Metal of a Different Variety

            After a nearly two month hiatus from concerts, I saw three energetic and badass bands that have recently gained much deserving mainstream success and radio play. Eye Empire, All That Remains, and Volbeat all put on an outstanding performance that really spoke to me. The bands themselves come from various different variations and genres of rock and metal that really complement each other while giving the audience a diverse experience. I would recommend anyone who enjoys hard rock or heavy metal to see any of these bands if they get the chance. These bands deserve all the radio airtime and attention that any band is getting right now for not only putting on a great show, but for being a great people as well.

            Eye Empire is a band that I personally only heard recently and occasionally on the radio, and I thought they were decent. After the show, this all changed, I am now a fan of them with not only their great music but their dedication to their fans, specifically military members who deserve our thanks as well. Eye Empire is really something else, they a combination of a hard rock sound with a little industrial and heavy metal mixed into their songs that give it that extra kick. In most concerts, the first band to play isn’t usually one that the audience goes to see or gets involved in, but there are exceptions and Eye Empire is one of them. These guys have only been around for a couple of years, but they have a lot of potential and I am hoping for more material to come out really soon.

            The next band to play was All That Remains, who also have gotten really popular with their recent single Stand Up, Stand Up. My friend who also attended the concert with me had used that particular song in her fashion show recently, and she even made a sign hoping they would see her. When they began playing she held up the sign and the lead singer Philip Labonte noticed and said “That’s F***ing Awesome”. He even pointed it out to the other members of the band who smiled and laughed as well. When their set ended the bassist had given my friend a water bottle and in it was a guitar pick, which is something you hardly ever see anymore.

            Other than the my friend being acknowledged by the band, All That Remains was incredible with how they sounded just like their albums. If you haven’t listened to them before, Do it, they have a variety of sings that are all over the rock and metal spectrum. Songs like Stand Up, Stand Up are more for hard rock and metal listeners, while Two Weeks and This Calling are more for Metalcore and Melodic Death Metal Fans. I have only recently started listening to them, but they certainly won me over on how well they play. All That Remains is a band I would see again and again, their take on metal is honestly one in a million.

            The Headliner, Volbeat, was next and I was interested to hear them because songs like Heaven Nor Hell and Hangman’s Body Count are just great. Like the other bands that were playing Volbeat was a rock band but they added their own flair into their songs. Even though these guys are from Denmark, you can hear that true American rock and roll sound from guys like Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash into their songs. Just look at their logo it’s a skull with wings and hair like Elvis’s and when they started playing ring of fire it was just amazing. Out of respect to the recent passing of Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman, Volbeat began playing an excerpt from Raining Blood. All the bands that played were incredible and diverse in their genres of music, which made the whole experience beyond what I could imagine.