Before my daughter was born, I liked going to concerts. Sometimes even on weeknights. I attempted to recapture that carefree time on Tuesday night, but some essential errands prevented me from getting to the Ritz on time. (My kid can't drive herself home from day care, and I'm still unable to materialize food out of thin air.) By the time I hit the Ritz, Black Tide was a couple of songs deep and a surprising-for-a-Tuesday, nearly sold-out metal crowd had assembled.
I first heard Black Tide (pictured right) around the release of their debut album Light From Above. The throwback '80s thrash and blistering riffs of "Shockwave" floored me upon first listen. Little did I know that teenage boys from Miami were responsible. Upon checking out the album, I found it impressive but uneven, though if "Shockwave" and "Warriors of Time" are any indication, there's much to look forward to from these guys.
Unfortunately, I must have missed "Shockwave" since I arrived late. What remained was an energetic symposium in old-school speed metal with Gabriel Garcia's clean vocals coming off as either road-weary or simply mixed too low. The other bands sounded perfect, so I think Black Tide simply received typical opening band mix treatment. The anthemic "Warriors of Time" closed the set and reinforced Black Tide's ability to recycle the music that created so many devoted metal fans over two decades ago, but still sound somewhat original — a goal so many bands aspire to but fall short.
My exposure to the top-billed bands has either been very limited (Bullet For My Valentine) or completely nil (Escape The Fate). I sample some 'gateway metal' after the jump.
