Rise of the Machine Tour Sells Out House of Blues Las Vegas

Las Vegas was yet another sold out show city for the highly anticipated Rise of the Machine Tour on April 13th at the House of Blues.

Boy, was I glad I had bought a ticket because I could not miss this like I did in 2019. The line of guests that were attending was completely wrapped around the casino floor! Luckily, it moved pretty fast when the doors opened.

Cultus Black.

Six-member band, Cultus Black, were the opener to the metal extravaganza. Right away, I got Septicflesh/Slipknot vibes by appearance alone due to their masks and body paint. I soon realized it was James Legion from the band Motograter; so the look made complete sense!

As soon as they started playing, their music reminded me of a mix of Slipknot and Motionless in White. So, naturally, I was into it. Speaking of Slipknot, they performed a cover of “Wait and Bleed”, and it was just as heavy if not more! They also performed their song called “You Make Me Sick”.

Overall, they did a kickass job at interacting with the crowd. You can tell they really care about their fans because even after they wanted everyone to come and meet them at their booth. They really got the crowd pumped up for the remaining bands on deck.

Twiztid.

Horrorcore Twizted were up next.

Monoxide Child and Jamie Madrox took the stage with their fired-up band. When I saw they were on this tour, I was a little skeptical because they are more geared towards the hip hop scene but nonetheless, they always had a great sound.

They played songs that were geared more towards the heavy rap metal sound during their set with a couple of oldies for their fans. Some songs included in their set were “We Don’t Die”, “Phelgm in the Windpipe”, and “Magic Spellz”.

You could always spot where the Juggalo family were throughout the venue by their face paint, and a few of them definitely showed up for the group!

Dope.

Dope was third in line to keep the crowd moving. The light show really started up and was ready to go when they got onstage.

They started off their set with their songs “Blood Money” and “Violence”.

Front man, Edsel Dope, took the time to tell the audience a story about when they toured together with Static-X and Fear Factory years ago. He also mentioned Wayne Static was always a close friend of his and thanked everyone for coming to the Rise of the Machine tour especially because it was postponed due to Covid.

All the bands really showed their gratitude to their fans throughout the night because of it and it was truly heartwarming. Dope also performed “Die MF, Die” and their infamous cover of “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” which made the crowd jump off their feet.

Fear Factory.

I’ve seen Fear Factory a couple times, and I was SUPER excited for this time around with newcomer Italian vocalist Milo Silvestro. He absolutely annihilated this set along with guitarist and original member Dino Carzares.

I always loved former vocalist Burton C. Bell, but Silvestro took each song to a new level with his similar style. The band also brought out Static X’s own, Tony Campos, as their bassist for their entire set.

They played some of my personal favorite hits like “Powershifter”, “Replica” and “Demanufacture”. During “Edgecrusher” they brought out vocalist Jamie Madrox from Twizted and vocalist James Legion from Cultus Black. Dino did slip in QUITE the surprise in the middle of the set and THEY PLAYED “ARCHETYPE”! He always said they would NEVER play this song and they DID! Because of that alone, I can tell the band is in a great place.

A new era for Fear Factory! The crowd went INSANE.

Static-X.

Lastly and most anticipated, Static-X was about to grace our presence.

“Time Warp” from The Rocky Horror Picture Show started to play signaling we were about to go back in time.

A giant platform was positioned in the center of the stage. Wayne Static is and will always be irreplaceable, but Xer0 (Edsel Dope) really has done a phenomenal job at honoring his friend with the rest of the band.

The entire opening of their set was so freakin’ cool; especially the lighting. A character with a white suit came on stage with a giant metal X on his “face” and shined a spotlight onto the crowd. They opened their set with “Permenance”, and Xer0 appeared with his new glowing red eyed mask.

Some hits to follow were “Love Dump”, “Wisconsin Death Trip” and “This is Not”. I absolutely love those songs, but what really got the crowd and I going were “Terminator Oscillator”, “Sweat of the Bud”, and “Bled for Days”.

They also got the crowd going with their new cover of “Terrible Lie” (originally by Nine Inch Nails) which was darker and heavier.

To honor Wayne, they played their song “Cold” while snow lightly fell onto the stage with Wayne’s picture in the background with words “Forever with Us”.

Tony Campos (bass), Ken Jay (drums), and Koichi Fukuda (guitar) keep proving time and time again what great musicians they are.

Overall, I can’t say enough how amazing this show was. All the bands were on point the entire time and really gathered everyone together for an amazing experience… Which for me included a lot of dancing. If these guys ever tour together again, you know I’m there. If there are still tickets available in the city you’re in, grab ’em quick! This tour is coming to an end, and you DO NOT want to miss the fun.

Until next time…