Bands you liked less or more after seeing them live, and why

[Phylactery]

There are many reasons why festivals are cunts, here are some of the major cunt fumes:

1) The band list is so large that you don't really like most of the bands you pay for anyway, or you're too drunk or tired to enjoy all of those you want to.
2) There are people everywhere and they steal your shit.
3) It's expensive as fuck.
4) The toilet game is ridiculous. Portable toilets have shit everywhere.
5) It's usually in some shithole so you have to sleep in a tent or something, where some drugged cunt steals your shit.
etc.

Long story short festivals are a game for drugged youngters, not me.

I agree with all of these points, although I never had anything stolen thankfully. The point about the toilets is probably the single worst thing as well, portable toilets are just fucking disgusting.

Another issue at Download was the constant smell of weed, but this might be a positive for some people.

 

[Master_Yoda77]

Warbringer was so fucking boring live. Enforcer and Cauldron were just as good live. Super fun shows.

Midnight are a band that are just awesome live because everyone in the crowd gets into it and gets super wild. There really aren't any bands that I've seen live that I hold any worse opinions of them than I already did. Some bands do put on a better live show than what can be captured on an album though. Dead Congregation were particularly amazing live, as well as Saint Vitus at MDF with it raining during "White Stallions" and a few thousand people behind me.

 

[Mort Divine]

Saint Vitus at MDF with it raining during "White Stallions" and a few thousand people behind me.

yesss

 

[Master_Yoda77]

That is my favorite live performance ever. Thousands of people belting out the lyrics to "Born Too Late" was just wonderful. Manilla Road performing all of Crystal Logic in Wichita with Rick Fisher on drums was pretty special too.

 

[DarkGuitarLord]

Battlecross was a band that initially I thought "meh" when hearing them on the XM, after seeing them live completely changed my opinion. Incredible energy live and sound really good.

 

[Atomic Tide]

First band that came to mind was Death Angel. I saw them open for Testament and Anthrax a couple of years back and I thought they blew both bands off the stage.

 

[Baroque]

More:
Anthrax was much better live than on their albums. High energy, singer running around the stage with props and stuff getting people into it. They paid tribute to Dio and Dimebag also which I appreciated.
Motorhead, I always liked them well enough, but live it just reinforced how legit they were.
Slayer, fire shooting out of everywhere, lots of symbolism, fast and loud and angry music.

Less:
Iron Maiden, that singer is annoying af

 

[J.]

More:

Neurosis
The band is already legendary and have released about 5 bonafide classics. To see them live was spiritual, and I treasure that memory more than any gold.

Enslaved
Seeing them on the Axioma tour really helped me appreciate their "prog era" material.

Isis
Saw them on their farewell tour. Love Oceanic and Panopticon, but their live show is just intense.

Pelican
I love Australasia, but nothing else has ever grabbed me. Seeing them live really helps appreciate their sound a bit more.

Nile
I saw them w/ Jon Vesano. Holy shit to see them play Unas Slayer of Gods was epic. A shame theyve never reached that peak since.


Less:

Dimmu Borgir
I never minded the band. I was indifferent. But seeing them live really showed me they have no substance. Sure the show is ok with the lights, flames, stage set up and casio player with a penis on his nose, but the music was so dull. Enslaved blew em off stage that night.

Nevermore (twice)
Ive tried to get into these guys. They dont really do anything wrong, but their music is just so blah. I dont like blah music

Hate
Holy shit crappy Behemoth clone

 

[requiem]

Bands I liked less: Septicflesh,

I'm voting for Septic Flesh too. As some people might have recognised, I simply love their three latest albums and they're one of my favourite bands as far as recent album releases are concerned, but seeing them recently was really disappointing.

Actually, I first saw them in London in 2008 supporting Cradle of Filth and Gorgoroth and they blew me away - so powerful and huge, but that was probably because I hadn't heard them at that point and the whole symphonic thing was a surprise. I saw them in Melbourne in 2014 I think it was and they were really disappointing. It was a four piece band just playing along to a massive backing tape of orchestra and choirs. Total effect was lost and it all felt a bit... phoney.

Also, Katatonia were a real disappointment. Again, they were my favourite band in the world from about 2000-2005. Seeing them in about 2013 was my first time and again pretty boring. It was great seeing them, but I certainly wasn't very impressed.

Best gigs by contrast?

Mayhem in 2001 was incredible. Energy and darkness. This was before they fell apart in later years through their own boredom and Maniac's alcoholism. Then when Attila came back and worse those stupid costumes. Ah, kill me. Saw them a heap of times since then, capped off with the most boring show I've ever seen in about 2014. Terrrrrrrrrrible.
Turisas in London 2008.
Also the 'modern' Satyricon albums are much better live than on c.d, so that made me like the last few albums more I guess.

 

[End of Glory]

More:

Havok - Really tight performance and cool guys to talk to. Also took my request to play Death's Crystal Mountain as a "warm up" and it were spot on.

Testament - I met the band before their show and they were great to talk to except from Skolnick who were a straight up douche. They played a few songs from 'The Gathering' which is a plus in my book.

Behemoth - Obvious reasons.

Jungle Rot - Not much more to say than that they're really delivering live.

Aborted - Same as Jungle Rot.


Less:

Svarttjern x2 - first time their vocals sounded shit and you could barely hear the guitars so I thought they had problems with their equipment but when it happened again the second time I saw them I understood they're not a band to see live.

Hypocrisy - Got the feeling that Tägtgren didn't want to perform that night which kinda killed the mood.

Iron Maiden - Sure I'm a IM fan and they're the band which got me into metal but their performance didn't do it for me.

 

[Baroque]

+1 for Havok

 

[Master_Yoda77]

I fucking hate Hate.

 

[Satanstoenail]

I agree with all of these points, although I never had anything stolen thankfully. The point about the toilets is probably the single worst thing as well, portable toilets are just fucking disgusting.

Another issue at Download was the constant smell of weed, but this might be a positive for some people.

You sound like an absolute riot to hang out with.

I went to two European multi-day festivals last year and had an absolute ball. I love the idea of removing myself from society for 3 days and camping and partying and listening to metal. Definite novelty factor for me though, we don't get multi-day metal festivals over here at all.

 

[Funerary_Doom]

Bands I liked less:
Arcturus - I like them a lot, but seeing them live was a huge disappointment. They reminded me of my goth days when i was like 13, with like those big UFO pants and goggles. They seem like sweet guys but i wasn't into their live show. I almost wish I didn't seem them live because I felt like it took away some of their mystique.

Bands I liked more:
Earthless- Holy shit. I literally ran to the merch section after seeing them live to buy their album. I remember wondering how the hell did they remember all those notes when playing.

Cult of Fire- One of the best black metal performances I've ever seen. They played in a small intimate space in NYC (bar called St Vitus) and they did an entire ritual. Burned sage, came out in awesome costumes and chants. Really magical performance.

 

[EternalMetal]

Bands ive liked less:
Artificial Brain - Before seeing them live I thought they had something going for them with their space themed tech death, but after seeing them live they just sounded like brutal death meatheads, and afterwards I just couldnt get into it anymore.

Jeff Loomis's solo material - One of the lamest live shows ive ever seen, I cant take his shred albums seriously anymore, even the first one that I used to enjoy.

Bands ive liked more:
Gojira - One of those bands that kind of sounds meh on cd, but live they kick tons of ass. I dont usually listen to them, but I would definitely go see them live when they come back around.

Primus - An absolute joke band on cd, but these guys jam out hard live.

The Dillinger Escape Plan - Dont get me wrong, I dont listen to these guys. But their performance was probably the most energized ive ever seen. I was surprised to see that the guitar player could still play with going full seizure, and the singer just loved to break shit and ruin his drummers set.

NOFX - Best show I was ever dragged to. Great energy from these guys, it definitely surprised me a bit.

Otherwise im not too influenced to like a band more or less from their live performance. As you can see by the 'bands ive liked more' list, it's usually those bands that you dont normally listen to, but somehow their live show leaves an unexpected positive impact. If I already like a band, I usually leave the show feeling about the same, whether they were good or bad.

 

[AllShallFall]

More:
Omnium Gatherum. They were on tour opening for Insomnium, and they kicked ass. I had listened to some of their stuff before the show but never really had an opinion of them. Seeing them live was awesome. They had a really good energy and interacted with the crowd a lot, plus were really chill guys when people wanted to meet them!

Less:
Revenge. Their stuff sounds pretty good, but when they performed it was meh. They didn't sound bad at all, but every song sounded the same and there was no crowd interaction apart from a comically growled "We're from Canada!". Wish they had more energy and all that.

 

[Bloopy]

The only answer I can come up with right now is Boris. Liked them more after having seen them. They did a really well-thought out setlist that progressed through their different music styles, made the show feel like something bigger than just a band playing their songs.

 

[alex76]

Fuck it! I'll just say it and get the humiliation out of the way.

Dokken

I saw them in the mid-90's no less, and I have to say I was quite impressed.

 

[morguelord]

Bands I liked less:

-Behemoth. When I was getting into metal, I dug some of their mid-era stuff, but around the time I saw them, I was more or less indifferent to them. Seeing them, however, solidified my hatred. Boring, overly theatrical, pretentious garbage. Spend more time/money making music than fancy costumes. When Slipknot wears masks, metal fans talk shit, but when Behemoth does it, it's "artistic". Cannot STAND them.

-Septicflesh. Easily the worst live death metal show I've ever seen. The guitars had no weight in favor of sampled symphonics, and the vocalist thought he was in a pop-punk band. Every five seconds, it was "one, two, ONETWOTHREEGO!" or "come on motherfuckers" or "HEY HEY HEY". Horribly obnoxious, and he looked like a gay Iron Man. Again, there's those retarded costumes again.

A few I liked more are Hate Storm Annihilation, Defeated Sanity, and Iniquitous Deeds. HSA I had heard briefly before, but I saw the 2-piece last may and they were FIERY in every sense of the word. I was utterly blown away by how tight they were. The other 2 I saw twice last weekend. DS I loved, but seeing them live was almost religious. Their guitar tone is so primitive and raw, and they were beyond excellent musicians. As for ID, I had spun Incessant Hallucinations before a few times, but nothing ever clicked. Seeing them live really helped me get a more firm grasp on how demented and non-linear their music is. It's some of the shiftiest BDM I've ever heard and it took me seeing it with my eyeballs to realize that.

 

[The Ozzman]

Here's a controversial one:

I liked Inquisition less after I saw them live. Where the fuck is the bass player? And the front man just stood there and did his thing and didn't look very excited at all.

Good in the studio though...