Tonight - AS I LAY DYING; SUM 41 in Minneapolis, IMPALER in St. Paul

Christian metalcore band As I Lay Dying headlines at First Avenue in Minneapolis tonight, March 30 with support from The Devil Wears Prada, For Today, and The Chariot. Tickets are still available for this all ages show, and it will cost you $25 at the door. Get there early - showtime is 5:00.

Check out As I Lay Dying's video for "No Lungs To Breathe" from their latest album Awakened.

Tonight also marks the return of pop-punk band Sum 41 with Hollerado with a show at Mill City Nights in Minneapolis. This is a 16+ show that gets underway at 8:00; tickets are still available for $25 at the door.

Here's Impaler on July 17, 2011 opening for Lizzy Borden. Click on the picture to see more photos of Impaler (10).

Local shock-gore masters Impaler top a local bill with Mordwolf, Mastiff, and Compassion Dies at Station 4 in St. Paul. This is a 21+ show and is only $5 at the door.

In Concert This Week - March 29, 2013

The crush of concerts continues over the next week, so pick and choose wisely!

Tomorrow, Friday, March 29, industrial/dance band I:Scintilla plays Ground Zero in Minneapolis with Gabriel And The Apocalypse, Go Fight, and Goodnight Criminals.

Saturday, March 30 is a big night starting with As I Lay Dying, The Devil Wears Prada, For Today, and The Chariot at First Avenue in Minneapolis. The same night pop-punk band Sum 41 plays Mill City Nights in Minneapolis with Hollerado. Also on Saturday, Station 4 in St. Paul has local shock masters Impaler with Mordwolf, Mastiff, and Compassion Dies.

Sunday, March 31 may be Easter, but there’s still some great live music to be heard. Rapcore crew (hed)p.e. returns to Station 4 in St. Paul with Nuisance, Strate-Jak-It, and Angry Room. Local industrial metal band Screaming Mechanical Brain plays the What’s Up Lounge in Mankato with Milwaukee’s Candy Machine Guns and Evasive Maneuver. Also on Easter Sunday, you can catch Apocalypse Theatre and their Revolution Circus show at G.B. Leighton’s Pickle Park in Fridley.

Candy Machine Guns stick around the area for another show on Tuesday, April 2 at G.B. Leighton’s Pickle Park in Fridley.

Candy Machine Guns performing March 24, 2013 at Station 4 in St. Paul.

Denmark’s Volbeat return for another sold-out show, this time at Mill City Nights in Minneapolis on Wednesday, April 3 with support from Danko Jones and Spoken. Swedish sleeze rockers Crashdiet play the same night at G.B. Leighton’s Pickle Park in Fridley with Crucified Barbara and Snakeskyn Whiskey. Wednesday is also the start of the weekly, month-long residency for sludge band Witchden at Cause Spirits & Soundbar in Minneapolis with openers Vulgaari and Buzzard.

If that isn’t enough, then Thursday, April 4 has one what should be one of the biggest thrash shows of the year with Anthrax, Exodus, High On Fire, Municipal Waste, and Holy Grail at First Avenue in Minneapolis.

As I Lay Dying Album Review

As I Lay Dying – The Powerless Rise

Metal Blade, 2010

8/10

San Diego’s As I Lay Dying shows no signs of letting up or compromising their sound on album number five, despite their massive chart success. As I Lay Dying effectively blur the lines between metalcore, thrash metal, and death metal into a massive sound that can’t be ignored. One aspect of The Powerless Rise that I really like is the use of clean vocals. Vocalist Tim Lambesis really can sing, and his clean voice doesn’t sound forced or shoe-horned into songs such as “Anodyne Sea” and “Parallels”. Performances and production are flawless, and a clear sound that isn’t too heavy helps the songs shine. “Condemned”, “Anodyne Sea”, and “Beyond Our Sufferingh” are the best songs here, and they really incorporate all of the aggression, power, and technicality that make As I Lay Dying a stellar band. The metalcore tag that the band has will make some potential fans skeptical, but I can imagine that even fans of Sepultura and Pantera will be impressed. As the album nears its end with “Vacancy”, things begin to sound too much alike, which I always find to be a problem with nearly all metalcore bands. Nevertheless, The Powerless Rise is an impressive album that should only serve to widen As I Lay Dying’s appeal. I am admittedly a little biased against this style of metal, but I have no doubts that metalcore fans will give this a 9 or 10 rating.

As I Lay Dying will be appearing at Cabooze in Minneapolis on Wednesday, May 12. Support will come from Demon Hunter, Bless The Fall, and War Of Ages.