Disease of the Anima and return of Webster Hall

Haber
September 16, 2019
0

Webster Hall is back and better than ever! After 2 long years of renovations and uncertainty, we finally have one of the first big metal shows since they have reopened. One of the first metal shows was the first night of the Disease of the Anima Tour.

Disease of the Anima tour featuring All that Remains, Lacuna Coil, Bad Omens, Toothgrinder and Uncured. It was exactly 10 years ago at this time that All that Remains and Lacuna Coil were touring with each other on the Hard Drive tour. It was a great nostalgia moment as well as a great way to appreciate to see how each band has evolved and progressed with their sound, fanbase and more.

Opening this epic night, we get Uncured. Easily the heaviest band on the bill, Uncured pulled no punches with their classic sound combining thrash and death metal, almost sounding like Beneath the Remains era Sepultura. Before this tour, they have toured with Children of Bodom in 2017 and Cradle of Filth in 2018. This was a different lineup but many fans have gotten on board with this group with their melodic style of pure brutality.

Toothgrinder hits the stage next. Toothgrinder is a band that can almost fit on any bill at this point. Going from Periphery, to Killswitch Engage, to Between the Buried and Me, to Bullet for my Valentine and more, they have the stage presence, melodic capabilities and hardcore grit to capture the imaginations of any lover of music. Instantly, vocalist Justin Matthews ran right from the stage to the barrier having the crowd to support him, so we started right off the bat with crowd participation. With their sound, unlike hitting everything at once, they easily led the audience in slowly getting heavier and wilder on stage. They even brought some newer stuff that we will be hearing on their new upcoming album I Am. Ending with the song we all know and love that they always end with Blue, many music lovers who haven’t heard them before sure know who they are now.

The third band we get is Bad Omens. Going from touring with a band like Born of Osiris, to a tour with Lacuna Coil, you would think that they wouldn’t fit on the package. Well they easily got the place moving from the barrier to the bar in the back. They spawned the first moshpit of the night and brought on lights that were practically hypnotic. All static energy was completely gone once they brought on their heavier music. They fit on the tour package perfectly, but also stood out in their own right.

Next, we get Lacuna Coil! They were welcomed back with open arms after playing two sold out headlining shows at Gramercy this past summer. The lights dimmed with their red backdrop emerging from the stage and instantly kicked in with one of their heavier songs, Blood, Tears, Dust. The pit continued as they played their more heavy songs such as Trip the Darkness, Spellbound and Our Truth. As they played more songs that were a little slower, more atmospheric and melancholy with songs such as Downfall, One Cold Day and My Demons, you would think that the pit would ease up a little bit, but it did not, if anything, it expanded from the bar to pretty close to the barrier. Not only did their setlist have classics such as Our Truth and Spellbound, but we also got the first taste of new material to be featured on their new album Black Anima. Things really turned to 11 when we finally heard Layers of Time live for the first time. Andrea’s growls and Cristina’s vocals were crisp clear and were enough to chill you to the core. We also got to hear Reckless for the first time, two days after releasing it to the public, and Cristina nailed the high-pitched chorus to a T. Further enhancing the crowd participation, the band let the audience pick which song of Comalies they wanted to hear. A choice between Swamped or Heaven’s a Lie. With the vote towards Heaven’s a Lie, they further proved that this song is a timeless and endless classic in the realm of heavy metal. Ending with Nothing Stands in our Way, they once again decimated New York City. Three times in less than two months.

At last, we get the headliner for the night, All that Remains. The lights dimmed and the projector screen behind Jason Costa’s drum set lit up and instantly the band kicked in with This Calling. Starting things off with an oldie but goodie, they continued that with Chiron off of Overcome. Phil put pure raw energy and range into the mic, Aaron brought perfect support and backup vocals as he held rhythm on the bass, while Jason delivered his signature metal drum style with his jazz technique and Mike Martin and Jason Richardson delivered endless riffs and solos. Jason performed Oli Herbert’s solos note for note and treated them with great respect and integrity. We went from one extreme to the other with a more melodic song, This Probably Wont End Well, followed by Hold On and The Last Time. After this all hell breaks loose as we enter a realm of newer songs off of their newest album, Victim of the New Disease, delivering the heaviest song of the night, Fuck Love and another beast of a track, Blood I Spill. A great element of tenderness is delivered when they played Everything’s Wrong and then they decimated all the peace again with Wasteland. The band was able to interact with the crowd while maintaining sonic excellence with their sound. After a good 20 minutes of newer material, we take a blast to the past with not one, not two, but three tracks from The Fall of Ideals. Everyone raised their hands when Not Alone kicked in followed by the one we all know and love, Six leading right into The Air that I Breathe. After these 15 minutes of relentlessness we get a sound of melodic tenderness again as the lights dimmed on stage and lighters and phones came out to the signature All that Remains Ballad, What if I was Nothing. Ending with their classic hit, Two Weeks the first night of the Disease of the Anima tour was a perfect success and sensation.

Disco ball and lights as All that Remains plays What if I was Nothing

Night one of the Disease of the Anima tour was the perfect night to celebrate one of the first real metal shows at the new Webster Hall. Many fans were just as excited to see what they have done with the place as much as they were to see the bands playing there. A night of new songs, new venues and like all great concerts, new friends.

All that Remains, Victim of the New Disease out now on Fearless Records