Friday, February 23, 2024

MIDWEST BEATDOWN PLAYLIST :: 02/23/24

MIDWEST BEATDOWN PLAYLIST :: 02/23/24

HOUR 1

THROW THE FIGHT – “straight up” // straight up - single
AMARANTHE – “interference” // the catalyst
PLUSH – “hope it hurts” // find the beautiful
THE WARNING – “s!ck” // s!ck – single
FEVERDREAM – “falling out” // falling out - single
DROPKICK MURPHYS – “kicked to the curb” // 11 short stories of pain and glory
NOTHING MORE – “if it doesn’t hurt” // if it doesn’t hurt – single
ROYAL TUSK - "fire in your veins" // altrustic

SEETHER – “bruised and bloodied" // si vis pacem, para bellum
SKILLET – “the resistance" // unleashed
MADAM DRIVER - "through the trees" // negative ghostrider
AMIRA ELFEKY – “a dozen roses” // a dozen roses – single
PRIMUS - "my name is mud" // pork soda
COHEED AND CAMBRIA - "the liar's club" // vaxis II: a window to the waking mind
FIT FOR A KING – “keeping secrets” // keeping secrets - single
AVOID - "heat" // the burner ep

HOUR 2
XAETO – “undone” // undone - single
JUDAS PRIEST – “the serpent and the king” // invincible shield
BARONESS – “beneath the rose” // stone
KITTIE – “eyes wide open” // eyes wide open - single
AFTER THE BURIAL - "nothing gold" // embrace the infinity ep
MOON TOOTH – “grimothy” // grimothy – single
TURNSTILE - "big smile" // time and space

SLAYER - "warzone" // UFC ultimate beatdowns vol 1
POWER TRIP - "executioner's tax (swing of the axe)" // nightmare logic
FUGITIVE - "standoff" // blast furnace/standoff - single
BY THE THOUSANDS – “the flood” // the descent
BETTER LOVERS – “two alive amongst the dead” // two alive amongst the dead – single
SEEYOUSPACECOWBOY – “the end to a brief moment of lasting intimacy" // the romance of affliction
FOREIGN HANDS – “conditioned for a head-on collision" // conditioned for a head-on collision - single
BOUNDARIES – “easily erased” // death is a little more
VEIN.FM - "rebirth protocol" // errorzone


Saturday, February 17, 2024

MIDWEST BEATDOWN PLAYLIST :: 02/16/24

MIDWEST BEATDOWN PLAYLIST :: 02/16/24

HOUR 1

BOSTON MANOR - "container" // container - single
JOHNNYROOK – “feel it all again" // the more things change
EMERY – “walls” // the weak’s end
THE ALMOST – “southern weather" // southern weather
THE FORECAST – “good journey” // good journey
BAYSIDE – “castaway” // castaway – single
TAKING BACK SUNDAY – “quit trying” // 152
LEVELS - "breed" // pulse

VIA - "the reincarnate" // the day of purification
BACKHAND BLUE - "paranoid" // paranoid - single
MANY EYES - "mystic cord" // mystic cord - single
IGNESCENT – “monster you made” // fight in me
DIVIDE THE FALL – “without you" // without you - single
DROPKICK MURPHYS – “turn up that dial” // turn up that dial
CHELSEA WOLFE – “house of self-undoing” // she reaches out to she reaches out to she

HOUR 2
XAETO – “undone” // undone - single
KITTIE – “eyes wide open” // eyes wide open - single
INFECTED RAIN – “because I let you” // time
HANABIE – “OTAKU lovely densetsu” // OTAKU lovely densetsu - single
IN FLAMES – “become one” // foregone (bonus edition)
ARCHITECTS – “seeing red” // seeing red – single
UNLEASH THE ARCHERS – “green and glass” // phantoma

BOUNDARIES – “easily erased” // death is a little more
DYING WISH – “symptoms of survival” // symptoms of survival
COMEBACK KID – “disruption” // trouble ep
SOULKEEPER – “inflorescence" // holy design
CONVERGE – “under duress" // the dusk in us
MUTOID MAN – “call of the void" // mutants
3TEETH – “slum planet” // endex
ESCULA GRIND - "ball and chain" // ddeeaatthhmmeettaall ep


Monday, February 12, 2024

MIDWEST BEATDOWN PLAYLIST :: 02/09/24

MIDWEST BEATDOWN PLAYLIST :: 02/09/24

HOUR 1

CHELSEA WOLFE – “house of self-undoing" // she reaches out to she reaches out to she
NITA STRAUSS feat LZZY HALE – “through the noise" // the call of the void
DIAMANTE – “ghost myself" // American dream
WIDOW7 - "lowlife" // lowlife - single
BACKHAND BLUE - "paranoid" // paranoid - single
BAD OMENS & POPPY - "v.a.n." // v.a.n. - single
THE WARNING - "sick" // sick - single
MADAM DRIVER - "through the trees" // negative ghostrider

THE BURN VAULT – “dear landlord" // ignite
SAUL - "a million miles" // this is it...the end of everything
MVRROW - "thanks I hate it" // fever dream
DRAIN – “run your luck" // living proof
MAKE THEM SUFFER – “ghost of you" // ghost of you - single
MASTODON - "blood and thunder" // leviathan
LAMB OF GOD - "hourglass" // ashes of the wake

HOUR 2
INFECTED RAIN - "the answer is you" // time
SOULKEEPER - "heavy glow" // holy design
IN SEARCH OF SOLACE - "no turning back" // the endless ache
BY THE THOUSANDS - "the flood" // the descent
REFLECTIONS - "my cancer" // the color clear
O ZORN! - "never saw it coming" // vermillion haze
JOHNNY BOOTH - "ring light alter" // moments elsewhere
SILENT PLANET - "antimatter" // superbloom

HARMS WAY - "devour" // common suffering
ROMAN CANDLE - "gaslighting isn't real" // discount fireworks
VEIN.FM - "end eternal" // errorzone
CAPRA - "Silana" // errors
FUGITIVE - "standoff" // blast furnace/standoff - single
ENTHEOS - "absolute zero" // time will take us all
REAPING ASMODEIA - "false awakening" // darkened infinity
DYING WISH - "torn from your silhouette" // symptoms of survival


Tuesday, February 6, 2024

MACHINE HEAD, FEAR FACTORY and ORBIT CULTURE Slaughter The Lyric

CONCERT REVIEW: MACHINE HEAD, FEAR FACTORY, ORBIT CULTURE
The Lyric at Skyway Theater
Minneapolis, MN
Jan 30, 2024
Photos by Brett Zisler
Review by Nick



MACHINE HEAD brought their SLAUGHTER THE MARTOUR to THE LYRIC at SKYWAY THEATER. It’s been almost 9 years since I last saw MACHINE HEAD at the now defunct Mill City Nights during their Evening With Machine Head run. MACHINE HEAD last played MN in Oct of 2018 on a similar Evening With Run.


That in itself explains the excitement buzzing in the Skyway Theater for the return of MACHINE HEAD to a MN stage and they came out firing on all cylinders with the always crushing “Imperium” complete with a new digital backdrop! You could see the excitement on their faces that the crowd showed up to rage.


“Ten Ton Hammer” was next and the mosh pit didn’t let up. The beauty of shows in the main Skyway Theater and in the new only slightly smaller The Lyric … is that they are old movie theater rooms so the floor slants down giving everyone a great sightline for the stage. It’s gradual so it’s not like you are moshing uphill. Though that would be an interesting pit.


This is the first tour in a long time with openers so Machine Head played a 90 minute set and was still able to get in most of the songs you would want to hear in a MH set. “Choke on the Ashes of Your Hate” got an electrifying response out of the crowd as one of three songs from Of Kingdom and Crown to show up on the set list. Which then moved in to the classic “Aesthetics of Hate” complete with Dimebag Darrell love. No Machine Head show would be complete without the crowd sing alongs of “Davidian” and a perfect Machine Head closer with “Halo.”


Robb has always been a strong vocalist and this might be the best he’s sounded live. The band is up there having a blast playing and the crowd was reciprocating the feelings back. Hopefully we don’t have to wait another 5 ½ years for Machine Head to come back around and hopefully with another killer lineup like we had tonight.


FEAR FACTORY came out of the gates with huge smiles on their faces giving a ferocious 40 min set of nothing but the best FEAR FACTORY has to offer. Swinging right out the gate with two legendary cuts “Shock” and “Edgecrusher” from the Obsolete album. The band Dino has put together is extremely tight and in fighting form.


Milo’s got it. Milo honors Burton’s legacy keeping the songs true to form on “Powershifter”, “Disruptor” and “Linchpin”. I’m beyond excited to see Milo does with new FF material, leaving Milo to make his mark on the FF sound. Milo looked way more confident as a vocalist than when Fear Factory was at The Fillmore with Static-X last year. That’s not to say Milo was even one ounce of bad last year. Milo just had that much more of a swagger to him tonight.


As Brett said after photographing the first 3 songs of Fear Factory’s set .. “There is no one that looks happier playing on stage than Dino!” The whole band just absolutely slayed that set ending with a loud crowd reaction for “Demanufacture” and “Replica”. I wish they would have had time to do an encore because the crowd was ready for one!


ORBIT CULTURE returned for their third swing thru Minneapolis and becoming a more powerful live force than ever before. Just the addition of CO2 shooting up during openers “Saw” and “Alienated” made a huge difference in their 30 min set. ORBIT CULTURE returning with their strongest material to date with their latest album Descent and they showed off the album with 4 out of the 7 songs in the set. Which was a nice, little change for fans that have seen all three of their MN sets so far.


Vocalist and guitarist Niklas Karlsson made full use of the entire stage by singing in three different spots during the set - center, stage left and stage right giving everyone an opportunity to see the vocalist up close! The crowd was here for it as it’s safe to say ORBIT CULTURE isn’t a baby band anymore. Just like Milo with Fear Factory, you could see a noticeable confidence in all four of the members of Orbit Culture’s stage presence. They were here to dominate the stage and definitely did that with time left on the clock.


“Descent,” “From the Inside” and “Vultures of North” went over huge with the crowd as did the newest track in the set “While We Serve” from December’s The Forgotten EP. Drummer Markus Bladh punished the drums as he was pretty close to the front of the stage. It’s also pretty amazing that guitarist Richard Hansson and bassist Fredrik Lennartsson can headbang as hard as they do and still crush their parts.


We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, if you aren’t in to Orbit Culture yet .. what are you waiting for? This was their best set yet and the band is only getting stronger. I would love to see what Orbit Culture can do with a longer set and hopefully we will see that sooner than later.


If this tour was any indication of how 2024 is going to be for live tours, buckle up because Machine Head, Fear Factory and Orbit Culture have set the bar extremely high.

SEE MORE OF BRETT'S PHOTOS OF MACHINE HEAD HERE!

SEE MORE OF BRETT'S PHOTO OF FEAR FACTORY AND ORBIT CULTURE HERE!



Saturday, February 3, 2024

MIDWEST BEATDOWN PLAYLIST :: 02/02/24

MIDWEST BEATDOWN PLAYLIST :: 02/02/24

HOUR 1

THE WARNING - "sick" // sick - single
THE BLACK CROWES - "wanting and waiting" // happiness bastards
THE OFFSPRING - "let the bad times roll" // let the bad times roll
SOUL ASYLUM - "can't even tell" // grave dancer's union
ANGRY WATERS - "ours to be had" // angry waters III
YOURS TRULY – “call my name” // call my name - single
CHARLOTTE SANDS - "pity" // can we start over?

ROYAL BLOOD – “mountains at midnight" // back to the water below
ARROWS AT DAWN - "on the run" // pieces
FLOGGING MOLLY - "Laura" // whiskey on a sunday
JOHNNYROOK - "never ends, never wrong" // the more things change
NOTHING MORE - "if it doesn't hurt" // if it doesn't hurt - single
WALLY JOSEPH - "left of faithful" // to the dogs
FEVERDREAM - "falling out" // falling out - single
BAD OMENS & POPPY - "v.a.n." // v.a.n. - single

HOUR 2
THE BURN VAULT - "even rock stars die too" // ignite
ALICE COOPER – “I'm Alice" // road
MINISTRY – “search and destroy" // moral hygiene
FILTER - "jurassitol" // title of record (20th anniversary edition)
ROB ZOMBIE - "the triumph of king freak" // the lunar injection kool aid eclipse conspiracy
ZAKK SABBATH - "fairies wear boots" // forever doomed/doomed forever

KUBLAI KHAN TX - "self destruct" // absolute
BETTER LOVERS - "two alive amongst the dead" // two alive amongst the dead - single
FOREIGN HANDS - "conditioned for a head-on collision" // conditioned for a head-on collision - single
KNOCKED LOOSE – “deep in the willow" // upon loss singles
LOATHE – “new faces in the dark" // I let it in and it took everything
DYING WISH - "watch my promise die" // symptoms of survival
SCOWL - "shot down" // psychic dance routine
BODYSNATCHER - "dead rabbit" // dead rabbit - single
YEAR OF THE KNIFE - "wish / last laugh" // no love lost
OLD TOWNE GHOSTS - "knight boat" // the old ones are and forever shall be


MIDWEST BEATDOWN PLAYLIST :: 01/26/24

MIDWEST BEATDOWN PLAYLIST :: 01/26/24

HOUR 1

CHARLOTTE SANDS – “pity" // can we start over?
PLUSH – “hope it hurts” // find the beautiful
AMIRA ELFEKY – “a dozen roses” // a dozen roses - single
NOTHING MORE – “if it doesn’t hurt” // if it doesn’t hurt - single
GABRIEL AND THE APOCALYPSE - "get dragged" // get dragged - single
CITY OF THE WEAK - "drag us under" // pulling teeth
XAETO – “amalgam” // amalgam - single
BAD OMENS & POPPY - "v.a.n." // v.a.n. - single

SEBASTIAN BACH - "what do I got to lose?" // what do I got to lose - single
RANCID – “don't make me do it / live forever" // tomorrow never comes
MADAM DRIVER – “through the trees” // through the trees - single
THURSDAY – “for the workforce drowning" // war all the time
RIVAL SCHOOLS – “used for glue” // united by fate
MANY EYES – “future proof” // future proof – single
KILL THE LIGHTS – “from ashes” // death melodies
TURNSTILE - "T.L.C. (turnstile love connection)" // glow on

HOUR 2
AMARANTHE – “the catalyist” // the catalyist
STATIC-X – “no hope" // project regeneration vol 2
SEVENDUST - "fence" // truth killer
YEAR OF THE KNIFE - "last laugh" // no love lost
THE BURN VAULT – “Johnny Thunders come lately" // ignite
DRAIN – “living proof" // living proof
OUR COMMON COLLAPSE - "languish" // languish - single
MACHINE HEAD – “choke on the ashes of your hate" // of kingdom and crown

FEAR FACTORY – “shock" // obsolete
ORBIT CULTURE – “vultures of north" // descent
BY THE THOUSANDS – “the flood” // the flood – single
AUGUST BURNS RED feat JESSE LEACH - "ancestry" // death below
FIT FOR A KING – “keeping secrets” // keeping secrets - single
O ZORN! - "never saw it coming" // never saw it coming - single
REAPING ASMODEIA - "dreamcaster" // darkened infinity