Two songs into Cry To The Blind CD release party, front man Jon Lamanna summed up the thoughts of the massive congregation that 
had assembled for a fist pumping good time. Lamanna said, “Nobody believes that local music could be big in this town. But, we have sold out this room tonight with a show of local bands.” Granted, this is not a warm quote, but close enough. Over 1,000 people came and witnessed what may end up going down as the metal show of the year in Upstate New York.
CTTB did a great job of stacking this bill with a great amount of diverse acts within the metal scene in this area. Even the first four acts, A Thousand Shades of Cold, Starlight Cities, The Untold Lies, and Endever, are bands with an extreme amount of talent and an audience to match. It is not often that a show with seven acts brings so much musical greatness together. None of these bands are nothing less than above average.
The show went to a whole different notch of splendor when Endyga took the stage. I had never seen the band before, and turned to a colleague with a puzzled look on my face. I asked, “Who the fuck are these guys.” His response, “They are Endyga, and they are the real fucking deal.” An understatement of this magnitude would become reality as they zipped through a sick 30 minute set of absolute power. Like most of the bands on the bill, they had great melodic sensibility. However, these guys were devastatingly tight and heavy.
After Endyga, Hate Machine came on to smash faces. The recently reunited legends of the late 90’s and early 00’s, are just as vicious today as they were back then. Jed and the boys came out and delivered a set of solid older material while throwing in a new tune here and there for good measure. It is a very daunting task to follow a band like Hate Machine on any bill. They bring the pain, and shove it in your face. However, Cry To The Blind is one of the only bands I would ever consider putting on a bill after them. After all, the night did belong to the guys in Cry To The Blind.
Cry To The Blind came out with guns blazing. Obviously, with this being the band’s CD release party “From Now On,” was the focus of most of their set. Highlights from the new album, were the title track, Better Than Me, The Hunger, and Letting Go. The band also delved into older material like Heartless, among other great tracks of the past. There was a real special aura around this event. For starters, it was Jon Lamanna’s birthday. The band commemorated the occasion by having a cake delivered to the stage. It was also important because of the special announcement that was made half way through the band’s set. CTTB announced that they are starting their own label. They have the backers, and the distribution capabilities to truly take this to a whole new level of the game. For people like myself who have known these guys for years, this was the greatest part of the whole evening. It put an exclamation point on what was one of the better shows I have seen in quite some time. Expect HUGE things from Cry To The Blind in the next year. And know this, it has been a long time coming. -Erik Jensen
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