COAL CHAMBER, FILTER, COMBICHRIST, AMERICAN HEAD CHARGER – Worcester MA

Coal Chamber is back and bad ass as ever! They hit the road with Filter, Combichrist, American Head Charger and Saint Ridley, for a 32 date North American run. Musician Photo Journal caught up with the show at the Palladium in Worcester MA.

The Palladium turned the show into more a one day festival, opening it’s doors to the smaller stage at 4pm and having local bands : Devlyn Sydus, Mongrel, Shane Slaughter, The Grey Curtain and On Edge open the show. They really got the crowd pumped and ready for the main attractions.

First national act up was Michigan’s hard rockers – Saint Ridley. They went on stage right around 6 as the doors opened to the main stage. We only caught the end of the set, but they seem like they have alot of promise. You can get a listen of their latest single, “RUST” (here) which will be on their up coming release. Saint Ridley is Paul “Saint” Ridley on vocals, Matt Dalton and David Flynn on guitars, Cody Denis on bass and Rich Schlager on drums. Look for Saint Ridley’s other North American Dates to follow.

Next up was American Head Charge. They came out hitting hard, kicking off their set with “All Wrapped Up” and “Dirt.” While this is one of those bands that dissolved (back in 2008) and then reformed four years later (2012), American Head Charge has not lost sight of what they are about. They recently signed to Napalm Records and look to release their third studio album, “Tango Umbrella” slated for a Sept 2015 released. They recorded the album with producer, Dave Fortman (Ugly Kid Joe, Evanescence, Eyehategod, Slipknot, Mudvayne, Godsmack) at Third Sky Studio, in Richmond, KY. Watch for American Head Charge to continue to tour, with several Midwest dates scheduled after directly after the Coal Chamber tour.

Third on the bill was the underground aggro-tech band, Combichrist. They guys really bring their all, proving that aggressive Techno metal is alive! Gaining much notoriety when they toured relentless with Rammstein several years ago, Combichrist still continues to break ground. They set was full of new songs like “We Were Made to Love You,” “Can’t Control,” “Maggots At The Party” while throwing in the older favorites “Throat Full of Glass” and closing the night with “What the Fuck Is Wrong With You?” where drummer Joey Letz always kicks up the crazy antics on this song. This time was no different; he handed one of his drums out in the crowd, pounding the beats as the crowd held it up.

Combichrist is out in support of their seventh studio album, “We Love You,” released last year via Out of Line/Metropolis Records.

Combichrist will be returning to Europe in May and on the European festivals in June.

Fourth up was Filter. Vocalist, Richard Patrick was with an entirely new touring line-up, sharing the stage with Oumi Kapila (guitar) Ashley Dzerigian (bass guitar), Chris Reeve (drums) and Bobby Miller (keyboards, programming).

The new incarnation of the band is tight, bringing Filter’s sound back in a big way! They sounded great, really kicking up the live performance since the last time I saw them. The fog on the stage was a bit much, as it was so thick that members on the stage would disappear for a minute or two before the fog would clear…. just to have it happen all over again in only a few short minutes later. Standing in the back of the theater, you could appreciate the atmosphere, but up front and mid-theater, it was not as enjoyable. However it didn’t take away from what they were doing musically.

On March 30th, the band launched a PledgeMusic campaign, giving fans an exclusive insights into the writing and recording the new album. Look for Filter’s still untitled seventh studio album to be released in late August/early September 2015.

Headlining the night was Coal Chamber. They picked back up where they left off so many years ago! Coming out with “Logo” and “Big Truck,” it felt like we were back in 2002. Fast Fwd to 2015, They played their new songs “I.O.U. Nothing” and “Rivals”. Their set played an excellent variety of favorites off the first 3 albums, including “Fiend’ “Clock” “I” before closing strong with “No Home” “Oddity” and “Sway”! The night just seemed to flew by and they left the crowd hungry for more!!!

Coal Chamber has reunited and looking to release their first studio album in 13 years! The new album is titled, “Rivals” will be released on May 19, 2015 via Napalm Records. Coal Chamber heads to Mexico, then to Europe before returning to North America for the Heavy Montreal 2015 show on August 7 in Montreal Quebec. Here’s hoping for another full USA tour later this year.