Concert Report Plus 41 Exclusive Photos: Soulfly, Battlecross, Abnormality and Lody Kong in Dallas

SHOCK’s Brian Steward delivers another wealth of exclusive metal concert shots.

Soulfly, Battlecross, Abnormality and Lody Kong have been laying waste to the U.S. and are near the end of a highly successful head crushing tour.  Recently, they made their stop at Dallas’ famous Gas Monkey Bar & Grill.

Lody Kong kicked off the open air show before the sun went down, barreling through their set and leaving many who might have been unfamiliar with their tunes, newly ordained ministers of their brand of metal.  Lody Kong features the sons of Soulfly frontman, Max Cavalera; Igor and Zyon, on guitar/vocals and drums respectively.  The band is currently promoting its most recent release, DREAMS AND VISIONS.  Although a relatively new entity and really great at what they do, with all the raw talent on display, it’s obvious Lody Kong is on the way up.

Next up was Abnormality, hailing from Boston, Massachusetts.  This extreme metal band, led by Mallika Sundaramurthy, stormed into a set of relentless ear pounding that left the crowd only wanting more.  They played cuts from their past catalog, as well as teasing the Texas audience with a few new tracks from their forthcoming album.

Just as the sun was beginning to disintegrate on the horizon, Battlecross took the stage.  The band was fronted by the exact opposite of what you might expect such a powerhouse of a voice coming from.  Onstage, Kyle Gunther was reminiscent in stature of the late Alice In Chains frontman, Layne Staley. It was almost unbelievable that such a huge voice could be projected from such a small person.  The crowd was energized and moving as one as Battlecross launched into song after song.  Barely able to get a breath between songs, the crowd went berserk as the band brought the energy to a fever pitch with  their closer, “Push Pull Destroy”.

Finally after a short wait, a microphone adorned with skeletal remains in a gas  mask stood center stage.  Moments later, metal legend, Max Cavalera, took his place behind it and Soulfly tore into the first track from the new album Archangel.  Fresh off his Lody Kong set, Zyon Cavelara was back behind the drum kit with Soulfly, pulling double duty on this tour.  With the departure of longtime bass player Tony Campos, it might be easy to assume Soulfly might have lost some of its energy, but that isn’t the case.  In all honesty, new bass player Mike Leon brings a level of intensity to the stage reminiscent of Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris.  Soulfly mainstay guitarist, Marc Rizzo is the unrelenting live sonic backbone of the band providing Cavalera a chance to work the crowd without suffering musically.  The near-capacity crowd was rabid.  Not to forget where he came from, Cavalera had a couple of hidden Sepultura gems in the set-list including “Refuse/Resist” which created an old-school mosh-pit of epic proportions. But when they launched into the classic, “Roots”, the crowd lost its collective mind.  As the night came to a close, everyone left exhausted but seemingly ecstatic.

For the remaining tour dates go here.