Industrial metal attack with a neometal kick – Fear Factory & Coal Chamber @ Irving Plaza

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“Is it 1996 again?”, Shentov, a fellow music blogger from Bulgaria (also my homeland) exclaimed on Facebook after I shared that I’ll go see Fear Factory and Coal Chamber at Irving Plaza. And yes, it was in a way, but in a really nice way. Irving Plaza is always a hit though. The staff is actually super nice, which is pretty fucking rare for most of the New York venues. Nice to the point that one of the bouncers found a photo cap in the pit and came to me and one other photographer to ask if if it’s ours. The venue is cool, not too glitzy, but very convenient and the sound blasts your ears in the right way. With couple words said – I always have a blast!

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And this show was a blast! A blast from times when industrial and neometal reigned!

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I arrived a little after 9 when Fear Factory were on the stage with their second song and the place was packed! FF are touring their new album Genexus, which sounds like a blend of Giger-esque beats, Atari Teenage Riot-y fast beats and chainsaw riffs! A perfect cyberpunk nightmare.

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Burton C. Bell and company opened with “Shock” from the 1998 “Obsolete” record – damn, it’s a perfect opening song. “Edgecrusher” followed which is also the next song at the same album. To make it brief here is the setlist and some pictures, I know that’s what you want. 🙂

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FEAR FACTORY:

1. Shock
2. Powershifter
3. What Will Become?
4. Damaged
5. Soul Hacker
6. Dielectric
7. Martyr
8. Demanufacture
9. ReplicTheir

This show made me remember the times when me and my friend Alex were dancers for the Bulgarian industrial metal band Alien Industry… it was a lot of fun.

Like a lot. Fake guns and shit. xD

Anyway, I just thought it might be a good idea if Fear Factory bring some hot dressed in latex chicks to dance on their maniac rhythms… I can submit this proposition officially to their team if needed – it will be HOT! I have a lot of ideas… And before I dip too deep into my fantasies – the headliners!

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Coal Chamber and Fear Factory has a relationship similar to that of Nine Inch Nails and Manson [but without the fight]. In late 1994, Dino Cazares of Fear Factory championed a demo tape by Coal Chamber, causing a huge local stir with gigs at The Roxy Theatre and Whisky A Go Go, eventually leading Roadrunner Records to offer the band a contract. It was awesome to see two bands that pretty much defined the “darker” neometal/industiral scene touring together after 20 years. That said I’d love to see NIN and Manson on the same stage too, but I don’t think that’s happening anytime soon. I’m willing to wait.

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If I was making the line up of the show I would put Coal Chamber play before Fear Factory – although CC’s new record “Rivals” is pretty hard, dark and Dez Fafara’s vocals are growler than ever with almost no clean vocals, Fear Factory are still one idea harder, darker and heavier and just the flow between the two setlists would’ve been better. The audience thinned a little bit too, but Coal Chamber delivered groovy and consistent show I liked a lot.

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They still awesome on stage and kick ass! Nadja Peulen is one of the quintessential hot metal bass player chicks and her stage appearance is captivating. Peulen joined Coal Chamber in 2002 after original bass player Rayna Foss-Rose left the band to have her daughter and later fell out with frontman Dez Fafara, saying that she and her husband had “found Christ” and would be leaving Coal Chamber for good.

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Anyway, Nadja’s stage appearance is captivating (did I start to repeat myself?). I love bands that care about their visuals and Coal Chamber are really a perfect example in the US scene that stayed true to their style 100%. Surprisingly Coal Chamber opened with their biggest hit “Loco”… and here is what followed:

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COAL CHAMBER:

2. Big Truck
3. I.O.U.
4. Nothing
5. Fiend
6. Rowboat
7. Something Told Me
8. Another Nail in the Coffin
9. Clock
10. Drove
11. Oddity
12. Sway

@coalchamber killing it @irvingplaza. ❤️ #coalchamber #irvingplaza #flowersinagun

A video posted by Flowers In A Gun (@flowersinagun) on

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A quick summary cause I spread out too much in this review, provoked of course by my love for this genre growing up… It was a kickass show and I want to go to more neometal shows now. A lot kids grew up with neometal around the time I did and even in Bulgaria that was the trend! And a lot of these kids still play neometal once in a while at home (even if once in a zillion years) – don’t lie, don’t lie. 😀 And seeing these bands still kicking ass after so many years and staying true to themselves is awesome!

Next neometal show – KORN // October 5th. Nuff said – Google the rest.

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