After three outstanding performances and the massive line for merch finally dispersing, the final act of the night was about to go on. This was one of the most enduring of the 90s NCHC bands, with a career that went well beyond the "five year shelf life of a Punk band", and saw a decent amount of touring. They also managed to record two demos, an EP, a split with Unearth, and two full lengths, all of which earned them an even greater following of fans during their later years, and well after they went their separate ways. North Carolina's Undying went from 1997-2006 and gained such a level of admiration among late 90s Hardcore-Metalcore enthusiasts, that it one could compare it to their parents' love of Phish or The Grateful Dead.
I would go as far as saying the line up for day two of The John Rivera Memorial Show are "the big four" of NCHC; with Azazel being Slayer, Catharsis as Anthrax in this scenario, Prayer for Cleansing's Megadeth with the hard riffs, and Undying's Metallica. Funky scenario I know, but I think it holds lol. Seriously though, this is a reunion that probably wasn't going to happen any time soon, and not for anything dire like hurt feelings or a petty beef lasting from 2006 to 2022. Everyone was like busy with their adult lives and felt they had accomplished everything they wanted to in the nine years and change they were killing it. Unfortunately, the passing of dear friend and NCHC community pillar John Rivera came to pass, and to mash two potatoes with one fork (since it's not very vegan-Straight Edge to kill two birds, let alone one), they reunited for a memorial gig with the proceeds going to the Rivera family.
I couldn't make day one unfortunately, but I was able to get a ticket for day one, take the Chinatown bus from NYC to Baltimore, and the rest of the grueling ten hour trip by way of a cheap Greyhound hook up. All worth it when I made it to a nearly deserted and pin drop quiet Winston-Salem, with most of the city's inhabitants at Sunday morning church, and the friends I was meeting up with at a hotel with "420 High St" as the address (I'm deadass). Having the city mostly to ourselves for the day and most of us not having a ticket for day one, we went looking around for any cool shit we could check out, and there's a lot of cool ass shit it turns out. Record shops, a retro gaming shop, and my favorite was McKay's, with a wide selection of second hand books, DVDs, comics, toys, musical equipment, etc. I got five anime DVDs I would see on the shelves at Tower Records in Manhattan circa 2002, with titles mostly from the 90s and early 2000s.
North Carolina's pretty cool even if you're used to a more metropolis type environment like myself. It's still a place I wouldn't mind visiting again, for that southern tranquility if not for another show in the area. After a day and a half of chilling when we weren't exploring or getting food, my band of goons and I made it to the Ramkat. The line to get in was two blocks long which didn't take long to move, but the line for merch inside was already the size of a small army, only slightly smaller than the horde of merch goblins at Sound & Fury 2022, and since the combined weight of my merch collection could break the foundation of a house in two, I opted to get a good spot to film from.
Every band was absolutely killer and Undying were no different, sounding just as good as they did during their original time as a band, if not better. Original vocalist Timothy Roy returned to the front the band for the first time since he left the band in 2002, to focus on his recovery from throat cancer. Evidently he was able to fully recuperate since his performance here was outstanding. As one of the bands who popularized the marriage of Hardcore and Melodic Death Metal, Undying's set was a lesson in combining heavy mosh parts, and the evil yet melodic guitar leads inspired by bands like At The Gates (in turn inspired by Iron Maiden & Thin Lizzy + Death Metal). Having seen guitarist James Chang with Sect, his band with Andy from Fall out Boy and Chris Colohan of Left for Dead/The Swarm, I knew this was gonna be something special. All three string players were locked in tight with their drummer, nailing every epic riff, and ignorant breakdown. Easily one of the most well executed and unforgettable reunions I've ever seen.
The two sold out shows were a perfect way to honor his memory, with what would've been a dream line up for him, and his wife & daughter receiving the money. May he rest in peace. To show your love for John as well as every band who performed, continue to support NCHC, and their new generation of bands.
Undying features current and former members of Catharsis, Destroy the Machines, Gut Feeling, Sect, War Prayer, Mortufairy, Maluscide, etc.
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