SOiL @ Stormys in Beaver Dam, WI 10/13/2018

Having received a message asking if I wanted to snap SOiL I jumped at the chance. Back in the day(2004ish) Redefine was an album I wore out, so this seemed like a no brainer. I took the 40 minute drive North to Beaver Dam. Beaver Dam is a small yet quaint town. Pulling up to the venue I had a chuckle because it looked like it was on the corner of a retail/office complex. That chuckle was soon replaced with a pretty solid gut punch. Walking into the venue the stage is straight ahead and off to the right. The stage itself is at the same level with the crowd and only a wooden bar separating the artists from the fans. A perk in my book. As you step in you can only go to the left which is where the bar is at and it was packed all night. The rest of the room is a wide open dance floor with a DJ platform in the back corner. The lighting and sound were spectacular all night. Having met and chatted with my contact for a few I was off to snapping the openers. Sanctus is a Wisconsin local that shreds. I have seen these kids a few times before. Worth checking out if you ever have the chance. The touring openers consisted of The Outfit and Beyond Threshold. The Outfit were a straight forward rock band. Gave me a few hints of Face to Face vocally in the early part of their set. Beyond Threshold is another metal band that was just that a metal band. Nothing in between. Some sweet licks though.

Having never seen SOiL before I really didn’t know what to expect past them playing their largest hits. Opening set with “Breaking Me Down” upped the tempo of the stagnant crowd almost instantly. With Vocalist Ryan McCombs leaning over the edge of the stage singing and growling I couldn’t help but snap some nice up close shots. For virtually the entire set McCombs remained up close and personal with the crowd. The love was reciprocated. Bassist Tim King performed to perfection. The backing vocals were crisp all while flailing and moving around the stage jamming. Been a while since I’ve seen a bassist give it to an audience like that. On the right side of the stage guitarist Adam Zadel shreds and provides the sweet licks everyone craved. Swaying back and forth, Zadel tucks the guitar close to his chest as his fingers dance across the frets. Towards the last third of the set I positioned myself on his side of the stage. I was mesmerized. The band itself along with new drummer TJ Taylor slapping the skins made it very hard to believe it was one of their first shows of the tour. SOiL were a well oiled hard rock masterpiece. Clearly a band, I regret waiting to see.

Set List:
1. Breaking Me Down
2. Hate Song
3. Need To Feel
4. Pride
5. Cross My Heart 
6. Redefine
7. Amalgamation
8. 37 Stitches
9. My Own
10. Unreal
11. Halo
12. Black Betty