Damageplan / Soil / Drowning Pool
15 June 2004
The Astoria, London

Having taken the decision not to attend this year`s Download Festival, I was pleased to hear that one of the bands I did actually want to see there, Damageplan, was making a one off London appearance with weighty support from both Soil and Drowning Pool. This gig also provided a suitable warm-up for Sweden Rock for which we were departing the next day. Unfortunately, with me driving and a departure time of 3am, this meant a tea-total evening!

Arriving at the venue about 30minutes before the doors opening our group split in two with Johan and I heading for the guest list and the other guys heading for the lengthy queue. Shortly after 7pm the doors opened and Johan and I quickly entered an eerily quiet venue.

Very soon after that whilst chatting in the bar, we heard Drowning Pool kicking into opening song Sinner, which saw Johan sprinting for the photographers pit and me for a vantage point. From there I could see only a crowd of about 100 people had made it into the venue. In fact, by the time the rest of our group made it into the venue they had missed the first six songs of the set.

It`s common practice at the Astoria for the opening band to hit the stage within minutes of the doors opening and it`s reached the point where I now hope that the opening act is going to be somebody I don`t want to see in order that I`m not disappointed when I miss them.

Anyway, tonight I was very pleased to have made it in, as Drowning Pool were firing on all cylinders. New singer Jason "Gong" Jones was always going to be centre of attention, having the difficult task of taking over from the late Dave Williams. From the off he was doing his best to get the few here going and by Hate the crowd was sufficient for the first pit of the day. It did not go unnoticed that the guy can certainly sing too

Swarming round the stage, equally enthusiastic, were guitarist C.J.Pierce and bassist Stevie Benton, in matching black denim waistcoats. Meanwhile Mike Luce, complete with Mohican showed his nifty footwork with the double bass intro to Nothingness, …and we were to see Luce quite frequently through the evening.

The set was split 60/40 between new album Desensitized and debut album Sinner, and stand out moments included the cool guitar intro to Killin` Me, the sing-a-long Tear Away and the furious Step Up. But of course the biggest cheer of the night went to rock club and action movie soundtrack perennial Bodies, which saw Ryan Combs of Soil joining in on backing vocals.

A great set then and just a shame more people hadn`t been allowed to enjoy the whole of it.

Drowning Pool set list:
Sinner / Killin` Me / Think / Nothingness / Hate / Pity / Tear Away / Bodies / Cast Me Aside / Step Up

Soil had been disappointing the only other time I had seem them at Download 2003. That day a large part of the damage had been at the hands of the soundman, but tonight they were being treated very kindly.

The reception received as Breaking Me Down started the set was akin to that of a headliner, which to be fair, Soil could probably now manage at this venue. Vocalist Ryan Combs is the immediate focal point, with his trademark old style microphone, and distinctive vocals.

Pride, the opening song from new album Redefine follows, turning up the heat in the pit, which matches the sweltering venue. Guitarist Shawn Glass doesn`t seem to notice however, sporting a woolly hat.

After One, Drowning Pool are brought out on to the stage to thank them for a favour at the recent Download festival. Apparently Soil had problems getting there and missed their slot, but Drowning Pool kindly gave time out during their set to let Soil play a couple of songs.

Next, guitarist Adam Zadel shows he can sing too, taking over the lead vocals for the verses of My Own. Though a slight dip in the set follows for me, as not having the new album for too long, I`m not over familiar with the last two songs from it, Love Hate Game and Obsession, which are played back to back.

The strong bond with Drowning Pool continues when they invade the stage to sing-a-long with crowd favourite Halo, before Combs dedicates the whole set to the late Dave Williams.

For me personally, I find Soil`s music can become quite samey, though this short ten song set had enough variety to keep my attention throughout.

Soil set list:
Breaking Me Down / Pride / Cross My Heart / Unreal / One / My Own / Love Hate Game / Obsession / Redefine / Halo

Damageplan is of course the new band formed by the brothers from Pantera, Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul. As such it`s not surprise that they do sound a lot like Pantera, particularly as Patrick Lachman`s vocal style is not a million miles away from Phil Anselmo. But also because of the unique squealing guitar of Dimebag Darrel.

Breathing New Life opens the set and it`s apparent immediately that the sound is not as good. Maybe to show his importance or to try for a heavier sound, but for some reason the bass drums of Vinnie Paul have been turned up at the expense of the guitar.

Lachman cuts an imposing figure with his skin head, muscular frame and camouflage shorts. Of course he`s relatively new to the singing game, previously having been the guitarist in Halford. He does however handle the role well and should undoubtedly improve over time. He did seem to struggle with the subtleties of the verses of Pride, but has no problems with the weightier sections of songs such as Wake Up.

Before Save Me, the band toast a shot to London and pass some out to the crowd. Pantera`s drinking exploits are well documented and it seems this will continue with Damageplan. As the song follows, Mike Luce, Drowning Pool`s drummer runs on stage to sing back-ups looking worse for wear and it has to be said this did become quite tiresome.

Fuck You is greeted like an old favourite with the crowd singing and giving the middle figure salute, whilst the song itself is peppered with guitar squeals.

Band intros proceed debut album title track New Found Power, with DIME-BAG chant reserved for the guitarist who duly obliges mid song with a guitar solo. This was however pretty uninspiring, consisting of him making the guitar make high pitch squeals rather than anything technically exciting. His style is unique, but it`s a mystery to me why he`s just won the Metal Hammer best guitarist award.

Dimebag explains that he and Vinnie never turned their back on the Pantera fans who are rewarded with run throughs of Walk and A New Level. This was the last night these three bands were playing together which apparently explained the stage invasion by both supporting bands. Now this can be quite cool for a short time, but it got to the point where band members were just wandering around aimlessly not knowing what to do. My mate commented that it was like watching the end of Live Aid!

Again, Damageplan played just 10 songs which was enough for me tonight. Maybe it`s my inherent Englishness, but I found all the back slapping tedious and wished Damageplan had just got on with the set and been left alone to do so.

Damageplan set list:
Breathing New Life / Pride / Wake Up / Crawl / Save Me / Fuck You / Reborn / New Found Power / Walk / A New Level