GRAVITY
KILLS / AMERICAN HEADCHARGE / SW1TCHED / HEADSTRONG
Club Raven;
Edgerton, WI; 04/13/02
Reviewed by Jason Savage
When I found out that American Head Charge was coming through Wisconsin
again, I was stoked! These road warriors have been touring for about a year now, having completed stints with Fear
Factory, Kittie, Ozzfest, and the Pledge of Allegiance tour with Slipknot and System of a Down. They
have made their way across Europe and Japan and are set to do Ozzfest UK next month as
well as a handful of other European dates with Rammstein and Kittie. I had the chance to sit down with
bassist Chad Hanks and keyboardist Justin Fouler for an interview before the show, which can be
read right here at Rough Edge.
I arrived at Club Raven not really knowing what to expect. This was one venue that I have never
been to and I was pleasantly surprised by its "resort" feel. It sat below a bridge that spanned the
Rock River, complete with a small beach that the bands seemed to like just outside the back of
the club. The inside offered a view of the river and some good food, at least according the members of
American Head Charge that ate there. The stage was small and sat back in the corner of a small
room. The capacity mustn't have been more than a couple hundred. There was also a small balcony
area and one corner and side was made of all glass. It reminded me of one of those big fish
aquariums at the zoo. In this case however, the 21 and over crowd were the tourists and the
underage kids and the band playing were the ones on display. I felt like I was inside some twisted
futuristic museum exhibit depicting the heavy metal youth of the new millennium.
Headstrong opened the night to what seemed like an unreceptive crowd. I sat up at the bar inhaling my Bacardi and coke as various metal heads vented to me about how bad they thought this band sounded. I thought they were pretty good and ironically I just received their CD to review that day.
Next up was Sw1tched, Cleveland's bastard son whom I interviewed several
months ago. I didn't know these guys were playing, for I was under the impression that only AHC and Gravity Kills were
on this bill. Sw1tched were cool as usual and seemed a lot heavier live than they did on their debut
release, "Subject To Change." By this time, the venue had started to fill up
and Sw1tched got a good response.
And now, the moment we had all been waiting for - American Head Charge! AHC stormed the stage
playing some killer tunes off their "War of Art" album. Dressed in their futuristic war ensemble and
deathly white gothic face paint, AHC recruited more troops for "The Head Corps," their army of loyal
fans. Their very tight set included 'Violent Reaction,' 'Pushing the Envelope,' 'Never Get Caught' and my personal favorite 'Song for the
Suspect,' which had been recently added to their set list. They closed with
"Seamless' to a now-packed house. The metal heads were out in full force to
support these metal warriors who clearly stole the show.
I had the chance to talk to AHC after their set and they said that the fans have really wanted "Suspect" added to their live show.
For reasons unknown, Gravity Kills' bus broke down and they arrived very late. They took the stage sometime after midnight to a very small group of leftovers. I missed most of their set while outside talking to AHC and now regret it. The last 30 minutes of their show that I did see was truly awesome.
I have always liked these guys but never went out and bought any of their CDs. That, my friends, is going to change. Gravity Kills knows how to rock and they were professional enough to go on in front of a mere 50 people. This figure may even be generous because the room was maybe a quarter full compared to the packed house AHC had. I can't honestly tell you what songs they played, but I definitely liked what I heard.
Overall, this was a pretty kick ass show and a night of fun that I won't soon forget. I look forward to seeing more shows in the intimate setting Club Raven has to offer. Next time I'm going to try some of the food!
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Revised: 06 Oct 2019 11:48:57 -0400.
