DEATH METAL

Darkest Hour are playing Cleveland. If you're in Cleveland, you could do worse. Their drum sound doesn't bother me as much as it did when I wrote that, though it's still crappy compared to, say, Grave's on Back From The Grave, and given how much Darkest Hour steal from Swedish death metal, they should have done a better job.

In other news, some piece of shit killed Dimebag Darrell. Nobody knows why just yet.

Damageplan weren't great, but they were better than the other Pantera offshoot project, Superjoint Ritual. I saw Superjoint on Ozzfest this summer, and Phil Anselmo spent more time ranting in a heroin haze than "singing" (now that he's a super-tough hardcore guy, his voice has gone completely to shit). The band stood behind him, waiting him out and almost literally tapping their feet as the guitars fed back and the crowd heckled. It was one of the worst performances I've ever seen.

Granted, Pantera weren't superb the time I saw them, either (1996 at Roseland, with Neurosis and Clutch opening up). They were too loud for the venue - the guitars were just a huge juddering roar, and their drums sounded like a skyscraper collapsing. Darrell could really play, though, and he had a sound lots of people ripped off, without ever capturing what was unique about it. He'll be missed. I wish I'd gone to see Damageplan when I had the chance.