Disturbed, Breaking Benjamin, and Alter Bridge at the XFinity Center – Mansfield, MA

Photos and Review by Jeff Palmucci
Galleries: Disturbed, Breaking Benjamin, Alter Bridge
So I was driving with my wife one day while cranking the tunes, when she turns to me and says “I’m sick of these bands, can you put on something nice?” By “these bands” she means metal, of which she is not a fan. So, reflecting the caliber of husband that I am, I put on Disturbed’s The Vengeful One.
Don’t judge me! Yes, The Vengeful One is a pretty intense tune, but it ramps up at the beginning and I wanted to find out exactly when the jig would be up. This wasn’t just me being a dick, this was science!
So the song starts and the drummer comes in with a beat, not a problem so far. Then  guitar comes in with a pretty heavy riff. She’s probably starting to figure it out now, but no reaction yet. It could just be an intense rock song. Here comes the base-line. Now it’s starting to sound really heavy, but she’s still giving me the benefit of the doubt.
Then David Draiman comes in: “He is assuming…” “STOP!” she yells. We made it three words into the song before she knew it was metal for sure. There is no mistaking it. We now have scientific proof that Draiman has a voice that was made for metal. Given their music, that’s how I thought it always was.
Then, they come out with this cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s the Sound of Silence (definitely not metal) and he just nails that too. He starts out mellow, and then ramps up the intensity throughout the song. Contrast this with S&G’s original which is sing-songy throughout. In Disturbed’s version, by the time we get to “silence like a cancer grows”, Daiman is putting a fair amount feeling into his lyrics which is how the original should have been. I love it when a cover adds something great to the original work.
So they played last Saturday at the XFinity Center, and I’m supposed to be writing a review, so I should probably get to that. The first band on stage was Saint Asonia, who I haven’t heard before, but whose style fit well with the rest of the bands of the night.
Alter Bridge was up second. I absolutely love these guys. This is the third time I’ve photographed them, and each time it is a great experience. Mark Tremonti’s intense guitar and Myles Kennedy’s voice add up to great song after great song. I’m so glad that Guns ‘n Roses got back together, not only because that’s a great show (and it was), but because it meant that Myles is back touring with Alter Bridge (he’s also the lead in Slash’s band). They played a very short set, and everything they do is great, so I was pretty disappointed with the length. If you get to see these guys headline, definitely do that. The first song I listened to on the way home was Cry of Achilles.
Alter Bridge Set List

Next up was Breaking Benjamin. I’m not as familiar with BB, but they put on a pretty solid set. The set was lighter on tracks from the new 2015 album Dark Before Dawn, the first since Breaking Benjamin lead Benjamin Burnley reformed the band with an all new crew. They did hit the big hits with Angels Fall, Ashes of Eden, and Failure.
Breaking Benjamin Set List

  • So Cold
  • Angels Fall
  • Sooner or Later
  • Blow Me Away
  • Polyamourous
  • Ashes of Eden
  • Believe
  • Breath
  • Failure
  • Until the End
  • I Will Not Bow
  • Diary of Jane

Next up was Disturbed and they put on a phenomenal show. Completely on their game after their long hiatus. In addition to the intense music, as you’d expect, they had an amazing pyrotechnic show with synchronized flamethrowers placed throughout the stage. There was one point where the flamethrowers ignited a net that they had hanging behind the stage, which then burnt away. It got me a little freaked out, I initially thought it was an accident. However, when the band failed to run screaming from the stage, I realized it was planned. A pretty cool effect, and the first time I’ve seen it.
You know that part during Down With the Sickness, where Draiman says “Can you feel that?” I’m pretty sure they cranked the amps up to eleven at the beginning of that song, because yes, you definitely could feel it. Great night of music.
You know, thinking back on it, my car experiment had only one data point. I think we need some external verification. Next time you are in the car with a non-metal fan, start cranking some Disturbed. Remember, it is for science! (and it’s pretty fun too)

Disturbed

Breaking Benjamin

Alter Bridge

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