May 18, 2004
@The House of Blues, Anahiem
It must be some strange coincidence that the two worst opening bands I have ever seen have both been at this House of Blues in Downtown Disney. The first was E Town Concrete when they opened for Anthrax and now its Evergrey. They had some cool riffs and occasional little guitar solo but for the most part I couldnt stomach their music. The singer had a good voice but it just wasnt metal ( sounded like he was some imitation soul singer). The band's eurotrash outfits and annoying stage posturing only added to my hatred. When the very feminine drummer who played with the energy of an 80 yr old man had the nerve to try and get the crowd riled up with his taunting hand gestures, that was the last straw.
The moment Evergrey finished the entire crowd started chanting "BODOM" and everyone and their mother rushed to get to the front of the stage. I managed to get dead center to the front microphone but lost my friends in the process. Being crushed and trapped in an ocean of sweat was something I got used to after going to many shows over time but what happened when Children of Bodom came out was insane. The House of Blues literally exploded, bodies were flying all over the place and the whole crowd was jumping and singing along with such passion, it was like they had been waiting their entire lives to see the band and now that they were there just went nuts. Alexi Laiho's vocals were partially drowned out by the mob of people surrounding me shouting over him but watching his fingers run wild over his guitar with such ease made up for it. The entire band shared his cockiness/swagger knowing full well they owned the night. From what I can remember their set included:
Chokehold (cocked 'n' loaded)
Sixpounder
Needled 24/7
Angels Dont Kill
Bodom Beach Terror
Every Time I Die
Hate Me
Hate Crew Deathroll
Exhausted, we retreated to the back and waited for Iced Earth to start.The many Iced Earth disciples made there presence known but the crowd reaction was totally subdued compared to the riot that Children of Bodom caused. Although I was never a big fan of the band I was curious to see their new singer, the mighty Ripper Owens (ex Judas Priest) in action. Needless to say he didnt disappoint! The bands music is very anthem like and perfect to get your headbanging but after about a half hour I found myself put in a sort of hypnotic trance by the repitition of their songs. Their older material seemed to be the crowd's favorite and got the occasional pit started but for the most part everyone just stood at attention watching. My main gripe with the band (besides their over the top pro-american propaganda) was that their set was long...WAY too long. Their encore consisted of two near 10 minute songs that leaned on the boring side. If they had cut their epic set by even 20 minutes we could have seen more Bodom but other than that they won me over. Some highlights from Iced Earth were:
Declaration Day
Green Face
Dracula
My Own Savior
Iced Earth
At the end of the night I was glad to have finally got my Children of Bodom fix and become a fan of Iced Earth in the process. I can't wait until the day when Alexi and co. are headlining their own American tour and finally get the proper set length.