A four band metal experience hit Worcester, MA (as it often does at the Palladium) on May 3 when Arch Wny came to town. With them was Fit For An Autopsy, Baest, and Thrown Into Exile.
Thrown Into Exile started the night. They did 5 songs if I kept proper count, with typical death metal titles such as Caskets Beyond Cremation. It was loud and heavy fun that got the crowd warmed up.
Baest (pronounced Bayst) was next and wow. At first I thought this was going to be lame. They looked like a group of misfits, did their own setup and soundcheck, and they were using the previous band’s drum set (though they kindly had their own symbols so they wouldn’t be ruining their stuff). Maybe they couldn’t get it through customs as I don’t think they are from the US. But holy hell were they heavy and they could work a crowd full of crazy metal heads. They got the night’s first pits really going and the crowd surfing really kicked off. Such small venue for crowd surfing so you only “surfed” for like 5 or 10 feet before getting to the security guards whose backs really got a workout, but that stopped no one. The singer from Baest crowd surfed himself to do the last song going from the stage to the where the pit was with mic and mic stand included. “Put me down! I want to be in the pit! Put me down!”
He orchestrated the circle pit around him while he performed. It was pretty wild and entertaining. We had a cushy spot on the balcony and just watched the chaos unfold. But the night was only beginning.
Fit For An Autopsy was 3rd, and was my least favorite band when it comes to the music for the night, but still a heck of a show. People loved it, just not my style. But when these dudes played, this is where things just got nuts. “For this next song (The Seas of Tragic Beasts) I want to see as my crowd surfers as possible!” The crowd obliged and the security guards probably thought “shit!” to themselves. The crowd surfing never stopped throughout this song. Person after person, including every member of Baest which was fricken awesome kept getting passed over the crowd. Their own guitarist jumped into the crowd and surfed while playing. They had plenty of circle pits going as well throughout the night. High energy performance for sure.
Here’s a little mini video to sum up their performance:
Arch Enemy was last and didn’t disappoint. This is a band that my buddy Dan and I used to play on our The Metal Show radio show back in the day and it all started for us with their 2001 “Wages of Sin” album. Their first album to feature female singer Angela Gossow. She since stepped down as singer but I believe still manages the band. But they kept the female singer in place with Alissa White-Gluz. While I first heard the band with Dan, it was Del who has become the bigger fan and went to the show.
Deceiver Deceiver opened the set and I snagged a pic of the setlist from my vantage point.
Alissa has a presence for sure. She’s tiny and has such a powerful voice that just doesn’t make sense coming out of her. She’s also easy to look at and she moves around the stage with precision. By that, I mean it almost seems as if every move down the hand gestures is coordinated with the music. You know when you play air guitar and air drums in your car to your favorite song because you know every single note? That’s her all night. Jumps, kicks, turns, fist pumps, all perfectly timed with the music. They put on a great show, which was apparently their 18th show at this venue.
War Eternal is a great tune I was happy to hear them play. It was great guitars and her insane voice of course. I didn’t capture the whole song but this video gives you a good idea.
The crowd loved it and all the surfing and pits continued. I gotta give it those security guards for keeping up all night.
This wrapped up my 2nd of 3 shows for the weekend. One more to go and it’s gonna be a good one I think. Rock icons will be taking the stage at Gillette Stadium Sunday night and I’ll be there! Stay tuned.
Leave a Reply