ATLANTIC CITY, NJ—When they announced the lineup for this year’s Music As A Weapon Tour, my first thought was Korn and Disturbed in a club? Weren’t these guys playing arenas? Throw Sevendust into the mix and you have your one-two-three punch for power-packed metal show! A couple of weeks prior, this tour made a stop at Monmouth University, which I heard still hasn’t fully recovered from the brutality. And I’ve never seen a show at The House of Blues in Atlantic City, NJ, so this was going to be interesting.
I missed In This Moment and got into the already jam packed House of Blues just as Sevendust kicked off their set with the song “Splinter” from their latest CD, Cold Day Memory. This was a Sevendust crowd and they were listening to every word that came out of vocalist Lajon Witherspoon’s mouth. Sevendust wasted no time defrosting the South Jersey crowd with songs like “Black,” “Driven,” “Forever,” “Pieces,” “Praise” and then ending with the knockout blow “Face To Face.”
Now, Sevendust wasn’t at full power for this tour. They were Clint Lowery-less. The guitarist, whom I interviewed a few weeks back, is at home with his wife and their newborn baby. He had hoped to be back for this show, but I guess he wasn’t ready to leave his wife and baby behind just yet. In Clint’s place was Switched and Dark New Day guitarist Bradley Chester “B.C.” Kochmit, who played with Clint’s brother Corey in Dark New Day, so needless to say, he was handpicked to fill in for Clint, and the guy seriously kicked ass. He had the energy and the chops!
After a short break, Korn hit the stage. I haven’t seen these guys live in years. I felt that they were less energetic than Sevendust was, but the crowd, who seemed to be hardcore Korn fans, was really into them. They opened with one my favorites and a Korn classic “Blind.” In fact, the whole set was basically Korn’s greatest hits, with songs like “Here to Stay,” “Pop a Pill” and “Freak on a Leash.” At the end of “Shoots and Ladders” they tore into Metallica’s “One.” Then they played “Got The Life,” “Alone I Break,” “Oildale (Leave Me Alone),” “Falling Away From Me.” They ended their set with a medley consisting of “Coming Undone,” “We Will Rock You,” “Twisted Transistor,” “Make Me Bad,” “Thoughtless,” “Did My Time,” “Clown” and “Y’All Want a Single.” Korn fans seemed satisfied! Half way through Korn’s set, there was a meet and greet in the hallway with Sevendust, so a good portion of the crowd went out to meet them.
It was time for headliners Disturbed to hit the stage. I’ve never seen Disturbed live before, so this was a treat for me. This Atlantic City crowd really seemed to love these guys! I always felt on CD that every one of Disturbed’s songs kind of sounded the same, or at least very similar. That being said, I really couldn’t wait to hear what they sounded like live. They opened with “Remnants” and then tore through songs like “Asylum,” “The Game,” “Prayer,” “Liberate,” “The Animal,” “Inside the Fire,” “Another Way to Die,” “Stupify,” “Ten Thousand Fists” and “Indestructible.” They ended their set with “Down With The Sickness.”
Although, I still felt that most Disturbed songs sound alike, I did feel that on this night, they’re hit radio songs sounded great live. They are a tight band and there is no denying that! If I were to use music as a weapon, I just might pull out Sevendust, Korn, and Disturbed for my attack. This night was an all-out brutal music assault.
