After the dust had cleared from the implosion of the legendary metal band Pantera, the brothers Abbott (Darrel and Vinnie) had to come up with new plan. A new Damage Plan to be exact. First they recruited former Halford guitarist Pat Lachman for vocal prowess and then brought Bob Zilla's monstrous bass sound into fold to complete the lineup. After taking some time to write songs the bands first effort "New Found Power" takes over right where their previous band left off. With songs like the bone-crushing Wake Up and the relentlessly cranking Blunt Force Trauma it's easy to see that the band has not softened over time, if anything they've become even more brutal. Live, their show has not missed a beat. The band was as tight and powerful as ever and Lachman's imposing stage presence was commanding. After opening with a number of tracks from the new album they ripped through a couple of Pantera classics that had the audience say "Phil who?". To find out what the band's future plans are then head over to their website at www.damageplan.com.

Opening act tonight was The Haunted. The Swedish metal act is touring in support of their latest release "rVOLVEr" and set the night off with a screaming set. Original founding member, vocalist Peter Dolving, has returned to the band and they are now firing on all cylinders. For more info on this band and their other critically acclaimed releases go check out their website www.the-haunted.com.

 

 

Giving a whole new meaning to head banging is Brian Fair, vocalist for the hard-hitting metal band Shadows Fall. I would estimate the guy's dreds to be about 4 1/2 ft long. When he gets that hair going it's quite a wild sight. The Massachusetts based band is touring in support of their latest effort "The War Within". Garnering a lot of attention the band has had some quite visible tours with acts like Kittie, Hatebreed and a great spot on Ozzfest 2003 where they constantly outdrew all other supporting stage acts. Signed to Century Media records since their breakout the bands latest effort has sold over 100,000 copies making them the labels first act to reach that milestone. To find out more about the breakout band of the year then go to www.shadowsfallrocks.com. To find out more about me then go to www.revnkevin.com.