SHOW
REVIEWS
Human Waste
Project / FAR / Life of Agony
In: Birch Hill In Old Bridge, NJ
Date: February 20th, 1998
By: Reverend David Ciancio, The Maharajah of Metal
I had been looking forward to this show for several weeks. HUMAN WASTE PROJECT
and FAR are two bands I really enjoy and I was curious to witness LIFE OF
AGONY with thier newly acquired front man Whitfield Crane. Plus beers are
only $2 at "Jersey’s Premier Rock Club."
Thank god for HUMAN WASTE PROJECT
that the oversold crowd packed the house before they took stage. They’ve
never played this are ya’ see, and it didn’t seem to matter. HUMAN
WASTE PROJECT ripped through a half an hour set of songs from their debut
release "E-Lux" on Hollywood Records. It was excellent to see some
fellow concert goers dancing and keeping the pit going throughout the set.
A handfull of people sang a long to Aimee Echo’s hardened yet sweet and
evil lyrics. Her vocal range perfectly compliments the band’s driving
rhythms and heavy nature. THIS BAND ROCKS!!
Next up, the world’s best and most
intense emo band on the planet. Sacramento’s FAR, featuring ex-INSIGHT
guitarist Shaun Lopez blasted an unsuspecting audience with the kind of performance
most bands wished they had! FAR completely owned the stage. These guys have
played NJ once before and have obviously turned some heads. Every time vocalist
Jonah took mic to crowd, the lyrics continued forth. Seldomly can a band play
so perfectly and display such a high level of emotional output. Well crafted
songs, emotion and the ability to play are 3 talents this band has mastered.
Go out and purchase "Tins Cans With Strings To You" and "Water
and Solutions" on Immortal/Epic and prepare!
Recently Keith Caputo, LIFE OF AGONY
vocalist parted ways with his band. They immediately began a search for someone
to fill his shoes. Little did any one suspect that ex-Ugly Kid Joe goofster,
Whitfield Crane would step to the plate. Some of you may not see the humor
in this situation so allow me to explain. In 1993 LIFE OF AGONY released "River
Runs Red" on Roadrunner Records, which to quote my friend Tim "is
to hardcore kids what Pearl Jam’s ‘Ten’ is to Frat Guys."
A defining record that broke and expanded a genre of music. Keith’s soft
yet driving and enigmatic vocals some what defined the band. Skip forward
to 1998. Keith leaves right as their 3rd full length release begins to gain
commercial notoriety. The band chooses a vocalist whose squeaky 80’s
metal approach used to belt out cynical and tongue in cheek lyrics. Needless
to say, many people claimed "sell out." For many people, this show
was Whit’s test. Well let me be the first to say Whit rocked. His voice
lended to Keith’s style without a hitch. Whit carried the lyric’s
emotions as if they had been originally been uttered first by his own tongue.
Plus Whit’s stage activity added to this band’s mastery of the stage.
They rocked through a set comprising songs from all 3 CDs and kept the crowd
in a frenzy the entire time. I was impressed and it looked as though the audience
agreed. I’ve never been a big LIFE OF AGONY fan, until now.