Norma Jean Elliott Hopesfall Denison Marrs Pedro the Lion From Autumn to Ashes Copeland

Amazingly enough, about half of the bands that played this year's fest had members that profess to be Christians. The concept of Christians wielding this kind of influence in the rock and roll universe is, at the very least, mildly bizarre to the music consumer whose ear doesn't extend outside the ring of pop radio. After all, rock is all about rebellion, and the whole Jesus thing is rooted in all that meek inheriting the earth nonsense, right? While rock is indeed about shattering current standards of value and aesthetic, and Jesus did indeed preach humility and submission to authority, it has never been entirely clear which values need a good thrashing and who the true authority is that we must submit to. After all, rockers have always upheld the values of creativity and artistry, and Jesus certainly didn't refuse to rebel against the morally blind religious figures of the day. Whatever you believe, don't assume that these musicians are creating an emasculated, youth-group-tested, Jerry Falwell-approved alternative to real rock and roll; these are men playing the music they love and singing about things that are meaningful to any human being, regardless of creed.

Enough with the sociology lessons; let's talk about the R-O-C-K.

THURSDAY

On Thursday morning, we arrived at the Sloss Furnace, an old furnace (hence the festival's name) converted into a museum that has played host to this event since its conception three years ago. While we were getting our bearings, we situated ourselves by the side stage in order to catch Time To Fly, a power pop band that would fit in nicely on Vagrant Records. They weren't the most original band, but certainly proficient at their trade, and a nice start to the festival. A heavy, Deftones-influenced band called The Uriah Omen played a dodgy set next, followed by Die.Radio.Die, whose pretty pop music that lies somewhere between Mineral and Sense Field, accented by some beautiful guitar lines. The band has room to grow in songwriting and vocal work, but was enjoyable nonetheless. Moving to the main stage, we caught a brutal performance from Curl Up And Die, along with a noisy, ambient set from the now space-rocking Codeseven. Neither was particularly stunning, but some of the audience members seemed to dig it.

At 6:30, a band I had been eagerly awaiting came up: Hopesfall. While they're often categorized as weepy-boy, Poison the Well-style modern hardcore, Hopesfall rise above their peers by venturing into sonic territory more akin to beautiful atmospheric instrumentalists like Unwed Sailor than that emo-pop stuff. Of course, they still can rip the flesh from your ears, and they demonstrated this fact with an impassioned set that met the approval of hardcore lovers throughout the furnace. After a dinner break, it was time for even more hardcore; the night's lineup was stacked top to bottom with metallic rock and roll destruction. From Autumn To Ashes was stellar, brandishing Iron Maiden riffs and featuring a great melodic rock song sung by the drummer. They definitely stand as one of the more innovative metalcore bands on the scene today. Shai Hulud was hindered by a lack of good guitar tone, but sent the excitement level through the roof anyway.

Stretch Arm Strong followed with the performance of the night. Combining the positivity and punk overtones of old school hardcore with vicious metallic breakdowns and chill-inducing melodic crescendos, the South Carolina fivesome engaged the crowd in a massive singalong that would put Dashboard Confessional to shame, punctuated by a marriage proposal from one of the photographers to his girlfriend. Smiles abounded as Stretch kept the mood fun and held the crowd in the palm of their (collective) hand.

We skipped out of No Innocent Victim's final performance in favor of getting a decent night's sleep, because Friday would be a day of rock and roll adventure.

FRIDAY

We had every intention of getting to the furnace by 2:00 to catch aggressive emo rockers The Ghost, but we arrived just as they wrapped up due to an amazing selection of used CDs at a local music store, not to mention the perplexing layout of downtown Birmingham (you'd think that a First Avenue would come before a Second Avenue, but it's not always the case). The Ghost sounded great from afar, but the same could not be said about our close encounter with the sounds of Emmanuel.7 on the side stage. Not only did they play a very disorganized brand of screaming "modern rock", but they let their buddies, Locked In A Vacancy, take a bit of their time for a short set, exposing festivalgoers to more bland hardcore and thoroughly screwing up the second stage schedule for the remainder of the day. Fortunately, things didn't seem so bleak when Copeland took the stage. A relatively young band from Florida, Copeland was definitely the day's highlight for me. No label besides "outstanding pop rock" seems to fit their music, as they craft both lush slow songs and muscularly hooky faster ones, all the while putting their three guitars to excellent use. The lead singer has an arresting voice reminiscent of Brian McSweeny (Matthew, Seven Day Jesus), and he truly breathes life and vitality into the songs. Copeland also plays with urgency and inner fire -- their live performance is strongly recommended.

I heard a little of Beloved's set, and their hardcore-infused emo sounded a bit sloppy, as it has every other time I've seen them. I then trekked to the mainstage to catch the utter carnage of Norma Jean. These fellows are based an hour from my home town, so I've seen them a number of times throughout their career; I've watched them burst from a nu-metal cocoon to flap their wings in violent metalcore fury. Their recent material captures the same grooving rock sensibility and technical hardcore mayhem that made Coalesce so unforgettable, and their live show is madness, with guitars flying all about and the lead singer throwing himself around the stage with reckless abandon. On this occasion, the band did not disappoint, playing some excellent songs from their forthcoming album and cascading around the stage in a ballet of mayhem. Sadly, the band announced that this was their drummer and vocalist's final show, and this surprising news has left their future up in the air.

From then on, the side stage was the place to be. Christiansen played an energetic style of rock influenced by At The Drive In. Unfortunately, they are "influenced" by ATDI in the same way that Ozma is "influenced" by Weezer, so the moments of blatant ripping off made the band much less enjoyable. Noise Ratchet followed with a passionate set of anthemic, guitar driven rock. They had some strong songs and each band member poured himself into the performance, despite the distraction of some skinny dippers in the furnace fountain nearby. Twothirtyeight came next, proving to be one of the tightest acts of the festival. Every guitar riff and each note of the bass was nailed to perfection, resulting in a crisp sound that first time listeners into instant fans. The new songs that they played were incredible, juxtaposing the off-the-cuff creativity of Cursive with Tom Petty riffs and Stephen Malkmus vocals in a way that should garner them acclaim outside the confines of the emo world. Equally amazing was Stairwell, who followed. While many power pop bands play up the rock and roll kitsch these days, down to the Def Leppard shirts and the butt rock guitar solos, they still somehow sound like wishy-washy emo punk. Stairwell makes good on their promise to be "just a rock band", without any of the heavy-handed irony. Rich melodies and intricate guitar hooks were pulled off perfectly, with occasional flat BGVs the only shortcoming.

After Stairwell, I caught a couple of songs from Blindside, who, sadly, have traded in their frantic, Refused-influenced sound for a more marketable nu-metal style, but remained serviceable as an energetic live band. (So does this mean he serviced them? -- Ed.)

One of the great things about Furnace Fest is the access that fans have to the artists they love and the new ones they discover. Case in point: a trip to the merch table resulted in an hour-long conversation with the guys from Copeland. As a result, I wasn't in front of the stage for Boy Sets Fire or Snapcase -- but they sounded excellent, even at a distance, and I caught myself wanting to sing along quite a few times. We made it to the stage in time for Squad 5-0. Their newer, catchy, traditional punk rock sound is fun, as well as surprisingly well-played, and they kept the rock going until they had to be cut off due to time constraints. It was time for Andrew W.K.

Andrew W.K.'s performance further convinced me that there's absolutely no substance to his music, and that his fans understand this and are actually okay with it. There was no real "art" to interrupt, so audience members took it upon themselves to bombard the stage with crap and cut loose with all sorts of hard partying. This was enjoyable enough, but it was a major change of pace after two days of bands who balanced their excitement level with more conspicuous craftsmanship.

SATURDAY:

This was the Fest's last day, which meant that it was time for the most heavily-hyped performances. We arrived in time for Celebrity, about whom I had heard a bit of a buzz, and I quickly understood why. They played solid and passionate, albeit somewhat repetitive rock that evoked strong feelings. Another strong young band, Dead Poetic, combined driving alt-rock with the sing/scream emo that Thursday has made all the rage. Their songs were surprisingly catchy, but not very inventive. Venerable rockers The Casket Lottery followed with a mind blowing set, bursting with intricate song structure and scruffy charm. The early afternoon rush of great music was capped by Denison Marrs, one of the most exciting bands in all of contemporary rock and roll. Capturing the passion of early U2 and the enraptured swagger of The Cure, and tacking them onto a fairly unique blend of spacy guitar heroics and bouncy rhythms, this Florida band is carving a niche all their own. If you haven't already heard it, their 2001 release, World Renown For Romance, was a masterpiece -- and judging from the songs they played at the festival, the follow up, Then Is The New Now, promises to be at least as incredible. Denison Marrs takes everything you know about rock and plays it bigger and prettier, and from the deepest reaches of the heart.

While it would have been nice to spend the rest of the afternoon seeking respite from the heat, there was still a lot of rock to be experienced. I wanted to skip out on Brandtson's set, despite the fact that they're one of my favorite bands. Their records are melancholy power pop mastery, but their live show is a little more mundane, especially after you've seen it five times, as I have. I enjoyed hearing some of my favorite songs live, but it was no more exciting in that context than it would have been if I'd been in a park listening to the CD on headphones; the band simply does not add much pizzazz to their show. Roadside Monument, a band I long feared I would never see live, were far more engrossing. Many a dream came true when they reunited this summer after a four year absence, and they seem to have kept their genius intact over the sabbatical. New song "ZZyxx" was a traditional Roadside piece of listener-friendly math rock (if there is such a thing), featuring the most dramatic vocal lines since their first album. Truly a band like no other, Roadside kept the audience on its toes even during the set's most noodly, abstract moments, as it was clear that the band could and would return to their jazzy riffs and neck-snapping beats without warning. They ended with "Sperm Ridden Burden", their most discordant, pissed-off song, and the audience chanted along every last word. Truly a band like no other.

Roadside was a tough act to follow, and no band was more suitable to do so than mewithoutYou, who gave what was arguably the best performance of the festival. The band has made a name for themselves with their relentless live interpretation of DC-gone-haywire post punk, and when they hauled out fake turf and flowers and placed them strategically about the stage, you could feel something insane was about to happen. When the band began, the lead singer flung himself about madly, hurling the faux turf and handing out the imitation flowers to audience members, then setting his sights on utterly destroying his bandmates. He tackled the guitarist, dove into the drums, and still managed to spit out his spoken/sung/maniacally screamed vocals. The stage crew didn't seem to enjoy constantly picking up mics and adjusting the drums, but the mayhem continued until the bitter end. Insane indeed.

Narcissus played next, and although the crowd thinned out considerably, they still wowed many a Furnace Fest attendee. Their truly unique marriage of hardcore and prog rock (think Boy Sets Fire meets Tool) didn't always sound clear, but the songs themselves were quality, and the band's attitude of humility and honesty was even more impressive, as they seemed to truly embody the spiritual convictions they claimed. Underoath followed, playing another interesting hardcore hybrid. As with most bands at the fest, Underoath has undergone a considerable change in sound since their early days, but theirs is definitely one of the most interesting. Their intensely metallic seven-minute dirges of days gone by have evolved into upbeat hardcore anthems driven by synthesizers and pop hooks. The energy was incredible, and with six band members, the stage was packed with flailing bodies. Elliott then kicked things down a notch, and they seemed to follow the trend of sonic evolution. Chris Higdon and company have opted for a more atmospheric sound, almost venturing into shoegazer country. Fan favorite "Drive Onto Me" sounded totally different, apart from the fact that it still hinged on a larger than life hook. With this new direction, some breathtaking guitar tones have emerged, opening up possibilities for Elliott to create perfect sleeping music.

Pedro The Lion took the stage next, with main man David Bazan once again sporting his incredibly masculine beard after a short period of rocking the fu manchu. Bazan and his band (featuring Jonathan Ford of Roadside on bass) played "hits" both old and new.

We went to grab some food during Living Sacrifice, and returned while Sick Of If All was winding down. The hardcore veterans put on an energetic, fun-filled show, persuading the audience members to charge at each other and give their neighbors big hugs. Further Seems Forever, the final act before festival headliners Zao, came on next. Further has become one of the hottest bands on the scene since The Moon Is Down was released last April, and while I didn't think much of them at first, I have grown to love their anthemic melodies. It's rare to find a band that plays so well while remaining accessible to their fans, but when you see FSF live, it's that they are the real deal, musically speaking. Frontman Jason Gleason looks perfectly natural in the role he assumed after Chris Carrabba's departure; he is a much more capable vocalist than Chris, especially in a live setting. The audience went crazy for Further, and while they seem to attract a younger, less aware fan base than the other bands in the scene, they are clearly a force to be reckoned with, and are probably turning many listeners on to some important bands.

Zao emerged next -- and once again, they are planning on breaking up. This time seems a little more serious than before, but you never know with these metalcore trailblazers. I've never quite gotten into Zao, but their influence cannot be ignored, and they definitely know how to put on a rock show.

And that was the end of Furnace Fest 2002. Sure, many of the bands on the bill were clearly just echoing current trends in hopes of capitalizing on a fad, but you won't find any of those pretenders in this article. I'm all for the notion that the world could do with a lot fewer rock bands, as the bombardment of by-the-numbers, guitar-based boy bands is enough to make anyone give up on pop music -- but is there any difference, really, between these acts and the equally cluttered sea of "respectable" indie rock bands that choose to rip off Pavement or Aphex Twin rather than Texas Is The Reason or Converge?

Regardless, I'm definitely in favor of more musical diversity amongst the scenesters. It wouldn't hurt to add a little brit pop or alt-country to your diet, as a break from all that sticky-sweet aggression. Perhaps Furnace Fest's organizers will consider that when they assemble their roster for 2003.

Article and photos by Phillip Buchan.