CHIMAIRA í¢ä‰åäóì NOTTINGHAM 09-02-04 After having seen this tour in London, Birmingham and Manchester this weekend I was stoked to be going to my fourth gig in a row, as the previous three shows were simply kick ass. The Chimaira guys were doing a signing before the gig and there was a really good turnout at the store. There was nothing ‘weird’ that I saw them being asked to signí¢ä‰åŒ_maybe you’ll have to ask them! The guys were super cool as usual signing everything/posing for photos/chatting to the fans. Doors for the show opened at 7.30pm and about 30 minutes before we went in we were told that CHIMIARA’S set was going to be filmed for SCUZZ TV and that if any people were to crowd surf they would be ejected. This was a direct result of the insanity at the previous night’s gig in Manchester. As there was no barrier, there was a constant rampage of crowd surfers, which not only made it very uncomfortable for the fans at the front, but also made it harder for the band to get into the gig. They had fun, but it wasn’t pleasant. Every Time I Die were pretty tight tonight. I’m getting into these guys more every time I see them. The crowd weren’t too bad for their set, not the most active crowd so far, but they went down reasonably well here. Stampin’ Ground had a great response here tonight. Good set, got the crowd riled, and Adam (lead vocals) managed to break the ceiling in the venue right at the end. Security weren’t too happy! The wait was over! Chimaira hit the stage at 9.30pm and as they have been doing all tour, opened up with 2-3 minutes of Implements of Destruction. Mark then hit the stage and they kicked straight into a crashing performance of Power Trip followed by an equally impressive Cleansation. The venue for the gig was terrible (a tiny club room) but it didn’t stop anyone in the audience from enjoying every second of Chimaira’s set. They have never failed to impress me live and tonight was no exception. The set was as follows: IMPLEMENTS OF DESTRUCTION POWER TRIP CLEANSATION IMPOSSIIBILTY OF REASON PICTURES IN THE GOLDROOM LET GO LUMPS SILENCE/RICKY’S DRUM SOLO/SEVERED DEAD INSIDE INDIFFERENT TO SUFFERING THE DEHUMANIZING PROCESS OVERLOOKED EYES OF CRIMINAL ARMY OF ME PURE HATRED Every song was packed with so much conviction, precision and energy it was impossible for no one in there to have been amazed by the level musicianship within his band. Ricky is a simply astounding drummer. To think he only had 14 days to learn this set is a testament to this guys ability. Anyone who doubted him was left open jawed, along with everyone else who KNEW he’d be perfect for the band, after his mind-blowing solo. YOU ROCK m/ m/ It was great to hear tracks off PAOE and the crowd loved it too. Before they kicked into TDP, Mark asked the crowd if they remembered the nickname he’d been given by the UK press. He received aloud response of í¢ä‰åñMETAL MOSES!í¢ä‰åŒ after which he parted the crowd and through a LTD edition copy of TIOR in the middle He said if anyone ran into the middle before he said so, they would stop playing and walk off. Obviously no one was stupid enough and the result was thunderous rendition of The Dehumanising Process whilst masses of bodies were slamming into one another trying to get the CD. Priceless stuff! Tonight set, apart from a couple of glitches with the sound (which no one noticed) went extremely well and the set was once again tight as hell. They closed with a pummelling performance of PURE HATRED, which had every single person screaming from the top of their lungs í¢ä‰åñI HATE EVERYONE!í¢ä‰åŒ It was beautiful!! Everyone left extremely happy and very impressed with the set and the performance of the guys. They ALWAYS leave you wanting more! These guys deserve to blow up really big. They have the ammo, the talent, and the songs. Metal is still alive and well thanks to bands like Chimaira. I LOVE YOU GUYS! P.S. I’m from the neighbourhoodí¢ä‰åŒ_FRUIT!!! 😀 SARINA GILL, LONDON