Road Reports Archive

Mudvayne / Sevendust
The Masters Of Horror
Nokia Theatre . New York, USA

Called “The Masters Of Horror” tour; Mudvayne would be performing a headlining set once again and in addition to the continued support of their release “Lost & Found” the band was also hot off their appearance on Ozzfest. They would also be showcasing their contributions to “The Masters Of Horror” program which currently airs on Showtime and takes the Horror film industry’s greatest directors and gives them an hour to work with. Directors have been John Carpenter and John Landis among many others and Mudvayne was one of the many bands whose music is appearing in the program. Developments in the bands career like these escalate their exposure in fantastic ways. Joining the band would be 10 Years, Bobaflex and the one and only Sevendust. I had just covered Mudvayne a few months ago and was really interested in seeing Sevendust live after so many years of hearing their music. I would miss the 10 Years and Bobaflex set but there will be plenty more times to catch them I am certain.

Sevendust would be returning to New York City after some time and it was impressive to see the amount of support generated for them by the audience. You can tell very early in a bands set whether they are being well-received or not and I have to say that the majority of the room was not only there for Mudvayne but for Sevendust as well. The band roster of Lajon Witherspoon (vocals), John Connolly (guitar), Vince Hornsby (bass), Morgan Rose (drums), Sonny Mayo (guitar) certainly has their stuff together musically and on the stage. I don’t know if they are considered that term of “Nu-Metal” or not, since in my opinion they deter from that very much. Their newest album is a molten slab of melodic Metal entitled “Next”. The group had also recently split from TVT Records and was now part of the Winedark Records family, “Next” would be the first release as part of this relationship. The band hit the stage like a hurricane and the entire crowd was jumping and screaming along with Lajon who runs about the stage so much that he is almost impossible to photograph. I was very impressed by the group and was really put over the top by drummer Morgan Rose who is not your stereotypical Metal drummer. His percussive demonstrations show him as a very technical and powerful drummer who is influenced by far more than Metal music. The band would deal out a brief but encompassing set both in support of “Next” as well as their forthcoming “Best Of” package. Shortly after this brief tour, Sevendust announced a series of headlining dates for 2006. Be sure to check them out if they hit your town and be prepared to see the band move into an even brighter future.

Mudvayne: As I mentioned above this headlining tour is a great cap to Mudvayne’s recent adventures as one of the main bands on this past year’s Ozzfest. That festival is so powerful in its scope and to be one of the main bands on a stage that is shared by Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden can do nothing but good for you. If you have ever seen Mudvayne before you will know that they are not quite Nu-Metal but instead referred to as “Math”. This is a genre that according to Wilkepedia “It is characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures, stop/start dynamics and angular, dissonant riffs. “ Despite the very Metal vocal styles of lead singer Chad, the guys making the physical music definitely are falling in line with this description. This band hits the stage to the “Empire’s March” from Star Wars (a great intro piece if you ask me) and when they hit it’s a rush of dizziness as the whole band is all over the place as if to drive the audience into a frenzy. Nokia Theatre seemed to be filled to its doors tonight and as I understand it’s approximately a 2200 capacity venue. Chad came out dressed in a gorilla suit and a bloody face, most of the stage gear was covered by black draping and I did not understand why. The band sounded really good and I enjoyed them a little more than I did the first time as they kicked a great set around that had a few new songs and some of their classics. To this day my very favorite is “Not Falling” and I am totally taken by the new track “Happy?” This is a kick ass band that somehow got lumped into a genre description that they are far superior from. The set did seem a little short though but I guess this was because of 4 bands playing and everyone doing a shorter number of tunes to give everyone a fair set. If I can complain about one thing it was the fact that once the time that media folks are allowed to take pictures had passed Chad removed the gorilla suit and the drapes came off the amps and speakers (revealing a more elaborate designed stage). Since I am not a pro-photographer and instead a writer who wants to bring the best visuals to you readers as well I was disappointed in that. Otherwise this was a very entertaining night and a band that I would check out again since it has been a good time twice in a row.

Sevendust Set List:
1. Enemy
2. Black
3. Ugly
4. Waffle
5. Denial
6. Ass Drop
7. Hero
8. Praise
9. Pieces
10. Face 2 Face

Official Web site: www.Mudvayne.com
Official Web site: www.Sevendust.com


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