Suicide Silence DVD Ending Is the Beginning is a Fitting Tribute to Mitch Lucker
On December 21, 2012 Suicide Silence shared the stage with friends and idols to pay tribute to their fallen friend and vocalist, Mitch Lucker. Over a year later fans can relive this experience with the newly released DVD, Ending Is The Beginning: The Mitch Lucker Memorial Show. Prior to the DVD release, Suicide Silence hosted a special screening at a small movie theatre in West Los Angeles. The full lineup, including new lead vocalist Eddie Hermida, were not only present for the 2-hour premiere but stayed afterwards to meet and greet with the fans.
The only publicity of any kind for this screening was two Facebook posts, so the fans in attendance for this sold-out movie showing were the die-hards. Inside the Laemmle Royal theatre the top four rows were reserved for Suicide Silence and their guests. Among them were family and friends of the band including industry folk from Century Media, Nuclear Blast, and Sumerian, and fellow musicians such as Danny Worsnop of Asking Alexandria and members of Eyes Set To Kill.
The screening opened with an interview clip of Mitch from the beginning of the 30-minute Mitch Lucker documentary. His story is told by those who knew him best: his mom, dad, sister, wife, friends and the surviving members of Suicide Silence, reminding everyone that Mitch was not just a performer, but a father, a son, a brother, and a husband.
Jose Mangin opens the DVD from outside of the Fox Theater in Pomona, California to pump up fans for the memorial show. After some of the fans become teary-eyed, Jose leaves the screen and the audience is taken inside of the venue. Without hesitation the set begins with “Destruction of a Statue” sung by Jonny Davy of Job For A Cowboy and backed by the lineup from Suicide Silence’s self-titled EP. Each song and guest singer comes out one after the other without much of a break in between and surprisingly no speeches. There are hugs shared after the performances, some hands thrown up to the sky, and a recurring sentiment of “Rest In Peace, We Miss You.”
Although none of the performers sound or act like Mitch, each frontman gives his all in his 2-3 minutes on stage. Myke Terry, formerly of Bury Your Dead, gave a hell of a performance and lost his shirt to the crowd in the process. Danny Worsnop, dressed in a suit, was more brutal than expected, and Cameron Argon a.k.a. Big Chocolate, was by far the funniest of them all. Some performances even elicited screams and clapping in the theater, the loudest moment being when new lead vocalist Eddie Hermida hit the stage to sing “Slaves To Substance.” Some of the performances were a little eerie to watch considering the legal battles that a couple of the artists have undertaken since this show was filmed.
The concert begins to take a serious toll on the emotions when Mark Heylmun of Suicide Silence is joined by Machine Head’s Robb Flynn to perform an acoustic version of Black Sabbath’s “Die Young.” This is the first time that the set slows down and gives people a chance to reflect on the loss they are honoring. A moment of silence is not asked for but assumed as backstage footage reveals a friendly embrace between Robb and Mark after the song. A few minutes later the heavy atmosphere returns when Max Cavalera steps in to perform Sepultura’s “Roots Bloody Roots.”
Next, live audio of Mitch is heard piped in announcing Suicide Silence’s cover of Deftones’ “Engine No. 9”. At first it’s hard to comprehend what’s happening as the footage seems to jump around, but then it becomes apparent that the video is a mash-up of old footage and memorial show footage of the remaining members of Suicide Silence playing alone. It is both a clever and a haunting scene to watch. In the end it is a special surprise for the fans and a nice edition to the DVD.
The show ends on a ferocious note with Randy Blythe’s compelling rendition of “You Only Live Once.” With Flynn back to man the guitar, Randy had both the audience on the screen and in the theater chanting “Live! Life! Hard!” At the end of the song Blythe proclaimed, “Tonight, we are alive, motherfuckers,” and closed the show with the final “Rest in peace, Mitch. We miss you, brother.”
Ending Is The Beginning: The Mitch Lucker Memorial Show is in stores now. It is worth it for anyone who was inspired by Mitch Lucker’s life and saddened by his death to add this DVD to his or her collection. This is Suicide Silence and their manager Jerry Clubb’s way of memorializing a fallen friend whom they miss very much. It is a gift to Mitch’s daughter, Mitch’s family, and all of the fans that miss him.
Rest In Peace.
