In Flames, Trivium, Kingdom Of Sorrow, Straight Line Stitch – Clifton Park, NY

It was a slammin night of metal when In Flames, Trivium, Kingdom of Sorrow and Straight Line Stitch rocked the night on the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival at Northern Lights Nightclub in Clifton Park.

First to take the stage was Knoxville, Tennessee’s Straight Line Stitch. They came out hitting hard and getting the crowd pumped from the very first note. Their fierce front women, Alexis Brown shows that she, plus her band, are a force to be reckoned with. Out in support of their latest album, “The Fight of Our Lives” (E1 Music, 2011), Straight Line Stitch will rip your face off with their metal while mixing in a soulful rock blend to bring the entire sound a perfect mix.

Next up was the hardcore metallers: Kingdom Of Sorrow. Playing this club not that long ago with GWAR, Kingdom Of Sorrow pulls out all the punches with the best metalcore bands while providing a southern metal groove to boot. And why wouldn’t they with Jamey Jasta (Hatebreed) and Kirk Windstein (Crowbar and Down) as the band’s founding members. Recently rejoining the band on stage was bassist Aaron Patrick, he just got off tour with Devildriver. Aaron with DevilDriver also recently played Northern Light, making this venue feel almost like home for these boys. Filling in on drums and pulling a double duty was Kanky Lora, drummer of Straight Line Stitch. Check out Kingdom of Sorrow’s latest album, “Behind the Blackest Tears” on Relapse Records (2010); it’s a brutal yet groove metal package, sludge/metalcore at it’s finest.

Trivium was third to take the stage. Earlier that day, I was reminiscing about seeing this band for the first time in 2003. They were impressive back then but these guys have definitely come into their own skin and shaped their sound, image and even tweaked an already strong stage presence. With a new drummer, Nick Augusto, Trivium is out in support of their upcoming album, “In Waves” that will hit stores Aug 9th. MPJ caught up with bassist Paolo Gregoletto before their show, where he told us what went into making the new album, capturing the raw energy and turning it into a complete package that is reflected in the album’s

art work. You can watch Paolo talk about this and other things in the Trivium camp here including their fall tour with an influential Prog band that at the time Paolo couldn’t disclose their name. Since the interview, it was officially released that Trivium will be the opening band for Dream Theater this fall in a North American tour. You can also catch Trivium at the Waken Open Air Fest, the remaining Mayhem Festival, the Dream Theater tour this fall and winter European tour with InFlames, Ghost, Rise To Remain and Incense. Trivium’s set was tight, full on metal with great solos. They left the crowd hyped and hungry for more.

And more they got, when the Swedish metallera, In Flames were next to carry the metal torch to the stage. The crowd seemed to get their second wind, cause from the moment the lights went down, the energy of the crowd once again rised as they began chanting “In Flames.” They stormed the stage giving the Clifton Park crowd a taste of what the whole Gothenburg metal movement is all about. Releasing their tenth studio album, “Sounds Of A Playground Fading” just a little over a month ago, there is no doubts that these guys know how to mix their melodic death metal sound with their alt-rock style. “Sounds Of A Playground Fading” was the first album that In Flames recorded without their founding guitarist, Jesper Stromblas, who left the band in the begining of 2010. But don’t despair, it has all the greatness of In Flames that we all love and if anything, it has seemed to push them a little harder and made their sound even tighter.

Unfortunately, on July 31, 2011, In Flames was forced to cancel their remaining tour dates in the US. Straight from their press release, In Flames had the following to say: “It is with huge regret that today with immediate effect In Flames must cancel their current US shows as part of the Rockstar Mayhem Festival and their own US Headline shows. But due to a serious terminal illness of one the band’s immediate family members they feel they have no option. We have had the most amazing and fun times as part of the Rockstar Mayhem Festival and we are truly grateful for all the support the whole festival has shown. We will be back at the start of 2012. Once again our apologies…. In Flames”

The crowd exited the club in such high spirits. Clifton Park is definitely glad that these bands would share their “night off” from the Mayhem Festival to give the Capital District one amazing night of metal. If your planning on going to the Mayhem Festival this year, be sure to get there early to check out all the great bands on the bill.

Here are the remaining Mayhem Festival Tour Dates:
Aug 05 Tinley Park, IL @ First Midwest Bank Ampitheatre
Aug 06 Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
Aug 07 Noblesville, IN @ Verizon Wireless Music Center
Aug 09 Oklahoma City, OK @Zoo Amphitheatre
Aug 10 Dallas, TX @ Gexa Energy Pavilion
Aug 12 Atlanta, GA @ Aaron’s Amphitheater at Lakewood
Aug 13 Tampa, FL @ 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre
Aug 14 West Palm Beach, FL @ Cruzan Ampitheatre

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