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BACK
RELAPSE
CONTAMINATION FESTIVAL
January 18th and 19th Philadelphia, PA - The Trocadero and Balcony
Club
Review by Adrian ‘The Energizer’ Bromley
Pics by Kevi-Metal
As
we all know, it isn’t a road trip unless both Kevi-Metal and
myself are included, so when word got outon the street that Relapse
was holding their inaugural Contamination Festival in mid-January,
it was quite obvious a road trip was in the cards.
The two of us set out for Philadelphia with good friend Aron in tow
for what was going to be a blockbuster weekend of metal, grindcore
and hardcore. How would we survive? We had a blast driving there,
cranking the tunes and just acting all goofy and retarded at truck
stops. After a long 11-hour drive overnight we arrived in Philadelphia
(the City of Brotherly Love) at 8 a.m. or so, crashed at our hotel
for a few hours and then made our way downtown to the city’s
hopping centre core just off South Street. We would eventually hook
up with U! writer Yury Arkadin and visit Relapse’s record store
and then took time out for some vegetarian cuisine and world-famous
Philadelphia cheese-steak sandwiches. Yum!
Later that afternoon we made our way to The Trocadero (just two blocks
from our hotel) for the start of the Contamination Festival. Here
are my thoughts on the bands that played both days:
DAY ONE
BONGZILLA: I used to be a fan of the band a few years back, but not
much any more. Loud, fuzzy and kind of forgettable after the first
two songs, Bongzilla didn’t do much for me this weekend. Too
bad I wasn’t smoking up at the time, as I might have been a bit
more into it. Oh, well…
ALABAMA THUNDERPUSSY: Yet another band on the Relapse roster that
I have never gotten into, but I know loads of people who like ATP.
I’ll admit, the band caught my attention about three songs into
their set when they started to get a groove going. Bythe time they
went on I was onto my fourth beer, so it was all starting to be one
big party.
CEPHALIC CARNAGE: As always the Colorado grindcore crew was fun, energetic
and insane. These guys always rule live! Plus Ben Falgoust from Soilent
Green got up onstage (cane and all) to jam with the band. What a pleasant
surprise seeing Ben in action again after such a horrible accident.
MASTODON: One of the most solid sets of the whole weekend—tight,
dynamic and intense. Very few bands this weekend matched the feverish
pitch Mastodon reached during their set. The crowd ate it up! <br><br>NEUROSIS:
It had been a long time since Neurosis had played on the East Coast
and tonight was like no other. They came armed. The band was loud
as fuck and the walls were shaking—I shit you not. Great band
to see live and the visuals are so fuckin’ hypnotic! Check out
their new DVD as well.
Aftershow
DAYLIGHT DIES: Dark, melodic and heavy. These guys were great live;
I just wish they had played longer than a 30-minute set. I hope they
tour soon.
DAY TWO
PIG DESTROYER: One of the best (and best received) sets of the weekend.
Man, these guys are fucking heavy live. Very few bands received such
a roaring response as they did when they took the stage. Can’t
wait for a new album.
BURNT BY THE SUN: Crushing live band that sent the crowd into a mosh-pit
frenzy. Dave Witte rules on drums!
TODAY IS THE DAY: Harsh...fucking harsh! Rev. Steve Austin was in
fine maniacal form as the band just stirred shit up. Loved every minute
of their destruction on stage!
HIGH ON FIRE: I was blown away by High On Fire. Matt Pike is a great
guitar player and his riffs just rocked like there was no tomorrow.
They have become one of my favourite bands at the moment. So much
intensity live.
THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN: Stage-diving, flash pots and double the
amount of light any other band got—you do the math. Explosive
as always and the new stuff sounded stunning. Mastodon's guitarist
came on stage to sing the cover song "Come To Daddy" with
DEP.
After show:
DYSRHTHMIA and THE END: We left halfway through The End’s set
(we had to get going as it was 1 a.m.) but I have to say, Dysrhthmia
is going to be fucking huge! These guys play technical/jazz/fusion
metal — very tight and dynamic. I loved their set...the album
is out on Relapse this fall.
So yeah, the fucking festival ruled. It was cold, it was sold out
each night (1,300 people) and I got to drink lots of beer with many
cool people. Kevi brought his digital camera, so he got some wicked
photos of our friends and the bands that played. They also filmed
the whole festival, with a tentative release date on DVD in October
I believe.
This was a wicked fest and I hope they do it every year. If so, see
ya next year, Philly!
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