Atomic Fest, The Bomb Factory, Dallas -

DALLAS – On April 11th, 2015 a collection of artists and spectators gathered together at The Bomb Factory in downtown Dallas for what was, in its primal form, a celebration of the advancement of skill in the genre of metal. Not that metal has ever been lacking in skill, but it has come so far in recent years and this festival was a vulgar display of that.

From the point the first act went on at 2pm, this event was an exhibition of theory and application. All of the bands on the front of the bill executed very entertaining performances. In order of time, the bands Golgatha, Pardon Me, Devil, Design of Destiny, In Search of Sight, Entheos, The Atlas Moth, and The Red Chord all gave delightful performances, keeping the gradually increasing crowd involved. I have to give praise. All of these bands came with their game faces on, leading the night onto the two headlining bands, whom no doubt all in attendance came to see. The Bomb Factory is a phenomenal venue, their staff are grade A, and everyone took care of one another. Over all, a killer show to experience.

Animals as Leaders

Now, unless you’ve been living under a rock in the amazon somewhere, you’ve likely

heard of the trio of Tosin Abasi, Javier Reyes, and Matt Garstka. Animals as Leaders is one of the most forward thinking bands in the modern sect of Progressive Metal. The entire populace of The Bomb Factory learned in first hand fashion why these three gentlemen are considered part of the top tier of modern musicianship. The three of them played with a surgical precision that has to be witnessed to be truly appreciated. The drums were explosive coming over the monitors and the tones coming from Tosin and Javier’s Fractal Audio units cut through with mind numbing clarity. They seemed to keep every eye in the building on them and that’s no easy task without a front man, who would normally bear the brunt of that responsibility. Do yourself a favor, go see Animals as leaders.

Between the Buried and Me

A case probably doesn’t need to be made for Between the Buried and Me. A band with a cult following of the likes makes a pretty strong case for themselves. By this point the crowd number had swollen in contrast to the scene one would have seen earlier in the day. There was an extensive shift in energy for BTBAM. While the precision one would expect from a Progressive Metal band was there, so was an energy that moved all who witnessed theperformance. These are men who have the art of captivation down to a science, where art and science rarely see eye-to-eye. The presence of instrumental tones larger than the room and vocal melodies that were perfectly rendered every single time shows the love, dedication, and attention to detail that goes into not only writing Between the Buried and Me’s songs, but performing them at such a high bar of excellence. The troupe has done more than paid advancement to this genre. Even if BTBAM isn’t your thing, you should still go and witness their live performance so that you can experience the gravity of quality art in a world seemingly losing its grip on it.