THE RISE OF THE MACHINES TOUR 2023
On the evening of March 7th, 2023 the machines would rise, and unleash their music upon Phoenix, Arizona. They would choose a very specific place, The Van Buren, which is located in the epicenter of downtown Phoenix. That is the specific place they chose to unleash their remarkable and amazing music. These machines are known to the human race as Static-X.
They would not come alone on this very night as they would bring some of their friends to play alongside them and let them play their music to a sold-out crowd in Arizona.
Society 1 was the opening band for the night and they did not disappoint. They were led by their vocalist Matt “The Lord” Zane, which was super energetic throughout the entire performance. The guitarist, Johnny Pilz, and their bass player Jimmy Minj also played a part in getting the crowd hyped for what was to come ahead. As was pleased to hear songs from their album “Exit Through Fear”, since that was the record that made me a fan of theirs. If you ever have the chance to see Society 1 in concert, don’t pass on that opportunity. I wish them the very best in their future endeavors and hope to see them come back soon.
Dope was the next band to play, and I was excited to see them perform once again. The band just released their new album “Blood Money Part Zer0”. Edsel Dope, the vocalist of the band, really excels at taking the crowd to another level. Guitarist Virus and Bassist Acey Slade also played a part since they were moving and using the stage as their playground. I was pleased to hear songs from most of their entire discography were played during their set. “Die MF Die”, “Bitch”, and “Debonaire” were some of the most notable songs played.
The next band to take the stage was Mushroomhead, their horror-like imagery really suits them. If I had not been familiar with the band before this night I would have been somewhat scared. One thing I love about this band is that they pour water on top of both sets of drums. It is very cool to see the water splashing as they bang those drums, would not be surprised if the front-row crowd got a little wet from it. They also played a lot of songs from their entire catalog, some of the most notable songs played this night were “Solitaire/Unraveling”, “Sun Doesn’t Rise”, “Before I Die”, “Qwerty”, “Kill Tomorrow” and “12 Hundred”. They also played a couple of songs from their latest album “A Wonderful Life”. I was very impressed with their performance and would love to see them again in the future at some point.
Fear Factory was up next and my most anticipated band to see this night. I could not wait to hear their newest vocalist, Milo Silvestri tear up those songs. I really loved the way he sang those songs, it sounded like Fear Factory, and he really brought all his energy to the performance. If I did not know he was a new singer, I would have thought he was Burton C. Bell. I was glad to hear older songs like “Edgecrusher”, “Zero Signal” and of course their hit “Replica”. By the time they ended their performance, I kept wanting more songs, I hope they come back to Phoenix sooner than later.
Finally, it was time for the mighty Static-X to take the stage and bring it home, which they did. The new singer, Xer0, sounded very Wayne Static-like which is really great to hear. I am sure Wayne is smiling wherever he is, knowing that his legacy is being carried on by his fellow bandmates. They had a very nice setup this night that consisted of digital screens being put up behind them. The band played songs from most of their catalog, some of the songs played this night were “Push It”, “Love Dump”, “Black and White”, “The Only” and their new single, “Terminator Oscillator”. I can’t wait to see them come back again, their shows never disappoint. THANK YOU STATIC-X!!
STATIC-X
FEAR FACTORY
MUSHROOMHEAD
DOPE
SOCIETY 1
