90 degree heat, followed by nasty humidity, and topped off with a windstorm and driving rain couldn’t stop an estimated 4,500 metalheads from the first real journey of metal into Sterling Heights and Jerome Duncan Ford Theatre. In an almost 11 hour show, nearly 15 bands took the stage displaying some of the good, the bad, and the grotesque that the metal scene has to offer these days.

The crowd varied from a smattering of Warped Tour kids in “emo wear”, to the long haired typical metalhead crowd that heads for OzzFest each year. But unlike the large ticket prices, and large lines, the Sounds of the Underground tour provided some quality bands at a reasonable 31 dollars.

Early fireworks were provided by ex-Coal Chamber lead singer Dez Fafara’s new band, Devildriver. Promoting a brand new album and ditching the nu-metal sound of his previous band, Devildriver delivered and got the mosh pit going for the first time in the day.

Much of the event was spent on the one (and only) stage balancing between the “screamo” trend versus the renaissance of the old school sounding metal scene. It provided a decent balance, with bands such as Atlanta’s Norma Jean and New York’s From Autumn to Ashes providing some of the better sounding moments of the new school metal scene.

Hardcore was represented by Orange County (California) band Throwdown. A band to be ensured to never be seen on Seth Cohen’s playlist, the band threw produced fists flying and riffs reminscient of Hatebreed.

Meanwhile, disgusting, schlock rock was given a breath of life through the twisted eyes of Gwar. This may have been Gwar’s first trip into the Detroit suburbs, but the band left an impression on the fans, mostly of red and green paint that was being shot into the mosh pit and first few rows of the pavillon. With scenes mocking the new pope and President Bush, Gwar took the cartoon metal quotient to an all time low. At times, the scenes look like a low grade zombie flick, but there was a high humor quality to the set. With songs like “Bring Back the Bomb”, among others, no one was standing there, listening to Gwar’s musical and lyrical content. Many of the fans had to go rinse themselves off in the nearby mist tent after their set of low-IQ music, and high entertainment value, genuinely feeling dumber for having endured it.

After an uninspiring set from Unearth, Cleveland’s Chimara death metal meets industrial rock set got the crowd back into the music, playing material from their upcoming album, out August 9th. The band performed their set in whipping 30 to 40 mile an hour winds, and rain spraying into the new constructed pavillon at Jerome Duncan Theatre. The fans got the chants going on during their set closer, “Power Trip”. Look out, this could be a band to break out later this year…

Sweden’s Opeth proved the Chris Benoit Theory correct (if you don’t watch WWE Wrestling from time to time, you will have no idea what I am talking about): Just because someone is great technically at something, it doesn’t mean that they can hold an audience’s attention. Most of the fans yawned and grabbed dinner or another beer while the band played on.

Everyone on the tour, with the exception of headliner Lamb of God, played for just 30 minutes. But really, only one band suffered from not having enough time. Long time metal-jam stalwarts Clutch suffered from only being able to play five songs, and didn’t really seem to get into their natural flow. That's not a good thing for a band known for their live shows. I wish they could have had at least double the time, so they could feed off the crowd. But the band did get to play “The Mob Goes Wild” and “Bad News”, so not all was lost.

Florida’s Poison the Well had the unfortunate task of being sandwiched between Clutch and Lamb of God, and many people headed towards either the exit, or beer line for last call.

What can this reviewer say about the headliner, Lamb of God, that he hasn’t said before over and over again? Not much... a strong set, but the band may want to switch up their set list from the other times I've seen them. If you know the band, you don’t need to be a psychic to know what songs are coming next. The band played a 50 minute set, which was intense and the crowd slammed around in the darkened pavilion to. The band seemed impressed with the crowd. But I think the days of the band playing strictly at Harpo’s are just about over. Bigger pastures and paychecks could be heading their way soon.

At 4,500 people in attendance, the Sounds of the Underground tour didn’t strive to be OzzFest, and the fans in attendance also didn’t seem to be as confrontational and angry as fans of the OzzFest tour. But with a solid first year, the tour just might be back next year. Oh yeah, I don’t know if it was the venue or tour promoters’ idea but, bring back the mist tent, that was a good idea…

Art can be reached at arthatesyou@detroitbuzz.com.