Shinedown with Breaking Benjamin and Sevendust in Youngstown reviewed

Melodic rockers Shinedown and Breaking Benjamin are currently out on the road doing a co-headlining tour, with Shinedown in support of their newest album Threat To Survival and Breaking Benjamin promoting their newest endeavor Dark Before Dawn. The tour rounded out by Sevendust, who are pimping their new album Kill The Flaw, how can you possibly go wrong? Sevendust got the festivities going with a rousing, high energy set of killer melodic heavy metal and after all these years the band hasn’t lost a step. Each band member owned every inch of the stage and with the amount of energy expended during their powerhouse set it’s no wonder the band members, who’s individual performances were flawless, are in such great shape. The only thing that was missing was the mini trampolines the band used to launch themselves into the air with in the early days but classics like “Angel’s Son” and their anthem “Black” never sounded better. Then Breaking Benjamin proceeded to take things to the next level with an intense set of hook laden melodic Hard Rock. The band’s fearless leader and namesake Benjamin Burnley was as charming as ever, holding the crowd in the palm of his hands at any given moment and his new band has gelled so well that you would never guess they have only been together for about a year. Let alone on their first tour together. Fans were treated to classics like “So Cold,” “Sooner Or Later,” “Blow Me Away,” “Breath,” “Polyamorous,” “I Will Not Bow” and “Diary Of Jane” alongside newer cuts such as “Angels Fall,” “Failure” and “Breaking The Silence.” They even got a short medley of covers that included Tool’s Schism, Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit and Pantera’s Walk. A couple of highlights of their superb set included Burnley having all the lights in the facility turned off while at the same time instructing the crowd to turn on their cell phones, flashlights and lighters to simulate the stars in the night sky and when he invited easily over a hundred fans of all ages up on stage during the almost 20 minute encore. Now it was up to Shinedown to bring it home and they did. Darkness fell as the intro music began to play and with a thunderous boom the curtain fell and the band ripped into “Cut the Cord. The show was under way and it just kept getting better and better as it went along. The rhythm section of Eric Bass and Barry Kerch are among the very best in the business and demanded their fair share of the attention. As did the impeccable Zach Myers, but most of the attention is focused on the band’s charismatic frontman, the one and only Brent Smith. If you’ve ever been to a Shinedown show before then you already know that it is an almost religious experience and by the time it’s over, you feel as though you’ve been to church, weather you’re a Christian, Atheist or otherwise. If you haven’t yet been to a Shinedown show, you are missing out one of the best live shows in the history of Rock N Roll and one of music best kept secrets. A secret that is about to break like a WikiLeaks conspiracy, thrusting the band onto the global stage where they so richly deserve to be, alongside legends like the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Queen. On top of the incredible songs and world class performances, the band brought out a massive production this time around that included multi-level risers and staircases, ramps out into the crowd, a brilliant light shows, pyro, and explosions. The Covelli Center holds 5,900 and was packed to the rafters and even though the venue had seats, none were ever used. The devoted faithful were blessed with hit after glorious hit, with songs like “If You Only Knew,” “Unity,” “The Crow & the Butterfly,” “Enemies,” “How Did You Love,” “Second Chance” and the encores of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man” and “Sound Of Madness” shaking the venue to it’s very core, the heat nearly thawing the ice hockey arena hiding beneath. Other highlights of their out of this world set included lead singer Brent Smith getting down on the amps and out on the ramps to shake hands and pass out roses to people in the audience as well as the entire venue singing Happy Birthday to Zach Myers, who turned 32 that night. With a half hour set from Sevendust and Breaking Benjamin & Shinedown both playing well over an hour each, we ask again…How can you possibly go wrong? -Eric Hunker  [lg_slideshow folder=\”2015/Shinedown and Breaking Benjamin in Youngstown/Breaking Benjamin/\”] [lg_slideshow folder=\”2015/Shinedown and Breaking Benjamin in Youngstown/Shinedown/\”]