By Pyrotechnics filled the stage, with heat as scorching as the lineup itself on this night of heavy metal and guitar solos last Saturday night at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine.
Opening the big show was Jacksonville, Fla. rockers Shinedown. After the group’s debut album “Leave a Whisper” was certified platinum, its most recent release “Us and Them” came out to wide anticipation.
Touring with Rob Zombie and Godsmack was an appropriate choice for these Southern boys, as Brent Smith (vocals), Jasin Todd (guitar), Brad Stewart (bass) and Barry Kerch (drums) kept right up with the heavy metal vibe.
The band played songs from both albums such as “Crying Out,” “Fly from the Inside,” “Better Version,” “Begin Again” and “Heroes.” Shinedown brought its set to a close with one of its most controversial songs, “45,” as well as recent top five radio hit “Save Me.”
Shinedown put on quite a show, though Smith was hard to see sometimes and he kept turning his back to the audience.
Next to come out, owning the stage like he always does, was Rob Zombie. His presence is so demanding that it forces the audience to focus directly on him. Whether he has hot dancing girls or giant zombies stumbling around, or just up there by himself, his “I do whatever the hell I want” attitude comes out not only in his lyrics but in his performances.
Along with his band John 5 (guitar), Piggy D (bass) and Tommy (drums), he played songs from his albums “Hellbilly Deluxe” (1998),” “Sinister Urge” (2001) and their most recent release this year “Educated Horses.”
The band also played songs from Zombie’s former band White Zombie, as well as the title songs from both movies that Zombie directed, “House of 1000 Corpses” and “The Devil’s Rejects.”
John 5 busted out amazing guitar skills and kept up the tempo the entire night; Rob stole John 5 from his previous gig with Marilyn Manson.
The chaos in songs such as “Superbeast,” “Dragula,” “Never Gonna Stop” and “Living Dead Girl” went right along with the ambience of the stage. The dark, gruesome scenes depicted on the big screen and the pumped up heavy metal would get anyone pumped up and out of their seats.
Rob Zombie has a loyal fan base, from people who love his music to fans of his movies. He is the longest active artist on Geffen Records, staying with them for over 15 years.
Finally, Godsmack came out on stage and the crowd went wild. Opening with “Straight Out of Line” from its album “Faceless” (2003), the audience was pumped up from the intense music beaming off the stage.
This hardcore heavy metal band Sully Erna (vocals), Tony Rombola (guitar/vocals), Robbie Merrill (bass) and Shannon Larkin (drums) had no problem keeping the energy in the audience flowing.
Godsmack played a variety of songs from albums such as “Godsmack”, “Awake” and “IV.”
The stage presence was amazing as the band not only played well-known songs such as “Speak,” “The Enemy,” “Livin’ in Sin,” “Moon Baby,” “Realign,” “Awake,” “Trippin,” “Vampires” and “Keep Away.” The band also threw in an intense acoustic guitar solo.
Following that, Godsmack continued the intensity with “Voodoo” before going straight into a drum battle between Erna and Larkin. The crowd loved every moment of it.
Finishing up the set with the old hit “Whatever,” the new favorite “Shinedown” and the ever-popular “I Stand Alone,” the band left the audience with adrenaline rushing through bodies. The roar of applause filled the amphitheatre and the audience was left energetic and, of course, wanting more.
