Hellfest 2004 @ The Rexplex, Elizabeth, NJ
Live Reviews | Jul 26th, 2004
Date: July 23-26 2004
Venue: Elizabeth, NJ
Headliners included: Andrew WK, The Misfits, The Ataris, The Juliana Theory, Life Of Agony, Converge, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Fear Factory goto www.hellfest.com for all of the bands.
Day One (Friday):
I arrived early enough (or i thought it was) in order to beat the crowds and not have to stand in line. I was WRONG! First off, you know it’s not going to be a good day to start when it takes you an 1.5 hours to go 30 miles. All of the highways were flooded. OK, i get there, wait in line for 2.5 hours and about 2 hours into it, the darkness fell and the skys came falling down (bad hardcore jokes). So, once i’m almost in the door, i run into some friends. This is great. i havent seen them in a long time. i noticed a bunch of younger kids from all over the country and some international kids too. it was great to see that. so, i’m inside now, super. i watch a couple bands and then run into more friends that i did not expect to be there. the highlights of friday as far as the bands go for me were, Strike Anywhere, Halifax, Juliana Theory, Glasseater, Burnt By The Sun and Time In Malta. I did not see many other bands because they are just generic boring chug-a chug-a hardcore or typical metalcore, so i can not review them. Overall, the bands all played well. No one stands out more than any other except Bigwig. I did not see them either, but typical Bigwig fashion, they did not make it to play.
Day Two (Saturday):
This time, i just walked right in. Again, got patted down by the hot chick security people and then met up with some more old friends. This was the reunion day, for real. Not only was it the For The Love Of reunion show, but i ran into so many people i havent see in a long time. Aside from that, i missed two bands i wanted to see, but saw some really good bands. I heard Horse the Band was great and i missed Roses are Red and they sound good recorded. I did catch The Banner, The Hope Conspiracy, Evergreen Terrace, Stretch Arm Strong, Nora, Avail, Zao, Agnostic Front, E-Town Concrete, Mest (yuck), Prayer For Cleansing, my friend Joe’s band Nothing Left To Mourn. I haven’t seen them before, but they are good screamy hardcore. Joe’s got some screaming voice. oh, that nazi also deserved to get his ass kicked. Nazi Punks F-OFF! For The Love Of rocked, so did Drowningman, i also so Comeback Kid. I love stretch arm strong, but i wish they could have played longer. The highlight for me was a two way tie, FTLO and Andrew WK. The kids danced like crazy for AWK and everyone packed in tight for FTLO. Different sounds, but still hardcore!
Day Three (Sunday):
I got there early this time and boom, an hour and a half line. Oh well, i got in just in time to see my friend Matt from Shai Hulu and Zombie Apocalypse. I got the ZA CD. it’s good, really dark and makes me want to kill Zombies. The band called The Number 12 Looks Like You played. they are good. scremo, but good. Nice guys also, i did not expect them to play, but they got put on late in the morning. It was a good time. Zombie played also. They all wore face masks and camo’s. except the two singers who had on white paint and red (fake) blood on the faces. also cool. Bear Vs Shark played, they are better recorded and so is Alexisonfire. the next couple bands were chug/tough guy, so i skipped it. then it was time for Planes Mistaken For Stars. They rocked. Then the metal. I missed The Bronx, but i saw Shai Hulud, Coverge, DEP and LOA. Shai Kicked Ass. Converge did also. DEP is great, but i liked the old singer much better and Life Of Agony is great. Overall, it was fun, but not worth the 3 days. i’m too old (24 is too old?) They needed beer, but there were too many SXE Kids there. but i had a great time. stay metal!
