Concert Review - Dark Roots of Thrash II

Going to a metal show in downtown Scottsdale is a bit unusual and I think that the usual Botox patrons know it. From the mass of pastel colors, booty shorts, and high heels came a small swarm of black shirt, battle vest wearing metalheads. When there is a mass of metalheads converging in an area you know that there must be a concert going on that night. That night was the Dark Roots of Thrash II tour with thrash legends Testament and Exodus, plus newcomers Shattered Sun. The new and modern venue of Livewire is about to get thrashed!

Finntroll, Moonsorrow, Swallow the Sun Concert

Hails and pixels metalheads! Sorry about the delay in between posts, just got a bit lazy and some shit going down in real life that I might go into later. Anyway here is a catch up post for the concert involving Finntroll and Moonsorrow.

The concert was over at a restaurant/bar in Mesa called UB's. I've never been there before but it's a decent sized venue; about 100 capacity. The opening band was a local one called Adavant whom I've seen prior when I saw Eluveitie. Not a bad folk metal band, though a bit odd considering they originate from the Valley of the Sun and not the fjords of Scandinavia. Their songs are typical singing about drinking, celebration and the glory of battle. And of course they have a female singer, who I saw while they were taking down their set and complimented her band on a great job and how I saw them previously. Apparently that was a different female singer and she was the new one. My bad.

The second band was a thrash metal band from California called Bonded By Blood. Really great riffs that reminded me of early Exodus, Overkill and a bit of old school Kreator. Every single riff was mosh and headbang worthy. The only negative I had with the band was the singer. He wasn't lacking energy or anything it's just that his vocal styling didn't seem suited for the brand of thrash metal they were playing. I think a more shout style like Tom Araya or psuedo-growling of Miland Petrozza would fit better. There was little between song banter and what bit was there was commenting on the stupid anti-immigration law that Arizona passed and they joked that they might get deported. This band I'll keep an eye on.

I took a personal intermission to refuel my metal gut with some Whataburger. I came back in time to catch a handful of songs of Swallow the Sun. They're not a bad live band, though I think I enjoy them more on the record than live.

After them was Moonsorrow. Tons of energy and the audience enjoyed them immensely. Unfortunately sleep started to overtake my body and I had leave half way through their set. Perhaps next time I'll down some coffee or energy drinks to compensate. By the way, I left with a pretty awesome Moonsorrow tour shirt.