Concert Review - Combichrist, William Control, New Year's Day - 4/4/14 at Empire, Springfield, VA

Combichrist first introduced me to industrial music almost ten years ago - my first time at (DC goth club) Midnight in my senior year of college, the DJ played "This Shit Will Fuck You Up," and my friend J and I turned to each other like, "That was amazing! What was that?!" Back then youtube wasn't what it is now, and the only version I found of that track was a video someone had made of their friends running around in the woods (possibly with swords) to part of that song. But I was hooked - Combichrist instantly became my favorite band to dance to at goth/industrial clubs.

Somehow, though, my bumpy journey through metal and industrial since then never managed to put me at a Combichrist live show. So you could say I'd been waiting ten years for this show.

I was less than excited about the opening bands, having seen William Control opening for The Birthday Massacre and not being impressed, and never having heard of the other one. So I wasn't terribly concerned when I wasn't able to leave until after my daughter's bedtime and arrived at Empire around 10pm. Besides, I walked into the venue about five steps behind Combichrist, so it was worth it, even if being in line prevented me from actually interacting with them. (And also met up with my pal L in line, what a surprise!)

When I got inside, it was the middle of William Control's set. They sounded much better this time than last time, and the singer seemed like less of a jerk as well (he actually thanked the audience at the end of the set!). There were more heavy driving beats and danceable synthpop melodies, most noticeably in the songs from their new album (which came out that day). I felt their sound, especially in the new songs, was rather similar to Terminal Choice, although the vocals were a little less gritty and in English, of course. I actually enjoyed the set this time and moved a little bit.

Between sets I found out a bit about New Year's Day from S. He compared them to Stitched Up Heart but said they were not as good - they were energetic, but the songs were missing something. (Read his review for more on them.)

Finally, after teasing us with a seemingly interminable and unusally movie-soundtrack-epic-sounding intro, Combichrist at last came out to the title track of their new album, "We Were Made to Love You." This track, while nice and heavy, and rather discordant, in the ear-drowningly harsh vein of Psyclon Nine (my fave industrial act), was also hard to dance to in limited space, due to its unusual, drawn out rhythm. So I didn't move much for that first song, but as they moved on into other songs with those signature danceable Combichrist riffs, I danced to pretty much every song, and finally rushed into the moshpit, I think for "What the Fuck is Wrong With You," as well as "Get Your Body Beat." I tried to start the pit during "Sent to Destroy," but the guys just looked at me like I was crazy. That was the last song; I (and others) expected "This Shit Will Fuck You Up" as the closer, but we were disappointed :( I had an excellent time, dancing and moshing for most of the show, or headbanging for the songs that had more of a groovy or racing metal vibe (such as "Maggots at the Party" and "Love is a Razorblade," respectively). They did play a slow song ("The Evil in Me"?) which was not really danceable, but maybe it was good to have a break. Certainly, I'm used to having to put up with a lot of slow songs whenever I go out for goth/industrial music and dancing ;) The vocals sounded a little different - perhaps a little more natural and less like some evil electronic overlord, but that didn't affect my enjoyment much - I was mostly there for the rad harsh-industrial dance beats anyway.

Andy LaPlegua (vocalist, band mainman) made some interesting comments about the band "not belonging to a scene anymore" and fans being afraid to like the new album because it's not in their usual scene, but he was met with cheers when he proclaimed the crowd to be the band's scene. Although the new album strays quite a bit from the charging, harsh energy of Combichrist's dancefloor standards, with some VNV Nation-like flowing waves of synth in one track, Daft Punk-like electronic noise in another, and some songs with more a metal than dance vibe to them, it's good music, and there are floorkillers like "Every Day is War" (which sounds quite similar to "This Shit Will Fuck You Up," down to the electronic squeals). I'm definitely not disappointed; I mean, a song of dancefloor hits in the all the same style would be boring, honestly. The album makes an interesting, varied listen; I only need one or two songs from it to request on the dance floor.

So anyway, after my ten years' wait, I was very satisfied with live Combichrist. (Only dancing to "This Shit Will Fuck You Up" could have made it better, but at least they played my other favorite songs!) Considering I couldn't get there till late, and one hour of nonstop industrial dance party was probably the most my body could handle anyway, I wasn't bothered by the less than stellar support. Really I just wanted to see (and dance to) Combichrist, and they delivered.

The Birthday Massacre, William Control, Aesthetic Perfection, Creature Feature, My Enemy Complete, etc. - 11/29/12 at Empire, Springfield, VA

I didn't realize I could go to this show until the last minute, because I thought my daughter's daycare would be closed on the 30th (the last day of NaNoWriMo) and that I would therefore need this evening for writing. By the time I found out that daycare would actually be open, it was past time to get ready, and so I arrived late and only heard the last 5 seconds of local industrial-hard rock band My Enemy Complete. This was unfortunate for a few reasons - they have started to sound heavier this year, and I thought they were supposed to play a new song which Bilal said would be heavier. (I keep telling him they need to keep up the heavy industrial sound that most of their songs start with, not get all soft once the vocals begin!) Also, I pretty much went to the show just to see MEC and Aesthetic Perfection, so giving up writing time only to miss one of the bands I actually wanted to see was annoying.

The next band on was Creature Feature. They were loud and energetic, but not my type of music - they had a sort of carnival or Nightmare Before Christmas-like sound, with gothically ghastly lyrics when I could understand them (they said one of their songs was based on Poe, and another was an alphabet of different ways to die). It was sort of interesting, but not really worth the lost writing time ;)

Aesthetic Perfection, however, was totally worth it. Heavy, mostly faced paced, with a pounding bass that made me want to stomp all over the floor (although it was pretty crowded, so I could only stomp in place). S, K and I shoved each other around a bit, and there was an actual tiny, 30-second pit during their last song. It was a fun time; I only wish they had been higher on the bill so they could have played longer.

The second slot band, William Control, struck me as a band whose songs (if played at our favorite local goth party Midnight) would be the ones that I danced half-heartedly to while waiting for a faster and heavier song, or danced half-heartedly through the slow uninteresting parts just to be on the floor for the catchy chorus. As in, their songs were mildly interesting and had some good, heavy or catchy parts that made me want to dance, but were overall too slow and soft for my taste. The crowd did not seem to be feeling them nearly as much as Aesthetic Perfection and the vocalist seemed to be getting a bit irritated about it. Near the end of the first song, he suddenly screamed into the mic, making us grimace, and I wondered if that part was supposed to be there or he was just letting off his frustration. He had a very metal looking guitarist who headbanged a lot; the vocalist himself had a poofed up 50's hairdo which made him look rather pompous. Still, they were better than I expected - as I said, something half decent to fill the time between the good stuff ;)

After AP finished, I had waffled a bit about leaving then or staying till the end, but I couldn't resist the temptation of seeing at least a little of The Birthday Massacre. I was not very familiar with them; at some point S had sent me a song, and they seemed good. As it turned out they were, and they were more metal than any of the other bands that played that night. They were also the only act that I saw (besides MEC) that was a full band - the other acts on the tour were two person shows. They use catchy, heavy guitar riffs, which unfortunately disappear during most of the vocals, but the synth and vocals are also quite catchy and upbeat, and most of the choruses include guitars and even some harsh vocals, making them very headbangable. I was enjoying their set, but unfortunately the vocalist injured her knee a few songs in. She tried to keep going, but after a few more songs, the band took a break to assess the severity of the injury and then announced that they could not continue because she needed to go to the hospital.

Even though there were some lame moments - missing almost all of MEC, having to wait through two not as good bands when I could have been writing - I'm still glad I went. I supported the local goth/industrial scene and got to see a few people I haven't seen in a while, and I had a good time dancing to AP and hearing more of The Birthday Massacre. And I did reach 50K (and bake two cakes) on the 30th, so it's all good.

Next show: Sonata Arctica and Arsis, 12/9