MCB Review- Atticus Metal Tour @ Magic Stick

Unearth headlined the metal vs. hardcore show March 27th.

It is always a potentially chaotic scene when metal kids meet hardcore kids, and this year’s Atticus Metal Tour was another display on how it can get a little tense. Boston metal band Unearth headlined the six band show, which featured metal bands such as Carnifex and hardcore groups such as Stick To Your Guns for a mostly packed house at the Magic Stick on March 27^th.

Even though all the bands were on the same bill, the show almost seemed like two different concerts rolled into one. When hardcore bands like Stick To Your Guns and England based hardcore group Your Demise were on, it seemed to be their fans dancing (if you want to call it that) and wailing their arms generally into nearby fans, while the metal fans generally hung towards the back and drank beer. Anaheim based Stick to Your Guns were the only band out of this group that didn’t come off as a fourth-rate Hatebreed and seemed to have even the metal fans paying attention.

As for the metal bands, San Diego based Carnifex delivered a better than expected 30-minute set in which the death metal band punished fans (in a good way) with songs from their Hell Chose Me record (and a special thanks to the merch guy for the band for letting us check out the UFC 111 matches on his laptop). And during their half hour set, Chicago “Sumerian-core” based band Veil of Maya played tracks off their upcoming record Id (Out April 6^th) and showed that they have become far more proficient in their skills over the past couple of years.

As the band prepares to release their upcoming record in the summer, Unearth played a mixture of new and old in their 65-minute set. Starting with the fiery “Crow Killer,” Unearth played a set that showed that the metal road warriors are a well-oiled machine at this point. The crowd responded well to fairly new tracks like “My Will Be Done” and “Giles,” in which the old fashioned mosh pits replaced the karate kicks that dominated the pits during the hardcore bands. By the time the band reached towards the end, with one of their signature tracks, “Black Hearts Now Reign,” the band had the fans in the sweltering Magic Stick satisfied and hoping that the new album comes out soon.