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I found out a few minutes before Ambitions took the stage that they featured members of With Honor. That made a lot of sense to me, as With Honor seemed to be heading in the very melodic hardcore style that Ambitions pulled off quite effortlessly. They sounded pretty similar to their EP, which takes an influence from Ignite (especially in the vocals), but leaning more on the hardcore side than the melodic one. I really enjoyed their set, as did the small yet quickly growing crowd (there was a decent amount of sing alongs going on). I especially liked how one of the guitarists looked like Raybeez (R.I.P.) of Warzone. I was also stoked to hear that they recently signed to Bridge 9. I see 2007 being a very good year for them.
FC Five was awesome. I'm really surprised that no American labels have signed these guys, as their fast and screamy hardcore is incredibly good. Their singer was very charasmatic, and their bassist looked like the big long curly haired guy in Napalm Death, a doppelganger that Chan pointed out to me. No many people at the Palladium knew who these guys were before they played, but they gained a lot of fans with their spirited set, only slightly tainted by someone standing near me who smelled like they either dove into a litter box or they rolled around in hay inside a musty barn.
Outbreak had a really huge sound to them, adding a lot of energy to their already energetic songs. The crowd was going off right from the start, as was the singer. He was constantly running around the stage, and his scream was absolutely awesome. It was an odd contrast watching him sing their songs and then talk after. He seemed soft spoken and almost unconfident while talking, which was the exact opposite of his persona during their songs. There were also a few times that I thought he stage dove mid song, but it turned out to be some other short guy with a shaved head.
Its been a long time since I last listened to Evergreen Terrace that I almsot forgot how great their singer's gutteral scream was. I almost forgot how great the band was and I almost forgot how well they put everything together. Not many people seemed to be all that into them, or maybe the crowd was just unenthusiastic, but Evergreen Terrace received only a lukewarm reception. The singer seemed to get upset when the crowd barely made a peep after he asked a question. Regardless of that, they still put in 100% into their performance. I had no complaints with their set, which included a new song that was short and fast (a style I am a fan of), aside from a boring cover of Operation Ivy's "Knowledge" (I'm not really a fan of that song anyway).
I wasn't a fan of Overcast before they took the stage, but I was when they finished. Their songs were so crushingly brutal, with parts that had me uncontrollably headbanging. The slow parts were just so damn good, and everything sounded so great. For the first time in the three times that I saw Overcast, I understood their importance to metalcore, which gave me a newfound appreciation for the band, as well as becoming a fan.
A guy walked onto the stage with a young girl in his arms. He stated that she wanted to sing Happy Birthday to somebody, which turned out to be Bane, celebrating their ten years as a band. It was a pretty cool way to open their set, and they kept the surprises coming. In addition to playing at a rapid pace with a ton of energy, they had two surprises for the crowd. One was their old drummer Nick rejoining them to them a few songs. He was always one of my favorite hardcore drummers, and the band did a good job with him behind the kit, even though it sounded like they hadn't played together in the few years.
Their other surprise was a Reach the Sky reunion. There were rumors of this reunion weeks before the date, but no one was sure if it were true or not. The crowd went nuts once they (minus the guitarists, which were filled in by a guy from FC Five and Zach from Bane) took the stage, going off to "Maybe Next Year." I was hoping that they were going to play more than one song, but they handed the show back over to the guests of honor, letting Bane finish out their set in style.
Bane played a good mixture of songs from their catalogue, which is something that they always do. I was a little disappointed not to hear "In Pieces" or "Count Me Out," but after hearing and seeing them end with "Swan Song," as the crowd rushed the stage for the "When Armageddon comes locked and loaded/I will come back for you/I will come back for you," staying on stage as until they played their last note, I knew that I could not have asked for a more fitting ending to such a special and celebratory night.
Written by: RF
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