Trio Of Bands Party Like It's 1999 At 713 Music Hall On October 6

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All Photos By Larry Petro/Petrofyed Photography

They say that history always repeats itself and on October 6th we got just that at the 713 Music Hall in downtown Houston, TX. The year was 1999 and three bands, STATIC-X, SEVENDUST and DOPE were beginning to make their impact on the rock scene and actually toured together at that time. Fast forward to 2023 and the Machine Killer Tour sees these three combine once again for a solid package tour with all three acts celebrating not only the past but new albums either out or on the horizon for all of them. It doesn't happen too terribly often but in this case Houston was the site of the tour's opening show and what a show it was!

Completing the bill of bands for this tour was a hard rock trio consisting of Nubz Morrison on guitar and vocals, Redo Ianni on bass and drummer Brayden Pike from Kenosha, Wisconsin (Redo and Nubz) and Kentucky (Pike) by the name of LINES OF LOYALTY. I had not yet even heard of this band let alone heard any of their music and I must say that I was extremely impressed! The band's music is quite catchy with solid riffs and choruses that will stick in your head for days. With a debut album Hurts To Be Human that released just days ago the band was tight and on fire throughout their 30 minute set, performing tracks such as "Winless War", "My Addiction" and the title track "Hurts To Be Human" which immediately caught my attention, so much so that immediately following my shooting of their set I headed to their merch table to purchase a signed CD. The one member that stood out to me the most was bassist Redo Ianni whose animation and playing style reminded me of one of the greatest of all time, that being Rudy Sarzo. Check these guys out at https://www.linesofloyalty.com/ or check out their music on YouTube and see what I'm talking about. I thoroughly expect to be hearing more from this band in the near future.

Next up were industrial metal pioneers DOPE led by namesake frontman Edsel Dope. The band released an album titled Blood Money Part Zer0 this past February that they gave away for free to the fans. They kicked off their 30 minute set with the track "Blood Money" and Edsel was in fine form as they performed hits such as "Bring It On (Fuck Tomorrow Mix)", "Debonaire" and "Bitch". And of course who could forget the straightforward track of "Die MF Die" from the Life album of 2001? The band closed out their set with the cover of the DEAD OR ALIVE classic, "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)". DOPE was also energetic through their performance as one would expect for an opening night of the tour. The entire band was great and the only criticism I have was that for the better part of the show the bassist was too prominent in the sound mix which nearly drowned everyone else out but by the end of their set they appeared to have worked that out.

Georgia rockers SEVENDUST was the only band on this package that I had actually seen live before and I can still remember first hearing their hit "Denial" way back in the day when KNAC.COM first came online as an internet-only radio station. Vocalist Lajon Witherspoon and company always delivered a spirited performance and tonight was no exception. As co-headliners (with STATIC-X closing every night) the band played a 13 song selection that lasted just over an hour, kicking things off with a pair of songs from their forthcoming new album Truth Killer in "I Might Let The Devil Win" and the album's title track. As "Truth Killer" finished Witherspoon addressed the large crowd of around 3,500 to state that even though it was the first night of the tour the crowd's response had already gotten him emotional, which was not an act as from my vantage point in the barricade you could almost see him tearing up. This band truly loves their fans and the crowd's energy definitely had an impact on their performance. By their 4th song, "Splinter" the crowd surfing and moshing was in full effect. SEVENDUST even dusted off a few tunes they hadn't played in some time, "Hero" (2017), "Till Death" (2016) and "Strong Arm Broken" (2015). The song "Alpha" was also on the setlist that was onstage but it was marked out and wasn't performed.

Other great selections to their set included 2 more from the new album, "Fence" and "Everything", "Bitch" from the self-titled album and set closer, the phenomenal "Face To Face" from the Seasons album of 2003. The only shock for me was that they didn't play the aforementioned "Denial". Seriously, how can you not play the song that put you guys on the map? That aside, SEVENDUST still knows how to bring the heavy metal even after all these years.

Setlist:

• "I Might Let the Devil Win"
• "Truth Killer"
• "Till Death"
• "Splinter"
• "Hero"
• "Strong Arm Broken"
• "Fence"
• "Enemy"
• "Trust"
• "Everything"
• "Pieces"
• "Bitch"
• "Face to Face"