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Cavalera Conspiracy Headlined Day 3 of Texas Independence Fest

Day three of Texas Independence was the day I looked forward to the most. The headliners included Corrosion of Conformity-Blind, Death Angel and Cavalera Conspiracy.

This day was by far the most stacked for talent. Bands as well known as Allegaeon played early in the day. I didn’t make it to the club until 2:30. The Agonist was the first band I caught. I wasn’t able to see the band with Alissa White-Gluz before she left for Arch Enemy, so it’s difficult to compare her to her replacement Vicky Psarakis. Psarakis’s vocals seemed fine, but she appeared to have lost the monitor. Her band mates were in fine form, though.

Austin, Texas’ Critical Assembly played a groove-fueled set of material in vein with Pantera and Down. The band consists of members of Come And Take It Productions, the promoters that put together the fest. The band sounded like a true, down south, dirty Texas band, so they fit in well with the artists on the festival.

Wretched came to town as part of a tour with Dark Sermon, Hammerfight and Sworn Enemy. They seemed a holdover from the deathcore that dominated the night before. They put on a bruising performance on the Garage Stage that included killer guitar leads. The band played material from their latest recording “Cannibal.” I was also impressed with the brutal beat laid down by drummer Marshall Wieczorek. Many of their riffs were of the melodic death metal sort.

Dead Earth Politics are no strangers to Austin. The band can be seen playing just about every week, so it only made sense to put this authentic Texas band in the Control Room stage, which a large portion was devoted to Texas artists. Vocalist Devon Brown shows a good range in his voice. His highs are impressive. He gave a heartwarming introduction to the song “Queens of Steel.” He dedicated the song to his dead mother. The crowd was small at this time of the day, but Dead Earth Politics made the best of what they had.

People were still filtering in around 5 PM, hence the lack of movement during Sworn Enemy’s set. This didn’t stop the band from dancing though, and their grooves and movement did elicit moving their bodies just not in the pit. It was good to see some NYC hardcore blended in with the modern metalcore that was such a big part of the festival, especially on the Control Room stage.

Corrosion of Conformity was part of another tour that stopped at this festival with Death Angel and Cavalera Conspiracy. This incarnation of the band featured the lineup of the band’s hugely popular album “Blind.” While Pepper Kennan sang on the song “Vote With a Bullet,” Karl Agell sang on the rest of the album and was their singer tonight. Reed Mullin appeared to be the only original member of this lineup. This album marked the band’s transition from punk to metal and the riffs were heavy and even doomy at times. Agell introduced the song “Dance Of The Dead” by saying it was on “Beavis And Butthead,” which is where I saw it. The group ended their set with “Vote With a Bullet.” Agell did an ok job, but I preferred the crossover period the band went through before this lineup.

Oath flew out to Austin from New York City. The band played a style of modern metal complete with down-tuned guitars a screamed and sung vocal approach. It wasn’t far removed from the metalcore that appeared on this stage, the Control Room Stage. It was heavy without an over reliance on breakdowns and the clean vocals were at least palatable.

Death Angel was in fine form. These veterans were a well-oiled machine of Bay area thrash metal. Guitarists Ted Aguilar and Rob Cavestany combined their guitars in slick twin harmonies and solos. Cavestany even laid his guitar down on a the shoulder of one fan while he played a solo. Mark Osegueda high shrieks were fantastic. The band played a set culled from throughout their career that included old songs like “Evil Priest” and new songs such as “Succubus.” The pit lethargy felt early in the day was all gone by this point.

With an U.S. flag on one side of the stage and a Brazil flag on the other, Cavalera Conspiracy played a crowd friendly set of songs taken throughout the brother’s careers. They played Cavalera Conspiracy songs such as “Inflikted,” “Sanctuary” and “Killing Inside,” which Max got the crowd singing. The band even played the Nailbomb song “Wasting Away.” It was Igor’s battering beats in Sepultura songs that really got the crowd involved. This included the tribal beats of “Territory” to the rapid fire of “Troops of Doom” and “Beneath the Remains.” Max gave a shout out to David Vincent of Morbid Angel and old school death metal. He said the two bands toured together a long time ago. The group played something from just about every Sepultura album including “Desolate Cry” from “Arise” and set ender “Roots.” Max said “I want to see a Texas sized pit” and then he got a big pit, probably the largest of the weekend.

The first two days of Texas Independence Fest were ruled by younger crowds eager to hear their favorite core bands. Some of these bands were great, some not so great. The organizers did an exceptional job of making sure both stages ran on time. The lighting and sound system on the Garage stage was exceptional. It was a challenge going from one day to three, a challenge that Come And Take It Productions met and conquered.