Adulteress (aka the new Ion Storm, equipped with new bassist Ben) started off the night. I hate to be the one to say it but they didn’t set the bar high for the evening. Just too much seemed to be going on with their new look/image and the sound seemed off. I did enjoy the song ‘cunt’ which did finally get the crowd moving. Next up was another local band Proven. I’ve personally seen them multiple times and they never disappoint no matter what venue they are at or how the crowd is. I think they had one of the largest crowds that night.  Proven has quite the metal following. If you ever get the chance, I’d recommend seeing them. Next up was Dark Sermon from Florida and it was a head-scratcher performance. The second guitarist and bassist were on stage right moved so in sync, they even looked and dressed the same, it was almost eery. The singer would sometimes scream not in the mic and it was hard to hear him. His mannerisms and facial expressions made it seem like he had broken out of the local mental institution and needed a straight jacket. Once you got past the weirdness of the band stage presence, then you could enjoy the music which was actually great. Different and unusual but I don’t think I would expect anything different. Following the weird was the ever so normal Threat Signal from Canada.  I was excited to see them since I remember hearing good things about them. The music wasn’t as heavy as the previous bands but Threat Signal can definitely hold their own. The mic went out on them but they handled it like pros. They matched the energy that the crowd was putting off. All the members seemed like they were having so much fun it was hard not to enjoy them. Next was the crazy pumped up band from Missouri, The Browning. You don’t know energy from a band until you see them live. They had cordless instruments that allow them to really utilize the stage. The fans were crazy having as much fun as the band was. They command the entire stage! Not only with their size (they are big boys) but with their through the roof energy and music that you can’t help but headbang and dance to. That’s right I said dance. The Browning has a way to clash the dance beats with metal music. It’s amazing! Finally the almighty Chimaira took the stage. They played a mixture of old and new songs. I personally loved the deep bass and how they sounded overall.  The feel of the crowd was overwhelming because of the anticipation of this band. Chimaira was definitely the high point of the night. Unfortunately, a family emergency caused me to leave the show just a few songs into Chimaira’s set but the little bit I did see, there is no question that I will be catching them again the next time they are in town.