I left a little later for this than planned, mostly due to hurricanes and laziness forcing a delay in the last writeup, but still made good time out -- the sun being completely down as the seasons run ever on and the days grow persistently shorter -- and got up to Ralph's while Lore was still setting up.
Lore [5/7]
Lore came out with a cool, aggressive set driven by some badass "lead bass", but throughout could not shed the niggling impression that this was not actually a metal band playing. Their version of "heavy alternative" might stand in well with the diverse likes of current Cynic, Tool, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Ehnahre, or Autumn Above, but the style and relative lack of riffs relative to other elements in the music is the kicker in this largely meaningless classification. Still good, and also still heavy, though, and if they come back on, say, a Boarcorpse bill, they'll fit in better than here leading into three melodic doom bands.
Forever's Fallen Grace [5.5/7]
This was an all-new lineup from FFG relative to the last time, and if it wasn't as ballkickingly crazy, it was also a pretty uniform upgrade in sound and style. Though they're still definitely a doom band, the greater and more structured melodics in that style really hearken back to Arcana XXII, about the last band you'd be expecting to be influential here, provided that you were familiar with doomy Namibian power metal bands in the first place. They closed in style, covering Mercyful Fate, but were complete class all the way through.
Forever's Fallen Grace, in addition to the five playing members, also took a while loading up the stage with styrofoam sculptures, many of which were full of dead plants. The reaction from the Dreaded Silence guys, while FFG was setting all this up, was along these lines: "We can't get upstaged like this. We need someone to find us a shrubbery." I thought briefly about getting up a band to write songs about dinosaurs and encumber the stage with all manner of live, green, plants, but rapidly dismissed the idea as impractical. That would involve practicing, getting at least two other people to buy into the "dino metal" concept, and writing songs that would not-suck to a sufficient degree to get shows. The smarter and more adaptive approach would be to mention this idea to Composted at Bobfest or something and help organize the plants if necessary.
Worldecay [6/7]
Up from Pennsylvania, this combo immediately justified the trip by kicking right into a killer if very short set of classic melodic doom inheriting from Opeth, Katatona, and Daylight Dies, maybe a little bit of Woods or GER for flavor. They did manage to take it in an original direction as well; while they're not completely independent of those influences, the synthesis is definitely original, and promises good things as long as the band can keep it going. The only downer was closing up after five songs; there was probably not a single person in the venue who didn't want them to keep playing, but that's very much all the material they have.
I got a shirt and CD from Worldecay here; I need to follow up and get FFG's record sometime, and Dreaded Silence can wait till their CD release if necessary (their current shirt is cool, but I already have all their recorded material), but I needed to support the touring band, and ended up kind of helping with change in the bargain.
Dreaded Silence [6/7]
The band's recent silence and temporary absence has been to good use; "Ghosts..." apart, this was all new material and all amazing. If Dreaded Silence was from Finland, they'd've never got past Jet Black, Blood Red unsigned, but if the new one is as good on disc as it is live, labels even here will have to pay attention. The music was so new that on one of the songs, Ken needed to go to the "cheat sheet" on his phone for the lyrics, apologizing after the song finished. Of course, the crowd didn't care, one jerk going so far as to yell back "Clip an iPad to the mic stand about it". Music with clean vocals has a lot less room to cover over misremembered lyrics with growls or screams, and the kind of involved, complex texts that you get in this kind of doom are a bigger ask in terms of memorization than lyrics that are more repetitive, so good bands will get cut slack when bringing out new stuff.
On their last song, though, Chris did something that I'm not sure I've ever seen from a local band, which is either telling about the boundaries that metal allows with regard to experimentation, or an even more telling indictment about my inability to pick up time signatures (see also, why I don't play in a band): he counted off in 3 rather than 4 (unless you want to read it as 12/4 in order to be deliberately difficult; yes, it was 4-bar 3/4, but with a 3 feel throughout rather than a triplet 4, and much too slow for that to be realistic), and kept in 3 throughout the song. If your band plays songs in 3, or even 6/8, fire in and give me a smack for not paying attention to other 3-feels, but at least going on the time it felt distinct and different.
For whatever reason, it felt like Dreaded Silence also closed up early, but they closed up regardless, and as the road miles ran on, it was clear that it was about normal; I must just have been less exhausted than normal for whatever reason. Let's hope this also carries forward to Bobfest at the weekend, and I can get the writeups of that turned around a little faster.
Showing posts with label dreaded silence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dreaded silence. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Woods of Ypres with Frozen, Hirudinea, and Dreaded Silence [Ralph's, Worcester, 7/15/2010]
Late, but here it goes; at least one more show and hopefully two (noted below) before shipping out.
I got to go home from work before this one, though it did end up being some extra driving, but the Pike was clean all the way out and I got in with plenty of time to spare. Woods had a seriously extensive merch desk out, but I held fire for the time being, to be sure the locals got the support they deserved as well and also to get a better idea of what in this giant pile of stuff was going to be heading out the door in my pockets.
Dreaded Silence [5/7]
These guys started up a little rusty -- maybe enhanced by P.A. issues, the balance seemed a little weird at the start -- but got it under control and put out a quality set of depressive death metal, much as they did more regularly back a couple years when the band was more active. They were a late addition, covering for Anticosm (same tour as prior shows where their vehicle issues were documented), so a little rust is to be expected; hopefully, moving on from a good outing here and the release of Life Hangs Motionless recently, they'll play out some more and get their profile back up again.
Afterwards I picked up their first EP, which they'd been out of, apparently, when I was seeing them more regularly back in 2007, and tried to get some spare flyers (advertising the Life Hangs Motionless demo, available for free from the above link on the band's site, which has not prevented the typical Russian channels from repackaging it, in a display of mentalness verging on plain idiocy) from Doug to hand out overseas. Instead, he sent me a color PDF of the flyer, and now, 10 quick copies later, I have 40 semi-glossy color flyers to paper around at Wacken, with the opportunity to make more if needed. And since the entire festival is going to be wireless-enabled, some people may be able to pick the demo up and put the flyer down for the next passerby. Technology destroys (wireless internet at a metal open air? everywhere? are you fucking shitting me?), but also rebuilds.
Hirudinea [6/7]
Another band that I don't see nearly as often as I should, these guys fit oddly into the bill as it shook out without Anticosm, but for everyone there for music, an sich, not the sake of a uniform experience, more than made up for it with a powerful, blasting set of intense blackened grind. One of the great things about this concert series, and likely a significant factor in why it's now closing in on its hundredth edition (as well as threatening to take over just "every Thursday" at Ralph's) is the job that Chris (et al) does in getting in bills that are diverse week to week and well-balanced internally, but that would only be half-achieved if the bands involved didn't execute at the high levels that they do. This wasn't Hirudinea's usual audience (bands aside; both of the other locals have plenty of members between them who'll go out for grind or generally DIY shows) for the most part, but their performance was strong enough that it should have convinced at least a few of those who were down for the more melodic bands to dig up some of their recordings.
Frozen [5.5/7]
It'd been a while since I'd last seen Frozen, so their lineup changes coming into this one may have been more than just the new guitarist that I noticed. Fortunately, though, the change(s?) didn't seem to hold them back any, with this being a good solid set that leaned a little more towards Symphony X in its fusion of the heavy and the progressive, though still keeping a lot of the Evergrey elements that've dominated my ideas of this band since I first saw them almost four years ago. It wasn't quite a peak performance, but it it was a good set regardless, and it'll be interesting to see how the band continues to develop if they get into another active phase and release some new material.
Woods setting up.Your Ontario flag is just an amp-scrim rag. No, that's offensive, and not even funny either.
Woods of Ypres [7/7]
Wow. That's pretty much all that can be said; a top-class set from a very good band that, at this point, finally seems to have a lineup that's real, complete, and stable, as well as a firm handle on how they're going to get about it going forward. This was their first tour through this area, which meant that David got the usual guff for mispronouncing "Worcester" the first couple times (out-of-area folks: it's probably closest to "wistah", but if your band is touring through here or the Wheelchair or the QVCC, give a try with "worr-chester" or "woo-ster" first, us Massholes like correcting outsiders and it's less lame than most other forms of stage banter), but the Greyhounds got a few shoutouts as well from the crowd; probably not many places outside Canadia where that would be the case. The set covered material from Woods' whole history, with the expected heavier emphasis on the new record; still, there was plenty of stuff off the other ones, with the new lineup pushing the stuff from the second and third albums a little heavier, and the material from the first disc in a doomier direction. The result was a diverse yet unified set of crunching but melodically structured music that both impressed and got the floor moving, not to Dysentery standards by any stretch, but a hell of a lot more than most people might think possible from a set that, among a significant amount of other Woods II material, put both halves of "The Sun Was In My Eyes" back to back. I'm going to, of course, have to go back over seven months' worth of gigs to be categorical, but there have not been a lot of DIY sets this year (at least that I've been to) that have gotten to quite this level.
After the venue ops turned the lights on, closing out the encore (which actually felt like a legitimate encore, that the band were done, but left their gear onstage in the off chance that we'd cheer them back up, and if not, oh well, stretch out for a bit and then start tearing down), I had to make a couple hard decisions about what swag not to pick up, then hit the road more or less skint. Good show; here's hoping the locals are coming back onto an active cycle, and that Woods will be back with a new record sooner rather than later.
I had to miss two gigs due to unplanned contingencies, but there's at least one more show and potentially two before I hit the skies. If I can get out to Metal Thursday tomorrow, I will; if not, there's always Friday's nonstop melee. There's been a good response so far, but there's still room in the pack for more.
I got to go home from work before this one, though it did end up being some extra driving, but the Pike was clean all the way out and I got in with plenty of time to spare. Woods had a seriously extensive merch desk out, but I held fire for the time being, to be sure the locals got the support they deserved as well and also to get a better idea of what in this giant pile of stuff was going to be heading out the door in my pockets.
Dreaded Silence [5/7]
These guys started up a little rusty -- maybe enhanced by P.A. issues, the balance seemed a little weird at the start -- but got it under control and put out a quality set of depressive death metal, much as they did more regularly back a couple years when the band was more active. They were a late addition, covering for Anticosm (same tour as prior shows where their vehicle issues were documented), so a little rust is to be expected; hopefully, moving on from a good outing here and the release of Life Hangs Motionless recently, they'll play out some more and get their profile back up again.
Afterwards I picked up their first EP, which they'd been out of, apparently, when I was seeing them more regularly back in 2007, and tried to get some spare flyers (advertising the Life Hangs Motionless demo, available for free from the above link on the band's site, which has not prevented the typical Russian channels from repackaging it, in a display of mentalness verging on plain idiocy) from Doug to hand out overseas. Instead, he sent me a color PDF of the flyer, and now, 10 quick copies later, I have 40 semi-glossy color flyers to paper around at Wacken, with the opportunity to make more if needed. And since the entire festival is going to be wireless-enabled, some people may be able to pick the demo up and put the flyer down for the next passerby. Technology destroys (wireless internet at a metal open air? everywhere? are you fucking shitting me?), but also rebuilds.
Hirudinea [6/7]
Another band that I don't see nearly as often as I should, these guys fit oddly into the bill as it shook out without Anticosm, but for everyone there for music, an sich, not the sake of a uniform experience, more than made up for it with a powerful, blasting set of intense blackened grind. One of the great things about this concert series, and likely a significant factor in why it's now closing in on its hundredth edition (as well as threatening to take over just "every Thursday" at Ralph's) is the job that Chris (et al) does in getting in bills that are diverse week to week and well-balanced internally, but that would only be half-achieved if the bands involved didn't execute at the high levels that they do. This wasn't Hirudinea's usual audience (bands aside; both of the other locals have plenty of members between them who'll go out for grind or generally DIY shows) for the most part, but their performance was strong enough that it should have convinced at least a few of those who were down for the more melodic bands to dig up some of their recordings.
Frozen [5.5/7]
It'd been a while since I'd last seen Frozen, so their lineup changes coming into this one may have been more than just the new guitarist that I noticed. Fortunately, though, the change(s?) didn't seem to hold them back any, with this being a good solid set that leaned a little more towards Symphony X in its fusion of the heavy and the progressive, though still keeping a lot of the Evergrey elements that've dominated my ideas of this band since I first saw them almost four years ago. It wasn't quite a peak performance, but it it was a good set regardless, and it'll be interesting to see how the band continues to develop if they get into another active phase and release some new material.
Woods setting up.
Woods of Ypres [7/7]
Wow. That's pretty much all that can be said; a top-class set from a very good band that, at this point, finally seems to have a lineup that's real, complete, and stable, as well as a firm handle on how they're going to get about it going forward. This was their first tour through this area, which meant that David got the usual guff for mispronouncing "Worcester" the first couple times (out-of-area folks: it's probably closest to "wistah", but if your band is touring through here or the Wheelchair or the QVCC, give a try with "worr-chester" or "woo-ster" first, us Massholes like correcting outsiders and it's less lame than most other forms of stage banter), but the Greyhounds got a few shoutouts as well from the crowd; probably not many places outside Canadia where that would be the case. The set covered material from Woods' whole history, with the expected heavier emphasis on the new record; still, there was plenty of stuff off the other ones, with the new lineup pushing the stuff from the second and third albums a little heavier, and the material from the first disc in a doomier direction. The result was a diverse yet unified set of crunching but melodically structured music that both impressed and got the floor moving, not to Dysentery standards by any stretch, but a hell of a lot more than most people might think possible from a set that, among a significant amount of other Woods II material, put both halves of "The Sun Was In My Eyes" back to back. I'm going to, of course, have to go back over seven months' worth of gigs to be categorical, but there have not been a lot of DIY sets this year (at least that I've been to) that have gotten to quite this level.
After the venue ops turned the lights on, closing out the encore (which actually felt like a legitimate encore, that the band were done, but left their gear onstage in the off chance that we'd cheer them back up, and if not, oh well, stretch out for a bit and then start tearing down), I had to make a couple hard decisions about what swag not to pick up, then hit the road more or less skint. Good show; here's hoping the locals are coming back onto an active cycle, and that Woods will be back with a new record sooner rather than later.
I had to miss two gigs due to unplanned contingencies, but there's at least one more show and potentially two before I hit the skies. If I can get out to Metal Thursday tomorrow, I will; if not, there's always Friday's nonstop melee. There's been a good response so far, but there's still room in the pack for more.
Friday, April 04, 2008
(Joe Stump) with Gwynbleidd, Dreaded Silence, and Revocation [Ralph's, Worcester, 4/3/2008]
After missing a total of four shows over the previous weekend thanks to a major injury about an hour before Vital Remains' first show of their current tour was due to start, I was anxious to get back into action, and it was thus that I armored up my bad knee for the drive out to Worcester; Metal Thursday is usually a good time, and this was a pretty exceptional lineup. Of course, this was all nearly knocked into a cocked hat when I ran over someone's thrown tread doing 70 while trying to pass a semi on the Mass Pike; said mat of rubber and steel was lying folded up in the middle of the center lane, and bounced like hell as I hit it -- there was no report or jerk from the wheels under me, but when you hit something big as those speeds, assuming that there's no tire damage is kind of stupid. Fortunately, there was a rest stop within a couple miles, and I didn't feel the tires deflating on the way, so I could spend five minutes punching rubber and comparing the left (hit) and right (didn't) sides in a lighted parking lot rather than on the shoulder with occasional traffic screaming past at relatavistic speeds. The verdict was no flats, and I continued on, losing only about 10 minutes and fortunately zero tires.
I didn't get to Ralph's till about 9:30, but didn't end up missing anything; one of Dreaded Silence's guys was late coming down, so the start time got pushed back and Revocation switched slots with them to open. I got a beer, got on the hook for a couple records from Oak Knoll, and picked up Gwynbleidd's CD; I declined a shirt at this point, but picked one up later. If, though, they'd have mentioned anything about sounding more than a little like Primordial up front, I'd've saved time and they'd've got their second ten faster.
Revocation [7/7]
This was debatably the best set that I've seen from these guys, which is really saying something; they were absolutely on top of their game, even when Dave accidentally rocked his cable out of his jack, and the new material -- in addition to the old stuff, even going back to their earliest days as Cryptic Warning (they opened with "Snakestrike" in a new and improved form) -- is absolutely ace. "Age of Iniquity" hit like a ton of bricks, perhaps not least because there's an extended section that really sounds like a reworked Imperium song (I think "Messiah Mask", but I'll have to go back and check), magnified, of course, and refocused into Revocation's existing and evolving style. Empire of the Obscene is really looking like it's going to be one of the better albums of the year, even with Diminishing Between Worlds already in the books. Hopefully, it'll see a decent label release as well as the band's private distribution, but with no signing announcement, either Revocation haven't inked with anyone yet or they're keeping it seriously close to the vest.
Even before Revocation went on, Dan and some of the other guys from Dreaded Silence were grousing a little about having to follow them; not seriously, but still recognizing that it's kind of difficult to get up after these guys and be confident about making an impression. The singer of Gwynbleidd made similar remarks on stage when they came up, and while both subsequent bands definitely put up really good sets, the atmosphere points out something about Revocation that is probably a strong contributing element to their success: even though they're often so good as to seriously intimidate other bands, they're by and large ego-free about where and when they play in the setlist, and have not, as far as I can recall (or can know, not being directly involved in booking anything), ever pushed to go on later when taking an earlier slot would help another band. This generosity may, of course, be made possible by being so intimidatingly good -- even if Revocation played at 4pm on the second stage at Mark's (provided, of course, that the entire band huffed a vanfull of crazy-stupid gas and somehow ended up on a Mark's bill), they'd make enough of an impression that people'd be jawing about them well into the touring portion of the bill -- but being sozial is something that other bands remember, and in some if perhaps slight degree helps them get shows.
Dreaded Silence [5.5/7]
lol Dreaded Silence moar liek Dreaded Sentenced amirite lol
Ok, now that that is out of the system, on to the more serious comments. While this was the most Sentenced-like performance I've seen out of the band (in the prior two shows, they displayed a little more range of Scandinavian influences), it was also the best, so far, and their ability to capture the Amok sound and do something that stands on its own (as their material does) as well as drawing from the past is in itself impressive. They started out a little rough, but quickly hit their stride, and delivered a really good set that would have been a standout most other nights; fortunately, the Metal Thursday crowd is pretty much uniformly able to recognize that one band being ridiculous has no effect on other bands being really good.
When DS closed up, it was pushing on towards midnight, and my ability to keep standing throughout was starting to wane. Even with the brace, that knee was still damaged, and standing even remotely near the front while Chris (Zircon and also organizer) and Crazy Dan were flying around all over the place was a little risky. Topped with exhaustion and how late things were going to have to go if I stayed to the end, it was at about this point that I started to think about pulling before the headliner.
Gwynbleidd [6.5/7]
If you missed this band's set and spent any portion of last night whining about how all American bands are the same, and how it sucks that bands like Primordial don't tour here barely ever, you need to punch yourself in the face repeatedly. First, because you're a wanker who didn't go out to support a good show, and second, because in not supporting this show, you missed a killer set from about as close a band to Primordial as we have in this country. Gwynbleidd's sound draws on other elements as well (some nice chunks of Katatonia and Daylight Dies interwoven to good effect), and the result is thoroughly their own, but the base of their sound is the same Gaelic black metal as inspires Alan and the bhoys. The doomy, folkic, aggression was much welcomed as the clock slopped around past midnight and fatigue and drunkenness started to get the upper hand over adrenaline, but the crowd -- at least those who remained up front, not intimidated by the basically uncontained pit. This was an excellent performance, with enough material not on Amaranthine to make those who have this record very enthusiastic about the prospect of another EP or album down the line -- and those who didn't turn out ought to be disappointed in themselves for missing it. I'm bummed enough that I missed them the last time around (in September), but I think I was in Texas at the time and couldn't do much about it.
When I got my shirt off them afterwards, I stopped to talk a bit, but somehow forgot to mention Rohirrim, who would complement these guys really well on a bill like this, but who due to the provenance of their origin, always seem to be stuck out of place on grind shows. It's a match that ought to happen eventually, but it's more of a promoter's lookout to get such bands together than mine or theirs.
Shirt in hand and wallet more or less empty, I checked myself over: past 00:30, knee wavering, and an hour and a half plus fill-up time remaining to get home -- and an actual commute in the morning to not kill myself driving. Regretfully, I hit the stairs; no Joe Stump tonight, but while I was impressed with his virtuosity the last time out, the degree of variety in his stuff left something to be desired, and if I had to pick out one of these bands to miss, his would probably have been the one anyways. I felt like crud bailing before the end, but it's better than ending up in bloody chunks on the road this morning, and given that my knee's nowhere near completely healed, three bands out in Worcester is a fair challenge of its own. The Symphony X show tonight is looking sold out, so it's a nice relaxing weekend of resting up and potentially camping -- and then pure chaos Monday night in Haverhill as what seems like every slam band in New England gets together to chuck Terminally Your Aborted Ghost out onto the road for their reunion tour.
I didn't get to Ralph's till about 9:30, but didn't end up missing anything; one of Dreaded Silence's guys was late coming down, so the start time got pushed back and Revocation switched slots with them to open. I got a beer, got on the hook for a couple records from Oak Knoll, and picked up Gwynbleidd's CD; I declined a shirt at this point, but picked one up later. If, though, they'd have mentioned anything about sounding more than a little like Primordial up front, I'd've saved time and they'd've got their second ten faster.
Revocation [7/7]
This was debatably the best set that I've seen from these guys, which is really saying something; they were absolutely on top of their game, even when Dave accidentally rocked his cable out of his jack, and the new material -- in addition to the old stuff, even going back to their earliest days as Cryptic Warning (they opened with "Snakestrike" in a new and improved form) -- is absolutely ace. "Age of Iniquity" hit like a ton of bricks, perhaps not least because there's an extended section that really sounds like a reworked Imperium song (I think "Messiah Mask", but I'll have to go back and check), magnified, of course, and refocused into Revocation's existing and evolving style. Empire of the Obscene is really looking like it's going to be one of the better albums of the year, even with Diminishing Between Worlds already in the books. Hopefully, it'll see a decent label release as well as the band's private distribution, but with no signing announcement, either Revocation haven't inked with anyone yet or they're keeping it seriously close to the vest.
Even before Revocation went on, Dan and some of the other guys from Dreaded Silence were grousing a little about having to follow them; not seriously, but still recognizing that it's kind of difficult to get up after these guys and be confident about making an impression. The singer of Gwynbleidd made similar remarks on stage when they came up, and while both subsequent bands definitely put up really good sets, the atmosphere points out something about Revocation that is probably a strong contributing element to their success: even though they're often so good as to seriously intimidate other bands, they're by and large ego-free about where and when they play in the setlist, and have not, as far as I can recall (or can know, not being directly involved in booking anything), ever pushed to go on later when taking an earlier slot would help another band. This generosity may, of course, be made possible by being so intimidatingly good -- even if Revocation played at 4pm on the second stage at Mark's (provided, of course, that the entire band huffed a vanfull of crazy-stupid gas and somehow ended up on a Mark's bill), they'd make enough of an impression that people'd be jawing about them well into the touring portion of the bill -- but being sozial is something that other bands remember, and in some if perhaps slight degree helps them get shows.
Dreaded Silence [5.5/7]
lol Dreaded Silence moar liek Dreaded Sentenced amirite lol
Ok, now that that is out of the system, on to the more serious comments. While this was the most Sentenced-like performance I've seen out of the band (in the prior two shows, they displayed a little more range of Scandinavian influences), it was also the best, so far, and their ability to capture the Amok sound and do something that stands on its own (as their material does) as well as drawing from the past is in itself impressive. They started out a little rough, but quickly hit their stride, and delivered a really good set that would have been a standout most other nights; fortunately, the Metal Thursday crowd is pretty much uniformly able to recognize that one band being ridiculous has no effect on other bands being really good.
When DS closed up, it was pushing on towards midnight, and my ability to keep standing throughout was starting to wane. Even with the brace, that knee was still damaged, and standing even remotely near the front while Chris (Zircon and also organizer) and Crazy Dan were flying around all over the place was a little risky. Topped with exhaustion and how late things were going to have to go if I stayed to the end, it was at about this point that I started to think about pulling before the headliner.
Gwynbleidd [6.5/7]
If you missed this band's set and spent any portion of last night whining about how all American bands are the same, and how it sucks that bands like Primordial don't tour here barely ever, you need to punch yourself in the face repeatedly. First, because you're a wanker who didn't go out to support a good show, and second, because in not supporting this show, you missed a killer set from about as close a band to Primordial as we have in this country. Gwynbleidd's sound draws on other elements as well (some nice chunks of Katatonia and Daylight Dies interwoven to good effect), and the result is thoroughly their own, but the base of their sound is the same Gaelic black metal as inspires Alan and the bhoys. The doomy, folkic, aggression was much welcomed as the clock slopped around past midnight and fatigue and drunkenness started to get the upper hand over adrenaline, but the crowd -- at least those who remained up front, not intimidated by the basically uncontained pit. This was an excellent performance, with enough material not on Amaranthine to make those who have this record very enthusiastic about the prospect of another EP or album down the line -- and those who didn't turn out ought to be disappointed in themselves for missing it. I'm bummed enough that I missed them the last time around (in September), but I think I was in Texas at the time and couldn't do much about it.
When I got my shirt off them afterwards, I stopped to talk a bit, but somehow forgot to mention Rohirrim, who would complement these guys really well on a bill like this, but who due to the provenance of their origin, always seem to be stuck out of place on grind shows. It's a match that ought to happen eventually, but it's more of a promoter's lookout to get such bands together than mine or theirs.
Shirt in hand and wallet more or less empty, I checked myself over: past 00:30, knee wavering, and an hour and a half plus fill-up time remaining to get home -- and an actual commute in the morning to not kill myself driving. Regretfully, I hit the stairs; no Joe Stump tonight, but while I was impressed with his virtuosity the last time out, the degree of variety in his stuff left something to be desired, and if I had to pick out one of these bands to miss, his would probably have been the one anyways. I felt like crud bailing before the end, but it's better than ending up in bloody chunks on the road this morning, and given that my knee's nowhere near completely healed, three bands out in Worcester is a fair challenge of its own. The Symphony X show tonight is looking sold out, so it's a nice relaxing weekend of resting up and potentially camping -- and then pure chaos Monday night in Haverhill as what seems like every slam band in New England gets together to chuck Terminally Your Aborted Ghost out onto the road for their reunion tour.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Katatonia with Scar Symmetry, Insomnium, Swallow The Sun, Tripmynd, Dreaded Silence, Frozen, and Eternal Embrace [Mark's, Bedford, 9/7/2007]
Despite being at Mark's, this was a really good show, and the drive back was a lot less dangerous than it's been in the past. Good time.
Leaving directly after work again, I fortunately managed to get up and in just as Eternal Embrace was starting; the traffic was still kinda thick, but after Labor Day, it starts to get a whole hell of a lot easier to get into New Hampshire on the weekend. This is fortunate, because there's an absolute ton of shows coming up at this place, and many of them are worth going to.
Eternal Embrace [3/7]
I did see nearly all of this band's set, and while some people will dispute the score, this is a critical opportunity to showcase the distinction between doing something well, and doing something good. The band executed well, but what they were executing was boring as all fuck. Their goth-metal sound may have fit in all right with the overall tenor of the show for some of the attendees, but as a rule the guys in ridiculously overbuilt kuttes with seven rows of studs on each shoulder are not in that group. This was not the worst gothed-up metal performance I've ever seen, but it was on about the level of when I saw Tristania at Wacken, who got the exact same score for, similarly, being largely uninteresting and failing to provide anything new. In the eyes of the band and their fans, though, being on the same level as Tristania is most likely a good thing, and they -- or at least the handful who were there, showing that selling tickets for Mark's is a losing proposition, because you may have to go on first and play to barely more people than are on stage -- doubtless enjoyed this set while I was trying to avoid falling asleep.
Frozen [6/7]
This is the first time I've seen Frozen that they couldn't be put into a bucket; the Evergrey influences were a lot more subdued on this outing, and the sound seemed to be a lot more well-rounded and mature. Their progressive NWOSDM-driven sound fit in well with the traveling undercard, and it particular contrasted nicely with Scar Symmetry as an alternate (and, personally, more appealing) way of turning out a heavier take on Tom Englund's sound. While this wasn't as good as when I saw them out at Ralph's, it was a really good showing and hopefully converted some of the people who hadn't heard of them yet and were camping out for the headliners.
Dreaded Silence [5/7]
In a marked contrast to when I saw them back in April, Dreaded Silence didn't sound so much like Sentenced, which is probably due more to the band maturing than to Ken being more or less sober on this go-round. The older material is still strongly reminiscent of the Northernmost Killers, but their new stuff blends in a strong degree of Opeth; the forthcoming record sounds like it's going to be really cool from the stuff that they did in this set, and the performance was very strong overall.
Tripmynd [3/7]
This is the price of pay-to-play gigs: you will occasionally get crummy bands that can, for some reason, sell their fans on paying 20 bucks to see them on a bill that they completely don't mesh with. As has been stated elsewhere, when you have 'i's replaced with 'y's in band names, the band is going to be nu-metal, deterministically, and that also has pretty strong deterministic implications for the quality of their music and performance. This band was more laughable than sleep-inducing in their aspirations, and concordant failure, to be Tool, instead settling for a third-rate imitation of a second-rate radio rock band trying to be Tool, but after a while it stopped being funny and just started sucking. They allegedly covered "Refuse/Resist", but when a band is going to make a Sepultura song sound like this one did, they usually just refrain from playing it to save themselves the embarassment. This set was completely unnecessary, and if Bernie didn't need their doods' money to pay the headliners, there is no way that they would have gotten on this bill.
Swallow The Sun [6/7]
Probably the most completely doom-oriented of the headliners, these guys got the show back on track with a depressive but stone-heavy set that, as might have been expected, tilted more towards later material. I knew them only from The Morning Never Came until picking up their current album from the merch stand, so while I knew only a little of what they were playing, I was decently impressed with the progression. I don't recall if this was their first US tour or not, but they did go a long way to justifying the degree of interest I've seen in them from various quarters.
Insomnium [7/7]
The first impression of this band was "wow, Warheart-core." ;) It'd been a while since I last heard ...Day It All Came Down, so while I knew, abstractly, what I was getting into, the impression of a non-urban Dark Tranquillity was the dominating one from the first row, and also, completely awesome. Where DT's keys and electonics are all sharp angles and modernistic push, Insomnium's fill in -- when they're used, which was not universal -- around the edges of the sound and give a sense of space and nature, which is probably associated with Drudkh only because I was listening to Estrangement before coming up for the show. As the above indicates, the second and more lasting impression of this band is that they were totally amazing, and stole the damn show; Katatonia were similarly impressive, but as will be discussed later, this was the band of the night for the dyed-in-the-wool metalhead.
From the conclusion of the set:
Niilo: Thank you, Bedford! This is our first US-tour, but we will be back.
Crowd: YEAH!
Dude A: HEADLINE!!
Dude B: Headline?!
Dude A: Why the fuck not?!
Indeed, why the fuck not? Insomnium is definitely good enough to do so over a room of this size, and if this set is any indication, has thoroughly convinced American audiences of this fact, so if they do come back as support, it had better be with Dark Tranquillity at the Palladium or a similar hall.
Scar Symmetry [6/7]
After the Finnish portion of the bill concluded, this was somewhat of a letdown for the start of the Swedish half of the headliners; lacking a standing doom or black metal component, Scar Symmetry fit in only tenuously under Katatonia, and while their set of modern NWOSDM was well turned-out, it seemed to lack a certain degree of inspiration or fire. It was good music, and well-performed, but while this band took a step forward from the last time I saw them (at the Palladium, I think touring with Bodom and Amon Amarth), it wasn't a huge step, and they were probably the down point among the headliners.
Katatonia [6/7]
This band is a continuing testament to the injustice of commercial radio in this country. Their most current material is good and interesting enough in its dark indie colorings that they ought, by rights, to be playing the Paradise in Boston and likely selling it out, but because they have that remaining extreme metal strand running through their music, they're playing Mark's, sponsored by 'AAF, who don't exactly make this style a cornerstone of their brand. While they demonstrated with "Deadhouse" and "Murder" (the de riguer closer in a setting like this) that they still have strong pure metal chops -- the sound on these was so clean and fluid that a whole show of similar old stuff would have been just sublime -- they also demonstrated with the bulk of their set that their older sound just isn't as interesting, or perhaps, as challenging, to the band any more. Katatonia has pushed off from what might be considered a doctrinaire metal sound into waters that are damned interesting, even if they're not quite as appealing in a live setting, and thoroughly original, but it's frustrating to think that the other ports may be closed to them because what they're doing is also too challenging to fit neatly into a playlist pigeonhole. This is a really good show, but it's frustrating to think that a band like this can't get their sound out to the audience they need to cross over into to get as big as they deserve to be.
All in all, a killer show and a great time, and at least this time around, the roads were dry on the drive south. The bands were mostly really, really cool, I got a chance to talk kutte shop, and hung out a bit with Frozen, which included some surreal moments as Colin and I conversed in German, which is not totally out of the ordinary at a metal show, but not something either of us do much on this continent. There was also some kid in a Wacken '07 shirt and wristband, but I wasn't able to successfully corral him and find out whether he was from here and had gone there or vice versa.
Most importantly, though, I picked up a rumor from Aaron that some frickn' huge band that every metalhead in New England will want to see is going to be playing Mark's next spring. He, of course, didn't drop the name, but if this gets around, it's going to be an entertaining six months of guessing until it finally gets announced for real. Based on the available, albeit limited information (translation: the conclusion about to be drawn has been pulled out of my hindquarters and should not be regarded or disseminated as real), the current conclusion is that through some means of skullduggery or other black arts, Bernie has gotten himself another date added to the King Diamond/Kreator tour. Granted, the King only dubiously fits the qualification "normally, like, opening for Iron Maiden at the Tsongas Arena", and it's difficult to see how any concert promoter in New England could win the cage match with Scott Lee that this would require, but this is the only tour that's been announced for the spring so far, and thus has a slightly lesser chance of being completely left-field wrong than any other wild-ass guess at the moment. It probably still is, of course, completely off base, but then again, most rumors are.
Thanks to being broke and short on gas, I didn't pull myself away from Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman #1 on Saturday to go up and see Epica; next show is a friend's (non-metal) band in Boston on Thursday, with the next reviewed show being up at Mark's again for Edguy. I'm going to bring up my two digibook Edguy records, and if they won't sign them, yell "ey, wo iss euer Heli" after every song until they tell me to shut up.
Leaving directly after work again, I fortunately managed to get up and in just as Eternal Embrace was starting; the traffic was still kinda thick, but after Labor Day, it starts to get a whole hell of a lot easier to get into New Hampshire on the weekend. This is fortunate, because there's an absolute ton of shows coming up at this place, and many of them are worth going to.
Eternal Embrace [3/7]
I did see nearly all of this band's set, and while some people will dispute the score, this is a critical opportunity to showcase the distinction between doing something well, and doing something good. The band executed well, but what they were executing was boring as all fuck. Their goth-metal sound may have fit in all right with the overall tenor of the show for some of the attendees, but as a rule the guys in ridiculously overbuilt kuttes with seven rows of studs on each shoulder are not in that group. This was not the worst gothed-up metal performance I've ever seen, but it was on about the level of when I saw Tristania at Wacken, who got the exact same score for, similarly, being largely uninteresting and failing to provide anything new. In the eyes of the band and their fans, though, being on the same level as Tristania is most likely a good thing, and they -- or at least the handful who were there, showing that selling tickets for Mark's is a losing proposition, because you may have to go on first and play to barely more people than are on stage -- doubtless enjoyed this set while I was trying to avoid falling asleep.
Frozen [6/7]
This is the first time I've seen Frozen that they couldn't be put into a bucket; the Evergrey influences were a lot more subdued on this outing, and the sound seemed to be a lot more well-rounded and mature. Their progressive NWOSDM-driven sound fit in well with the traveling undercard, and it particular contrasted nicely with Scar Symmetry as an alternate (and, personally, more appealing) way of turning out a heavier take on Tom Englund's sound. While this wasn't as good as when I saw them out at Ralph's, it was a really good showing and hopefully converted some of the people who hadn't heard of them yet and were camping out for the headliners.
Dreaded Silence [5/7]
In a marked contrast to when I saw them back in April, Dreaded Silence didn't sound so much like Sentenced, which is probably due more to the band maturing than to Ken being more or less sober on this go-round. The older material is still strongly reminiscent of the Northernmost Killers, but their new stuff blends in a strong degree of Opeth; the forthcoming record sounds like it's going to be really cool from the stuff that they did in this set, and the performance was very strong overall.
Tripmynd [3/7]
This is the price of pay-to-play gigs: you will occasionally get crummy bands that can, for some reason, sell their fans on paying 20 bucks to see them on a bill that they completely don't mesh with. As has been stated elsewhere, when you have 'i's replaced with 'y's in band names, the band is going to be nu-metal, deterministically, and that also has pretty strong deterministic implications for the quality of their music and performance. This band was more laughable than sleep-inducing in their aspirations, and concordant failure, to be Tool, instead settling for a third-rate imitation of a second-rate radio rock band trying to be Tool, but after a while it stopped being funny and just started sucking. They allegedly covered "Refuse/Resist", but when a band is going to make a Sepultura song sound like this one did, they usually just refrain from playing it to save themselves the embarassment. This set was completely unnecessary, and if Bernie didn't need their doods' money to pay the headliners, there is no way that they would have gotten on this bill.
Swallow The Sun [6/7]
Probably the most completely doom-oriented of the headliners, these guys got the show back on track with a depressive but stone-heavy set that, as might have been expected, tilted more towards later material. I knew them only from The Morning Never Came until picking up their current album from the merch stand, so while I knew only a little of what they were playing, I was decently impressed with the progression. I don't recall if this was their first US tour or not, but they did go a long way to justifying the degree of interest I've seen in them from various quarters.
Insomnium [7/7]
The first impression of this band was "wow, Warheart-core." ;) It'd been a while since I last heard ...Day It All Came Down, so while I knew, abstractly, what I was getting into, the impression of a non-urban Dark Tranquillity was the dominating one from the first row, and also, completely awesome. Where DT's keys and electonics are all sharp angles and modernistic push, Insomnium's fill in -- when they're used, which was not universal -- around the edges of the sound and give a sense of space and nature, which is probably associated with Drudkh only because I was listening to Estrangement before coming up for the show. As the above indicates, the second and more lasting impression of this band is that they were totally amazing, and stole the damn show; Katatonia were similarly impressive, but as will be discussed later, this was the band of the night for the dyed-in-the-wool metalhead.
From the conclusion of the set:
Niilo: Thank you, Bedford! This is our first US-tour, but we will be back.
Crowd: YEAH!
Dude A: HEADLINE!!
Dude B: Headline?!
Dude A: Why the fuck not?!
Indeed, why the fuck not? Insomnium is definitely good enough to do so over a room of this size, and if this set is any indication, has thoroughly convinced American audiences of this fact, so if they do come back as support, it had better be with Dark Tranquillity at the Palladium or a similar hall.
Scar Symmetry [6/7]
After the Finnish portion of the bill concluded, this was somewhat of a letdown for the start of the Swedish half of the headliners; lacking a standing doom or black metal component, Scar Symmetry fit in only tenuously under Katatonia, and while their set of modern NWOSDM was well turned-out, it seemed to lack a certain degree of inspiration or fire. It was good music, and well-performed, but while this band took a step forward from the last time I saw them (at the Palladium, I think touring with Bodom and Amon Amarth), it wasn't a huge step, and they were probably the down point among the headliners.
Katatonia [6/7]
This band is a continuing testament to the injustice of commercial radio in this country. Their most current material is good and interesting enough in its dark indie colorings that they ought, by rights, to be playing the Paradise in Boston and likely selling it out, but because they have that remaining extreme metal strand running through their music, they're playing Mark's, sponsored by 'AAF, who don't exactly make this style a cornerstone of their brand. While they demonstrated with "Deadhouse" and "Murder" (the de riguer closer in a setting like this) that they still have strong pure metal chops -- the sound on these was so clean and fluid that a whole show of similar old stuff would have been just sublime -- they also demonstrated with the bulk of their set that their older sound just isn't as interesting, or perhaps, as challenging, to the band any more. Katatonia has pushed off from what might be considered a doctrinaire metal sound into waters that are damned interesting, even if they're not quite as appealing in a live setting, and thoroughly original, but it's frustrating to think that the other ports may be closed to them because what they're doing is also too challenging to fit neatly into a playlist pigeonhole. This is a really good show, but it's frustrating to think that a band like this can't get their sound out to the audience they need to cross over into to get as big as they deserve to be.
All in all, a killer show and a great time, and at least this time around, the roads were dry on the drive south. The bands were mostly really, really cool, I got a chance to talk kutte shop, and hung out a bit with Frozen, which included some surreal moments as Colin and I conversed in German, which is not totally out of the ordinary at a metal show, but not something either of us do much on this continent. There was also some kid in a Wacken '07 shirt and wristband, but I wasn't able to successfully corral him and find out whether he was from here and had gone there or vice versa.
Most importantly, though, I picked up a rumor from Aaron that some frickn' huge band that every metalhead in New England will want to see is going to be playing Mark's next spring. He, of course, didn't drop the name, but if this gets around, it's going to be an entertaining six months of guessing until it finally gets announced for real. Based on the available, albeit limited information (translation: the conclusion about to be drawn has been pulled out of my hindquarters and should not be regarded or disseminated as real), the current conclusion is that through some means of skullduggery or other black arts, Bernie has gotten himself another date added to the King Diamond/Kreator tour. Granted, the King only dubiously fits the qualification "normally, like, opening for Iron Maiden at the Tsongas Arena", and it's difficult to see how any concert promoter in New England could win the cage match with Scott Lee that this would require, but this is the only tour that's been announced for the spring so far, and thus has a slightly lesser chance of being completely left-field wrong than any other wild-ass guess at the moment. It probably still is, of course, completely off base, but then again, most rumors are.
Thanks to being broke and short on gas, I didn't pull myself away from Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman #1 on Saturday to go up and see Epica; next show is a friend's (non-metal) band in Boston on Thursday, with the next reviewed show being up at Mark's again for Edguy. I'm going to bring up my two digibook Edguy records, and if they won't sign them, yell "ey, wo iss euer Heli" after every song until they tell me to shut up.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Dreaded Silence with The Accursed and Cythraul (but unfortunately not It Will End In Pure Horror) [Skybar, Somerville, 2/23/2007]
Before going down, I checked RTTP and found out to my disappointment that IWEIPH had cancelled. I'd been looking forward to seeing Rich et al, not least because of his legend, but it can wait. If I went to more shows that leaned more hardcore, I'd probably have seen them by now, and I'll probably see them soon enough anyway. Too bad, but there were still a bunch of good bands on this one.
I got down about on time, but due to the diminished lineup, Cythraul wasn't going on for a while. I had time to go get some Chinese from next door, eat it, and get a second beer by the time they got checked and their axes set up.
Cythraul [6/7]
I was seriously impressed by this band, despite their lineup issues at this one. This is the second time in a row that a band with female members played the Skybar without a bassist, and the second time in a row that a black metal band played a Boston bar show without their bass player, so there's obviously something going on here below the surface. This left Cythraul with zero female members present, but didn't noticeably diminish the coolness of their sound, which is the part that actually matters. They inherited most from early Emperor and mid-period Immortal without really cloning either, which is definitely a good thing. This was a great performance, which really makes me want to see them again with their full complement -- though this one, featuring Cody from Witch Tomb (not corked up just to go out to the bar) doing guest vocals on a few songs, was definitely something special.
Between sets, I talked with Larissa from Hekseri; I'm constantly humbled when people from bands thank me for coming out and supporting -- I don't thank them nearly enough for putting on good shows, playing kickass music, and being generally awesome. Unfortunately, they've sold out of FDHB, but their demos are being compiled by some microlabel in Singapore, so even if I don't make it to their gig on the 18th or if she gets caught up in other stuff and doesn't end up burning me the demos I don't have yet, I should still be able to get them eventually.
The Accursed [5.5/7]
This was another good set from this band, though somewhat marred by stuff that the band had more or less no control over. I'm referring, of course, to the casino around their sound, which nobody who was at the gig could have missed. Basically, the sound guy gave them a raw deal, then flipped out at them with little provocation. In fairness to the sound dude, it's eminently possible to see how he could have interpreted Jon dropping his (non-functioning) mic as throwing it, but he also shouldn't have flipped out at them over it, and if he'd managed the PA portion of the soundcheck better, he might have found out that the mic in question was dead before the band started and people started getting heated up that things weren't working.
That aside, The Accursed put on a solid set that improved as it went on; the problems were mostly in the first two songs, and mostly coming off the sound issues. Great bands rise up in the face of adversity, and just as an actively hostile soundboard is one of the most adverse conditions that a band can be faced with, the slaughtering performance of "Land of the Dead" that they closed with was little other than the very definition of "rising up", some of the best that I've seen from them. This set as a total experience could have been better, but you can't fault the band's performance.
Dreaded Silence [5/7]
There were a few loose moments, but most of this set was a miracle in progress, because despite the determined efforts of like half the room to get Ken completely wasted, he didn't start forgetting lyrics until the last song. Most of this set was really good, a nice blend of death metal and other elements that recalled the best of the two eras of Sentenced (who they didn't cover) as much as Edge of Sanity (who they did, not omitting the RTTP meme reference ("Dan Swano is an Opeth ripoff")). Despite the alcoholic haze, this was a cool performance in a style that I like, and I'm looking forward to seeing them sometime (like next month) when it isn't Ken's birthday, and he isn't as totally pissed. The drunken abuse will be missed, but the band's got a neat enough sound and good enough execution that it may not be missed much.
Storrow leading into 93 was again wall-to-wall due to tunnel closures; I'm really thinking about just always going back on 128 and the Pike from Boston shows. Next show is also in Somerville, kicking off a month of ten or so gigs, including the first big show at the Palladium in a while....well, except the one last night, but that was obviously disqualified for certain reasons.
I got down about on time, but due to the diminished lineup, Cythraul wasn't going on for a while. I had time to go get some Chinese from next door, eat it, and get a second beer by the time they got checked and their axes set up.
Cythraul [6/7]
I was seriously impressed by this band, despite their lineup issues at this one. This is the second time in a row that a band with female members played the Skybar without a bassist, and the second time in a row that a black metal band played a Boston bar show without their bass player, so there's obviously something going on here below the surface. This left Cythraul with zero female members present, but didn't noticeably diminish the coolness of their sound, which is the part that actually matters. They inherited most from early Emperor and mid-period Immortal without really cloning either, which is definitely a good thing. This was a great performance, which really makes me want to see them again with their full complement -- though this one, featuring Cody from Witch Tomb (not corked up just to go out to the bar) doing guest vocals on a few songs, was definitely something special.
Between sets, I talked with Larissa from Hekseri; I'm constantly humbled when people from bands thank me for coming out and supporting -- I don't thank them nearly enough for putting on good shows, playing kickass music, and being generally awesome. Unfortunately, they've sold out of FDHB, but their demos are being compiled by some microlabel in Singapore, so even if I don't make it to their gig on the 18th or if she gets caught up in other stuff and doesn't end up burning me the demos I don't have yet, I should still be able to get them eventually.
The Accursed [5.5/7]
This was another good set from this band, though somewhat marred by stuff that the band had more or less no control over. I'm referring, of course, to the casino around their sound, which nobody who was at the gig could have missed. Basically, the sound guy gave them a raw deal, then flipped out at them with little provocation. In fairness to the sound dude, it's eminently possible to see how he could have interpreted Jon dropping his (non-functioning) mic as throwing it, but he also shouldn't have flipped out at them over it, and if he'd managed the PA portion of the soundcheck better, he might have found out that the mic in question was dead before the band started and people started getting heated up that things weren't working.
That aside, The Accursed put on a solid set that improved as it went on; the problems were mostly in the first two songs, and mostly coming off the sound issues. Great bands rise up in the face of adversity, and just as an actively hostile soundboard is one of the most adverse conditions that a band can be faced with, the slaughtering performance of "Land of the Dead" that they closed with was little other than the very definition of "rising up", some of the best that I've seen from them. This set as a total experience could have been better, but you can't fault the band's performance.
Dreaded Silence [5/7]
There were a few loose moments, but most of this set was a miracle in progress, because despite the determined efforts of like half the room to get Ken completely wasted, he didn't start forgetting lyrics until the last song. Most of this set was really good, a nice blend of death metal and other elements that recalled the best of the two eras of Sentenced (who they didn't cover) as much as Edge of Sanity (who they did, not omitting the RTTP meme reference ("Dan Swano is an Opeth ripoff")). Despite the alcoholic haze, this was a cool performance in a style that I like, and I'm looking forward to seeing them sometime (like next month) when it isn't Ken's birthday, and he isn't as totally pissed. The drunken abuse will be missed, but the band's got a neat enough sound and good enough execution that it may not be missed much.
Storrow leading into 93 was again wall-to-wall due to tunnel closures; I'm really thinking about just always going back on 128 and the Pike from Boston shows. Next show is also in Somerville, kicking off a month of ten or so gigs, including the first big show at the Palladium in a while....well, except the one last night, but that was obviously disqualified for certain reasons.
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