who chopped all his hair off was barely recognizable, and in great form. Andols Herrick who has been back in the band since 2006 after a two or three year absence is a great drummer. Bottom line, this band is tight. They are one of the few metalcore bands to have a keyboardist. Chris Spicuzza adds samples, backing vocals as well as keyboard. By the time they left the stage the crowd was chomping at the bit for Hatebreed.

Chimaira setlist

1.The Venom Inside Play Video
2.Resurrection Play Video
3.Power Trip Play Video
4.Empire Play Video
5.The Disappearing Sun Play Video
6.Severed Play Video
7.Everything You Love Play Video
8.Secrets Of The Dead Play Video
9.The Flame Play Video
10.Pure Hatred

Hatebreed frontman Jamie Jasta has solidified his place in metal, he has been the host of The HeadBangers Ball, he has a second band Kingdom of Sorrow, he owns Stillborn records and recently hosted the Metal Hammer Golden God awards. Hatebreed has been nominated for a Grammy, which I’m assuming makes them the heaviest band ever to be given a nod. They are arguably responsible for reviving the hardcore music scene. Hatebreed’s lyrics speak of integrity, honor and persevering through adversity, and everyone could use a good dose of that.

They hit the stage with tremendous energy and started right in with ‘Doomsayer’ from the 2003 release, The Rise of Brutality. This year Hatebreed released For the Lions, an album of cover songs. One of the songs they covered was ‘Ghost of war’ by Slayer, which to the crowd’s satisfaction they played during their set. Guitarist Sean Martin left the band earlier this year and was replaced by original guitarist Wayne Lozinak who put on a blistering performance. Matt Byrne was hitting the drums like they owed him money. Chris Beattie and Frank Novinec seemed they could have played all night and Jamie Jasta typifies what it means to be a front man. Every band member played to the crowd and gave it their all. They ended the set with ‘Destroy Everything’ from their 2006 release Supremacy. I was a little upset because I didn’t think they were going to play one of my all time favorites ‘I will be heard’ but they played that as their only encore song. This show had great energy, the bands were gracious and gave metal fans a show to remember. I would recommend anyone who likes Hardcore Metal to get their asses out and witness this show, they will certainly get their moneys worth.

Hatebreed setlist

1.Doomsayer Play Video
2.Conceived Through An Act Of Violence Play Video
3.Proven Play Video
4.Perseverance Play Video
5.Defeatist Play Video
6.Smash Your Enemies Play Video
7.Burn The Lies Play Video
8.To The Threshold Play Video
9.Hollow Ground Play Video
10.Tear It Down Play Video
11.Last Breath Play Video
12.Never Let It Die Play Video
13.A Call For Blood Play Video
14.Empty Promises Play Video
15.Ghosts Of War (Slayer cover) Play Video
16.Live For This Play Video
17.This Is Now Play Video
18.Destroy Everything Play Video
Encore:
19.I Will Be Heard