Light This City opened with a fun set. I hadn't heard the band before, but they brought a lot of energy to the stage and clearly had their live set nailed down. Their lead singer was a female, which can be hit or miss. In this case, it was a hit, as she can growl with the best of them.

Black Tide were up next and played a concise and energetic set. There were tons of 14-year-old girls there strictly to see the Florida band (*cough*Gabriel*cough*), but the shrill screaming was not too overwhelming.  Gabriel is an incredible guitarist -- not to mention vocalist -- for a such a young kid, and his acrobatic guitarwork was on display throughout the entire set. The rhythym section of the band is competent, but he is clearly the star of the show. He will only get better with age and experience, and it will be interesting to see where his career leads him. My guess is that he will have a major impact on the metal scene, whether with Black Tide or some other band.

Chimaira came on third and brutalized everyone with their familiar "hate metal."  They played some new songs which was a welcome change of pace from the material that they've been playing for several years now -- that guy's "power trip" MUST be over by now. Chimaira is a relentless touring act, and I can't help but feel that if you've seen them once, you've seen them a million times. Still, they have great stage presence, are always energetic and heavy, and are definitely worth a look.

All That Remains headlined and WOW, these guys have gotten extremely popular. I've seen them twice before, opening for Killswitch Engage and As I Lay Dying respectively, and they've gotten good reactions. But last night was AMAZING. There was not a person in the packed house who wasn't going nuts for them. That includes A LOT of screaming females. Easily my favorite out of this lineup, they played a terrific set featuring all of their marquee newer material ("Not Alone", "Six", "This Calling"), as well as several songs off of This Darkened Heart, and even "Follow" off of their first album, Behind Silence and Solitude. Phil Labonte's vocals were strikingly impressive, and the musicianship was fantastic as always. All That Remains proved once again that they are one of the best melodic metal bands going today, and are definitely worth a listen.