From The Vault - PANTERA, Part 2

In Part 1, I posted some pictures of Pantera from the 2000 Ozzfest tour, so now here's some from the band's final U.S. tour on July 21, 2001 in San Diego at Cox Arena. Of course, the reason for showcasing these is in anticipation of former Pantera bassist Rex Brown performing with Kill Devil Hill on Tuesday, November 19 at the Skyway Theater Studio B in Minneapolis.

This was a monster of a bill - supporting Pantera was Slayer, Static-X, Skrape, and Morbid Angel. Pantera was supporting was I think was one of their best albums, Reinventing The Steel, although opinion seems to be divided about the merits of that album. Nevertheless, Pantera went out near the top of their incredible career.

From The Vault - NEVERMORE and SANCTUARY

Late 80s/early 90s melodic thrash metal band Sanctuary reformed after the demise of Nevermore in 2011, and they are coming to Station 4 in St. Paul this Saturday. The current version of Sanctuary features all original members except guitarist Jeff Loomis (who played Station 4 recently with Soilwork), including Nevermore singer Warrel Dane and bassist Jim Sheppard. Their new album, The Year The Sun Died, is slated for release later this year. Here's a variety of pictures and promotional items from Sanctuary and Nevermore that I unearthed from the archives.

Sanctuary only released two major label albums, and this flyer is from a show in support of the second, Into The Mirror Black. The date of this show is September 3, 1990 at Partytown in Des Moines, Iowa; Minneapolis band Intensity was one of the openers. This was a show that, unfortunately, I could not attend.

I first saw Nevermore on October 28, 1997 at Roadhouse Ruby's in North Kansas City while they were promoting their second album, The Politics Of Ecstasy. They were opening for Flotsam & Jetsam, and put on an excellent show where they even played one Sanctuary song, "Sanctuary". You can read my account of the show in more detail and download the complete audio of the concert here.

Nevermore's third album, Dreaming Neon Black, is their finest. The first promotional picture below is from 1998 on the eve of the album's release. In September or October 1999 I was fortunate enough to catch Nevermore on this tour opening for Mercyful Fate in San Diego at Cane's. The growth and confidence of the band on stage had increased exponentially, no doubt Nevermore was sensing the band's rising status.

Nevermore promotional picture from 1998.

Nevermore in 2000.

Dead Heart In A Dead World took Nevermore into darker, more complex musical territory and was a worthy successor to Dreaming Neon Black. I also saw them once on this tour at Brick By Brick in San Diego as direct support to In Flames with Shadows Fall and Burn It Down. Most of the material from the first two albums had largely vanished from their show at this point, this particular concert primarily focused on Dead Heart In A Dead World.

2000 show poster signed by all members of In Flames.

Click on any of the pictures to see more live photos from Nevermore on December 11, 2000 (13).

Nevermore was essentially an outgrowth of Sanctuary, so if you're a Nevermore fan you will be want to catch Sanctuary when they are here.

Sanctuary performs tomorrow, Saturday, April 27 at Station 4 in St. Paul with support from Hollowstone, Avian, and Redshift.

From The Vault - SUICIDAL TENDENCIES

UPDATE: Scan of the ticket stub and Mike Muir autograph from their show with Queensrÿche on May 14, 1991 was added.

Suicidal Tendencies is playing in Minneapolis tonight - they always put on an entertaining show so get out and see them. Here's a few things I pulled out of my archives of stuff. The new album, 13, is a good one - check out my review here.

The Welcome To Venice compilation from 1985.

First up are pictures of my copy of the rare vinyl LP Welcome To Venice, a compilation released by Suicidal Records in 1985 that features Suicidal, Beowülf, Los Cycos, No Mercy, and Excel. This was only released on LP and cassette and has never been reissued in any format, so copies sell on eBay in the $50–100 range. I bought this in the mid-80s from one of my cousins, who sold me a stack of punk/hardcore albums including the first Suicidal albums as well as ones from C.O.C., Circle Jerks, Excel, and Descendants.

The first chance I had to see Suicidal was on the tour for Lights...Camera...Revolution opening for Queensrÿche on the Empire tour on May 14, 1991 at the Five Seasons Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. An odd billing, to be sure, but Suicidal went over surprisingly well with their short set. They mainly played songs from Lights...Camera...Revolution, including "You Can't Bring Me Down", "Lovely", "Alone", and "Send Me Your Money". I think "Pledge Your Allegiance" and "How Can I Laugh Tomorrow" rounded out the set, but I was shocked that nothing from the first two albums was played - they were definitely trying to appeal to a metal crowd. Before Queenrÿche started I spotted Suicidal vocalist Mike Muir on the edge of the arena floor by a dressing room door and was able to get his autograph (above).

Suicidal Tendencies performing in 1998 at The Bottleneck in Lawrence, Kansas. Click on the live pictures to see more photos from this show (11).

Their set list changed dramatically the next time I saw them on November 9, 1998 at The Bottleneck in Lawrence, Kansas. This was a co-headlining show with Infectious Grooves right before Suicidal released the Six The Hard Way EP. I wasn't a fan of Infectious Grooves, but their live show was impressive. Now Suicidal ignored all their radio and video hits from the last four metal albums and focused on the first two. It was awesome to hear all those songs, and the show definitely signaled a change in the band back towards their punk roots. All of the live pictures here are from this show, and were the best I could get with a crappy old camera in a packed club.

The last time I caught Suicidal was in early 2000 at Cane's in San Diego while promoting the weak Freedumb album. Surprisingly, this is the show I remember the least about. What I do recall were some songs from Freedumb alongside ones from the first two albums. It still was an excellent show, just not a memorable one for some reason. I had an off night with my camera for I just have a roll of film that's entirely out of focus - too bad, because these could have been some great pictures.

Promotional picture from 1999 to promote Freedumb.

Suicidal Tendencies performs tonight, Tuesday, April 16 at Mill City Nights in Minneapolis with support from DRI and Waking The Dead. In Defence plays a free (with ticket) pre-concert show downstairs in The Nether Bar.

From The Vault - SEVENDUST

I saw Sevendust a number times from 1997–2000 out on the road promoting their first two albums, Sevendust and Home. Here's a number of pictures and promotional items from that time.

A 1997 promotional picture signed by the band.

The first time seeing Sevendust was on July 19, 1997 at The Bottleneck in Lawrence, Kansas soon after the release of their debut album. I've already posted the audio of this show for download here, where you can read more details about this show. They were on the road supporting Coal Chamber, but Coal Chamber cancelled to attend an MTV Awards show. Refunds for the show were offered, but Sevendust went ahead with their own headline show anyway for about 30–50 people.

Click on the picture to download the complete audio recording of this Sevendust concert from 1997.

Another promotional picture from 1997.

Sevendust came back to the Kansas City area for a show with Coal Chamber (Dayinthelife... had cancelled, I believe) on February 12, 1998. I honestly don't remember much about this show other than it being a completely packed house.

The next time seeing them was on March 11, 1998 at The Beaumont Club in Kansas City supporting Limp Bizkit and Clutch for a sold-out show. By this time Sevendust was taking off, and touring continued with a run with Clutch, Stuck Mojo, and Ultraspank that brought them back to Lawrence on October 28, 1998 at the Granada Theater.

Advertisement for a 1999 show in San Bernardino, CA - I wish I had been at this one!

A 1999 promotional picture for the second album, Home.

My final time seeing Sevendust during this time was June 18, 2000 at Cox Arena in San Diego where they were direct support to Creed with Nickelback opening (I previously posted Nickelback pictures from this concert here).

Sevendust performing in San Diego on June 18, 2000. Click on either of the pictures to see more photos from this show (18).

Sevendust will be performing Monday, April 8 at Mill City Nights in Minneapolis with support from Coal Chamber, Lacuna Coil, and Candlelight Red.

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 - ARMORED SAINT

This is the first of some Anthrax-themed vault postings here (more coming on Anthrax and S.O.D.) since Anthrax is coming to town very soon (and Red Lamb just played here on March 24 - show review coming soon). Armored Saint singer John Bush fronted Anthrax through arguably the band’s most creative and critically acclaimed period. I was fortunate enough to catch Armored Saint twice in the late 80s, then again during 2000.

My favorite show was on Memorial Day, May 26, 1986 at the Iowa State Fair Grandstand in Des Moines as part of the Iowa Jam, an annual Memorial Day festival (sadly long defunct now). Check out this monster lineup: the bill was topped by Aerosmith (supporting Done With Mirrors), Ted Nugent (out for Little Miss Dangerous), Dokken (promoting Under Lock And Key), Metallica (with Cliff Burton on the Master Of Puppets tour), and Armored Saint (supporting Delirious Nomad). Armored Saint was on first at 11 am and fired up the crowd with an inspired 35–40 minute set of songs from the first two albums. I’ll post the audio of this show later, so I’ll save additional comments for then. As you might expect, Metallica stunned an unsuspecting crowd, while the remaining bands all put on great shows.

I must’ve gotten lucky because the next time I saw Armored Saint was on the Raising Fear supporting Grim Reaper (supporting Rock You To Hell) with Helloween (touring for Keeper Of The Seven Keys - Part I) on October 17, 1987 at The Rimco Center in Rock Island, Illinois. This was an MTV Headbanger's Ball-sponsored tour. Helloween was amazing as they closed their opening set with “Halloween” and “How Many Tears”. Armored Saint a set similar to what I heard at the Iowa Jam the year before with the addition of some new songs like “Chemical Euphoria” and “Raising Fear”. Grim Reaper got upstaged by the openers, but they still put on a great show playing the title tracks from their three albums amongst other songs.

Click on any of the pictures to see more photos of Armored Saint live in 2000 (14).

Finally, the show from which the pictures are from was May 28, 2000 at Brick By Brick in San Diego during promotion for the Revelation album. This was a rapid, packed crowd eager to hear Armored Saint after an absence of many years while John Bush was in Anthrax. The main attraction for me was finally being able to hear songs performed from Symbol Of Salvation, standouts such as “Reign Of Fire”, “Dropping Like Flies” and “Tribal Dance”. With no security barricade it was difficult getting great pictures at the packed club, and it should be evident from them that everyone, both band and crowd, was having a fun night.

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

From The Vault - NILE Part 2 of 2

In Part 1 of this post I presented some pictures of Nile while touring for Amongst The Catacombs Of Nephren-Ka. Here now is Nile live on November 9, 2010 at Brick By Brick in San Diego soon after the release of Black Seeds Of Vengeance.

Click on any of the pictures to see more photos of Nile in 2000 (16).

Nile seemed to take a huge leap forward with their stage show in 18 months, maybe it was the fact that they were eager to play new material. Whatever the case, the band was relentless in delivering a brutal, crushing show. I missed the openers for this show, which I believe were Impaled and Incantation.

From The Vault - DROPKICK MURPHYS

Hardcore punk band Dropkick Murphys recently played (February 24) at Myth in St. Paul, so here's some old photos of the band from 2000 when they were playing much smaller stages. On this tour, part the Epitaph's Punk-O-Rama series, Dropkick Murphys topped the bill with Bouncing Souls and The Dwarves. At this time the band was still touring to support their second album The Gang's All Here, complete with bagpipes. I haven't followed their rise to fame in recent years, but I remember this being a great show.

Click on any of the pictures to see more live photos of Dropkick Murphys (17).