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Metallica
with Godsmack
10/09/04 - Pepsi Arena -
Albany, NY
by Keith "MuzikMan"
Hannaleck |
This past year I got into some real head
bangin� music courtesy of metal gods Metallica and their offspring Godsmack.
The opportunity to see them live sounded exciting. I ended up with nosebleed
seats but they were good just the same, besides, a 46-year-old man with
arthritis in his back does not need to be in a mosh pit! I had a good view
of all the crazies from above, which was just fine and dandy with me, I
would much rather be an observer of the insanity than participate in it.
The stage was a circular rotating stage
with members of each band positioned at different parts of the stage during
the course of each set so everyone attending had a bird�s eye view of their
rock heroes at some point during the evening.
Godsmack
kicked the night off with raucous and hard-hitting tracks from their catalog
and the lead singer Sully Erna got the crowd worked into a foaming-at-the-mouth
frenzied craze. He stated at one point �Get off your ass, this isn�t F�
MTV!�
Besides all of the pyrotechnics that the
band is known for, animated drummer Shannon Larkin was one of the main
features of the night, his playing was jaw dropping. A highlight of the
evening was when Sully (who played drums in a band long before Godsmack
came to be), and Larkin paired off to put on a percussion
show that rocked the house down. I was so impressed with the multi-talented
Erna, not only is he a great front man, he is a good guitarist and drummer.
They paid their respects to Metallica, giving them kudos before they came
on. It is has been obvious to me that Godsmack takes a page out of the
book of the metal kings. When you listen to Sully sing you can hear the
influence of James Hetfield.
The Metallica show started with all the
lights off and a scene from the �The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.� Do you
remember the scene when one of the �ugly� is running scared through a huge
cemetery? Well, that is the way it started, a very theatrical opening for
a metal band I must say.
I
really did not know what to expect from this band, I did know that I loved
their music but never saw them live, even though the have been around for
over 20 years now. James Hetfield sounds fantastic and the band is as tight
as it has ever been. The pyrotechnics continued on their set, except Metallic
kicked it up a notch, setting off seat jarring balls of fire frequently.
I could actually feel the heat way up on the third level. I cannot imagine
the intense heat down on the stage. There was big screen videos surrounding
the upper part of the stage where the scoreboard and clock is for sporting
events, and you got some nice close-ups of each band member, all in black
and white.
After seeing one of the best rock shows
in my life and three hours of total captivation, nothing else mattered.
Metallica and Godsmack are two of the tightest and most impressive bands
in the world.
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Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck
is a veteran syndicated music critic, his reviews appear in over 35 publications
world-wide. To read more of Keith�s work visit muzikreviews.com
Photos Copyright 2004 Rob
Grabowski / GrabowskiPhoto.com All Rights Reserved
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