show reviews
Legacy of Evil Tour 2001
The Legacy of Evil Tour 2001 rolled into Lakewood's Symposium on July
7 and delivered just what was advertised- darkwave and industrial in
abundance.
Dayton deathwave rockers Temple of Misery opened the night with a
stirring set of darkwave goth highlighted by Lygia's ethereal vocals,
Rayn's eerie synth work, and more than enough drums, bass, and guitar to
bring a metal edge to their gothic stylings. Drummer Odd kept the beat
going with a double bass kit and more toms than I could count, while
bassist Merydyan kept the grooves tight and more uptempo than most newcomer
goth bands. Sporting two guitarists, Razor and Xerkzies, Temple of Misery
incorporated just enough death metal riffs to keep the music from being
stale and predictable, but not overpowering the beauty of their original
compositions.
Cleveland's own Martyr Complex followed that with the most
high-energy electoindustrial set we've seen from an unsigned band. Vocalist
Dante Ricco kept the stage presence on the edge, weaving between monitors
and throwing himself recklessly into each note. Guitarist Eliot Bourk kept
the volume cranked up to 11, injecting slashing riffs on songs like
'Violator' with some very intricate harmonics on their cybersex homage
'Electrostatic Kisses'. Keyboardist\programmer Aaron Egnor plays synths
like a madman, wringing out some amazing analogue sounds from his Yamaha
synth, which incidentally sported a Baby Spice sticker to match Egnor's "I
Fucked Baby Spice" t-shirt. The highlight of the set was a
techno-influenced cover of "You Spin Me Round" by Dead Or Alive which got
the audience dancing in front of the stage. Martyr Complex's lightshow is
second to none in the local goth\industrial music scene and is something to
be seen. If only more bands would put that much emphasis on presenting the
music in a visual format as well as aural format...
Detroit guitarist Blake Chen followed Martyr Complex with a rousing
set of sequenced beats and lonesome acoustic guitar. Chen, a native of the
Phillipines, is known in Detroit as 'The Haunted Troubadour' and after
hearing his short set it's obvious why- his lyrics are dark and soulful,
intelligently written, and the tone and rhythms of his songs match his
voice and subject matter excellently. One of the most memorable quotes of
the night came from the doorman who practically ran to the back of the bar
to buy Chen's CD. "Anyone who has the balls to get onstage with nothing but
a laptop and a guitar and sing like that deserves my ten buck," said the
very exuberant doorman. Indeed.
The Impaler, also from Detroit, closed out the night with an amalgam
of darkwave synthpop beats with tight distorted guitar lines and an almost
triphop rhythm to offer a set that was very original. Listed as one of the
Top 100 Things About Detroit That Don't Suck, as well as winning the Best
Industrial\Goth Artist 2000 Detroit award, The Impaler is a menacing figure
onstage, and his voice is imaginably what Barry White would sound like
should he suddenly go underground and put together a B&D Industrial band.
Blake Chen accompanied The Impaler onstage to work the sequenced beats, and
guitarists Tim and Terry kept the rhythms cranked up and in your face.
'Welcome To The Afterlife' was definitely the highlight of the set and
we're already planning on catching the Impaler at his August 25 appearance
in Kent.
The Legacy of Evil Tour now heads to Detroit (July 13) and Dayton
(July 20) as well as making a surprise appearance at Gothic Wasteland 2 on
August 25 at the Robin Hood Inn in Kent, OH. According to Aaron Egnor, they
are also planning on taking the Legacy of Evil to New York and beyond later
this summer, and possibly will hit Chicago and Milwaukee in the Fall. 4
bands, 5 bucks, and some of the best midwest talent in the goth and
industrial scene.
Definitely worth checking out.
.Udo Kettner.
(
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