SEPULTURA ACROSS
THE NORTHWEST
 
MAY 12-14th, 2011-Portland/Seattle/Spokane
MAY 31st, 2011-Vancouver BC

Review By: Metal Mom
Photos By: Char Tupper
Spokane Live Shots:  http://www.metaltitans.com/concertpics/sepultura-guests-in-spokane-wa/
Vancouver Live Shots: http://www.metaltitans.com/concertpics/sepultura-guests-in-vancouver-bc/

Well Thursday May 12, we started out from Abbotsford, BC around 5:45am to make our way 292 miles down to Portland for a Metal adventure. The drive took around 7 hours with stops for food and gas. But it was a great day to drive, good traffic, didn’t even get stuck in rush hour through Seattle, and it was sunny. Perfect way to start it all off. Arrived in Portland, settled into the hotel, met up with some great friends. Then it was time to head off to the Hawthorne Theatre to see the bands, and what a line up this was, this was definitely a show worth seeing. I was surprised that there were not many standing in line waiting for the doors to open . In fact there were not many people that night, which is a real shame for the bands, but gave the ones who did see the show lots of room to mosh and move around, even those of us who stood up front, didn’t get pushed around. A lot more enjoyable having a show this way.

First on stage was BONDED BY BLOOD, they are from the USA and are recognized as a thrash metal band, named themselves after Exodus’s first album, they got the crowd going with the riffs and neck snapping tempos. Next on stage is NEURAXIS, a Canadian technical/melodic death metal band from Montreal, Quebec. This band had even more energy than the first, and you could tell the crowd loved them. I found them to have that steady beat that you can move to.

Next is KEEP OF KALESSIN, an extreme metal band that comes from Norway, which I have also seen many times, and will always see these guys when they come to town. To me, their set was not long enough, you just started to get into their harsh melodic sound and then they were finished. And again, high energy, so it was great to watch them move all around the stage. Unfortunately with so many bands, none got to play a set so the people could really enjoy and appreciate the individual sounds of each band.

Then, the Polish Black/Death metal band, HATE, walked on stage. They are a band that no one should miss, each and every one of these guys are extremely talented and know their instruments well. First time I saw them was with Hypocrisy last year, and let me say, they are making a name for themselves. Their sound is brutal and diverse with so much creative sounds, again though their set was not nearly long enough.

The almighty BELPHEGOR was next, these Austrian guys I have seen numerous times, and you know what to expect from these dark lords, who at every turn tempt you to the dark side. They played an impeccable set, lights were red and dark, covered in blood, that’s the Belphegor ritual we expect on stage.

On this night the headlining band is SEPULTURA the only band I had not seen or heard before. They are a Brazilian heavy metal / numetal / hardcore punk / extreme brazilian heavy metal /numetal /hardcore punk/extreme band.

Sometimes I like to go and not have any preconceived notions of how they sound. Playing live to me makes a big difference, anyone can sound good on a CD, but live is the way to know if they have talent. And I was pleasantly surprised and happy to have enjoyed this band, they played a for quite awhile and I have to say that I found myself, tapping, or nodding my head (haven’t mastered the head whirlwind), but moving, you just cant stand while they play. It was well worth going to this show. 

In the morning , it was time again to hit the road to see the show in Seattle, so after 174 miles, and getting into another hotel, it was time to go to the show at El Corazon, unfortunately I was not able to make it, but heard, that this was a fantastic show, bands played the longer sets, and it was a packed house. Sad to say I missed my favourite song by Hate this night “Wrists”.

May 14 it was time to drive another 279 miles to Spokane to see the bands play once again at the Knitting Factory, I really enjoy this venue, barriers for the photographers, lots of room. But the only real problem at this show was the lighting, I stood up front again and unfortunately I could not see the faces of the band members, especially with white lights behind them, it just made them out to be silhouettes. But I have to say, all those miles driven, these bands I would do it all over again for. They never looked tired, always gave it their all on stage. Most took time to talk to the fans, I know there were lots that really appreciated that . In fact, their last night of the tour is in Vancouver, BC on May 31^st, and I am not missing this for anything, not even a hockey game could keep me away from seeing these bands play again. Although Bonded by Blood is not on this tour anymore, just too many things went wrong, makes it hard when your vehicle breaks down to keep up with the tour. Belphegor is off now touring over in Europe, and sadly, due to the split-up of Nevermore, they dropped as well, in other words, more time for the bands.

But please these bands go through a lot, so much travelling, almost nightly, food selection is small to nil, and they do it all for their fans, so please show your support and go to a show and maybe buy some of that fantastic merch they have for sale. See you all again at the next show.

 May 31 is the their last tour date for this tour. So a drive into Vancouver is made, on a nice sunny day, a Tim Horton’s Iced Capp in hand, and enjoying some good music on the drive. As I stood in line though there seemed to be a few who were not very happy , they had heard last minute about the venue and time change. In fact, some of the bands didn’t know about it either. Some of the bands had added a date , and they had been in Prince George, luckily they left right after the show and made it down in time to show Vancouver the meaning of Metal. Personally though, The Vogue should have taken seats out for the people who wanted to mosh, as that’s a natural for metal heads. But all worked out okay. And NEURAXIS was first to come on stage for a short 20 minute set, but they always please the crowd with their high energy, and of course singer Alex wore a Canucks shirt which received lots of cheers. He also jumped twice down into the photo pit (after photographers were gone) and hung onto the barrier and sung into the crowd, which you know the fans loved this move. Excellent show. Next up was Norway’s KEEP OF KALESSIN, again never enough songs from this band. They as usual played an amazing set. Then of course HATE arrives, a little trouble with their sound check, but this was no fault of their own, it was quickly mastered and they played for 40 minutes, HATE has showed amazing talent, greater energy, and a flawless set. I never get tired of them. Cant wait for their return. Not soon enough for me, and I hope their set will be even longer next time. Last up, headliner Sepultura, I do enjoy their sound, they always seem to look like they enjoy being up on stage. But I have to say, the highlight of the night was something they had not done before, and that was to bring on stage Hexen (HATE), Vyl (KEEP OF KALESSIN) and Olivier (Neuraxis) all drummers from the bands that played, they all had their own drum, and it was amazing to watch them all play, it was like they had been doing this for years, all in time, I say a lot of talent when you throw all the drummers together and it comes out to perfection. Well done for a finale for the end of the tour.

Although there were some problems on this tour, the majority of the bands handled everything well, and with professionalism. I really hope that you didn’t miss out on this tour, but if you did. “ And theres still no rest ..” Keep your eyes open for a return of some of those bands together again and not too far away, and make sure you get out and support them and buy a fantastic t-shirt/hoodies or their CD’s to enjoy their music for a very long time. Cannot wait for their return.