Live Forever in Regret

The Lizard Man, of Ripley's Believe It Or Not, walks onto the stage to introduce the audience to his foot-long snake. While he holds onto the beast's tail, the snake crawls up his nose and pokes its head out his mouth. This between-set freak show entertainment set the mood for the entire night of raw insanity. Systematic came on stage at 6:30, playing to a mostly empty room, but by halfway through the first song, the crowd was bouncing and the boys in the pit were a flesh tornado. Rocking out with the grinding sound of songs like "Thick Skin," Systematic indisputably disproved the theory that opening bands must suck. The energy level hit the roof and did not come down all night.

At 7:20, after another performance by the Lizard Man, Stereomud took the stage for the first time in New York since they toured with Disturbed on the original Music as a Weapon tour. I was standing right up against the stage when the band opened with its powerful song "Closer," and before the song was over, I had already caught at least ten boots in the head from passing crowd-surfers. The crowd that at this point filled the room was completely out of control. During the set, Stereomud debuted two songs off the new album Every Given Moment (released on March 4), including the singles "Breathing" and "Anything But Jesus." The band closed with the Billboard hit off its first album, "Pain."

Breaking Benjamin had a tough act to follow, but didn't let the audience down. While they sound great recorded, it turns out they are even better live. From the melodic crooning of "Home" to the primal pounding of "Medicate," Breaking Benjamin put on a flawless performance. The disappointment hit when (hed)p.e. came on stage, opening with the single "Suck It Up." The group's reggae-rap-metal mixture had an awkward sound and seemed out of place on the tour. While the crowd tried hard to stay enthusiastic, the music was difficult to move to and I found myself, like much of the audience, standing completely still. With their explicit lyrics and vulgar song topics, (hed)p.e. has been kept off most radio waves but has developed a successful underground following. A portion of the audience were members of this following who came exclusively to see (hed)p.e.; they helped keep the overall energy level up to par. At the end of the set, singer Jahred walked along the front barricade and signed autographs.

A set change occurred as the Lizard Man proceeded to drink a glass full of Jagermeister that he had previously regurgitated through seven feet of surgical hose fed into his nose. Finally, Saliva took the stage, sending the crowd into an absolute frenzy with their hit single "Click Click Boom," off their first album Every Six Seconds. Playing six songs from Every Six Seconds and five from Back Into Your System (including the hit song "Always"), the heavy sound and intense lyrics led to chaos in the mosh pit. During the patriotic anthem "Pride," crowd-surfers crashed over barriers and several fans had to be rescued by security. The band's performance was amazing; it was powerful and moving. For those of us dedicated enough to wait around afterward, guitarist Chris D. came down to the floor to sign autographs and hang out with some fans.

An adrenaline rush from start to finish, the Jagermeister Music Tour was the experience of a lifetime. To all the heavy metal fans out there, you have a simple choice: keep an eye out for tickets next year, or live forever in regret.