For concertgoers, it is rare that you happen upon a show that has more than one or two bands that you really want to see. The rest of the line-up is usually filled with bands that either don't fit your preference or haven't yet appeared on your radar. With the exception of big shows like Warped Tour or other music festivals that always seem to be geographically inconvenient, the chances of you seeing all of your favorites in one place are small. You would probably have a greater chance of being hit by a falling star then go to a show that has more than one band worthy of a headline. Well, I guess the stars aligned perfectly on December 2nd when The Masquerade in Atlanta, Georgia was host to an all-star list of performers. (Okay, okay, I'll stop with the star references).

 

In a smart move by the administrators at The Masquerade, two separate tours that would have been playing in different sections of the venue, Heaven and Hell, were combined into one big show on one stage. Because of the combined line-up, the show started at 3pm and I regret to say that I missed the first two bands, The Kindred and Here Comes the Kraken. I had some personal business to attend to which kept from leaving on time and to make matters worse I had to deal with Atlanta rush-hour traffic, (FML). But, just because I missed out doesn't mean you should. The Kindred is a progressive rock sextet from Ottawa, Ontario who present a nice blend of hard and soft rock with vocals that sound like a more laid back version of Axl Rose. Their debut album is slated to come out February (2014). Here Comes the Kraken are poster children for Mexican metal. Formed in 2007, this death-core quintet from Aguascalientes already has two LP's to their credit, Here Comes The Kraken (2009) and Hate, Greed, and Death (2011), as well as a handful of music videos that will hit you harder than a straight shot of tequila.

 

I was fortunate enough to walk in at the tail end of one of the bands that I really wanted to see, which was Hudiksvall/Stockholm, Sweden's Vildhjarta. These guys have been around since 2005 and despite having a sizeable underground following, they have only recently come into serious recognition after their 2013 release, Thousands of Evils. And, to be honest, I have no idea why it has taken the rest of the world this long to jump on the bandwagon. These guys are absolutely amazing; having set a new precedent for progressive metal by combining the best elements of death and groove metal into a djent style, they’ve created music that would make the gods of the Norse pantheon weep in fear. PLEASE, do yourself a favor and check out Vildhjarta before their army of "thall's" decide to hunt you down!

 

Cleveland, Ohio's Affiance was next to take the stage. At this point in the show (just three bands in), I think the crowd wanted to take a little bit of break because there wasn't much movement compared to the previous performance. There were still five more (awesome) bands to go and I would imagine that the crowd wanted to preserve a bit of energy for what was to come. But, don't let that serve as an initial of impression for the band. These guys did a great job of keeping the crowd engaged with an amalgamation of classic metal-core and power-metal vocals.

 

Up next was another band that I was extremely anxious to see; Sydney, Australia's Northlane. In case you haven't received the memo, Australia is taking over the world. I honestly don't know what it is about that country that makes for such stunning music, but they are putting the rest of us to shame when it comes to metal and hardcore. Northlane exploded onto the scene with their debut album Discoveries (2011) and then further cemented their positions as a front-runner of the industry with their sophomore release, Singularity (2013). These guys have been a breath of fresh air within a stagnant pool of metal-core by fusing visceral rhythms and breakdowns with ambient melodies to create a sound that is much more aggressive, yet very serene. What is more impressive is that their stage presence picks up right where their recordings leave off; confident, not cocky, with same air of intensity and reserved power.

 

With everything in this world, there must be balance. If Northlane is the dark hero of this story, then Structures would be the rival... in terms of music, at leasts.  These guys are all over the spectrum in terms of both sound and performance. They transition between technical metal, post-hardcore, and punk in a chaotic, yet cohesive fashion and their movements on stage reflect whatever style they seem to be playing. It's as if you took a rubber ball that played musical notes every time in bounced against a surface and threw it in room full of glass objects. Just sit back and watch the chaos unfold. At no point during their performance did either the band or the crowd stand still. It was an impressive thing to witness!

 

After that fit of temporary psychosis, it was nice to have The Contortonist from Indianapolis play next. That may sound a little peculiar and contradictory if you've been fortunate enough to listened to their first album, Exoplanet (2010), which was exemplary archetype for death-core. However, the band chose to comprise most of their set from their most recent release, Intrinsic (2012), which has a much more ambient and atmospheric quality. This performance was a perfect case/study for how music can change the mood of its listeners. It's a relatively easy concept to understand, but it's really interesting to see when put into effect, just how much and how fast music can change those who are listening. And, like a person looking into a mirror, the listener reflects that sentiment back to the musicians at a near light-speed pace. I watched, in simple awe, as for one moment, everyone in the crowd would become entranced and sway to the beautiful and somber melodies and in a flash, would come alive whenever there was a breakdown. 

 

Co-headlining the show was one the godfathers of djent metal, Veil of Maya. In hindsight and in my opinion, this was the pinnacle of the show. Not to take anything away from the main headliner, but it was clear that these guys where whom the vast majority of patrons came to see. Just by taking into account the number of people that were gathered at the stage before they went on and then observing how the entire room erupted when the band started playing. I actually made the mistake of trying to be up close to take some photos but quickly learned that my head was fair game for the flailing hands and feet of the horde of crowd surfers. A size 10 Chuck Taylor to the face doesn't 

exactly help when trying to steady a camera. After I retreated to the sidelines, I watched as uncoordinated waves of fans hysterically jumped up and down and the dancers in the pit moved like poorly trained ninjas to the technical drum rhythms and high-grain guitar blasts. I'm pretty sure that had these guys been the actual headliners, I couple people might have died from the all the commotion.

 

Thankfully no one died during that commotion and one of Canada's finest, Protest the Hero, was able to wrap things up in glorious fashion. Now, I have a confession to make: I had heard of PTH before the show but had never listened to them. I know... shame on me. But, I can now say that I'm a huge fan. For those of you that haven’t heard of these guys or seen them live, let me see if I can explain to you in the simplest way possiblejust good these guys are… THEY JUST ARE! Since forming in 2001 and gradually improving throughout four releases, including the most recent Volition (2013), they've seemed to have developed the perfect recipe for a distinctly original sound: a dash of metal, with equal parts hardcore, a pinch of classic rock, a teaspoon of technical metal guitar extract, and whole lotta power vocals with just a touch of soul. Toss in a blender, press puree, and pour out pure awesomeness (bit of a tongue twister, eh?). It's the kind of music that makes you want to hardcore dance while, at the same time, invoking your inner Bruce Dickinson or Ronnie James Dio. A perk of seeing them live is listening to the comedic monologues in between songs by frontman Rody Walker. He touched on an assortment of topics such as how he hates when bands use strobe lights (all the while using strobes, themselves), his distrust of overly nice people, and the crack smoking mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford, and how he's jealous that Rob parties harder than he does. Once all the stories had been told and the last cans of Pabt's Blue Ribbon had been drunk, the band exited the stage to roaring crowd that quickly began to chant, "One more song!"  This went on for about a minute and just when it seemed like the final curtain call would go ignored, the band reemerged from the shadows to oblige the cheering audience.

 

I still have a bit of tinnitus, but I feel that the show was well worth. Be sure to check out all the photos from it and also take the time to check each band.