METAL!!!  

Prior to the live airing of Damage Inc. at the Roxy for AXS TV, Metallica was rebroadcast on AXS TV from their performance two weeks at the Golden Gods Awards.  

This was easily the heaviest, loudest and most attended The World’s Greatest Tribute Bands show to date.    In what was a most fitting tribute to Metallica, Damage Inc. literally transformed into Metallica and rocked to a very packed crowd at The Roxy.   Starting off with “Enter Sandman” and rocking through some of the hits, the place was going wild.  The singer, Chris Knight, clearly resembles James Hetfield and was a perfect match for his vocals and guitar work and each member of the band displayed their unique talents and quality musicianship.

 

Chris Knight (vocals, rhythm guitar)- plays James Hetfield

Kevin Knight (bass) – refers to himself as the band’s “Jason Trujillo”

Tone DeCorte (drums)- playing the part of Lars Ulrich

Chris Brightwell (lead guitar)- playing the part of Kirk Hammett

Damage Inc. delivered a truly crushing performance, some of which may, at times, have actually been a bit better than the real thing.

 

The crowd reaction said it all.   Fans were going nuts for a solid hour (less the three minute break) and with an extra song thrown in for the live audience as a bonus.

 

The vocals, guitar, drums and bass were all fantastic.  The lead guitar playing outshined the guitar work on the original recordings.  Chris Brightwell threw in some extra leads, guitar tricks, whammy bar dives and other shredding that really added a lot to the songs while remaining true to the Metallica sound.    Tone DeCorte’s drumming was as good as, if not better than Lars, as he rocked this kit throughout the set.  Kevin Knight plodded around the stage in true Metallica style and rocked out on the 5 string bass.  His playing, facial expressions and mannerisms were a perfect match for the role.  

 

They played a varied set with old and newer songs spanning the course of many of their albums from the 80s to near present day Metallica.  The crowd loved every second and the viewers at home gave their praise as well via Twitter during the live airing of the concert.

     

SET LIST:

ENTER SANDMAN

WHEREVER I MAY ROAM

FUEL

MASTER OF PUPPETS

ONE

FADE TO BLACK

FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS

SEEK AND DESTROY

after the live telecast concluded, they also played CREEPING DEATH.

 

It’s safe to say that Damage Inc. exceeded all expectations for what a Metallica tribute band could be.

 

   

Mike McManus from Queen Nation was in attendance (sans the Brian May wig) to rock out to Damage Inc.

Thomas and Elizabeth Lang were also on hand to check out Damage Inc. and they had many great things to say about the band after the show (stay tuned for some of that footage as well as several fans’ reactions of the performance).  For those that aren’t aware, Thomas is truly a world class drummer and when Tone found out he was in attendance and Thomas praised his performance, he was beside himself.

Check out the DAMAGE INC. website, follow them on Twitter (@socaldamageinc) and Facebook and be sure to follow AXSCONCERTS,  AXSTV, and Katie Daryl

Post show with the guys at The Rainbow.  It was great to see their reaction to having just played the biggest gig of their lives to a national audience.

 

Damage, Inc. has been together since 2004.   There aren’t too many bands out there that have lasted so long.  They are the real deal and they definitely nailed it for their Metallica set.   They have many great things to look forward to after being on the show.   

Here’s their recent release on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/damage-inc-southern-californias/id605355148