Holding Galaxy Club At Gunpoint
Legions Will Fall, Sickhed Tribe, Dustborn, Strength Among Us and deadbymonring on 2-1-02 by James

It is hard to explain to the uninitiated just what going to a hardcore show is like. To an outsider, it is very much like going with a friend to their family reunion. Everyone knows each other and you spend a large amount of time being introduced to people and making new friends. The sense of brotherhood is undeniable and I honestly think I could have ventured to Dallas by myself and I still would not have felt alone at this show. In the spirit of that brotherhood, I want to take this time to thank all the people from dallashardcore.com that made me feel me very much like a new friend in a crowd of strangers. Now, let us get to the show, shall we?

Due to the fact that there was an early show, on Friday, that ran late, this show did not get started until 10 pm, instead of the scheduled 9 pm kick off. This was good and bad for me. Good because I didn't get to Dallas until 9:45, but bad because we all had to stand out in the cold, waiting for them to let us in. I was excited, though, because it meant I would get to see Dead By Morning, after all, right? Wrong. The line moved impossibly slow, so I had to hear most of Dead By Morning's set through the wall, which sucked, because all you could hear was the drums. I did, however, catch their very last song in their set and, by god, that was enough to blow my mind. Sounding quite a bit like Darkest Hour, to me, I was impressed with the little I saw of them. They moved around good, on stage, and had the crowd worked into a frenzy. I am most definitely dying to see an entire set.

Strength Among Us followed Dead By Morning's lead and continued to get the kids moving to the music. When I say moving, though, I do not mean moving in the way people who only go to metal shows probably think. Hardcore kids refer to what they do as dancing, and, in some cases, that is exactly what they were doing. It's hard to imagine that a band as aggressive as Strength Among Us is not causing people to do the standard "shove me, shove you" style moshing, but that just isn't how hardcore works. Strength Among Us is much more straight ahead hardcore than Dead By Morning is and, as such, the crowd went completely insane during their set. Swing kicks, windmills, floor punches, circle pits and only one or two fights meant that there was just as much of a show on the floor as there was on the stage. After my experience when Hatebreed played Elmo's in Tyler, my favorite aspect of hardcore music is the sing-a-longs, where the singer holds the mic out to the kids, and they all jam their heads in there, together to sing the words. Terry would hold the mic out in front of him and half the people on the floor would rush forward for a chance to be a part of it. I saw people leaping into the air and landing on everyone, resulting in a literal pile of bodies at the front of the stage. That is one thing that hardcore bands will always have that most other types of music do not; crowd participation. You don't have to just watch a hardcore show; you can become a part of the show, itself. Strength Among Us put on a very heavy, very tight, very entertaining show, and left me anxious to see Terry singing with Legions Will Fall, at the end of the night.

Ok, time to shift gears, as Dustborn takes the stage. Being a metal band, I was not sure how Dustborn would go over with a club full of hardcore kids. However, Dustborn's energy and Jacob's raw power as a vocalist went a long way to win over the crowd at Galaxy Club. I was also highly impressed with the way the two crowds seemed to get along. As Dustborn played, hardcore dancing gave way to metal moshing and crowd surfing, for the most part, and no one seemed to mind, that much. There were even instances of hardcore kids dancing to Dustborn's very metal tunage. Dustborn reminds me a lot of Chimaira or Slipknot stripped down to their rawest, purest elements. No gimmicks, no melody in the vocals and no outlandish clothes. Just five guys, playing their hearts out and putting on one hell of a show for the crowd. The only time the energy in their performance wanes is between songs, when Jacob is talking to the crowd. While it is not near as bad as it was when these guys first got started, it still kills the mood, at times. They would be much better served if they would occasionally chain 2 or 3 songs together and keep the onstage chatter to a minimum. Of course, once the next song kicks in, all complaints go out the window, as Jacob transforms from the rather calm person that he really is into an absolute madman.

Sickhed Tribe did not seem to go over with the hardcore crowd as well as Dustborn did, but it wasn't for lack of trying. They put forth as much energy as I think I have ever seen from them, but they still seemed to have a hard time getting the crowd worked up. Sickhed's sound is clean and polished and reminds me often of old Fear Factory. Their drummer never ceases to amaze me and I always give big props to bands with a big guy for a front man. This is, however, the first Sickhed show I have been to where they were not the band that most impressed me. They were, by no means, bad, but the first three bands just really raised the bar high, as far as stage energy and crowd reaction goes. I think, more than anything, people were holding back, because they knew who was up next.

Ah, the almost legendary Legions Will Fall. When I found out Legions was on this bill, there was no way I was missing this show. I never got to see them, the first time around, before they split up, so this was a completely new experience, for me. It is amazing that a band that was together less than a year (I am actually thinking they were only playing shows for about six months), before breaking up could have the fanatical following that Legions seems to have. You could tell that this crowd was here for Legions, above all other bands on this bill. Terry from Strength Among Us handled vocal duties, but I am not sure if that is a permanent thing, or just how they handled it on this night. As they were setting up, I took a spot near the back to survey the crowd and watch the mayhem ensue. At the start of their set, Legions played an orchestral piece through the house PA, and stood onstage, still as statues, to allow the already palpable tension and excitement build. As the music played, a circle pit began, with about 30 or 40 people moving slowly in unison. Circle pits have always fascinated me. On the surface they are easily the least violent form of moshing, but the inherent danger of the whole thing is much more exciting. All those people moving at ever increasing speed, as the music builds, knowing if you fall down, you are in a world of hurt. It is just awe-inspiring to actually see one working, since I had adopted the mindset that circle pits in Texas were not entirely possible. I have seen them attempted and some fool always comes smashing through and screws the whole thing up. As the tension and electricity reached a fevered pitch, the music stopped and Legions proceeded to destroy the crowd at Galaxy Club. As soon they hit the first note, the crowd went insane and never backed off throughout their entire set. The highlight, though, was their performance of Integrity, which was my favorite song, before I heard it, just because I know who it is about. For the song, they brought Nathan, former vocalist of Nailed Promise and current Society's Finest bass player, onstage to sing with Terry. I am surprised no one died during this song. The way Nathan and Terry vibed off of each other was nothing short of jaw-dropping and I could tell the kids in the pit agreed with me. Easily the best show of the night, and I hope I get to see them, again, very soon.