This December was a holiday spectacular for Long Island. While I personally couldn’t see as many of the amazing holiday lineups of bands that I wanted to due to finals, the community saw everything from a The Sleeping reunion to the classic “ChristMosh” Patent Pending show to mathy and now pop punk-y rockers Tiny Moving Parts proving why they rule the world these days.
Fortunately, I was able to catch two of the nation’s best metal/hardcore fusion acts doing what they do best in the place that made hardcore a worldwide phenomena.
Incendiary came back to the Amityville Music Hall for the third annual holiday charity headlining show and Merauder made a very rare stop at the Hall to remind us why Master Killer is undoubtedly one of the best heavy music records of all time by laying down a set where they played every single song for the album’s 20th birthday.
Starting the holiday season, Incendiary brought back their “show up at 8 with $10” tradition, where all the money raised at the door was donated to the FREE Drum Corps, which helps children with mental disabilities. The community raised over $1,500.
The night also doubled as a record release show for their reissue of 2009’s Crusade. While the crowd was raucous and active the entire set, some of the older audience members truly went off when Incendiary threw “Dissension” into their setlist, the first track off Crusade that contains one of the best breakdowns of all time.
And as great as Incendiary was, they were put to shame when Merauder came to town.
Opening Merauder’s night of glory were Jukai, Detriment and King Nine, three Long Island greats that brought some of the rowdiest, and most deadly, mosh I have ever seen in my life. The Jukai performance can be described as nothing short of a prison riot and if the comatose body dragged out the front door during King Nine’s set is any indication, so was theirs.
It may not have been as wild, but Merauder’s crowd participation proved that the band is the New York legend every older Brooklyn guy says they are. As they opened with “Time Ends,” the first track off Master Killer, the crowd screamed along with a triumphant, powerful and loud “yeah,” the first vocal sound that frontman Jorge Rosado made on the album when it dropped 20 years ago.
Instrumentally, the songs sounded as fresh as they did back on the original recording, as the backing band consisted of Florida metal band Rhythm Of Fear and one member of Detriment instead of the older New York guys who were originally members of Merauder back in the ’90s and early 2000s. The more vibrant energy from the younger musicians had the instrumentals sounding very crisp, without a single mistake.
Rosado’s young son was even on stage, taking the mic and yelling the choruses into the crowd for Merauder’s most popular songs like “Master Killer” and “Life Is Pain.”
Odd New York banter aside, Merauder had one of the most memorable sets from a heavy band I’ve ever seen on Long Island. The band was introduced as “Merauder for their last New York show,” but I would be shocked if Rosado didn’t want to replicate the energy he was able to create in Amityville just one more time during his life.
Up Next for Long Island:
Candiria at Amityville Music Hall – Jan. 21 – Fresh off a “tour” where they played shows in all five boroughs, these local metal legends are going to be playing a set in a pretty small place for them. Tickets are cheap too, going for $15 on Ticketfly right now.
RiFF RAFF at Revolution – Jan. 27 – For those that want to spend a lot of money at a bar while listening to (hopefully) ironic and funny rap from “the white Wesley Snipes,” this is the concert for you. Now, RiFF RAFF is kind of objectively not that great, but without a doubt his crazy mannerisms and stage antics are a fun time. If you’re interested, tickets are available on Ticketweb right now for $25. There’s a VIP option for $75 but I would be careful paying that much money to meet the peach panther himself.
DMX at the Emporium – Jan. 28 – This is possibly the most legendary performance Long Island will see in 2017. After having to cancel his last Emporium appearance due to getting arrested, he’s returned to give it to ya. Tickets are up on Ticketfly right now for $20, but be warned that the show doesn’t start until 10 and that there is a “strictly enforced dress code.”
