A Disturbingly Good Time

Friday night was a Disturbingly good time. All puns aside, both Nonpoint and Disturbed put on amazing performances, engaged the audience with utmost professionalism, and genuinely looked like they were happy to be performing to a sold out crowd here in our city. Having spent the entirety of the night on the front bar at The Commodore Ballroom on Granville, I really got to see and hear the bands up close and personally. (As a slender female I also managed to scrape up a body full of bruises by the hordes of 6ft+ metalheads that flanked me on every side but front) Nonpoint is an American touring act originating from Chicago, Illinois, whom identify themselves as Metal, Heavy Rock and Blues. I admittedly had only heard a handful of songs from them before the show, however, was looking forward to seeing if they could pull off such a dynamic sound live. Playing to a sold out crowd is nerve wracking enough, take into consideration more than half the patrons have probably never heard of the band before. That did not stop lead singer Elias from calling out every person there, stating something along the lines of, "If you don't know our name, you should be able to read a f**king poster...", which garnered laughs from the audience and prompted everyone there to chant their name before carrying on with their set of new and old originals and a fantastic cover of Phil Colins' "In The Air Tonight." As mentioned, the sound they produced was thick with dynamics. The vocals cut through and were on point technically, the instrumentation was together and well rehearsed, and the stage antics were more than entertaining! Chanting, jumping, clapping, singing - they turned a large group of metalheads into long term fans along with the promise of a new album this summer. Over all, I'd give them a solid 5/5 Hammers.

After a brief change of set, Nonpoint's gear was loaded off and it was time to get Down With The Sickness! Disturbed came on next, headlining the night. The last time I saw Disturbed live was during their Asylum tour at the Rockstar Energy Festival a few years back. Also, front row for that show, I knew this time, being a much smaller venue, things were going get crazy, intimate, and did I mention crazy? Disturbed has been, and still remain, as one of my favourite bands. Their lyrics are full with poetry and melody. There's brutal licks and riffs, pounding rhythms, bass lines like gravy, and vocals that send chills down your spine. On Friday, they played a couple classics from each album, including a new addition of "Darkness" from Believe into their set which lead beautifully into their latest cover, "Sound of Silence." Over all, they played over 20 songs consisting of originals and covers; Album: Down With The Sickness
Songs played: Stupify, Voices, The Game, Down With The Sickness

Album: Believe
Songs played: Prayer, Liberate, Darkness

Album: 10,000 Fists
Songs played: 10,000 Fists, Stricken, Land Of Confusion

Album: Indestructible
Songs played: Indestructible, Inside The Fire, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, IIshfwilf

Album: Asylum
Songs played: Another Way To Die, The Infection

Album: Immortalized
Songs played: The Vengeful One, The White, Sound Of Silence

Covers:

Killing In The Name Of - Rage Agasint The Machine
Baba O'Riely (Teenage Wasteland) -The Who
Closer - Nine Inch Nails

Without a doubt, I give Disturbed 5/5 Hammers.

-Rawsky