Flotsam And Jetsam Bring The End Of Chaos Tour To Voltage Lounge!! – Philadelphia, PA 5/21/19

I recently had the chance to take in FLOTSAM AND JETSAM live in Philly at Voltage Lounge. I was pretty excited for this one because they are riding high supporting their latest effort The End of Chaos (out now, AFM Records) and it is really, really good. If you haven’t picked it up already might I suggest you do so? Anyways, this was gonna be a fun one because A&GS team member Price Stevenson IV was shooting his first show with us at a very photographer-friendly venue…win-win.



Support for this show came from DEAD BY WEDNESDAY, VEDIC, and WORLD BELOW, all of whom put on good sets that kept the crowd thoroughly entertained. I didn’t know anything about the latter two, but DBW has been on my radar for about five years now, and live they certainly didn’t disappoint. That said, the other bands also brought their ‘A’ Game, so you got four sets of kickin’ metal.



By the time FLOTSAM AND JETSAM took the stage it was pretty late, around 10:40 on a Tuesday night, but I was determined to hang as best I could. And wouldn’t ya know, as soon as they plugged in and played it was like, “I’m up NOW!!” Opening with “Prisoner” off the new record the boys dug in and went to work. “Desecrator” from debut album Doomsday For the Deceiver was next, followed by “Seventh Seal” from 2016’s self-titled release. Not a bad triple play to get things started at all.



We went back to an oldie with “Hammerhead” before another new tune hit us over the head in “Demolition Man.” This is one of the tracks from the new disc that veer into Power Metal territory and I for one don’t think that’s a bad thing at all. Sure FLOTSAM are a Thrash Metal band first and foremost, but progression and growth are a part of sustaining a career for 30 years (unless you’re AC/DC. Calm down, not knocking them!). When the Storm Comes Down made its lone appearance with “Suffer the Masses” and the Drift album yielded “Smoked Out.”



The biggest highlight for me though was a double-shot of songs from my absolute favorite record No Place For Disgrace. First up? “I Live You Die.” I have loved this one since I first bought the cassette in 1988, and I still love it now! Next was “Dreams of Death” which also brought me back to a happier, simpler time, and quite honestly it sounded great. One more from the debut came up to bat in “She Took an Axe” before closer “No Place For Disgrace” capped off the set.



FLOTSAM AND JETSAM, along with the other three bands definitely gave the fans their money’s worth. And everyone seemed to be having a great time, both onstage and off. There are 13 dates left on this U.S. run, so go check it out and support the guys. I’m sure glad I did! You can find the dates HERE.



LIVE IMAGES: PRICE STEVENSON IV

LIVE WORDS: THE MAESTRO