Virgil was adamant — almost irritatingly so — that a band called “Aughties Nostalgia” was headlining The Fillmore Silver Spring tonight. I scoured the posters and digital billboards, but each glance returned the same lineup: Machine Head, In Flames, Lacuna Coil, and Unearth. “You’re mistaken,” I insisted. Virgil, undeterred and clutching his homemade tour shirt scribbled in black Sharpie marker, simply smiled.
Unearth ignited the evening to a modest yet fervent crowd. Frontman Trevor Phipps, channeling a polite, bootleg James Hetfield by way of Boston charm, prematurely demanded a circle pit on the opening number. Initially ambitious, his enthusiasm was soon justified, and by Song 3, the circle pit swirled as if summoned by ritual. Lead guitarist Buz McGrath, donning a Dr. Dre shirt, riffed playfully through a two-minute Sabbath tribute. Their closing anthem, ironically named “The Great Divider,” called for unity — an irony lost as bodies jubilantly crashed into each other.
Lacuna Coil entered dramatically, musicians supplicating the two Cloaked singers. Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro wove their vocals elegantly, texturing and contrasting in harmonious dance. Their allure eventually coaxed crowd-surfing tributes — first sporadically, then enthusiastically. “See? Aughties Nostalgia,” Virgil whispered irritatingly.
In Flames then stormed the stage, bringing cherished favorites with pounding urgency including “Cloud Connected.” Frontman Anders Fridén, exasperated by fan chants, shouted affectionately, “Shut the fuck up and circle pit!” The Fillmore Silver Spring erupted into joyous violence. Tributes ascended skyward — one even looking suspiciously divine — as Fridén proudly declared, “This is the best night of this tour… and we’ve only played five songs!” Bullet Ride affirmed their kingship, the circle pit a fervent devotion to these Swedish lords of Melodeath. In the venue’s basement, fey-like beings whispered cryptically in hushed tones of their own nostalgia for In Flames’ earlier ’90s era, malcontent with tonight’s aughties offerings.
Watch the official music video for “Cloud Connected” by In Flames on YouTube:
Finally, Machine Head took the stage, preening under a backdrop depicting an apocalyptic plague — Virgil elbowed me smugly. “Aughties Nostalgia,” he repeated. Initially skeptical, I found myself puzzled; wasn’t everyone here for In Flames? Yet Robb Flynn commanded a circle pit even larger than before, triumphantly ordering shirts removed and twirled overhead. The bassist, apparently in solidarity, was already shirtless.
The American flag graphic on Flynn’s Flying V boldly proclaimed the band’s enduring identity as vanguards of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal’s aughts revival — a movement I’d personally been ambivalent about at the time, yet here was undeniable heaviness.
Watch the official music video for “Imperium” by Machine Head on YouTube:
“Aughties Nostalgia,” Virgil intoned solemnly, “is heavy metal.” Flynn toasted Virginia, Maryland, DC, and the faithful. He missed throwing beer to fans once, twice, succeeded on the third try — nostalgia rarely hits the first time around.
Their encore, graced by a Virgin Mary backdrop, saw one final divine tribute, Jesus H. Christ himself, surfing toward the stage. Outside afterward, at *Taco Bell*, a fellow attendee confessed Machine Head was his true nostalgia — “They’re more well-rounded,” he rationalized fondly, recalling his high school years through 2006.
Even Unearth ate the memberberries. A food cart patron in line around the corner boasted that he was here tonight for Unearthed because in 2005 the [US Navy’s] ship store sold him an Unearth CD while he was at sea. Virgil’s smile was unbearable. Each act tonight was in cahoots to headline under the unified banner of Aughties Nostalgia. Begrudgingly, I conceded defeat to Virgil’s knowing grin.
