The Summer Slaughter Festival - Upstate Concert Hall (Clifton Park, NY) 8/10/13
Cattle Decapitation
It's been a while since I was at Upstate Concert Hall (Northern Lights). I believe the last time was to see Fear Factory about 2 years ago. I grew up in the Saratoga area, and Northern Lights was always a reliable place to see some great shows. With all of the controversy and griping about this year's Summer Slaughter line-up, I had really debated going, despite the fact that I have missed catching Cattle Decapitation and Revocation within the last year locally and really wanted to see them live. As luck would have it, my wife and I entered to win some free tickets from IndieMerch and low and behold, my wife got an email stating that she had won! So my mind was made up for me and I figured that since tickets were free, I had no conscious concerns about leaving the show early (since I wanted no part of seeing Dillinger Escape Plan, Periphery, or Norma Jean).
My wife and I arrived about 2:15 and things were just about to begin. There were two local acts: Hollow is thy Heart, and the other one which escapes me. Neither of which really struck me in any way but both bands got some decent exposure, with a much more crowded venue than I had anticipated at that time of day. First on the billing was Thy Art is Murder. I went into the show thinking they were generic but okay but they put on an great show. They played mostly songs from their newest release (due to short sets, this was the common theme of the day) but were quite effective with it. The breakdowns were crushing and due to the set length, they didn't overstay their welcome. Next up was Rings of Saturn, which will go down as one of the worst performances I've seen in a while. The guitarists basically stood there the entire time staring at their instruments as if the necks of their guitars were telling them what to do next. You can blame the technicality of it if you'd like, but I've seen plenty of other bands with staggeringly technical guitar work NOT staring down at their instruments so that was a major turn-off. Not to mention the 'bro-metal' persona of the vocalist....really not sure how these guys are making such a name for themselves at the moment. Consider me unimpressed.
Aeon
Aeon
Next up was Aeon, and I must say that by this point, it was nice to see a band on stage that didn't look like they had just graduated high school. They put on a solid set, despite their guitarist being sick and the vocalist pulling double-duty and their brand of old school Floridian death metal by way of Sweden came across quite well.
Revocation
Revocation
The final three bands of the day for me were the ones I wanted to see them most and none of which disappointed. First up was Revocation, who shredded as hard as they could in the small time allotted, and were easily the most impressive band of the night. My wife, who groaned every time I played their music in anticipation of the concert, absolutely loved their set. The band was having a great time on stage and that energy carried itself throughout the venue. They did some showy stuff but it was all in good fun. Again, sticking to mostly new material (they tossed 2 old ones in there as well), they thoroughly smashed my expectations and cannot wait to catch them again live! The ending of "Invidious" was just as destructive as I imagined it would be.
The Ocean
I had seen The Ocean live back with Devin Townsend two years ago and didn't really know who they were at the time. I had done some research and listened to some songs but only had passing familiarity. After seeing them last time, they won me over with their live show and this performance did nothing but amplify that. Playing entirely off Pelagial, which I would claim is their strongest effort, the crowd was quite a bit more enthusiastic than I had expected. The vocalist repeated jumped into the crowd during the heavier sections and even the softer moments live have more energy than on disc.
Cattle Decapitation
Cattle Decapitation
Ending the day on a high note, Cattle Decapitation was the last band we watched before we left. They sped through their 6 song set, playing almost entirely from their last disc. Travis Ryan was entertaining to watch as he repeatedly tried to catch his own spit back into his mouth and/or snort it up his nose whilst replicating his crazed vocals quite well (though some points it was too low in the mix). "Forced Gender Reassignment" was as punishing live as I had hoped it would be and we called it a night at 7:15.
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