Review: The Contortionist, Revocation, Fallujah, Toothgrinder- 2/15/15

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Over Valentines Day weekend, most people spend their time (and money) trying to impress that special someone with fancy dinner and cheap romance. Not I. Myself and about 400 other people spent our Sunday at Metal Church! Headlining a brilliant tour presented by MetalSucks.net

The Contortionist, with support from Revocation and Fallujah, drew a nearly sold out crowd to Backbooth in Downtown Orlando. Before I continue, I should note that I realize we, as writers and avid music followers, can be a tad biased at times, and can overuse certain ways of describing a band’s level of badassery. With that being said, the most fitting term I could conjure to illustrate last week’s performance would simply be Stellar.

Although there is much praise to be awarded, Sunday’s show didn’t start off as smooth as it ended. From what I was able to gather, there was a communication error in regards to band load-in, and door time. That sure as hell didn’t stop the line of fans from stretching all the way down Pine St. while the venue’s employees and tour members alike, scurried to and from, racing to set up for the night. Before long, doors opened, and the mob of people got cozy inside the dimly lit club. This place is pretty tiny, and it definitely wouldn’t have been my first choice for this package, but that made it all the better! Backbooth filled up, while two local openers sated the pallet briefly, giving time for a few cold beers and some small talk. One of the opening groups, Orlando’s Valor, deserves some notable mention. Valor‘s style of beatdown hardcore and fairly common deathcore, incited the first pit of the night. Their energy was fitting, and the crowd enjoyed it. Kudos. Soon enough the tour’s opener, New Jersey’s Toothgrinder, took over. Personally, I don’t think those in attendance were truly prepared for the auditory onslaught that was Toothgrinder. Their name says it all. Leaping from the kick drum, vocalist Justin Matthews dives into the crowd on first note, giving a fantastic first impression. These guys blend a savage mix of The Dillinger Escape Plan styled phrasing, with hauntingly beautiful melody and rhythm. A perfect fit for the Tour. Toothgrinder is every bit manic free-form chaos, as they are precise choreography.
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Next, was Fallujah. This San Francisco five piece was arguably the most anticipated band, besides the headliner. There was a special buzz in the air before they began their set of tone worship. The anticipation had come to climax just as the group gathered on stage for soundcheck. As the house lights went down, the crowd lit up, and opened up, for the opening song. Fallujah brings to the table an extremely tasteful blend of melodic black metal, and technical deathcore, that is undeniably groovy and powerful. Their spacey guitar tone enveloped the room; Not a soul was standing still. Though their set was cut short due to time constraint, the amount of respect and professionalism shown by Fallujah should not go unnoticed. These dudes kicked some serious ass!

Co-Headliners, Revocation wasted no time keeping the show rolling. Thrashing through a hefty set, Revocation lived up to their mass, and growing, reputation. These guys are true to the metal spirit! Vocalist and Lead guitar player Dave Davidson, has excellent stage presence and (when not shredding his Warrior styled guitar to bits!) takes absolute control over the crowd. Revocation is gritty, fast, and superior to alot of Death/thrash bands in the scene. Their style of classic death metal and blistering thrash is fitting for any tour. Take my advice, if you have an opportunity to see Revocation, Don’t pass it up!

Finally, the night’s headliners appeared on stage. Greeted by a thunderous roar from the audience, The Contortionist geared up to finish off this marvelous show. Having seen The Contortionist before, but with now Ex-frontman Johnathan Carpenter, I was anxious to see how the band had grown since last time. Opening with Flourish, a track from 2010’s Exoplanet. The crowd instantly came alive. I personally had a fairly brief period where I obsessed Exoplanet. And I must say, The Contortionist played those songs phenomenally. Having released a new album this past year, the song selection from Language was very tasteful. Blasting their way through tracks like Language I & II, and Primordial Sound, Vocalist Mike Lessard impressively showcased his ability to switch from screaming, to fantastic clean singing. His contributions as new vocalist shine, and the band looked very comfortable as a unit. Eventually, the all too familiar encore came around. After a chant for more, the band returned to enlighten the room one more time. Closing with Oscillator and The Parable, The Contortionist bid farewell, leaving everyone in attendance stunned in excellence.
Each band that played were surely masters of their craft. This tour gave us loyal fans our money’s worth. And for that, I am thankful!
If this tour is coming to your town, don’t think, GO!!

Be sure to pick up Language at your local music shop!
To see all the photo’s from the night, check them out here!