13 Flavors of Chaos

There’s an ongoing debate among fans of the Taste of Chaos Tour, and it has nothing to do with “boxers or briefs?” – it’s more like, “Emo or metal?” That’s to be expected, given the motley mix of bands that taste the chaos each year. On one hand are the hardcore and metal kids, who’d rather not hear the emotional outpourings of late-blooming post-adolescents. But for all the fist-pumping fury of the anti-emo crowd, there are plenty of kids who get off on that stuff; they’d prefer their tunes more heartfelt than heart-wrenching. Once again, the tour’s lineup has the metal and emo contingents paired together like so many tattoo-clad odd couples.

Making their way to South Florida this weekend are the Deftones, Thrice, Atreyu, Story of the Year, As I Lay Dying, Funeral for a Friend, the Receiving End of Sirens, American Eyes, Adair, Greeley Estates, Street Drum Corps, and the Smashup. However, trying to parse the hardcore from the heart-core isn’t so black and white. These bands run the gamut of metal, hardcore, post-hardcore, and punk. And many of them, such as Thrice and the Receiving End of Sirens, possess all the eclecticism of indie-rock -- but without the arty posturing. Of course, for fans of Atreyu and As I Lay Dying, anything short of an all-out metal attack is, you know, for posers.

Taste the chaos this Sunday at the Pompano Beach Amphitheatre (1801 NE Sixth St., Pompano Beach). Local openers Madelyn kick things off at 5 p.m. Tickets cost $27.75. Call 954-523-3309, or visit www.ticketmaster.com.
Sun., Feb. 26, 5 p.m.