Epica Celebrates a Decade of 'Design Your Universe' in NYC

The first time I saw Epica was in 2009, upstairs at the Palladium in Worcester. The band was touring to promote their most recent release, ‘Design Your Universe,’ an album that, to this day, remains among my favorites of all time. 10 years later and several albums later, the Dutch symphonic powerhouse returned to celebrate a decade of the album that changed so many lives.

There were only a handful of North American dates, making this tour a very special occasion that could not be missed. The tour concluded at New York’s Webster Hall, and the band brought everything they had to wrap things up in incredible style.

From the moment the lights went down and the first notes of ‘Samahdi - Prelude’ kicked in, the energy of the crowd and the volume of the cheers could be felt from blocks away. The band enters the stage with a flourish and for the rest of the night, New York belonged to Epica.

The band played the majority of ‘Design Your Universe,’ with highlights including the massive ‘Kingdom of Heaven,’ headbangers such as ‘Burn to a Cinder,’ and an incredibly passionate performance of ‘Tides of Time,’ where the lights of the crowd’s phones and lighters illuminated the hall.

Throughout this performance, one thing was abundantly clear: This band absolutely loves what they do. There was not a single moment during the show where these musicians didn’t have a big smile on their face, as they interacted with the crowd and goofed around with one another onstage. The fans show so much love and appreciation for their music, and that love and respect is shown right back. This is what makes these kinds of shows so much fun in the end.

Support for Epica came from Chicago’s Starkill, who got the crowd pumped up with their ferocious brand of melodic death metal. The set was incredibly atmospheric, with a bombardment of lights meshing with the silhouettes of the musicians as they thrashed and shredded their way through. It was an excellent way to start the night, getting the audience hyped up right off the bat.

It was a very special night for the band and the fans alike. On a personal note, Epica is a band that has long been my favorite since I started listening to them in 2005, and to have the opportunity to capture such a performance was nothing short of incredible. Here’s to 10 years of ‘Design Your Universe,’ and many more years of Epica.

EPICA

STARKILL

Japan's Boris Comes to Maine

One word that sums up the night that Tokyo’s experimental trio, Boris, came to Port City Music Hall: Massive.

Founded in 1992, Boris has maintained an incredibly diverse discography, defined by no singular genre of music. This is purely by design, as the band’s strength lies in its vast sense of musical creativity, utilizing driving rock riffs, atmospheric soundscapes and incredibly heavy grooves to shake the floors of any venue they play.

As Boris took the stage for their Maine debut, the mood was instantly set. Drummer/Vocalist Atsuo connects with and hyped up the crowd immediately, and upon hitting the first beat, a massive wall of sound leveled the venue like no other. This sound is courtesy of Guitarist/Keyboardist/Vocalist Wata and Bassist/Guitarist/Vocalist Takeshi. For the first few minutes of the show, the audience was treated to a series of heavy, atmospheric tones complete with the occasional striking of Atsuo’s gong to really set the stage for something truly special. For the rest of the night, Boris showcased the musical diversity and creativity that has kept them on top for over 25 years.

Opening for Boris on this tour is New York’s own Uniform. The brainchild of guitarist Ben Greenberg and vocalist Michael Berdan, Uniform brought a significantly more frantic energy, as well as a heavy dose social and political commentary to Portland. Using pummeling sludgy riffs, distorted electronics and harsh, pained vocals, Uniform kicked the crowd at Port City Music Hall to the curb. Heads were banging to neck breaking degrees as the crushing, chaotic audible bombardment just kept on coming with no sign of slowing down. Uniform came to awaken the fighter in all of us, and absolutely succeeded.

Boris’ Maine debut was a night that the crowd at Port City Music Hall will never forget, and one can hope that we will see them back here in the future.

For more on Boris, head to borisheavyrocks.com
For more on Uniform, head to unifuckingform.bandcamp.com

BORIS

UNIFORM

Godsmack Wraps up Maine's Impact Festival in Style

Day two of Maine's Impact Music Festival kept the momentum from the previous night running strong start to finish!

Headlining day two was Boston’s own Godsmack, who showed that even though their musical styles may have changed over the years, they can still put on a hell of a show! They kept the crowd moving and thriving through a selection of their newest hard rock anthems such as “When Legends Rise,” and “Say My Name,” as well as hits from their iconic back catalogue such as “Awake,” and “I Stand Alone.”

Gothic/symphonic rock icons Evanescence brought a darker, more atmospheric vibe to the evening, yet at the same time lit up the waterfront. Boasting a strong background of recognizable favorites, Evanescence provided a refreshing change to a lot of the more aggressive fare that the day provided. That being said, we cannot discount for a second, the ramp up in intensity that day two brought to the table.

Killswitch Engage is always a ton of fun to see live, giving a flawless balance of crushingly heavy riffs and insanely catchy melodies to follow. This of course balanced with the band’s entertaining sense of humor, mainly provided by guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz. Killswitch never fails to liven up the night!

Throughout the day, Impact Fest provided another diverse day of hard rock and aggressive metal stylings. From the well established classic hard rock riffs of Buckcherry getting the crowd on their feet to the younger, up and coming acts like Joyous Wolf showing Maine what they have to offer the ever expanding metal scene. One thing about the day was certain, I have never seen a vocalist perform from on top of a porta potty before (I’m sure I’m not alone in this, but who knows?) This all changed when I watched FEVER 333 perform. This group aggressively brandished some of the most frantic, explosive energy I have seen in a long time. If you ever have the opportunity to see them, I highly recommend that you do so.

To wrap things up, day two of the festival brought with it a lot of reflection, both personal and on a wider scale. On a personal note, upon seeing the lineup for this day of music, I noticed that a lot of the bands performing were bands I listened to constantly when I was in high school and college. Bands like Godsmack, Killswitch Engage, and All That Remains were what helped me through a lot of rough times in my life, helping to see me through and come out stronger. To be able to have the opportunity to return the favor in my own way years later, I realized just how much things have changed for the better.

This, to me, is what makes the Impact Music Festival such a wonderful event. A lot of those in attendance have gone through such hard times, but were able to take solace and gain confidence in themselves through the music of these bands that are still going strong to this day. It says a lot about the staying power of these groups, as well as the love, support, and strength of the fans who they have affected in the best ways.

This, to me, is the impact of Impact Fest.

GODSMACK

EVANESCENCE

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE

BUCKCHERRY

BEARTOOTH

FEVER 333

MAMMOTHOR

ALL THAT REMAINS

CROWN LANDS

JOYOUS WOLF