ROCK N ROLL EXPERIENCE - All That Remains dvd shoot

That's the complete set list, as it was listed on the monitor for the All That Remains dvd shoot that was filmed at the Recher Theatre in Towson, Maryland. Overall, the show was great...a little after doors opened the show had officially sold out & the line to get in the club stretched all the way to the back area where the bands load & unload. This particular day was rather warm & humid, & one of the crappiest aspects of the night was that the A/C was not working, so the club was hot, sweaty & stinky & it was hard to look cool in that place, but for a dvd shoot, it was perfect! Even Phil from All That Remains commented during their set that it was pretty gross in there because it was so hot & that he was sweating & stinky up there on stage!

To start my review properly, I'll go back to the beginning of the night when Maryland metal core act, REST AMONG RUINS opened the show. RAR are a strong act that has a twin guitar attack that's sludgy guitar tones are smoothed out by interesting vocals that range from aggro to clean, & the rhythm is dead on! This was actually the largest stage I've seen tbe band on, & to be totally honest with you, the boys nailed it from start to finish! Watching the show upfront, you got to see the guys give it their all & from theback of the venue you got to to see the killer light show which really made their music that much stronger because not only was the band's energy present, but there was a cool show with lights to watch! I've seen these guys many times, & on this particular night, the guys played their hearts out & won over the entire crowd & this was one of the best performances I've ever seen these guys deliver! After their set they were mobbed with fans asking for pictures, autographs, & they actually sold out of their demo cd's & I even saw the guys sign a boob or 2!

The Devil Wears Prada were next on the bill & they were ok..they were a mix of metal & emo & the emo kids in the crowd definitley were there to get their fix from the band, & I don't know...to me, they were good, but not quite right for this billing...they were definitley more into their own sound & I think the singer's message at the end of the set, concerning the fact that he's a christian, may or may not have thrown some fans there, because it's still kinda odd for a heavy act to toss out religious messages at heavy shows, because there's a percentage of the crowd that ONLY want's to see the band play & NOT hear their personal beliefs on religion or politics...that's just my opinion, but anyways...

All That Remains were the headliner's & they played a little over an hour, & this was the hottest, most intense set of the night, & the camera's were everywhere for their set! I was the only person allowed to shoot the band that night from the front of the stage, that was not affiliated with the video shoot, & I have to admit, the band delivers the same shoe everytime you see them..they are possess a similiar quality that Hatebreed has..this hardcore intensity that's sooo strong & vibrant & it's also kinda positive too..there's no heavy focus on dark stuff, & the band is totally one with the crowd!

Phil jumped in the crowd, treated the crowd as if they were his equals, & the band did something that alot of heavy bands do no do..they actually smiled & looked like they were happy to be on that stage & they genuinly looked like they were having fun, despite the intense looks they tried to give the crowd to represent the harcore music they played! If you look closely at the dvd when it's release, check out the Slash (g'n'r shredder) t-shirt their guitarist is wearing & see if you can check out his Black Label Society tattoo on his shoulder..that dude shreds on guitar!

I was actually suprised...I've been to many video shoots & most of the time they are cold, informal, & the band seems to pose more than anything & not really pay attention to the crowd, but on this particular dvd shoot, All That Remains didn't give a f**k about the camera's....they didn't do the rock star poses..they were there to give their fans a killer show & they did just that! After the show ended, the entire band walked into the crowd to sign an autograph for every single fan that wanted one & I don't think any band could get any closer to their fans than All That Remains did on this particular night, & if you missed this show, fear not because you'll be able to check it out later this year on their new dvd! I also wanna say that the pit was intense btw, & anyone who braved that huge pit was far beyond hardcore!