HATEBREED with OBITUARY - AGNOSTIC FRONT - PRONG - SKELETAL REMAINS HOB

The much anticipated HATEBREED 25th Anniversary Tour rolled into Vegas to the House of Blues inside Mandalay Bay, and they brought along a bunch of their friends. This made for a very early start to this show with such a big lineup, but the HOB was packed with a big crowd early, the fans ready for a big night of metal.

Kicking off the show was the death metal band SKELETAL REMAINS who hail from SoCAL, one of the heavier bands who have made their way to Vegas in the past year. We caught these guys last fall in a small venue, so it was good to see them on a bigger stage to get the full impact of their show. On this night they delivered, under deep red lights with hair flailing about Skeletal Remains showed they are a force to be reckoned with.

PRONG out of New York City made their return to Vegas on this Hatebreed 25th tour, led by guitarist Tommy Victor , this band has a long list of former members with many going back and forth between Prong and Ministry. Since so many bands were on the bill, the sets were fast and furious and we got nothing but the best from each band. Prong was no exception, the band started off their set with the song “Unconditional” and “Lost and Found” which opened up a huge mosh pit encouraged by Tommy. “Cut Rate” and the menacing “Ultimate Authority” made the set, then it was “Broken Peace” and into the really heavy stuff to end the show with “Whose Fist Is It Anyway” and “Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck”. Joining Tommy onstage on drums was Aaron Rossi, and one of our fav bass players Jason Christopher.

Changing things up from the hard rock / thrash start we were treated to some hardcore punk from NYC as AGNOSTIC FRONT stormed the stage. Formed way back in 1980 by lead singer Vinnie Stigma, the band has gone through numerous lineup changes through the years and has shut down a few times, but they always reform and continue bringing their brand of music to the masses after nearly 40 years. The crowd responded to their set with a non stop mosh pit that was one of the biggest and best from HOB!

Death metal band OBITUARY from Tampa was the heaviest band on the bill, and it’s been a few years since these guys have played Vegas, and the packed venue welcomed them back into the fold. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist John Tardy, drummer Donald Tardy, rhythm guitarist Trevor Peres, bassist Terry Butler, and lead guitarist Kenny Andrews. These guys were part of Slayer's European farewell tour late last year before embarking on this tour with Hatebreed.

Now was time to celebrate 25 years of HATEBREED! These guys have a sound thats a cross between all the opening bands - a bit of punk with a bunch of hard rocking metal! Hatebreed's set was played at a blistering pace - they played 19 songs in just a little over an hour. Vocalist Jamey Jasta is a master at handling a crowd, and they responded to each and everything he asked them to do. The packed main floor was a huge mosh pit their entire set, with a continuous flow of people crowd surfing to the front of the stage. This show was a big party celebrating 25 years of one of the more popular bands touring today, and here’s to 25 more!

HATEBREED SETLIST:

To the Threshold

A.D.

Perseverance

Looking Down the Barrel of Today

Empty Promises

Doomsayer

Seven Enemies

Tear It Down

As Diehard As They Come

Last Breath

In Ashes They Shall Reap