After two years of dealing with weather at both ends of the spectrum, the third annual Sounds of the Underground tour got out from under the gloomy skies and invaded the Fillmore Detroit for the 9-hour traveling festival chock full of metal and hardcore music. About 2,500 packed the Fillmore and maneuvered around the tight quarters in the lower levels and stage where 15 bands took to the stage.

Recent My City Buzz interview subjects This is Hell started off the day and got the kids hardcore dancing during their set. Even though most of the bands were metal leaning fans, the crowd reacted well to the only hardcore band on the bill and got the festival going on a positive note.

Meanwhile, bands that played throughout the afternoon dealt with various issues such as microphone troubles, lost band equipment and in some cases, just needing a good amount of practice before getting back on stage again.

Even though the New Orleans band Goatwhore were powerful in their brief 20-minute (most of the early bands played around 20 minutes or so), microphone troubles plagued lead singer Sammy Duet and hurt what could have been a scene stealing performance. The bassist’s body armor made it look like they were ready to go to war with the Viking looking Amon Amarth, who played their form of brutal European death metal in an abridged set, mostly due to the band arriving right before showtime. Unlike last year’s Behemoth, who were met with laughter from this reviewer, Amon Amarth was a band to take seriously, just for the fact that they could probably pummel anyone that didn’t like the band.

Groups in the afternoon such as Heavy Heavy Low Low and The Acacia Strain met with various levels of rabid fan followings and at times, some of these bands probably could tighten up their stage show for future festivals.

One band that did exceed expectations in the middle of the day was the Washington D.C. band Darkest Hour. The band put together a strong set, pumping new material from their Deliver Us album. What made the set all the more impressive was the fact that the band had lost their equipment and had to borrow Every Time I Die’s drum kit and a guitar from another band to even play.

One band that didn’t exceed expectations was the highly touted and hyped Arizona band Job For A Cowboy. The band, lead by Johnny Davy, seemed like nothing more than a clone of the granddaddy of American death metal, Cannibal Corpse. Songs like “Embedded” and the set closer “Knee Deep” didn’t really show the type of luster that becomes of a band getting breakout band status.

The Sounds bill of 2007 took a chance with hip-hop and it was a failed experiment at best. Deathcore rapper Necro took the stage and the fans’ distaste of all things hip-hop boiled over, and well, it got ugly. The rhymes of murder and death sent the crowd to heckle and boo the Brooklyn rapper and his hype man. The crowd did not relent either; throwing water bottles and flipping off the group, causing them to reply with slurs only Isaiah Washington from “Grey’s Anatomy” would be proud of. It was a painful set. Not for the fact that Necro was that bad, but for the welcome (or lack thereof) they received. Someone joked that it looked like the scene in “Malibu’s Most Wanted,” where Jamie Kennedy’s “B-Rad” character went into the battle rap club and was booed until he was thrown out.

Massachusetts metal stars Shadows Fall saved the day from a full on riot in the Fillmore, but the band played a heavy amount of material of their half-hour set from their new Threads of Life album. The new songs, such as “Burning the Lives” and “Redemption” are great thrash metal tunes, but the band could have used the injection of some of their songs from their superior album “The War Within.”

Buffalo’s Every Time I Die was next, and it seems as if the band is undergoing a stylistic shift which may help the band in the long run. The new material from their upcoming The Big Dirty album (out September 4^th), such as the first single “Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery” have a groovy, sleazier approach to them and seem destined to be a heavy version of Queens of the Stone Age. Songs such as “The New Black” already indicate the band is heading that direction.

If the crowd wasn’t already amped up, Cleveland’s Chimaira put them over the edge. Playing without bassist Jim LaMarca (out due to a death in the family), the band ripped through tracks like the new “Worthless” and the mosh pit starting “Power Trip.” Chimaira was the one band that no one in the audience could deny that owned the Sounds show in Detroit. Lead singer Mark Hunter even let a fan jump on stage to perform the set closer “Pure Hatred,” in which the fan did a fine job bellowing out the song.

Gwar headlined the show and there is not much more than this reviewer can say that hasn’t been said before. Subpar music, but superb stage presence and stage show. This year’s targets were the Finnish band Lordi (who’s lead singer mannequin head was brought out on a stick), and the killer in the Virginia Tech school massacre. The latter of the two seemed just a tad bit tasteless, especially with the stereotypical Asian accent, but when lead singer Oderus Urungus chopped the dummy’s head off, the crowd went wild and pretty much all was forgiven.

This year’s version of Sounds of the Underground was another entertaining opportunity to check out the crop of up and coming metal at its finest. Consider it a visual metal sampler and provided an solid alternative to bigger and more problematic rock festivals. But on the night in Detroit, the boys in Chimaira walked away the biggest winners of all.