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SARATOGA SPRINGS -- The Saratoga Performing Arts Center kicked off its 2003 summer season on Sunday, not with a whimper but a thunderous bang.
Boston-based alt-metal band Godsmack roared onto the amphitheater stage with all amps blazing as they cranked into "Straight Out of Line" and "Faceless," both from the band's new album, "Faceless," which sold more than a million copies in just five weeks since the album's release last month. If it's one thing that singer Sully Erna and his bandmates are these days, it sure isn't faceless.
Although the band clearly owed a huge debt to the Stone Temple Pilots on their 1998 debut, they've evolved into a powerhouse quartet that now more closely resembles Metallica.
Erna had the crowd on its feet from the start of the show and kept them there for 90 minutes, as they pumped their fists into the air and shouted along with the relentlessly misanthropic lyrics. SPAC officials had removed the first several rows of seats in front of the stage, and the crowd quickly transformed the area into a swirling mosh pit.
Godsmack remains true to its dark, punishing new-metal attack, relying on heavy metal riffage that's both muscular and sinewy. And Sully's graveled growl of a voice maintains its menacing edge.
The band -- which also features bassist Robbie Merrill, guitarist Tony Romeola and drummer Shannon Larkin -- pounded their way through plenty of the band's older favorites (the power-chord barrage of "Keep Away" and the snaking "Voodoo" were especially effective) as well as new material (like the melodic "Changes"). But the band actually hit its high-water mark with a monstrous percussion breakdown late in the set when Erna joined in on a second drum kit. While Larkin and Erna dueled on their drum kits, they were abetted by two additional percussionists and a pair of shaking and shimmying belly dancers.
And just for good measure, Erna pulled down his black leather pants and mooned the capacity crowd before launching into a set of encores.
Breaking Benjamin dished up a smart half-hour set that deftly walked the tightrope between crunching alt-metal and soaring pop melodies. Led by charismatic and passionate lead vocalist-guitarist Ben Burnley, the foursome scored biggest with the more pop-oriented material from their year-old debut album, "Saturate," including "Wish I May" and "Shallow Bay," which boasted crisp, stop-on-a-dime arrangements.
The night opened with a short set by Blind By Noon, a Boston foursome clad in all black. The unsigned band started off slowly, but polished up their power riffing as they tore through "On My Own."
MUSIC REVIEW GODSMACK with BREAKING BENJAMIN and BLIND BY NOON When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday Where: The Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Route 50, Saratoga Springs Musical highlights: Godsmack's "Keep Away," "Voodoo" and percussion breakdown; Breaking Benjamin's "Shallow Bay" and "Wish I May"Length: Godsmack, 90 minutes; Breaking Benjamin and Blind by Noon, 30 minutes each The crowd: About 5,000. The amphitheater was sold out, but no lawn tickets were sold. Coming up: SPAC continues its pop concert season on Sunday, June 8 with alt-rock singer-songwriter Beck and his band, as well as Dashboard Confessional and the Black Keys.