Devastation on the Nation over near Albany last Friday. It was definitely worth the long drive that was made while I was quite sick.
Signs of the Swarm: Well, they kept Dave Simonich and made him full-time, so that's a plus right there. They were also even tighter this time around and started things off with a good, solid, heavy set. One of a VERY small handful of deathcore acts that I enjoy.
Venom Prison: Surprise of the night. They were a decent blend of old and new styles, and Larissa's stage presence and vocal performance were particularly on point. "Frenzied" would be a good way to describe it.
Arkaik: Got a soft spot because they're my buddies (and also because I brought them food), but they always put on a great show and the new lineup (well, new-ish, since Nate and Cris were in the last time I saw them) was on point.
Disentomb: Nothing special to report, just a good, tight, energetic set with a particularly great performance from Jordan (and some hilarious stage banter made even better by his thick "fukken Straya m8" accent).
Ingested: Band of the night. I've seen them three times with three different vocalists, and I gotta say, Jason Keyser was the best out of the three. Dude's one of the best frontmen around and he really added something extra to their set. Their sound DID wash out for about twenty seconds and I'm quite willing to blame it on all those bass drops overwhelming the house sound setup.
Psycroptic: Sat out a good deal of their set because I'm really not a fan of anything after Symbols of Failure, but I did catch The Colour of Sleep because I do have a deep love for old Psycroptic, and the Haley brothers are always worth watching because I really can't think of many musicians who are tighter than those two.
Aborted: What can I say? They always bring it. They'd be worth watching just for Ken's inhuman drumming, but they're also one of the tightest and most fun live acts around in general.
