From the Vault - DISTURBED, Part 1

Disturbed playing the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood on May 19, 2000.

Fight Or Flight, the band featuring Disturbed guitarist Dan Donegan and drummer Mike Wengren, are back at Pov's 65 in Spring Lake Park tonight as direct support to Filter, so this seems like a good time to unearth some old Disturbed photos.

Disturbed was first brought to my attention when I received a promo copy of their debut album, The Sickness, in January 2000 a couple of months before its release in March. I immediately loved the album, so I was disappointed when I heard (from a band that played with them that I won't name) that they fell flat live at a showcase gig at the Troubadour in West Hollywood in January or February of that year. Disturbed dropped off the Danzig/Six Feet Under tour before I would have had the chance to see them at the Sun Theatre in Anaheim in May.

An early promo copy of The Sickness.

I did see Disturbed, however, at a secret System Of A Down gig at the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood alongside The Deadlights and Crease on May 19, 2000. Everything I had heard about Disturbed's live show was indeed true. Vocalist David Draiman, although he sounds great on the album, just couldn't cut it live. I snapped these pictures, but didn't watch the entire set since Amorphis, Moonspell, and The Kovenant were playing down the block at the Whisky. I caught Disturbed again a couple nights later in San Diego, where I was able to arrange a photoshoot with the band, and those pictures will be coming in Part 2.

From The Vault - S.O.D.

Anthrax is in town this Thursday, so here are some pictures from the Anthrax side project Stormtroopers Of Death (S.O.D.) from 1999 and 2000. Featuring Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian and drummer Charlie Benante, former bassist Dan Lilker, and singer Billy Milano, 1985's Speak English Or Die quickly became a classic crossover album. Reports are that Speak English Or Die has sold more than an incredible one million copies worldwide. They did little touring since Anthrax had released Spreading The Disease around the same time, but they undertook two extensive American tours in 1999 and 2000 to promote their second album Bigger Than The Devil.

Click on the picture to see more photos of S.O.D. at the Whisky in 1999 (16).

I caught S.O.D. three times during this period, the first being the first of two shows at the Whisky A Go-Go in Hollywood on November 10, 1999 with Crowbar and Skinlab. I believe this show was sold out and the crowd's excitement was high. Their songs are short and they played most of their albums so I won't comment about each show's individual set list.

Click on the picture to see more photos of S.O.D. at the March Metal Meltdown in New Jersey in 2000 (17).

Near the start of the second leg of the tour in 2000 S.O.D. was featured at the March Metal Meltdown festival at the South Jersey Expo Center in Pennsauken, NJ on March 10, 2000. Dozens of killer bands played at this two-day festival including Sentenced, Immortal, Savage, Virgin Steele, Witchery, and Doro. The whole thing, however, was kind of a joke since the various stages were actually just separated from each other by curtains. Neither the fans or the bands were happy to find that bands were playing at the same time with only a curtain between the stages. Let's just say that it was a less than ideal concert experience for everyone.

Click on the photo to see more pictures of S.O.D. in San Diego in 2000 (13).

As the 2000 tour reached the West Coast, S.O.D. played at Brick By Brick in San Diego with Hate Eternal and December (I think Skinlab was also on the bill). I had 3 or 4 copies of the 7-inch "Seasoning The Obese" single to be signed by S.O.D. at this show for a planned magazine promotion; I'll be diplomatic and just say that Dan Lilker happily signed them all, Charlie and Scott were polite about only signing one because they thought I might auction them on eBay (of course, nothing of the sort was done), and Billy didn't sign any of them. Oh well, it was still an enjoyable show.

Anthrax performs Thursday, April 4 at First Avenue in Minneapolis with support from Exodus, High On Fire, Municipal Waste, and Holy Grail.

RELATED CONTENT: Here's some other recent Anthrax-related posts: audio downloads of Anthrax in 1991 on the Clash Of The Titans tour and former Anthrax guitarist Dan Spitz's new band Red Lamb in St. Paul on March 24, 2013, reviews of the Red Lamb album and March 24 concert (with pictures), and stories and pictures of former Anthrax vocalist John Bush with Armored Saint.

From The Vault - MOONSPELL

Click on any of the pictures to see more photos of Moonspell, including live shots (14).

Portugal's Moonspell returned for a show at Station 4 in St. Paul alongside Marduk about two weeks ago (February 28, to be exact), so here's some shots of the band from 2000. These shots were taken at the famed Whisky in Hollywood on May 19, 2000 that had them supporting Amorphis with The Kovenant while promoting The Butterfly Effect. The group shots were taken backstage prior to the show. I can't remember the circumstances that led to this photo opportunity, but the band was pleasant as we took shots in one of the stairwells as well as their dressing room.

This was a crazy night on the Sunset Strip as a few doors down from the Whisky at The Roxy Theatre System Of A Down was playing a secret, unannounced show with Disturbed, The Deadlights, and Crease. I think one of my friends at Roadrunner Records tipped me off about the System show and secured my entrance. Not wanting to miss a thing, I was going back and forth between the two clubs in between bands. Memory seems to fade after all these years, but I also believe this was the night I ran into Corey Taylor and Joey Jordison from Slipknot at the Roxy (these were the days when no one could recognize them and they could walk around anonymously) and spent some time drinking and talking with Joey at the upstairs bar On The Rox.