This should have been up earlier, but with the storm and all, this was kind of a tough week. Driving on ice sucks.
Despite the high marginal cost of this show in terms of driving effort and nearly brewing up my car skidding in a snowstorm, this show was worth the hassle; the bands kicked ass, and I didn't get towed, get frostbite, or actually bang into anything on the way back.
I thought I was getting in about on schedule, as it wasn't snowing yet, but I somehow got turned the wrong way round getting off Storrow Drive and had a time of it finding Comm Ave again. I still like Boston; I just get really exasperated with driving around it at times. I ended up parking about 6 blocks away from the venue in one of the few zones that didn't threaten interlopers with towing, and got down to the club probably close to the start of Mortalis' set.
Mortalis [5/7]
I think I saw most of their set -- set times were shortish and pretty uniform -- and they gave a good impression, doing some cool groove-death. This band is still developing, but they've definitely got their feet under them in terms of skills and riffage. Though they were probably the least immediately different band on this lineup, they still put up a good performance and left a positive impression. I'm bummed that I didn't catch their whole set, but hopefully I'll get a chance to see them again -- and at that time, they'll hopefully have something recorded.
Volatile [5/7]
You don't see too many bands, especially on this continent, playing primal thrash metal with high vocals. The best comparison for this band is probably "3 Inches of Blood except not a gag"; the rediscovery by modern thrashers of the first wave of power metal -- King Diamond, Grim Reaper, Helloween, Grave Digger, etc -- and the accompanying realization that done right, this stuff can be pretty cool. They opened up with Slayer's "Tormentor", setting the stylistic tone; it's always cool when people cover stuff off Show No Mercy, though I'm still waiting for someone to do "Evil Has No Boundaries". This was a fairly loose set, but still well-performed and fun to thrash along to, even if they didn't dust off their Grim Reaper to close with.
During the set break, I talked with Dave from Revocation and got the approximate location of the basement gig they're playing on Friday. It sounds like a cool show, and I'm almost not sick any more, but whether I get down is going to depend a lot on the conditions of the roads. If the various DPWs involved get their shit together, it's a definite possibility, but if the storm hangs around or the state/city halfasses things, I won't be crazy about taking on 93 and Storrow under such conditions. (I didn't end up going...more due to still being sick than road conditions.)
Witch Tomb [5/7]
Another cool set, and it was definitely interesting to see the band still set up in burnt cork and sunglasses despite the change of scenery to a much larger and better-maintained bar (the last time I saw them was about the last show that DeeDee's had). The innate black metal vibe from the surroundings was gone, but the band's own black metal spirit soldiered on and put on a cool performance. To my ears, the sound system here didn't quite treat them as well as DeeDee's' necro setup, but this might have had as much to do with where I was standing at each venue as anything else, and it was still a cool set. It felt a little short, but this was the only point that could really be picked in an overall good performance.
Revocation [6/7]
Hooray, Just Another Awesome Revocation Set. Dave didn't throw any new guitar wrinkles into this one, but the total performance was great enough that they weren't really missed, and he's also leveled up his stage banter, providing more lulz around the totally sick thrash epics. There were some calls for "Mother Man" during their set, showing that I'm not crazy, and other people also can't help thinking of Atheist when hearing these guys. The Atheist-driven elements were especially prominent in this set, so it's more understandable why people should start yelling for it now. They were discussing adding some Unquestionable Presence material to their repertoire with some of the people who had been calling for it after the set, and while I'm sure they'll do a decent version of any song or songs they end up working up, having seen Atheist, there's not a lot of stuff that you can do from Atheist without having two guitars to play the two guitar lines. The more new stuff that Revocation gets together, though, the more they construct and develop their own vision of that same idea of technical insanity, so it's a moot point: either they spend time working up some Atheist, or they put that time into originals and parallel evolution takes them on the same path, to the same levels. The awesomeness is the same regardless.
Between Revocation and Hekseri, I got my last beer of the night, a Pabst, and the regret was immediate. Contrary to my prior perceptions, I'm still not healthy enough again to get away with drinking stuff that's not nach dem Reinheitsgebot. Aus mit schwulen "Wasser mit kunstlichen Biergeschmack", wir wollen echtes reines Bier! Given my Tankard spree of late, I'm really questioning why I didn't just correct the bartender. Fucking chemicals.
Hekseri [6/7]
Megan's protestations to the contrary, this was not the worst set that Hekseri's ever done. Of course, it could have been better, but this is largely an intellectual conclusion; I've seen Jason play with them, and he wasn't there last night, so obviously it would have been better had he been on hand slaughtering his bass. However, I can't really think exactly where those lines might have gone that would have resulted in an obvious improvement. As a three-piece, Hekseri feels perfectly balanced between black and thrash metal: on this gig, as of late, they seemed to favor their thrash side more, but the treble-high focus of the sound without the bass guitar kept the black metal vibe current. It wasn't the best set I've seen from them, but it certainly wasn't the worst either, and in any case it was a cool take on their sound.
I wanted to hang around, but environmental factors pulled me away; I had to get back north before the snow turned the highways into skating rinks. I collared the ten-dollar parking fee that the BPD left on my windshield (cheaper than some garages), then made my way back. I nearly achieved my objective; just after getting into Danvers, I came out of about the last technically demanding turn on 128, then went slaloming for about 100 yards or so; fucking climate iced the road and then put snow down on top of it. Unlike last year, I didn't spin out or hit anything; this was greatly aided by the fact that the closest car was about half a mile behind me when I hit the skids, but it's all improved technique (or, more likely, improved luck) that I kept the nose facing forward and was able to recover as soon as I slowed down enough that the tires would bite again. This was not fun and put a bit of a damper on the night, but I didn't damage myself, my vehicle, or anything else, and did manage to make it back in one piece.
Much more of a buzzkill was only getting 3 hours of sleep before I had to get up, play car tetris, and go to work...hopefully, this junk will clear off and this won't be a problem for either Revocation this weekend or God Forbid onTuesday. It's a shitty time for a show, but at least the Middle East is pretty accessible, and I'll get to see them, Arsis, and Goatwhore again -- and get one of those "The Real Black Metal" shirts, both for the cool factor and potentially to wind people up with at 1349. Of course, this is is presuming that they notice it under a jacket that currently has four Immortal devices on it, plus a bunch of kit from Sigh, Mayhem, Celtic Frost, and Dissection.
I went through my parents' basement over the weekend with a fine-toothed comb and found my old demos; there's like 80 minutes of crummy music on those, so now all I need to do is get a MD player, and I can convert them into crummy digital files, potentially to be released as a long and terrible CD-comp. Of course, I haven't listened to them in forever, so I'll have to do that, along with probably some post-prod cleanup, before I make the decision on whether to inflict them on anyone else.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Metal Winter Break last crack: Despotic Robot with Revocation and Mechannibal [Castle Greyskull, Allston, 2/7/2007]
And thus this final chapter doth close, upon one of the more awesome continuous stretches of shows in recent memory: with pizza, ersatzbier, and much thrashing. Maybe I could have made it up to New Hampshire for a few minutes of Unleashed as well, but it's really not worth it given the distance...and the fact that I wouldn't be able to get a ticket off one of the locals, given that all their sets had probably wrapped. This one was more than cool enough.
Careful inspection of a map will find that this 'venue' doesn't exist. This is because it's in a private basement, which though full of low-hanging pipes was still a cool place to watch some bands. Careful inspection of the bill will reveal that there was supposed to be a touring band from Tennessee on the roster, who are nowhere mentioned above. This bears some remarking on.
After circling the block a couple times to make sure I had the right place and no other options, I parked in behind Mike from Mechannibal/Unholy Trinity and went in. Under advisement from the people putting up the show, I stopped worrying about parking, and in the end did not get a bill from the Allston PD. Cool. There were only a couple other people there this early, so me and this Russian guy scared up a small collection for an extra 30-rack to be shared out; I ended up only getting like 4 beers out of it, but other people got beer who may not have been driving or may not have had the five bucks to spare.
While we were standing around drinking, we found out from Despotic Robot that Evil Army had canceled; this sucked, of course, but it sucked more for Evil Army, because they were stuck in fucking Cleveland, rather than in Boston playing a show, drinking our doods' PBRs, and brewing up a night of some of the most hardcore accent clashes possible in the English-speaking world. Apparently their gig in Buffalo fell through, and as such they weren't able to make it further east; weird, but that doesn't really explain why they're in Cleveland. None of this really explains why they're in Cleveland at all; sure, it's got a decent scene, but it, like most of the rest of Ohio, kind of sucks. They shoulda gone through Cincinnati or Columbus, then Pittsburgh, and up to Buffalo; more driving, but no Cleveland.
The absence of the touring band, though, didn't cut much into the relaxed vibe of the show, probably because the locals are abundantly awesome, and between them very capable of putting on a kickass basement show. The lineup drew evenly across metal and hardcore, with the crowd pretty much evenly sourced as well. Not evenly divided, though; no divisions at this gig. Beer, pizza, and thrash just bring people together.
Mechannibal [5/7]
Since I saw them last, they've obviously developed, and just from existing as a band in the intervening time, they're more comfortable with each other and performing as a unit. The music, as before, was mostly hardcore with shots of punk and thrash to flavor, and it really worked well in this setting, with the band and the audience right on top of each other, everyone pushed together by stone walls and broken furnaces restricting the floorspace. In about their second song, the pizza showed up, and it was time to pizza mosh. If you haven't eaten pizza while simultaneously thrashing out, you have missed out on a very cool experience, and need to throw or attend a basement show that will enable such posthaste. Unfortunately, many of the people who were actually at this gig missed out on the pizza mosh; about a third to half of the pizza that was lugged into the crowd was accidentally destroyed because people didn't grab it out of the boxes fast enough, and it got thrashed out onto the floor. Too bad for them, but it was great fun for those of us who did manage to scarf a slice or two while moshing or serving as human gym mats to keep people from bashing into the walls. Mechannibal's set seemed about right, maybe a little short, but in keeping with the DIY nature of the show.
Revocation took a while setting up, because Dave stepped out for some reason, so I got some more beers (the last two that I'd pull, as the crate was thoroughly plundered later) and then got to talking with Anthony and some other dudes, about a variety of things, but mostly metal. If I end up going to MDF, I may be giving Anthony a lift; I ought to also offer my services generally if I do go, as I have a fair degree of OTR driving experience and at least somewhat know my way around most of the route. The only problem is that given my car, if I'm driving three or more other people, I'd have to rent or finagle a van...more complications. At this point it's looking quite likely that I'll be able to go, but I need to double-check my vacation balance against what I'm going to need both before that (if any) and after (to do Wacken and be conscious on Thursday).
Also before Revocation went on, I got asked to pose for what was probably intended as a Symbolfoto of this event; me in my ridiculous studded and patch-ridden jacket, cheek by jowl with this punk kid in a hoodie with various fabric patches coarse-sewn in, metal and punk coexisting peacefully, having a good time together at the DIY gig. Of course, the better pic would have been any random shot of the pit, for any of the bands, as people from all scenes rocked out and brewed it up with each other, all in good humor, but it's understandable that the photographer didn't want to take his camera in where it might get elbowed or bathed in tomato sauce. Still cool, and if it inspires more people to throw more cross-scene shows, so much the better.
Revocation [6/7]
The sound, of course, wasn't quite as good as the several other times I've seen this band, and there were a couple times where they seemed to be fighting it, probably due to not really having any monitors as such. However, they battled through and did a cool though unfortunately short set that still managed to be tight and technical despite the sound system not really being set up for such. What this set, in the context of Metal Winter Break, really highlighted was the band's adaptability; Revocation can go on stage on a very progressive and technical bill like they did on Thursday in Worcester and play a progressive and technical set, or they can go into a basement and play some balls-out thrash, and they're able to do this off a single catalog, even most of the same songs, just with slightly different selections and points of emphasis. Most of their stuff has a foot in each world, and it gains its power from the side that isn't dominant: the brutal riffs and pace driving on Thursday, and the technical twists giving form to the thrash avalanche tonight. Killer stuff, but they probably could have gone a little longer.
Despotic Robot [6/7]
This band sounded mostly like I remembered, though they tossed in a few grindcore songs that I hadn't heard before, in what was an intentional departure from their normal style. The sound these guys get from colliding hardcore and traditional heavy metal is really cool and interesting, but it's also exactly how you'd do it if you for some reason were trying to derive thrash from first principles. Because nobody does that nowadays (easier to follow the patterns of existing thrash movements), Despotic Robot sounds fairly unique, but even if they didn't, they'd still have a good sound and put on a good show. Even though I wasn't right on top of the band, this was a cool set, and the circle pit that developed around the basement obstacles during their final song (Grim Reaper cover) was a fittingly lunatic way to cap off the musical festivities.
Afterwards, I went to hunt up some beer in order to stick around some; unfortunately, there was none readily available and absent fluids my cold was acting up. So I pulled, sorry to go but well satisfied: I saw some kickass bands, met some kickass folks, thrashed down some pizza, and got Mechannibal's demo, which I'm sure will be good stuff once I get around to listening to it. For now, though, Metal Winter Break is done, and I can get in some sleeping to recharge my batteries before the rest of February trickles on past. Anthony mentioned another Allston show on the 13th that's shaping up to be a local thrash/death jamboree; it's midweek, but given the relative dearth of shows on the calendar between now and March, I may well get down for that one as well.
Careful inspection of a map will find that this 'venue' doesn't exist. This is because it's in a private basement, which though full of low-hanging pipes was still a cool place to watch some bands. Careful inspection of the bill will reveal that there was supposed to be a touring band from Tennessee on the roster, who are nowhere mentioned above. This bears some remarking on.
After circling the block a couple times to make sure I had the right place and no other options, I parked in behind Mike from Mechannibal/Unholy Trinity and went in. Under advisement from the people putting up the show, I stopped worrying about parking, and in the end did not get a bill from the Allston PD. Cool. There were only a couple other people there this early, so me and this Russian guy scared up a small collection for an extra 30-rack to be shared out; I ended up only getting like 4 beers out of it, but other people got beer who may not have been driving or may not have had the five bucks to spare.
While we were standing around drinking, we found out from Despotic Robot that Evil Army had canceled; this sucked, of course, but it sucked more for Evil Army, because they were stuck in fucking Cleveland, rather than in Boston playing a show, drinking our doods' PBRs, and brewing up a night of some of the most hardcore accent clashes possible in the English-speaking world. Apparently their gig in Buffalo fell through, and as such they weren't able to make it further east; weird, but that doesn't really explain why they're in Cleveland. None of this really explains why they're in Cleveland at all; sure, it's got a decent scene, but it, like most of the rest of Ohio, kind of sucks. They shoulda gone through Cincinnati or Columbus, then Pittsburgh, and up to Buffalo; more driving, but no Cleveland.
The absence of the touring band, though, didn't cut much into the relaxed vibe of the show, probably because the locals are abundantly awesome, and between them very capable of putting on a kickass basement show. The lineup drew evenly across metal and hardcore, with the crowd pretty much evenly sourced as well. Not evenly divided, though; no divisions at this gig. Beer, pizza, and thrash just bring people together.
Mechannibal [5/7]
Since I saw them last, they've obviously developed, and just from existing as a band in the intervening time, they're more comfortable with each other and performing as a unit. The music, as before, was mostly hardcore with shots of punk and thrash to flavor, and it really worked well in this setting, with the band and the audience right on top of each other, everyone pushed together by stone walls and broken furnaces restricting the floorspace. In about their second song, the pizza showed up, and it was time to pizza mosh. If you haven't eaten pizza while simultaneously thrashing out, you have missed out on a very cool experience, and need to throw or attend a basement show that will enable such posthaste. Unfortunately, many of the people who were actually at this gig missed out on the pizza mosh; about a third to half of the pizza that was lugged into the crowd was accidentally destroyed because people didn't grab it out of the boxes fast enough, and it got thrashed out onto the floor. Too bad for them, but it was great fun for those of us who did manage to scarf a slice or two while moshing or serving as human gym mats to keep people from bashing into the walls. Mechannibal's set seemed about right, maybe a little short, but in keeping with the DIY nature of the show.
Revocation took a while setting up, because Dave stepped out for some reason, so I got some more beers (the last two that I'd pull, as the crate was thoroughly plundered later) and then got to talking with Anthony and some other dudes, about a variety of things, but mostly metal. If I end up going to MDF, I may be giving Anthony a lift; I ought to also offer my services generally if I do go, as I have a fair degree of OTR driving experience and at least somewhat know my way around most of the route. The only problem is that given my car, if I'm driving three or more other people, I'd have to rent or finagle a van...more complications. At this point it's looking quite likely that I'll be able to go, but I need to double-check my vacation balance against what I'm going to need both before that (if any) and after (to do Wacken and be conscious on Thursday).
Also before Revocation went on, I got asked to pose for what was probably intended as a Symbolfoto of this event; me in my ridiculous studded and patch-ridden jacket, cheek by jowl with this punk kid in a hoodie with various fabric patches coarse-sewn in, metal and punk coexisting peacefully, having a good time together at the DIY gig. Of course, the better pic would have been any random shot of the pit, for any of the bands, as people from all scenes rocked out and brewed it up with each other, all in good humor, but it's understandable that the photographer didn't want to take his camera in where it might get elbowed or bathed in tomato sauce. Still cool, and if it inspires more people to throw more cross-scene shows, so much the better.
Revocation [6/7]
The sound, of course, wasn't quite as good as the several other times I've seen this band, and there were a couple times where they seemed to be fighting it, probably due to not really having any monitors as such. However, they battled through and did a cool though unfortunately short set that still managed to be tight and technical despite the sound system not really being set up for such. What this set, in the context of Metal Winter Break, really highlighted was the band's adaptability; Revocation can go on stage on a very progressive and technical bill like they did on Thursday in Worcester and play a progressive and technical set, or they can go into a basement and play some balls-out thrash, and they're able to do this off a single catalog, even most of the same songs, just with slightly different selections and points of emphasis. Most of their stuff has a foot in each world, and it gains its power from the side that isn't dominant: the brutal riffs and pace driving on Thursday, and the technical twists giving form to the thrash avalanche tonight. Killer stuff, but they probably could have gone a little longer.
Despotic Robot [6/7]
This band sounded mostly like I remembered, though they tossed in a few grindcore songs that I hadn't heard before, in what was an intentional departure from their normal style. The sound these guys get from colliding hardcore and traditional heavy metal is really cool and interesting, but it's also exactly how you'd do it if you for some reason were trying to derive thrash from first principles. Because nobody does that nowadays (easier to follow the patterns of existing thrash movements), Despotic Robot sounds fairly unique, but even if they didn't, they'd still have a good sound and put on a good show. Even though I wasn't right on top of the band, this was a cool set, and the circle pit that developed around the basement obstacles during their final song (Grim Reaper cover) was a fittingly lunatic way to cap off the musical festivities.
Afterwards, I went to hunt up some beer in order to stick around some; unfortunately, there was none readily available and absent fluids my cold was acting up. So I pulled, sorry to go but well satisfied: I saw some kickass bands, met some kickass folks, thrashed down some pizza, and got Mechannibal's demo, which I'm sure will be good stuff once I get around to listening to it. For now, though, Metal Winter Break is done, and I can get in some sleeping to recharge my batteries before the rest of February trickles on past. Anthony mentioned another Allston show on the 13th that's shaping up to be a local thrash/death jamboree; it's midweek, but given the relative dearth of shows on the calendar between now and March, I may well get down for that one as well.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Metal Winter Break part 3: Dark Funeral with Enslaved, Abigail Williams, Zircon, The Accursed, and Deconformity [Mark's, Bedford, 2/5/2007]
Despite some traffic -- evening rush hour and holiday weekends are the only times when people actually drive into New Hampshire in significant numbers -- I got in with time to spare, stood around for a bit, and saw the second stage set up again. Gott im Himmel. Gottes Pimmel. Despite the ridiculousness of having a second stage in a bar, the second stage at Mark's is probably the best implementation of this thoroughly bad idea yet. The sound is good, it keeps the inter-band latency to a minimum, and thus allows for longer sets for everyone, once you get over the ridiculousness of having 8 bands on the show.
The first band, though, was going on up at the main stage. New beer in hand, I went back up and hit the rail in front of the minimal crowd.
Deconformity [4/7]
This band has the dubious honor of getting the second- or third-flattest crowd response I have ever seen in my life. Nobody was actually leaving the building like people did almost every time Halo of Thorns went on at Sputnix back when they were active, but there were seriously only a handful of people applauding after every song. Here, part of the same equation applied; these guys certainly weren't anywhere near as shitty and incompetent as Halo, but they were just as poorly matched to the overall bill. Their bassless technical death attack was well-executed, but the people here were waiting to hear black metal; they'd do much better lined up with one of the scads of local brutal/technical death bands from around the area, but their music wasn't quite distinctive or appealing enough to break through to a crowd that was primarily here for something else. Towards the end of their set, they showed some promise in some stuff that inherited heavily from Nile, but this band is still under development, and part of that development is finding appropriate shows just as much as it is solidifying their musical style.
In the realm of cheesy things that can be done with the drums, playing with no shirt and fingerless gloves at the same time is definitely number one on the list. However, somewhere between stick-twirling and gongs has to be placed an entry for "ceaseless gravity blasts". Though it sounds pretty intense, if you do it too often, someone's going to be looking in behind the snare and realizing "what the hell, that's all it is?" As a flavoring, it's cool, but you've got to question someone whose first response, when challenged to do some technical drumming, is to do a gravity blast.
Cold Northern Vengeance should have played in this slot on the second stage, but there was some drama that resulted in most of the band not showing up. Nearly enough of Martyrvore was there that they could have played instead, but I didn't spot the drummer; regardless, this was a letdown, but Paul did hook me up with a free ticket for 1349 by way of compensation. Of course, I can't blame CNV without knowing what went on, and internal band business needs to stay internal; it's probably most succinct and also acceptable to just blame the club and their pay-to-play policies. If bands know they're going to be losing money on a show from the get-go, there's no incentive for them to show up and play. I was looking forward to CNV, but there was still Enslaved and some cool local support, and hopefully they'll get everything squared away for the 1349 show.
Abigail Williams [5/7]
I have very little idea how this band got onto this tour. As far as I can remember, neither Enslaved nor Dark Funeral is on Metal Blade, and stylistically, there's virtually no points of connection. Yeah, In Flames and Dark Tranquillity took inspiration from black metal back when they were starting up the NWOSDM, but that was more than a decade ago, and it's been established as an independent style for a while now. The band put up a decent performance, but it was total NWOSDM; if keyboards make a band black metal, then Still Remains are also black metal, and if shirt choices make you a part of the same continuum as the bands they're from, then Trivium is an underground metal band with integrity. It was a decent set, but unfortunately they weren't even the best NWOAHM band on this bill.
This band actually had to dig themselves out of a fairly deep hole with me: when they were setting up, because CNV wasn't playing, the sound guys offered them to start five minutes earlier; the singer declined, stating that the band didn't have another five minutes. If you can't play even one more song when you get the opportunity, what the HELL are you doing on tour? This is frankly ridiculous. I really can't believe that Abigail Williams has no old demos to pull from, no cover songs from when they were local-opening bills like this, and can't even bring out some of the fill from some of their label releases to tune up with, but the alternative is that they're fucking lazy and don't like playing. What the hell, man.
Some people were talking about the drummer setting the action on his pedals really low, producing a triggered sound and reducing the power in his playing, but the most significant bit from the drums in this set was the gay porn found on his snare. This was the first strike from Enslaved in the process of pranking the other bands in this last date of their American tour, but it would not be the last.
The Accursed [5.5/7]
I keep squawking about split scores and how much I hate doing them, but I also keep passing them out. This, band, though, earned theirs; the sound wasn't quite as good as the last time I saw them, but they definitely put out a solid set. The Accursed definitely need to record some new stuff, because their CD definitely undersells them; they have a lot more power live, and the lyrics and patterns that come off as trite or re-treaded on record sound a lot more vital in live performance. They were quite easily the most hardcore-influenced band of the night, and got probably the most turbulent crowd response of the second stage, possibly overall as well. They also didn't really match the bill, but unlike Deconformity, they put on a strong enough performance that this didn't really matter to anyone.
For those without a clue, The Accursed were the best NWOAHM band on this bill, not the one that was hitching, remora-like, along on a black metal tour. We just grow them better here in New England.
Enslaved [7/7]
Like many people, I have no idea how they weren't the headliners, and the band delivered an absolutely awesome set that left no doubt that they should have been. Enslaved is one of those rare bands that anyone into heavy music can (and ought to) get into, despite their deep genre origins, and it's because the new stuff is so incredible, varied, complex, subtle, and deep. In this set, almost all of the material was from the last three albums, but they also tossed in a bunch of really, really, old stuff as well, and it worked perfectly, sliding along in perfect consonance with the rest of the set. This is really hard to do properly with a band that's changed this much; I'm not sure how Satyricon manages to go from "K.I.N.G." to "The Dark Castle In The Deep Forest" in the same set, or if they even can, but it's because they didn't feel the need to continue the band's identity in the changing sound the way that Enslaved did. Because the new Enslaved is still fundamentally coming from the same place as the old Enslaved, the band can play stuff off Hordanes Land in a set of Ruun and Isa material, and the transition is perfect as well as seamless. They didn't do "793", probably because it runs 16 minutes, but they definitely could have. If the set wasn't so absolutely awesome, I would have been disappointed at the absence of any Mardraum material, but you can't fault Enslaved for kicking ass on what they played. Maybe at Wacken I'll get to see "Storre Enn Tid", though likely not.
Zircon [6/7]
Zircon is allegedly playing a show every night this week, which was getting some people riled up, though it really shouldn't. They're mostly playing tour manager for this band from New Jersey, but when you listen to Zircon and approach them realistically, it's difficult to begrudge them shows, as they kick ass. There's also this more prevalent and persistent strand of people who claim they're not black metal, but these people are idiots, and have never heard of Naglfar or Zyklon. With ultimate accuracy, Zircon might be described as black/death metal, in much the same way that Zyklon is, but the black metal influences are primary and paramount, with Naglfar being the strongest that I could pick out. This was a really strong set, meriting the top billing on this stage, and I can now see why Zircon is so aggressive about marketing their shows: they have something really good going on here, and ought to be on a label that will get their discs pressed, not just put out on CD-R like their current split with Nephilim.
Hopefully, they will sign to Nuclear Blast, and then NB will add thongs to their merchandise, so that "Soul Absorbing Underwear" can be a comical slogan for the band rather than the exclusive property of people goofing on them. (I dare anyone to listen to "Soul Absorbing Underworld" and not immediately think of this.)
Dark Funeral [6/7]
I had never been really into this band, but over the course of their set they put on a very good performance. Initially, the sound was really thin, like one of the guitars wasn't plugged in or something, but it steadily improved through the course of their set. Unfortunately, the same can't be precisely said about their music, which remained basically the same front to back, and is the main reason that I haven't really been into this band. There are other words that you can use in your black metal lyrics besides "Satan", though this may not be evident if all you've seen from black metal is Dark Funeral. It was still a good set, but you really have to wonder how the hell they ended up booked over Enslaved on this tour.
The highlight of their set, then, from the perspective of much of the audience, was Enslaved's appearance, wearing only Dark Funeral's corpsepaint designs and their underwear, bouncing onto the stage on those handled balls they make for kids to hop around on. In terms of absolute lunacy, it was one of the best tour-end pranks that I've ever seen, and we get a fair number of them at this end of the country. Hopefully, someone got pics to spread around; there are other metalheads who'd be cracked up by stuff like this, but never get to see it, because nobody winds up a tour in Cleveland or wherever. Good stuff, and a cool conclusion to a good show.
Only one day to go; work tomorrow, then Evil Army in Allston tomorrow night, and the last day off on Thursday. All good things must come to an end, and there's a bit of a show shortfall after this, but to a certain degree this is ok, because it's been expensive; it's not a real problem, but I've got festivals to save for.
The first band, though, was going on up at the main stage. New beer in hand, I went back up and hit the rail in front of the minimal crowd.
Deconformity [4/7]
This band has the dubious honor of getting the second- or third-flattest crowd response I have ever seen in my life. Nobody was actually leaving the building like people did almost every time Halo of Thorns went on at Sputnix back when they were active, but there were seriously only a handful of people applauding after every song. Here, part of the same equation applied; these guys certainly weren't anywhere near as shitty and incompetent as Halo, but they were just as poorly matched to the overall bill. Their bassless technical death attack was well-executed, but the people here were waiting to hear black metal; they'd do much better lined up with one of the scads of local brutal/technical death bands from around the area, but their music wasn't quite distinctive or appealing enough to break through to a crowd that was primarily here for something else. Towards the end of their set, they showed some promise in some stuff that inherited heavily from Nile, but this band is still under development, and part of that development is finding appropriate shows just as much as it is solidifying their musical style.
In the realm of cheesy things that can be done with the drums, playing with no shirt and fingerless gloves at the same time is definitely number one on the list. However, somewhere between stick-twirling and gongs has to be placed an entry for "ceaseless gravity blasts". Though it sounds pretty intense, if you do it too often, someone's going to be looking in behind the snare and realizing "what the hell, that's all it is?" As a flavoring, it's cool, but you've got to question someone whose first response, when challenged to do some technical drumming, is to do a gravity blast.
Cold Northern Vengeance should have played in this slot on the second stage, but there was some drama that resulted in most of the band not showing up. Nearly enough of Martyrvore was there that they could have played instead, but I didn't spot the drummer; regardless, this was a letdown, but Paul did hook me up with a free ticket for 1349 by way of compensation. Of course, I can't blame CNV without knowing what went on, and internal band business needs to stay internal; it's probably most succinct and also acceptable to just blame the club and their pay-to-play policies. If bands know they're going to be losing money on a show from the get-go, there's no incentive for them to show up and play. I was looking forward to CNV, but there was still Enslaved and some cool local support, and hopefully they'll get everything squared away for the 1349 show.
Abigail Williams [5/7]
I have very little idea how this band got onto this tour. As far as I can remember, neither Enslaved nor Dark Funeral is on Metal Blade, and stylistically, there's virtually no points of connection. Yeah, In Flames and Dark Tranquillity took inspiration from black metal back when they were starting up the NWOSDM, but that was more than a decade ago, and it's been established as an independent style for a while now. The band put up a decent performance, but it was total NWOSDM; if keyboards make a band black metal, then Still Remains are also black metal, and if shirt choices make you a part of the same continuum as the bands they're from, then Trivium is an underground metal band with integrity. It was a decent set, but unfortunately they weren't even the best NWOAHM band on this bill.
This band actually had to dig themselves out of a fairly deep hole with me: when they were setting up, because CNV wasn't playing, the sound guys offered them to start five minutes earlier; the singer declined, stating that the band didn't have another five minutes. If you can't play even one more song when you get the opportunity, what the HELL are you doing on tour? This is frankly ridiculous. I really can't believe that Abigail Williams has no old demos to pull from, no cover songs from when they were local-opening bills like this, and can't even bring out some of the fill from some of their label releases to tune up with, but the alternative is that they're fucking lazy and don't like playing. What the hell, man.
Some people were talking about the drummer setting the action on his pedals really low, producing a triggered sound and reducing the power in his playing, but the most significant bit from the drums in this set was the gay porn found on his snare. This was the first strike from Enslaved in the process of pranking the other bands in this last date of their American tour, but it would not be the last.
The Accursed [5.5/7]
I keep squawking about split scores and how much I hate doing them, but I also keep passing them out. This, band, though, earned theirs; the sound wasn't quite as good as the last time I saw them, but they definitely put out a solid set. The Accursed definitely need to record some new stuff, because their CD definitely undersells them; they have a lot more power live, and the lyrics and patterns that come off as trite or re-treaded on record sound a lot more vital in live performance. They were quite easily the most hardcore-influenced band of the night, and got probably the most turbulent crowd response of the second stage, possibly overall as well. They also didn't really match the bill, but unlike Deconformity, they put on a strong enough performance that this didn't really matter to anyone.
For those without a clue, The Accursed were the best NWOAHM band on this bill, not the one that was hitching, remora-like, along on a black metal tour. We just grow them better here in New England.
Enslaved [7/7]
Like many people, I have no idea how they weren't the headliners, and the band delivered an absolutely awesome set that left no doubt that they should have been. Enslaved is one of those rare bands that anyone into heavy music can (and ought to) get into, despite their deep genre origins, and it's because the new stuff is so incredible, varied, complex, subtle, and deep. In this set, almost all of the material was from the last three albums, but they also tossed in a bunch of really, really, old stuff as well, and it worked perfectly, sliding along in perfect consonance with the rest of the set. This is really hard to do properly with a band that's changed this much; I'm not sure how Satyricon manages to go from "K.I.N.G." to "The Dark Castle In The Deep Forest" in the same set, or if they even can, but it's because they didn't feel the need to continue the band's identity in the changing sound the way that Enslaved did. Because the new Enslaved is still fundamentally coming from the same place as the old Enslaved, the band can play stuff off Hordanes Land in a set of Ruun and Isa material, and the transition is perfect as well as seamless. They didn't do "793", probably because it runs 16 minutes, but they definitely could have. If the set wasn't so absolutely awesome, I would have been disappointed at the absence of any Mardraum material, but you can't fault Enslaved for kicking ass on what they played. Maybe at Wacken I'll get to see "Storre Enn Tid", though likely not.
Zircon [6/7]
Zircon is allegedly playing a show every night this week, which was getting some people riled up, though it really shouldn't. They're mostly playing tour manager for this band from New Jersey, but when you listen to Zircon and approach them realistically, it's difficult to begrudge them shows, as they kick ass. There's also this more prevalent and persistent strand of people who claim they're not black metal, but these people are idiots, and have never heard of Naglfar or Zyklon. With ultimate accuracy, Zircon might be described as black/death metal, in much the same way that Zyklon is, but the black metal influences are primary and paramount, with Naglfar being the strongest that I could pick out. This was a really strong set, meriting the top billing on this stage, and I can now see why Zircon is so aggressive about marketing their shows: they have something really good going on here, and ought to be on a label that will get their discs pressed, not just put out on CD-R like their current split with Nephilim.
Hopefully, they will sign to Nuclear Blast, and then NB will add thongs to their merchandise, so that "Soul Absorbing Underwear" can be a comical slogan for the band rather than the exclusive property of people goofing on them. (I dare anyone to listen to "Soul Absorbing Underworld" and not immediately think of this.)
Dark Funeral [6/7]
I had never been really into this band, but over the course of their set they put on a very good performance. Initially, the sound was really thin, like one of the guitars wasn't plugged in or something, but it steadily improved through the course of their set. Unfortunately, the same can't be precisely said about their music, which remained basically the same front to back, and is the main reason that I haven't really been into this band. There are other words that you can use in your black metal lyrics besides "Satan", though this may not be evident if all you've seen from black metal is Dark Funeral. It was still a good set, but you really have to wonder how the hell they ended up booked over Enslaved on this tour.
The highlight of their set, then, from the perspective of much of the audience, was Enslaved's appearance, wearing only Dark Funeral's corpsepaint designs and their underwear, bouncing onto the stage on those handled balls they make for kids to hop around on. In terms of absolute lunacy, it was one of the best tour-end pranks that I've ever seen, and we get a fair number of them at this end of the country. Hopefully, someone got pics to spread around; there are other metalheads who'd be cracked up by stuff like this, but never get to see it, because nobody winds up a tour in Cleveland or wherever. Good stuff, and a cool conclusion to a good show.
Only one day to go; work tomorrow, then Evil Army in Allston tomorrow night, and the last day off on Thursday. All good things must come to an end, and there's a bit of a show shortfall after this, but to a certain degree this is ok, because it's been expensive; it's not a real problem, but I've got festivals to save for.
Metal Winter Break part 2: Destruction with Into Eternity, Municipal Waste, Defcon 4, and Hekseri [Middle East, Cambridge, 2/4/2007]
When I left, the Bears were up on the Colts by like 14-6, which would probably be the last time they led in this game. I didn't care, though, continuing to navigate south. I got in a little before doors...well, if doors had been at 8 as originally intended, and not at 8:30. This lameness probably cost Destruction a few songs and definitely pissed the audience off, because shortly after 8 we were shepherded outside into the subfreezing temperatures to wait for the official Einlass. This was pretty freakin' ridiculous, but not the lamest thing the club would do this night. In the process I got a discounted ticket from one of the guys in CSDO; it was probably a legit extra, because there's no way Ticketmaster would let an eighteen-dollar ticket out of their possession without a service charge that would make 'scalping' it for twenty bucks profitable. So I saved five bucks to drop on merch later.
Eventually they let us by drips and drabs in the fucking building, and I got in, processed, and drinkin'. It only took Hekseri a little while to set up once people started getting in, and from that point, the bands were go.
Hekseri [5/7]
This was a decent set, though their sound wasn't as good as when I saw them the last time, despite that being in a much smaller venue. It may be just where I was standing, but everyone was similarly within a few feet of the stage; it may be just that they were the first band on, but it's also likely that basically everyone inside was down for Hekseri, it's just that the staff wasn't letting people in the fucking club. Seriously, doors were some fucking bullshit. This time around, the sound seemed a little more thrash-oriented, though the black metal elements are still obviously present; this, though, probably is just a function of the bill. Good stufff, and they need to re-press FDHB so I can get a CD of it instead of just the shirt...for which I inadvertently gave Rich a hard time; I'll spot him some PBR the next time I get a chance.
It's germane here to mention that Jason is the best-kept secret in Boston heavy metal. Nobody ever notices him because in this band, he's on stage with two very good-looking and seriously talented female guitarists, but the dude can fucken play. I was parked in front of him for this set, and as a bass player couldn't help but notice his annihilating speed and technique. Just monstrous. The next time you see Hekseri, stop staring at Megan and Larissa for a second and look over at Jason; it's definitely worth it, and you won't question why you're looking at a sweaty dude instead of the other options available.
Defcon 4 [5/7]
Because I had stepped back to go through the merch tables and get some more beer, I was a little ways back when this band started playing, which was probably for the best; there were more people in the venue now, and those with more of an interest in this band's grindy style of hardcore deserved to get closer up rather than some old dude with prominent Blind Guardian patches on his rig. The band put up a good set, though not really one that was going to be immediately memorable for me. This has more to do with the style than the band; their execution was dead-on, and the crowd reacted well to them, finally getting the pit going on their second song -- though in fairness, there weren't really enough people in the building for a viable pit until the very end of Hekseri's set.
Municipal Waste [6/7]
It was between Defcon and the Waste that I got my Hekseri shirt, so by the time I got back to the floor, I was further back than I've ever seen a show in this building. The floor was fucking packed with both punks and metalheads, save the huge pit in the middle, and the Waste did not disappoint. They ripped through a bunch of old shit, but also tossed in some brand-new songs, and for those worried about them now doing "gay breakdowns" since they'll be recording with Zeuss, this is absolutely not the case. It's still good old kickass crossover, because it's still fucking Municipal Waste!
The only thing "gay" about this set was the behavior of the club security. Not only were they ejecting people for crowdsurfing, they confiscated the fucking boogie board. This is by far the lamest behavior I've ever seen out of secus, and not only have I been to both Mark's and Tabu, I was also at that North-Shore-infamous VFW show in Manchester where the bands got read that bizarre riot act before the show started. If you book a thrash or hardcore show, you are going to get crowdsurfing and intense moshing. If you book Municipal Waste, you are going to get people riding around on boogie boards. If you don't want to handle this, don't book the show! I can understand the venue's need to avoid liability from people cracking their heads open on the floor, but there's no need to eject people instead of just running them to the back of the hall, and it's not cool to confiscate band equipment.
In addition to the obligato shirt and patch, I also got the tape re-release of Waste 'Em All, mostly for the Tango and Thrash EP. I'll probably convert that tomorrow to listen to later; it's almost definitely the best EP based entirely on Kurt Russell movies ever released.
Into Eternity [5/7]
I and basically everyone else in the room would much rather have had Sadus, or instead that Hirax and Municipal Waste had both gone for the full run rather than splitting the third spot. However, this meant that as the floor emptied out, I could go over, get a beer, and get right up to the front pretty much unchallenged -- where I could not only see the band, but also hold down floor space for Destruction. Into Eternity put on a decent performance, but they'll fit much better with Dark Tranquillity and The Haunted when that tour comes around (Metal Spring Break, end of next month) than they did on this bill. In this lineup, they were out of place in style as well as intent, but there were still a bunch of people into them.
Destruction [7/7]
They didn't play quite as long as I'd ideally have liked, but I really don't know how this set could have gone much better on this continent. I was right up front, it got nice and violent, and the band freakin killed. They played a good mix of old and new stuff, and the crowd, in a good sign for a reunited band, knew stuff from both eras very well and about in equal measure. It was a nice long set, but cut off by a 12:30 sound curfew; if the freakin club had started the show when it was supposed to, we would have gotten more Destruction, and less time turning into metalheadsicles. Still a great show; all the Metal Winter Break shows are looking to be.
I'm going to have to look at the Wacken lineup again; if they have enough of the other people in place to do "Alliance of Hellhoundz" live, it will be freakin sweet.
Eventually they let us by drips and drabs in the fucking building, and I got in, processed, and drinkin'. It only took Hekseri a little while to set up once people started getting in, and from that point, the bands were go.
Hekseri [5/7]
This was a decent set, though their sound wasn't as good as when I saw them the last time, despite that being in a much smaller venue. It may be just where I was standing, but everyone was similarly within a few feet of the stage; it may be just that they were the first band on, but it's also likely that basically everyone inside was down for Hekseri, it's just that the staff wasn't letting people in the fucking club. Seriously, doors were some fucking bullshit. This time around, the sound seemed a little more thrash-oriented, though the black metal elements are still obviously present; this, though, probably is just a function of the bill. Good stufff, and they need to re-press FDHB so I can get a CD of it instead of just the shirt...for which I inadvertently gave Rich a hard time; I'll spot him some PBR the next time I get a chance.
It's germane here to mention that Jason is the best-kept secret in Boston heavy metal. Nobody ever notices him because in this band, he's on stage with two very good-looking and seriously talented female guitarists, but the dude can fucken play. I was parked in front of him for this set, and as a bass player couldn't help but notice his annihilating speed and technique. Just monstrous. The next time you see Hekseri, stop staring at Megan and Larissa for a second and look over at Jason; it's definitely worth it, and you won't question why you're looking at a sweaty dude instead of the other options available.
Defcon 4 [5/7]
Because I had stepped back to go through the merch tables and get some more beer, I was a little ways back when this band started playing, which was probably for the best; there were more people in the venue now, and those with more of an interest in this band's grindy style of hardcore deserved to get closer up rather than some old dude with prominent Blind Guardian patches on his rig. The band put up a good set, though not really one that was going to be immediately memorable for me. This has more to do with the style than the band; their execution was dead-on, and the crowd reacted well to them, finally getting the pit going on their second song -- though in fairness, there weren't really enough people in the building for a viable pit until the very end of Hekseri's set.
Municipal Waste [6/7]
It was between Defcon and the Waste that I got my Hekseri shirt, so by the time I got back to the floor, I was further back than I've ever seen a show in this building. The floor was fucking packed with both punks and metalheads, save the huge pit in the middle, and the Waste did not disappoint. They ripped through a bunch of old shit, but also tossed in some brand-new songs, and for those worried about them now doing "gay breakdowns" since they'll be recording with Zeuss, this is absolutely not the case. It's still good old kickass crossover, because it's still fucking Municipal Waste!
The only thing "gay" about this set was the behavior of the club security. Not only were they ejecting people for crowdsurfing, they confiscated the fucking boogie board. This is by far the lamest behavior I've ever seen out of secus, and not only have I been to both Mark's and Tabu, I was also at that North-Shore-infamous VFW show in Manchester where the bands got read that bizarre riot act before the show started. If you book a thrash or hardcore show, you are going to get crowdsurfing and intense moshing. If you book Municipal Waste, you are going to get people riding around on boogie boards. If you don't want to handle this, don't book the show! I can understand the venue's need to avoid liability from people cracking their heads open on the floor, but there's no need to eject people instead of just running them to the back of the hall, and it's not cool to confiscate band equipment.
In addition to the obligato shirt and patch, I also got the tape re-release of Waste 'Em All, mostly for the Tango and Thrash EP. I'll probably convert that tomorrow to listen to later; it's almost definitely the best EP based entirely on Kurt Russell movies ever released.
Into Eternity [5/7]
I and basically everyone else in the room would much rather have had Sadus, or instead that Hirax and Municipal Waste had both gone for the full run rather than splitting the third spot. However, this meant that as the floor emptied out, I could go over, get a beer, and get right up to the front pretty much unchallenged -- where I could not only see the band, but also hold down floor space for Destruction. Into Eternity put on a decent performance, but they'll fit much better with Dark Tranquillity and The Haunted when that tour comes around (Metal Spring Break, end of next month) than they did on this bill. In this lineup, they were out of place in style as well as intent, but there were still a bunch of people into them.
Destruction [7/7]
They didn't play quite as long as I'd ideally have liked, but I really don't know how this set could have gone much better on this continent. I was right up front, it got nice and violent, and the band freakin killed. They played a good mix of old and new stuff, and the crowd, in a good sign for a reunited band, knew stuff from both eras very well and about in equal measure. It was a nice long set, but cut off by a 12:30 sound curfew; if the freakin club had started the show when it was supposed to, we would have gotten more Destruction, and less time turning into metalheadsicles. Still a great show; all the Metal Winter Break shows are looking to be.
I'm going to have to look at the Wacken lineup again; if they have enough of the other people in place to do "Alliance of Hellhoundz" live, it will be freakin sweet.
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Metal Winter Break part 1: Joe Stump with Polaris, Revocation, and Gutwrench [Ralph's Diner, Worcester, 2/1/2007]
The first day is in the books, and it was a fuckin' awesome start to this four-shows-in-seven-days stand. The drive in wasn't so bad, except for the part about briefly getting lost in Worcester. Next time it'll go much easier; Google's directions are highly biased towards shorter distance rather than easier navigation. I managed to get in though, and had time to get a beer and stretch out a little before the bands started. The grill was a little crowded, so no cheeseburger; maybe next time.
Gutwrench [5/7]
I got up to the upstairs (ambience somewhere between Middle East upstairs and Sputnix -- a really cool vibe and good beer under 4 bucks) just as these guys were starting up. They came off as a little flat, maybe due to opening on a Thursday or maybe because the guitarist was sick, but still put up a really solid thrash-death set, if probably the least technical of the night. Of course, considering the lineup, this isn't really surprising. This was a good performance even without considering any other factors, but the rest of the bands were going to be a significant step up regardless. I hope to see this band again sometime when they're on their game or hear them on record; there's a fair bit of potential here that was shown imperfectly at this gig.
Before Revocation went on, I hit the Oak Knoll distro table and picked up a bunch of stuff: a Toxik tape, Bethlehem's Dark Metal, demos from Zircon and Hekseri, and a bunch of other CDs that I can't recall right now. There were additionally about 5 or 6 other releases that I'd liked to have gotten my claws into; again, later when I'm not as broke.
Revocation [7/7]
For as long as I've been seeing them, the hurdle that Revocation has had to overcome has been this idea of 'casual awesomeness': the band does incredible stuff, but so easily and almost without recognizing it that it goes unnoticed. This was not the case here; I can't put my finger on exactly what with this set took it up to the next level, it was, indisputably, the best performance I've seen from them. Unlike the headliners on this bill, the ridiculous technicality never came off as for its own sake, always firmly applied to where the song was going. Revocation continues to move from strength to strength, so while this was one of the best sets I've seen at the local level, it's also eminently possible that we'll see even better from them in the future, maybe as soon as Wednesday, the last show in this odyssey.
Between Revocation and Polaris, I finally got around to getting the locale for the Wednesday show out of Anthony. I haven't been to a proper basement show in a while; if I can avoid injury to my joints and ears, it's gonna be pretty awesome.
Polaris [6/7]
Though the sound was really good for the other bands, for about half Polaris' set it sounded out of whack, with the bass thoroughly dominating everything else. I did pick up their current CD, so I'll be able to tell how intentional this was. Beyond the sound, the music was quite good and well-delivered, fitting in somewhere between Imperium and the heavier modern progressive bands. I'm also looking forward to seeing them again, though their style isn't the most usual in the underground around here and as such they seem to have problems fitting on bills. It's still good music worth checking out, and this was a really cool set.
Joe Stump [6/7]
Holy Shrapnel Records Batman. Joe Stump is Dave (Revocation) Davidson's guitar teacher, and also a ESP-endorsed shredmaster, and demonstrated why for the better part of an hour and a half. The rest of his band was very technically skilled as well, but this set was all about Joe shredding back and forth like crazy. Technically, it was amazing, faster overall playing than almost anyone I've ever seen, faster hand action than everyone except Dave Suzuki -- but with much less wasted motion, and everything kept perfectly composed, connected, and in tune. To a certain extent, this was more a guitar demo than a real set, but it was still a great performance; if I hadn't seen Tony Choy taking over the Party Stage this year, this would be the top individual metal instrumental performance I've witnessed. Technical fireworks aren't everything, but even when they're the only thing, they can create something pretty damn cool.
In addition to seeing all these cool bands, I'm gradually getting to know more of the scene and other area metal people. I definitely ought to try bringing more North Shore doods in, but most of the guys I know around the area are still in school elsewhere. Tonight, Destruction at the Middle East; maybe an update tomorrow, but the Enslaved show starts at friggin 4 PM due to pay-to-play nonsense. Mark's has got to get this shit under control; if they'd established themselves as a venue first, they wouldn't have to squeeze the locals for the money to pay good tours, because they could count on people buying tickets in the first place. DIAF.
Gutwrench [5/7]
I got up to the upstairs (ambience somewhere between Middle East upstairs and Sputnix -- a really cool vibe and good beer under 4 bucks) just as these guys were starting up. They came off as a little flat, maybe due to opening on a Thursday or maybe because the guitarist was sick, but still put up a really solid thrash-death set, if probably the least technical of the night. Of course, considering the lineup, this isn't really surprising. This was a good performance even without considering any other factors, but the rest of the bands were going to be a significant step up regardless. I hope to see this band again sometime when they're on their game or hear them on record; there's a fair bit of potential here that was shown imperfectly at this gig.
Before Revocation went on, I hit the Oak Knoll distro table and picked up a bunch of stuff: a Toxik tape, Bethlehem's Dark Metal, demos from Zircon and Hekseri, and a bunch of other CDs that I can't recall right now. There were additionally about 5 or 6 other releases that I'd liked to have gotten my claws into; again, later when I'm not as broke.
Revocation [7/7]
For as long as I've been seeing them, the hurdle that Revocation has had to overcome has been this idea of 'casual awesomeness': the band does incredible stuff, but so easily and almost without recognizing it that it goes unnoticed. This was not the case here; I can't put my finger on exactly what with this set took it up to the next level, it was, indisputably, the best performance I've seen from them. Unlike the headliners on this bill, the ridiculous technicality never came off as for its own sake, always firmly applied to where the song was going. Revocation continues to move from strength to strength, so while this was one of the best sets I've seen at the local level, it's also eminently possible that we'll see even better from them in the future, maybe as soon as Wednesday, the last show in this odyssey.
Between Revocation and Polaris, I finally got around to getting the locale for the Wednesday show out of Anthony. I haven't been to a proper basement show in a while; if I can avoid injury to my joints and ears, it's gonna be pretty awesome.
Polaris [6/7]
Though the sound was really good for the other bands, for about half Polaris' set it sounded out of whack, with the bass thoroughly dominating everything else. I did pick up their current CD, so I'll be able to tell how intentional this was. Beyond the sound, the music was quite good and well-delivered, fitting in somewhere between Imperium and the heavier modern progressive bands. I'm also looking forward to seeing them again, though their style isn't the most usual in the underground around here and as such they seem to have problems fitting on bills. It's still good music worth checking out, and this was a really cool set.
Joe Stump [6/7]
Holy Shrapnel Records Batman. Joe Stump is Dave (Revocation) Davidson's guitar teacher, and also a ESP-endorsed shredmaster, and demonstrated why for the better part of an hour and a half. The rest of his band was very technically skilled as well, but this set was all about Joe shredding back and forth like crazy. Technically, it was amazing, faster overall playing than almost anyone I've ever seen, faster hand action than everyone except Dave Suzuki -- but with much less wasted motion, and everything kept perfectly composed, connected, and in tune. To a certain extent, this was more a guitar demo than a real set, but it was still a great performance; if I hadn't seen Tony Choy taking over the Party Stage this year, this would be the top individual metal instrumental performance I've witnessed. Technical fireworks aren't everything, but even when they're the only thing, they can create something pretty damn cool.
In addition to seeing all these cool bands, I'm gradually getting to know more of the scene and other area metal people. I definitely ought to try bringing more North Shore doods in, but most of the guys I know around the area are still in school elsewhere. Tonight, Destruction at the Middle East; maybe an update tomorrow, but the Enslaved show starts at friggin 4 PM due to pay-to-play nonsense. Mark's has got to get this shit under control; if they'd established themselves as a venue first, they wouldn't have to squeeze the locals for the money to pay good tours, because they could count on people buying tickets in the first place. DIAF.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Metal Church with Meliah Rage, Steel Assassin, Ravage, Red Right Hand, La Strega, Troll, and Legion of the Dying [Mark's, Bedford, 1/27/2007]
I got rolling a little later than anticipated, but still arrived with plenty of time, actually a couple minutes before doors. It's probably just that the back roads component winds around, and the part on 93 is such a huge pain in the ass, that it makes the drive feel longer than it is. On the way in, I got a ticket off Legion of the Dying; I already had one, but as discussed previously, getting tickets to a P2P show without going through the bands is like stabbing them in the back. There are equitable ways to do pay to play (maybe discussed in a later post), but requiring a band to front $400 to play at 6 PM to barely more people on the floor than on the stage is not one of them.
This settled, I got inside, got a beer, and started fielding questions and comments about my jacket almost immediately. This would be an ongoing theme of the night; there were a couple other guys in kuttes there, but mine as especially ridiculous seemed to draw consistent attention. I talked with the vocalist of La Strega initially -- he had a similar rig but out'grew' it -- and then one of Ravage's hangers-on later, before La Strega, who had a leather vest that patches kept falling off of. Folks, there are tailoring solutions to both these problems. If you get too rotund for your kutte, cut the seams out on the sides and shoulders, sew in a 3- or 4-inch spacer section of denim in all areas, then cover the spacing up with more patches so it looks more natural. And if you've got a leather vest, there are these things called leather needles that are sharp and strong enough to go through it. There's no way my jacket could survive the heavy use and abuse it gets if the patches were ironed rather than sewn on.
Enough with the metal homemaking tips already. On to the bands.
Legion of the Dying [4.5/7]
I was really going back and forth on this band, and ended up going with a split score, which I hate having to resort to. However, it turned out to be both necessary and accurate, because there are a fair number of hairs to be split on the first half of the bill. These guys did a decent job despite the fact that the audience never got up to even double the number of people on stage, working an odd but decent mix of power and black metal that probably doesn't owe as much to Bifrost as it sounded to me. It was a pretty good performance, though there's room for improvement in some of the material, and there's definitely a reason that this band was opening up this show rather than playing later. The other five metalheads who saw this set were probably equally entertained, but those who came in later did not miss much, either from this band or much of the first half of the bill.
Troll [4/7]
It probably goes without saying that this is not the Norwegian black metal Troll, but a hard rock combo of the same name from New England. Their set was better than might have been anticipated; the drummer did use all of his forest of cymbals, and though any number of very negative things might have been said about the band based on their average age, none of them would actually have been true. The music was strongly hard-rock based, the kind of attack that the guys at BNR usually call just "'80s metal", and mostly well-performed. In spots I got the impression that I was watching My Pet Demon through a window into fifteen years in the future; I'm sure that the band won't be crazy about hearing this as if they're going to be stuck playing mediocre bar shows forever and not really getting any traction, but the reasons are more positive: a band resolutely swimming against the current, playing the kind of music that drives them, no matter what the trends are. For this reason I really have to respect this band, even though I'm not crazy about their music, and a lot of the local bands on this bill that had several older members, for sticking it out, playing metal, and continuing to put up with the bullshit of underground gigging and promotion despite moving forward in their lives.
La Strega [4.5/7]
I picked both a good and a bad spot to see this band from. On the positive side, I got right up on the rail to get an earful of their guitar. On the negative side, the guitarist was playing through at least a full stack, maybe a double stack, and I could barely hear anything else, and the vocals more or less not at all. The performance was pretty good, built mainly on classic melodic metal, but there were warts on it as well. The guitarist definitely has chops, but I'm not nearly as sold on his musical sense; no matter how kickass a solo is technically, and there were some really good ones in their set, it'll still sound bad if it's not in the same key that the rest of the band is playing in. Even though this was defined by only a bassist last night, it still bears remembering.
Red Right Hand [5/7]
I was having trouble placing these guys until I talked with this other dude at the bar; he commented that they sounded a lot like Exodus, and the light immediately went on. Thet did sound a hell of a lot like Exodus, putting a little more melodics into an aggressive thrash sound and topping it off with a singer spitting vitriol. They were the only band to play a cover on this bill -- how "Highway Star" dropped out of Metal Church's set is a tale told later -- and they did ample justice in ripping through Slayer's "Black Magic". You don't see too many bands reaching back to do stuff off Show No Mercy at the local level, even a cut as well-known as this one. All in all it was a pretty killer set; I scored a CD off them as well, and in this case it was direct support of the band, not, as with the two Troll discs I got, because the other bands didn't have their fucking merch setups out. I'm looking at you, Steel Assassin and Ravage; when you kick ass on stage, make sure you've got some dood in the back with the box of CDs so you can take money from the people you just pumped up.
Ravage [6/7]
This was as good a set as I've seen from Ravage in a long time; Al seemed really on, and the sound guys had his vocals dialed in perfectly, which has not been the case in the recent past. Of course, the last time I saw Ravage was at a disco in Saugus, so there's definitely an explanation here. They did all new material -- off their two albums, no Curse of Heaven stuff -- and all of it sounded great. They did have a banner of the Spectral Rider guy, but it was draped over the front monitors rather than hung in the back (as it probably was on their Euro dates). This is probably just as well, because Steel Assassin had some problems with their banner, which are kind of to be expected when you're tying it to the ceiling rather than to a truss. The guy they got to fill in of Howie (who recently quit) on bass did a competent job, but stayed mostly at the back, probably indicating that he's just filling in on a temporary bassist, and the Ravage bassist search will continue.
Steel Assassin [6/7]
Several people commented that of the undercard, these guys stole the show. I don't necessarily agree with that -- the last three supporting acts were largely even, maybe incremental steps in advancing order, in my view -- but I can definitely see where that assessment would come from. They did a strong set of Maiden-inspired power/thrash metal, and really got the crowd churning up. Again, my position may have cost me some of the impact -- I was up front, but leaning on the stage left bass tubes -- but I was still seriously impressed, and hope to catch this band sometime else when they have merch.
Meliah Rage [6/7]
Finally, the touring bands came up, and the impact showed it to be worth the wait, even for those somewhat mental people who didn't enjoy a very good lineup of local openers. Meliah Rage played with a fire and intensity that seemed deliberately intended to belie certain assertions made about them being D-level generic thrash and unable to gain traction. The music itself was fairly typical, built heavily around ideas originally explored by Metallica, but the performance more than made up for the relative lack of originality in composition; there is nothing wrong with doing stuff that others have done before, as long as you kick ass at it and put on a good show, which was absolutely the case here. They played a good mix of old and new material, and always with a fanatic energy; the singer stagedived three times, and fortunately all three times was caught and returned. This is by no means a sure thing, as he's kind of a big dude, and Mark's has a no-mosh policy, so the first leap may have caught a few people by surprise. It was an awesome performance, but if it ran late (I wasn't watching the clocks), it might come out as a negative....for reasons to be documented a little further on.
Metal Church [7/7]
This is not solely a psycho fanboy reaction to finally hearing Blessing In Disguise stuff live. The key word in that one is 'solely'; hearing this lineup do "Fake Healer" is definitely one of the highlights of my year so far and will probably continue to be even after we get out of January. I don't know whether it's audience- or copyrights-driven, but this set, unlike their performances at Wacken, this set covered the band's whole career, though weighted early, if only because there's just so much awesome material on Metal Church and The Dark. They brought out a couple dancers from the strip club part of the building for "Fake Healer", and while there were a few dollars thrown on stage, I probably wouldn't've noticed even if they had, at any point, taken any of their (minimal) clothes off. Save the chicks for some other number if you want people to look at them, this is FAKE FUCKING HEALER! This set was debatably better than when I saw them on the Party Stage, but was unfortunately cut short before the encore -- "Highway Star" as mentioned earlier -- due to club curfew. The astonishing lameness of this is difficult to comprehend, but this of course isn't the band's fault; the problem lies with the club, and indirectly with the promoter for booking them here...and then via multiple indirection, with whoever booked their tour through New England Concerts rather than trying to get them into Boston. It was still an awesome set even without the encore -- and really, there would probably have been no complaints had they just gone on for another half hour, even with the snow and the condition of the roads outside.
I've now recovered all my hearing damage, and have the newly purchased Metal Church pin affixed to my jacket; next show's probably out in Worcester, Metal Thursday starting off Metal Winter Break, which has gotten a little more potential fill. I probably won't go up to Mark's again to pay Diecast to see Mortis Dev and Frozen on Friday, but I'm mulling over trying to get into this party Mark Fields of You're Fired is throwing Saturday. On the plus side, metal + party. On the minus side, I'm not sure that I could even survive partying out with Anal Cunt and assorted dudes, and it'd be a fucking shame to miss the rest of Metal Winter Break due to being dead or in jail or in the hospital or something. We'll see how this shakes out.
This settled, I got inside, got a beer, and started fielding questions and comments about my jacket almost immediately. This would be an ongoing theme of the night; there were a couple other guys in kuttes there, but mine as especially ridiculous seemed to draw consistent attention. I talked with the vocalist of La Strega initially -- he had a similar rig but out'grew' it -- and then one of Ravage's hangers-on later, before La Strega, who had a leather vest that patches kept falling off of. Folks, there are tailoring solutions to both these problems. If you get too rotund for your kutte, cut the seams out on the sides and shoulders, sew in a 3- or 4-inch spacer section of denim in all areas, then cover the spacing up with more patches so it looks more natural. And if you've got a leather vest, there are these things called leather needles that are sharp and strong enough to go through it. There's no way my jacket could survive the heavy use and abuse it gets if the patches were ironed rather than sewn on.
Enough with the metal homemaking tips already. On to the bands.
Legion of the Dying [4.5/7]
I was really going back and forth on this band, and ended up going with a split score, which I hate having to resort to. However, it turned out to be both necessary and accurate, because there are a fair number of hairs to be split on the first half of the bill. These guys did a decent job despite the fact that the audience never got up to even double the number of people on stage, working an odd but decent mix of power and black metal that probably doesn't owe as much to Bifrost as it sounded to me. It was a pretty good performance, though there's room for improvement in some of the material, and there's definitely a reason that this band was opening up this show rather than playing later. The other five metalheads who saw this set were probably equally entertained, but those who came in later did not miss much, either from this band or much of the first half of the bill.
Troll [4/7]
It probably goes without saying that this is not the Norwegian black metal Troll, but a hard rock combo of the same name from New England. Their set was better than might have been anticipated; the drummer did use all of his forest of cymbals, and though any number of very negative things might have been said about the band based on their average age, none of them would actually have been true. The music was strongly hard-rock based, the kind of attack that the guys at BNR usually call just "'80s metal", and mostly well-performed. In spots I got the impression that I was watching My Pet Demon through a window into fifteen years in the future; I'm sure that the band won't be crazy about hearing this as if they're going to be stuck playing mediocre bar shows forever and not really getting any traction, but the reasons are more positive: a band resolutely swimming against the current, playing the kind of music that drives them, no matter what the trends are. For this reason I really have to respect this band, even though I'm not crazy about their music, and a lot of the local bands on this bill that had several older members, for sticking it out, playing metal, and continuing to put up with the bullshit of underground gigging and promotion despite moving forward in their lives.
La Strega [4.5/7]
I picked both a good and a bad spot to see this band from. On the positive side, I got right up on the rail to get an earful of their guitar. On the negative side, the guitarist was playing through at least a full stack, maybe a double stack, and I could barely hear anything else, and the vocals more or less not at all. The performance was pretty good, built mainly on classic melodic metal, but there were warts on it as well. The guitarist definitely has chops, but I'm not nearly as sold on his musical sense; no matter how kickass a solo is technically, and there were some really good ones in their set, it'll still sound bad if it's not in the same key that the rest of the band is playing in. Even though this was defined by only a bassist last night, it still bears remembering.
Red Right Hand [5/7]
I was having trouble placing these guys until I talked with this other dude at the bar; he commented that they sounded a lot like Exodus, and the light immediately went on. Thet did sound a hell of a lot like Exodus, putting a little more melodics into an aggressive thrash sound and topping it off with a singer spitting vitriol. They were the only band to play a cover on this bill -- how "Highway Star" dropped out of Metal Church's set is a tale told later -- and they did ample justice in ripping through Slayer's "Black Magic". You don't see too many bands reaching back to do stuff off Show No Mercy at the local level, even a cut as well-known as this one. All in all it was a pretty killer set; I scored a CD off them as well, and in this case it was direct support of the band, not, as with the two Troll discs I got, because the other bands didn't have their fucking merch setups out. I'm looking at you, Steel Assassin and Ravage; when you kick ass on stage, make sure you've got some dood in the back with the box of CDs so you can take money from the people you just pumped up.
Ravage [6/7]
This was as good a set as I've seen from Ravage in a long time; Al seemed really on, and the sound guys had his vocals dialed in perfectly, which has not been the case in the recent past. Of course, the last time I saw Ravage was at a disco in Saugus, so there's definitely an explanation here. They did all new material -- off their two albums, no Curse of Heaven stuff -- and all of it sounded great. They did have a banner of the Spectral Rider guy, but it was draped over the front monitors rather than hung in the back (as it probably was on their Euro dates). This is probably just as well, because Steel Assassin had some problems with their banner, which are kind of to be expected when you're tying it to the ceiling rather than to a truss. The guy they got to fill in of Howie (who recently quit) on bass did a competent job, but stayed mostly at the back, probably indicating that he's just filling in on a temporary bassist, and the Ravage bassist search will continue.
Steel Assassin [6/7]
Several people commented that of the undercard, these guys stole the show. I don't necessarily agree with that -- the last three supporting acts were largely even, maybe incremental steps in advancing order, in my view -- but I can definitely see where that assessment would come from. They did a strong set of Maiden-inspired power/thrash metal, and really got the crowd churning up. Again, my position may have cost me some of the impact -- I was up front, but leaning on the stage left bass tubes -- but I was still seriously impressed, and hope to catch this band sometime else when they have merch.
Meliah Rage [6/7]
Finally, the touring bands came up, and the impact showed it to be worth the wait, even for those somewhat mental people who didn't enjoy a very good lineup of local openers. Meliah Rage played with a fire and intensity that seemed deliberately intended to belie certain assertions made about them being D-level generic thrash and unable to gain traction. The music itself was fairly typical, built heavily around ideas originally explored by Metallica, but the performance more than made up for the relative lack of originality in composition; there is nothing wrong with doing stuff that others have done before, as long as you kick ass at it and put on a good show, which was absolutely the case here. They played a good mix of old and new material, and always with a fanatic energy; the singer stagedived three times, and fortunately all three times was caught and returned. This is by no means a sure thing, as he's kind of a big dude, and Mark's has a no-mosh policy, so the first leap may have caught a few people by surprise. It was an awesome performance, but if it ran late (I wasn't watching the clocks), it might come out as a negative....for reasons to be documented a little further on.
Metal Church [7/7]
This is not solely a psycho fanboy reaction to finally hearing Blessing In Disguise stuff live. The key word in that one is 'solely'; hearing this lineup do "Fake Healer" is definitely one of the highlights of my year so far and will probably continue to be even after we get out of January. I don't know whether it's audience- or copyrights-driven, but this set, unlike their performances at Wacken, this set covered the band's whole career, though weighted early, if only because there's just so much awesome material on Metal Church and The Dark. They brought out a couple dancers from the strip club part of the building for "Fake Healer", and while there were a few dollars thrown on stage, I probably wouldn't've noticed even if they had, at any point, taken any of their (minimal) clothes off. Save the chicks for some other number if you want people to look at them, this is FAKE FUCKING HEALER! This set was debatably better than when I saw them on the Party Stage, but was unfortunately cut short before the encore -- "Highway Star" as mentioned earlier -- due to club curfew. The astonishing lameness of this is difficult to comprehend, but this of course isn't the band's fault; the problem lies with the club, and indirectly with the promoter for booking them here...and then via multiple indirection, with whoever booked their tour through New England Concerts rather than trying to get them into Boston. It was still an awesome set even without the encore -- and really, there would probably have been no complaints had they just gone on for another half hour, even with the snow and the condition of the roads outside.
I've now recovered all my hearing damage, and have the newly purchased Metal Church pin affixed to my jacket; next show's probably out in Worcester, Metal Thursday starting off Metal Winter Break, which has gotten a little more potential fill. I probably won't go up to Mark's again to pay Diecast to see Mortis Dev and Frozen on Friday, but I'm mulling over trying to get into this party Mark Fields of You're Fired is throwing Saturday. On the plus side, metal + party. On the minus side, I'm not sure that I could even survive partying out with Anal Cunt and assorted dudes, and it'd be a fucking shame to miss the rest of Metal Winter Break due to being dead or in jail or in the hospital or something. We'll see how this shakes out.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Godless Rising with Downfall, Goreality, and Mortis Deveia [Skybar, Somerville, 1/24/2007]
Midweek shows suck. Well, more accurately, it sucks that shows are put on midweek, and it would suck if a midweek show, once attended, was not so awesome that you don't care that it's on a Wednesday. This show, quite obviously, did not suck, but I definitely would rather have caught it on the weekend for external reasons.
Though it was a little more difficult parking with the factory behind the venue still working, not leaving huge swaths of sidewalk open for cars, I got in without a hitch a little before Mortis Dev went on. I probably could have taken a little more time and got some Chinese food before going in, but I misestimated their ability to be open later midweek and didn't. Instead, I went in, started drinking, and pawed through the distro table while the bands were setting up. Jeff gave me a 20-percent discount on the crazy stack of CDs I pulled out -- sue me, I'm a sucker for anything on Wild Rags -- and also sold me on a plainly awesome Godless Rising patch, which is one of the most well-finished that I've ever seen, especially from so underground a band. Of course, it's the top patch on his kutte, so he's going to be sure that it kicks some serious ass from the design and manufacturing standpoints. Contrast this with Celtic Frost's M.O. of "screenprint something, overcharge for it, and show no signs of caring at any point in the process".
While I was buying the patch, Mortis Deveia started up; this was unexpected because the band was down to a four-piece, and I like most people was anticipating that they wouldn't start until all of the band was there.
Mortis Deveia [5/7]
The bassist had to work or something, leaving the band as a four-piece with little low end. They still did a good set, mostly because the rest of the band is awesome enough to pull such off, even when the number of paying audience members is still in the single digits. The absence of the bass was definitely felt, though, because without the low end solidifying the song, Mortis Deveia transforms easily into the Henry Khiev Show, and as sick as he is on guitar, the band works better when they're playing as a band, not as sidemen. Still a good performance, though not their best. They'll have other chances to establish themselves more strongly in the Boston area, and they definitely moved a lot of demos, which are now in a new pressing with a tracklisting and a larger spiffy logo. The old demos are now collectible, but still have Mortis Deveia on them, making it unlikely that anyone who currently has one will want to part with it.
Goreality [7/7]
I've heard a lot of good things about this band, and was somewhat surprised that they were going on second, instead of Downfall. Of course, bills don't have to make sense; the bands just have to rock. And rock Goreality certainly did, laying out one of the strongest brutal death sets that I've ever seen, and quite possibly the strongest at the local level. The technicality never overwhelmed the groove, and the songs moved and roared into one another in an organic and epic fashion. The other bands on the bill also kicked ass, but Goreality's set, at least to someone who hadn't seen them before, was something else and something special. This was the same kind of feeling that I got seeing Suffocation at the Palladium a few months back: the promise of brutal death metal fulfilled, in this monolith of sky-filling sound that acquires beauty and wonder by disregarding everything except its own existence. Awesome.
I should have nailed them to the wall and got a shirt as well as their split with Clitorture (which I did get from Jeff), but it was at this time that I unsuccessfully attempted to get Chinese. I'm slotted to see them again here in April, though, so I can nab it then.
Downfall [6/7]
And just like that, it was time for Boston's favorite local South American death metal band. Yes, it sounds odd, but only in that this band is based out of the Bay State, not that they're a bunch of Latin guys who play thrashy brutal death. They had a single false start on a song, but otherwise more or less destroyed, putting out a killer set and getting the developing crowd involved. Of course, people had been up and thrashing as soon as people who weren't in bands got to the venue, but Downfall drew a lot of people in, and the craziness from them carried over into Godless Rising's set. I need to get a demo from these guys as well, but they didn't appear to have anything out; have to watch out in the future.
Godless Rising [6/7]
Though to a certain degree Goreality stole this show, Godless Rising went a long way towards taking it all back with their set here. As a NWOBHM freak and semi-professional snark, it's easy for me to think of this band as "Gruslin/Flynn Vital Remains", but that's not exactly the case. They played no Vital covers, and a ton of new (yet-unreleased) material, which strongly establishes this band as doing something independent and self-sufficient. Sure, the concept of fast brutal death metal with a melodic finish inherits from Vital's early work as much as the current lineup of Vital does, but this music is being developed in a different direction, with different priorities. It was a great set, and I'm sure that everyone else there also wished that they could have gone on longer, but they did play right up to the venue's cutoff.
Before leaving I nabbed a shirt (can't have my characters buying their merch if I don't as well) to evangelize them around some, then pulled to make sure that I got home in time to sleep some before work. Closures of 93 did not help in this regard, but I got around and back in one piece, having done 3 shows on one tank of gas. Work being so close rocks.
I'm currently mulling over a compilation project to make my yearly pilgrimage to Wacken more useful for other people, but that's waiting on getting the tickets and flight set, then doing a check on what space I have available in my pack. More info later if I end up deciding it's feasible.
Though it was a little more difficult parking with the factory behind the venue still working, not leaving huge swaths of sidewalk open for cars, I got in without a hitch a little before Mortis Dev went on. I probably could have taken a little more time and got some Chinese food before going in, but I misestimated their ability to be open later midweek and didn't. Instead, I went in, started drinking, and pawed through the distro table while the bands were setting up. Jeff gave me a 20-percent discount on the crazy stack of CDs I pulled out -- sue me, I'm a sucker for anything on Wild Rags -- and also sold me on a plainly awesome Godless Rising patch, which is one of the most well-finished that I've ever seen, especially from so underground a band. Of course, it's the top patch on his kutte, so he's going to be sure that it kicks some serious ass from the design and manufacturing standpoints. Contrast this with Celtic Frost's M.O. of "screenprint something, overcharge for it, and show no signs of caring at any point in the process".
While I was buying the patch, Mortis Deveia started up; this was unexpected because the band was down to a four-piece, and I like most people was anticipating that they wouldn't start until all of the band was there.
Mortis Deveia [5/7]
The bassist had to work or something, leaving the band as a four-piece with little low end. They still did a good set, mostly because the rest of the band is awesome enough to pull such off, even when the number of paying audience members is still in the single digits. The absence of the bass was definitely felt, though, because without the low end solidifying the song, Mortis Deveia transforms easily into the Henry Khiev Show, and as sick as he is on guitar, the band works better when they're playing as a band, not as sidemen. Still a good performance, though not their best. They'll have other chances to establish themselves more strongly in the Boston area, and they definitely moved a lot of demos, which are now in a new pressing with a tracklisting and a larger spiffy logo. The old demos are now collectible, but still have Mortis Deveia on them, making it unlikely that anyone who currently has one will want to part with it.
Goreality [7/7]
I've heard a lot of good things about this band, and was somewhat surprised that they were going on second, instead of Downfall. Of course, bills don't have to make sense; the bands just have to rock. And rock Goreality certainly did, laying out one of the strongest brutal death sets that I've ever seen, and quite possibly the strongest at the local level. The technicality never overwhelmed the groove, and the songs moved and roared into one another in an organic and epic fashion. The other bands on the bill also kicked ass, but Goreality's set, at least to someone who hadn't seen them before, was something else and something special. This was the same kind of feeling that I got seeing Suffocation at the Palladium a few months back: the promise of brutal death metal fulfilled, in this monolith of sky-filling sound that acquires beauty and wonder by disregarding everything except its own existence. Awesome.
I should have nailed them to the wall and got a shirt as well as their split with Clitorture (which I did get from Jeff), but it was at this time that I unsuccessfully attempted to get Chinese. I'm slotted to see them again here in April, though, so I can nab it then.
Downfall [6/7]
And just like that, it was time for Boston's favorite local South American death metal band. Yes, it sounds odd, but only in that this band is based out of the Bay State, not that they're a bunch of Latin guys who play thrashy brutal death. They had a single false start on a song, but otherwise more or less destroyed, putting out a killer set and getting the developing crowd involved. Of course, people had been up and thrashing as soon as people who weren't in bands got to the venue, but Downfall drew a lot of people in, and the craziness from them carried over into Godless Rising's set. I need to get a demo from these guys as well, but they didn't appear to have anything out; have to watch out in the future.
Godless Rising [6/7]
Though to a certain degree Goreality stole this show, Godless Rising went a long way towards taking it all back with their set here. As a NWOBHM freak and semi-professional snark, it's easy for me to think of this band as "Gruslin/Flynn Vital Remains", but that's not exactly the case. They played no Vital covers, and a ton of new (yet-unreleased) material, which strongly establishes this band as doing something independent and self-sufficient. Sure, the concept of fast brutal death metal with a melodic finish inherits from Vital's early work as much as the current lineup of Vital does, but this music is being developed in a different direction, with different priorities. It was a great set, and I'm sure that everyone else there also wished that they could have gone on longer, but they did play right up to the venue's cutoff.
Before leaving I nabbed a shirt (can't have my characters buying their merch if I don't as well) to evangelize them around some, then pulled to make sure that I got home in time to sleep some before work. Closures of 93 did not help in this regard, but I got around and back in one piece, having done 3 shows on one tank of gas. Work being so close rocks.
I'm currently mulling over a compilation project to make my yearly pilgrimage to Wacken more useful for other people, but that's waiting on getting the tickets and flight set, then doing a check on what space I have available in my pack. More info later if I end up deciding it's feasible.
Monday, January 22, 2007
two nights, two shows
Fortunately, it's only snowing now, not over the weekend, and it's not enough that the snow ban lights are on. This means I can stay in and collate two show reviews here instead of having to go drive somewhere, or be worried about moving my car off the street.
Revocation and Deadlikedeath
Caralilly's, Quincy, 1/19/2007
--
Technically, the bill should be flipped, but Revocation did put this show up, and the two bands here were about equally supported. Two bands on a DIY bill, the order basically doesn't matter.
I got down roughly on time, though before most of the band members got there, despite the usual 93 shenanigans and a couple blocks of walking to get over from the North Quincy T. The venue in question is a nice place, normally a piano bar, but it converts well into a DIY venue. It's a decent place for a local show, and proof that we do have the technical capabilities on the North Shore to host 18+ and 21+ shows...provided that someone gets off their ass and does it. Someone who isn't subject to randomly getting shuttled off to the ends of the earth, just so we're clear on this.
Before the bands got going, I unwittingly provided some opening entertainment by ordering a beer that had to come out of the wrong cooler. Said beer was partially frozen, and detonated on opening, covering the bartender and a fair stretch of the bar in an explosion of beer slush. She was a good sport about it, though, and it gave everyone something to laugh about while the bands were setting up.
Revocation [6/7]
Another show, another casually awesome performance from Revocation. This performance presented more of a relaxed, Bay-Area feel around the more technical or death-influenced parts of their sound, but the set was still unmistakeably in their usual style. Dave brought out some new guitar tricks, Anthony didn't take his shirt off, and a large number of people bought CDs when they finished; I wasn't anticipating this last, because their disc's been out for a while, and Revocation doesn't exactly hide in the forests building their kvlt credits as opposed to doing shows. This band is so good and performs so relatively often that you'd think most people who go to local shows in the Boston area would have Summon The Spawn by now. Regardless, a bunch more people have it now, and well they should.
Deadlikedeath [5/7]
Midway through their set, Murph likened following Revocation to pissing into a wind tunnel, but it wasn't as bad as all that. DLD gave a good performance, more grind than last time I was them either because that's how they're developing, or more likely because I've been listening to more grind lately and know what to listen to. They didn't seem any more or less comfortable in this venue than at the Middle East, but they were definitely a little looser. There were some stops and starts, but mostly just a kickass set. Unfortunately, I couldn't -- or more accurately, didn't -- stick to the end of it for the car-related reasons mentioned above, so I missed probably about 15 or 20 minutes of rockin' and a light fixture getting whacked. Next time, next time; this one, even just what I was able to stay for, was still a cool show and a pretty sweet Friday night.
Hell's Infinite 6 with Baphomet's Horns, Hekseri, Martyrvore, and Witch Tomb
DeeDee's, Quincy, 1/20/2007
--
After talking a good game about not parking at the T station like last night, I turned around and did it again. This of course was enabled by the fact that this venue is located directly behind the Wollaston Red Line stop (which I know of old), and there was no easier option. It also helped that it shortened the walk in sub-freezing temperatures in a non-insulated kutte. I can do this grim-and-frostbitten-north thing, but it's physically draining to do for too long at a time.
I didn't get in that early, but still got time to sit and regenerate before the bands started. I wouldn't sit down much the rest of the night, not only because there was a minimum of latency between bands, but also because the place filled up gradually throughout the night, to a level that most people probably wouldn't expect for a local black metal show -- provided that people can get over the idea of a local black metal show even happening.
Witch Tomb [5/7]
I was very impressed by this band, despite not hearing much about them going in. Their mix of drone and aggression was the closest that this night would offer to the 'typical' sound of USBM, but different enough to announce how the rest of the show was going to sound. They had a good long set for an opener, which the first three bands would all benefit from, showing off their abilities well.
Martyrvore [5/7]
Another good set, though more pointed and driven, despite being the first of the 40 percent of bands on this bill not to employ a bass player. Black metal by nature is treble-heavy, and the sound worked for both these guys and Hell's Infinite 6, but srsly, we may need to get a union going or something. The singer of this band, at least, is in Cold Northern Vengeance, but unfortunately I haven't listened to the CD I got off him yet, so I can't point to any differences or similarities in sound. Still a good set, plenty abrasive, and the rest of the audience was also into it.
The first two bands here are doing a split sometime in the near future, so something to watch out for.
Hekseri [6/7]
This slot on the bill was about right, and does credit to Megan for putting her own act in the right place while also putting up the show. However, the real story here is the performance that the band put on, a solid set of raw and dirty black metal highlighted by some excellent guitar work. Megan's solo style is clearly rooted in Slayer, but it blends well with the rest of the band's attack, which was at a comparably high level. This was a performance that built up rather than immediately starting and staying awesome, but this shouldn't diminish the quality of the music or its delivery. Very cool, and of course as gimmick-free as expected.
Baphomet's Horns [5/7]
There seemed to be a crowd surge for this band, with more people packing into the floor immediately in front of the stage to see them, then fading back when they finished. They were definitely worth everyone's full attention, providing a cool and fully developed set of nice brutal black metal, though it's always better, from a general scene standpoint, when fans of one band stick around for everyone on the bill. This is of course nothing on the band themselves, who gave a great performance that managed to feel cut off at the end; I'd gladly have watched them go on for another 15 or 20 minutes, but maybe next time. Next time, definitely, I'll get a shirt off them, as their designs are pretty killer, but all I got from them merchwise was their split with Amputator.
I also missed out on Hekseri stuff, but I'm definitely seeing them in like 2 weeks opening for Destruction, so I should be able to make it up at that time.
Hell's Infinite 6 [6/7]
Another ultimately killer set from a cool band, but also one that didn't employ a bassist. The dual guitar sound worked well, and the blending of riffs and feedback/general noise definitely enhanced the experience. Despite two guitarists and one of them wearing a Dissection shirt and a Dissection-derived arm tat, they held mainly to the brutal line that hs dominated the show so far, and did turn out a cool performance that also felt cut off. I'm not sure whether my internal clock starts going off after 23:00 or if it's just different expectations for headliners, but for whatever reason, this band also overcame a slow start to a point where I could have gone for another 15 to 20 once they finally closed up.
I probably could have hung around for a little after, but that would probably mean at least one more beer, and then more time off before driving, and I was again concerned about the Quincy PD booting or absconding with my car. I've got to plan better and/or find different places to park, but these Quincy venues are so convenient to the mass parking lots of our mass transit system that it's difficult to not be lazy and just use them. There's been some post-facto comments about the sound at this show from the bands, but I didn't notice much wrong with it; necro sound is something I've grown accustomed to from black metal, and all of the bands on this bill sounded fine with the sound as it was. Of course, that does mean that they'd all probably come off better with a good sound system, but that's something to look forward to; this show, now in the past, was pretty cool and a definite good experience to look back on.
In other news, I got my ticket for Enslaved off CNV, and several people, including one of the guys from Hirudinea (who was one of several with a better-built kutte than mine there), were rumoring about Rotten Sound playing at some Elks lodge in the area. No idea on the timeline for that one, but if it's north of the MA southern border, I ought to try and get to it; probably going to see them at MDF anyway, but that's pending how much vacation I have to take for Metal Winter Break.
Next show is hopefully going to be on Wednesday -- Godless Rising, Goreality, Downfall, and Mortis Dev down in Somerville -- but I'm fighting a cold right now and don't want to be fucking sneezing all over people. If that fails, I might go up to Metal Church at Mark's on the weekend, but I really don't want to go to a P2P show without getting a ticket off one of the bands. Sure, if I went I'd grout through everyone's merch table, but it'd still feel like I was picking Ravage or RAOV's pocket. Of course, the better step is to simply get rid of P2P shows, but as long as good nationals keep getting booked into them and good locals keep knuckling and playing them, it's going to be a devil's choice. Most likely I'll do the Wednesday show, then take the weekend off to regain my health (there's no way I'll see a better set from Metal Church than I got from the first row at Wacken this year) and hope to corral Ravage's CD releases later.
Revocation and Deadlikedeath
Caralilly's, Quincy, 1/19/2007
--
Technically, the bill should be flipped, but Revocation did put this show up, and the two bands here were about equally supported. Two bands on a DIY bill, the order basically doesn't matter.
I got down roughly on time, though before most of the band members got there, despite the usual 93 shenanigans and a couple blocks of walking to get over from the North Quincy T. The venue in question is a nice place, normally a piano bar, but it converts well into a DIY venue. It's a decent place for a local show, and proof that we do have the technical capabilities on the North Shore to host 18+ and 21+ shows...provided that someone gets off their ass and does it. Someone who isn't subject to randomly getting shuttled off to the ends of the earth, just so we're clear on this.
Before the bands got going, I unwittingly provided some opening entertainment by ordering a beer that had to come out of the wrong cooler. Said beer was partially frozen, and detonated on opening, covering the bartender and a fair stretch of the bar in an explosion of beer slush. She was a good sport about it, though, and it gave everyone something to laugh about while the bands were setting up.
Revocation [6/7]
Another show, another casually awesome performance from Revocation. This performance presented more of a relaxed, Bay-Area feel around the more technical or death-influenced parts of their sound, but the set was still unmistakeably in their usual style. Dave brought out some new guitar tricks, Anthony didn't take his shirt off, and a large number of people bought CDs when they finished; I wasn't anticipating this last, because their disc's been out for a while, and Revocation doesn't exactly hide in the forests building their kvlt credits as opposed to doing shows. This band is so good and performs so relatively often that you'd think most people who go to local shows in the Boston area would have Summon The Spawn by now. Regardless, a bunch more people have it now, and well they should.
Deadlikedeath [5/7]
Midway through their set, Murph likened following Revocation to pissing into a wind tunnel, but it wasn't as bad as all that. DLD gave a good performance, more grind than last time I was them either because that's how they're developing, or more likely because I've been listening to more grind lately and know what to listen to. They didn't seem any more or less comfortable in this venue than at the Middle East, but they were definitely a little looser. There were some stops and starts, but mostly just a kickass set. Unfortunately, I couldn't -- or more accurately, didn't -- stick to the end of it for the car-related reasons mentioned above, so I missed probably about 15 or 20 minutes of rockin' and a light fixture getting whacked. Next time, next time; this one, even just what I was able to stay for, was still a cool show and a pretty sweet Friday night.
Hell's Infinite 6 with Baphomet's Horns, Hekseri, Martyrvore, and Witch Tomb
DeeDee's, Quincy, 1/20/2007
--
After talking a good game about not parking at the T station like last night, I turned around and did it again. This of course was enabled by the fact that this venue is located directly behind the Wollaston Red Line stop (which I know of old), and there was no easier option. It also helped that it shortened the walk in sub-freezing temperatures in a non-insulated kutte. I can do this grim-and-frostbitten-north thing, but it's physically draining to do for too long at a time.
I didn't get in that early, but still got time to sit and regenerate before the bands started. I wouldn't sit down much the rest of the night, not only because there was a minimum of latency between bands, but also because the place filled up gradually throughout the night, to a level that most people probably wouldn't expect for a local black metal show -- provided that people can get over the idea of a local black metal show even happening.
Witch Tomb [5/7]
I was very impressed by this band, despite not hearing much about them going in. Their mix of drone and aggression was the closest that this night would offer to the 'typical' sound of USBM, but different enough to announce how the rest of the show was going to sound. They had a good long set for an opener, which the first three bands would all benefit from, showing off their abilities well.
Martyrvore [5/7]
Another good set, though more pointed and driven, despite being the first of the 40 percent of bands on this bill not to employ a bass player. Black metal by nature is treble-heavy, and the sound worked for both these guys and Hell's Infinite 6, but srsly, we may need to get a union going or something. The singer of this band, at least, is in Cold Northern Vengeance, but unfortunately I haven't listened to the CD I got off him yet, so I can't point to any differences or similarities in sound. Still a good set, plenty abrasive, and the rest of the audience was also into it.
The first two bands here are doing a split sometime in the near future, so something to watch out for.
Hekseri [6/7]
This slot on the bill was about right, and does credit to Megan for putting her own act in the right place while also putting up the show. However, the real story here is the performance that the band put on, a solid set of raw and dirty black metal highlighted by some excellent guitar work. Megan's solo style is clearly rooted in Slayer, but it blends well with the rest of the band's attack, which was at a comparably high level. This was a performance that built up rather than immediately starting and staying awesome, but this shouldn't diminish the quality of the music or its delivery. Very cool, and of course as gimmick-free as expected.
Baphomet's Horns [5/7]
There seemed to be a crowd surge for this band, with more people packing into the floor immediately in front of the stage to see them, then fading back when they finished. They were definitely worth everyone's full attention, providing a cool and fully developed set of nice brutal black metal, though it's always better, from a general scene standpoint, when fans of one band stick around for everyone on the bill. This is of course nothing on the band themselves, who gave a great performance that managed to feel cut off at the end; I'd gladly have watched them go on for another 15 or 20 minutes, but maybe next time. Next time, definitely, I'll get a shirt off them, as their designs are pretty killer, but all I got from them merchwise was their split with Amputator.
I also missed out on Hekseri stuff, but I'm definitely seeing them in like 2 weeks opening for Destruction, so I should be able to make it up at that time.
Hell's Infinite 6 [6/7]
Another ultimately killer set from a cool band, but also one that didn't employ a bassist. The dual guitar sound worked well, and the blending of riffs and feedback/general noise definitely enhanced the experience. Despite two guitarists and one of them wearing a Dissection shirt and a Dissection-derived arm tat, they held mainly to the brutal line that hs dominated the show so far, and did turn out a cool performance that also felt cut off. I'm not sure whether my internal clock starts going off after 23:00 or if it's just different expectations for headliners, but for whatever reason, this band also overcame a slow start to a point where I could have gone for another 15 to 20 once they finally closed up.
I probably could have hung around for a little after, but that would probably mean at least one more beer, and then more time off before driving, and I was again concerned about the Quincy PD booting or absconding with my car. I've got to plan better and/or find different places to park, but these Quincy venues are so convenient to the mass parking lots of our mass transit system that it's difficult to not be lazy and just use them. There's been some post-facto comments about the sound at this show from the bands, but I didn't notice much wrong with it; necro sound is something I've grown accustomed to from black metal, and all of the bands on this bill sounded fine with the sound as it was. Of course, that does mean that they'd all probably come off better with a good sound system, but that's something to look forward to; this show, now in the past, was pretty cool and a definite good experience to look back on.
In other news, I got my ticket for Enslaved off CNV, and several people, including one of the guys from Hirudinea (who was one of several with a better-built kutte than mine there), were rumoring about Rotten Sound playing at some Elks lodge in the area. No idea on the timeline for that one, but if it's north of the MA southern border, I ought to try and get to it; probably going to see them at MDF anyway, but that's pending how much vacation I have to take for Metal Winter Break.
Next show is hopefully going to be on Wednesday -- Godless Rising, Goreality, Downfall, and Mortis Dev down in Somerville -- but I'm fighting a cold right now and don't want to be fucking sneezing all over people. If that fails, I might go up to Metal Church at Mark's on the weekend, but I really don't want to go to a P2P show without getting a ticket off one of the bands. Sure, if I went I'd grout through everyone's merch table, but it'd still feel like I was picking Ravage or RAOV's pocket. Of course, the better step is to simply get rid of P2P shows, but as long as good nationals keep getting booked into them and good locals keep knuckling and playing them, it's going to be a devil's choice. Most likely I'll do the Wednesday show, then take the weekend off to regain my health (there's no way I'll see a better set from Metal Church than I got from the first row at Wacken this year) and hope to corral Ravage's CD releases later.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
NaNo books now available
I finally got my ass in gear and put my NaNo books online. Prices are reasonable, but if you really want one and I know you, just drop me a line or an email and I'll send over the PDF.
The dead-tree version is an omnibus combining both, available here: Two Short Novels of Central European Scumbags. Individually, the two said short novels are only available as e-books because neither really tops 100 pages. Both are formatted for DIY printing at the normal 8.5x11 US paper size: Infernal Abduction and Alex Li Gets Over. Note that these have no cover pages, as these just chew up ink cartridges; I wasn't able to do a 'no cover' option.
Darkly Shining Void may be forthcoming; I still haven't decided whether or not to try to seriously get that published for real. Since these are demos, I'll be open to a demo-for-demo swap.
The dead-tree version is an omnibus combining both, available here: Two Short Novels of Central European Scumbags. Individually, the two said short novels are only available as e-books because neither really tops 100 pages. Both are formatted for DIY printing at the normal 8.5x11 US paper size: Infernal Abduction and Alex Li Gets Over. Note that these have no cover pages, as these just chew up ink cartridges; I wasn't able to do a 'no cover' option.
Darkly Shining Void may be forthcoming; I still haven't decided whether or not to try to seriously get that published for real. Since these are demos, I'll be open to a demo-for-demo swap.
Monday, January 08, 2007
God Forbid with Goatwhore, Mnemic, The Human Abstract, Arsis, and goddamnit there's way too many local bands to fit into the title [Mark's, Bedford]
[This show was on the 6th, but I ran out of room in the title. :( ]
I started a little late, but the drive up turned out to be much less demanding than I thought going in. As it turns out, if it's not a weekday rush hour, there's not a whole lot of people driving up to New Hampshire. Who'da thunk? There was some rain coming in, and the lack of proper lane markings on parts of 93 made this a little stressful, but it mostly cleared out by the time I crossed the border...and I actually took the right turns off 101 this time.
I got in late from all this, but not too late; I still saw most of the first band, and all of the 11 following. Yes, you read that correctly. Twelve bands, total, and to handle them with a minimum of latency, they were distributed between two stages. Yes, you read that correctly as well. Two stages. In a bar. To fit in 12 bands.
Kipe [4/7]
I got in after this band started, and watched them from the rail before grabbing my first beer. Most of the other people in the venue at this time were hanging about, shooting pool, etc, and truth told there wasn't a lot about the band to make them pay attention. This band put out some decent, solid, mainstream-friendly nu-thrash, nothing really technical or attention-grabbing. Kipe at this point is a replacement-level metal band, dependable but thoroughly average, but this is hardly surprising given that they're the first of 12 bands on this bill. Maybe I'll see them again -- depends when that "Anthrax" show (I thought this was just Belladonna or something) up there is in the week.
Acariya [4/7]
I didn't catch this band's name until I dug through the merch table to their demo, but I did catch nearly all of their set as soon as I realized that there was a second stage. After I got done boggling, I got up into the crowd and watched some largely generic, replacement-level metalcore. They were decent overall, and thankfully they seemed to be more in line with the headliners on this bill than what this subgenre has become. I did get their demo, and I'll see how they match up on record.
Arsis [6/7]
I finally saw these guys live, and they pretty much match their recorded performance. Technical but still song-oriented, and they still get and perform NWOSDM better than pretty much everyone else on this continent. I've heard far more than my share of Swedish death, so I still can't see them as shatteringly original, but they are extremely solid, and they definitely put on a great show here.
There's been a lot of chatter on why Arsis is playing so relatively low on this bill, when, exposure and talent-wise, they definitely ought to be on above TheJesterHuman Abstract. The reason is simple; Arsis is on this tour as a last-second replacement for Scar Symmetry, who would have been doing their first US tour and couldn't have appeared anywhere but at the front of the nationals. The slotting was set before they were brought on, not much that they could do about it.
Our Last Sacrifice [5/7]
The second stage was still warming up, but these guys did a good job, putting up a nice set of fairly brutal modern thrash. I remember this set less well than I ought to due to the extended nature of the total show, but it was still pretty cool. I did get their CD, and will doubtless have some more intelligent and relevant commentary on that.
After this band, I hit the merch stand, picking up a bunch of CDs from Arsis as well as some buttons for my jacket. I was going to go back and get a shirt from them and God Forbid, but waited until after Ruin, and they were closed up. Hopefully I'll get another chance; that "The Real Black Metal" design is pretty sweet.
TheJesterHuman Abstract [5/7]
I kid, I kid. Seriously, though, this band was fairly good, but so totally derivative of Jester Race-era In Flames in both tone and style that it couldn't escape notice. There were some original bits, and the singer spun it in more of a metalcore direction, and really, In Flames isn't exactly using this style any more, but still. At one point, I thought they were covering "Graveland", but no, it was an original. A nice set, still, but more as a replacement for classic In Flames rather than as a new and exceptional band.
Illconcieved [4/7]
After the first song, the assessment was that the bandname could hardly be more accurate. That first song was the most godawful abortion of a musical performance that I've experienced since the last time I saw Halo of Thorns, but fortunately they got it together after that, pulling up the score somewhat. Once they got their feet under them, even before their second guitarist showed up with half the set in the books, they did a decent but unexceptional set of Sam Black Church-styled hardcore. At this point, I see them as pretty good, but erratic; if I ever see them again, I'll be able to determine more concretely whether they're an ok band with bad luck or a marginal band who makes their own bad luck. Either is probably possible at this point, though I'm hoping that the first is the case.
Mnemic [5/7]
I'll get this out at the start: I have never been an especial fan of Mnemic. I think they're oversold and overhyped as a Danish remake of Fear Factory, another band that I'm not a huge fan of, even though they aren't really. Their modern thrash style fit in well with this bill, and they put on a good show, but didn't push themselves up to a standout level. However, this is still a higher rather than a lower 5 (no, I'm not going to break rank and start doing fractional ratings, I hate when I have to knuckle and do that), and this was a nice performance that people largely enjoyed.
Like many of the bands, they were frustrated that people weren't moshing...due to the club's "No Moshing" rule. If you want people to mosh, book yourselves into the Middle East; it's not in the middle of nowhere, and people can brew it up in the pit if they feel like it. There was a little bit of moshing, which consisted mostly of this other bigdood jumping up and dropping an elbow into my shoulder before getting grabbed by security. Fortunately, he didn't get tossed; there was no damage, the content was mostly incidental, and even though I don't have the knees to get in the pit any more, I also oppose the lameness of no-mosh regs. This place is covered in carpet. There were enough people in the front to keep a pit wall and prevent people from flying out and hitting the bar, the rail, or the pool tables. Abstractly, this is one of the safer places to throw down that I've seen a show in, and they have an anti-mosh policy that would do Varg and Euro proud. Ell-four-em-three.
Mortis Deveia [6/7]
It was probably just the much-improved PA, but this set was significantly better than when I saw them the last time. The crowd was just as into it if not more so, and in total volume was basically equal to the "mainstage", probably the largest for the local-band stage. They definitely got what they bargained for, with an awesome and ripping set that included a little brand-new material...if not the blistering Slayer cover that they did back in Saugus. Henry continues to amaze, though he had some significant competition from the two bands that would follow them on this stage. The only down point was when they announced that they had only 7 demos left/with them; it's safe to assume that these have now entirely sold out, and though they may have had a few more copies for their show at Rusty's on the 7th, another pressing is probably (or ought to be) in the cards. They were the only band on this stage where the crowd yelled for an encore, and fortunately the organizers gave them the ok to hang over for another song...perhaps because this doesn't happen in real life for local bands, and when it does, you don't want to fuck it up or fuck with their fans who are buying your beer and filling your headcount.
I previously met up with Henry and paid him for the demo, over his protestations. Too much pride, too much honor, all sides. It's a point of honor for me to pay my debts like a normal dood, but also a point of honor for him to forego compensation to get his music out into the hands of people who dig it. Recording's still not free, though...but if they had some more merch, I would probably have nabbed that instead. Actually, I would probably have done as I did, then also bought a shirt. What can I say, it's not a rational world here.
Goatwhore [6/7]
This, also, was a better set than I saw from them last time, the smaller space proboably drawing them out more and getting them more up for it -- or maybe it's that Mark's sound system, in terms of, like, correct balance and stuff, kicks the hell out of the Palladium's. This set covered over their whole history, which was an illustrative as well as awesome expeience, moving between the pure black metal of the early stuff, the black/death of most of their output, and then closing with their current 'single', which has a lot more of a black'n'roll feel to it. A kickass and headliner-worthy performance, and it sure seemed like the guitarist picked up a bunch more spikes on his rig since I saw them in Worcester two months back...plus a Moser custom V, which is just over-the-top enough to work with his overall medieval-warclub look. Killer.
Frozen [5/7]
These guys also put on a better set than they did opening for Celtic Frost, despite their guitarist's untreated hernia, and the reason was probably also the better sound. Their set, like last time, trended steadily towards the wow-you-guys-really-like-Evergrey as it progressed, but showed off their significant thrash elements a little better. It'll be really interesting to see where and how these guys take this fusion, especially if the reports are accurate that Colin has left Cannae, presumably to focus on Frozen.
After Frozen's set, I met Aaron from RTTP for real, drawing his attention by nearly beaning him in the knee with a beer bottle. It wasn't really close to hitting him on its way to the trash can, but flying glass (even in a low arc) is a hell of an attention-getter. Fortunately, he didn't step off askance or anything, and we talked briefly before Colin cut in, and I headed back off to the other stage.
God Forbid [7/7]
Most of this set wasn't as transcendent as might be inferred, but it built steadily to this level by the final song, feeding off of and driving energy from the crowd, so that anyone wanting to dispute this assessment has a tough argument to make and probably wasn't actually at the show. Most of the set was from the new record, with a little old stuff sprinkled in in places; not that it mattered to anyone, as everyone was up for all of their stuff, and most of the main crowd was singing along with Byron on everything anyway. All in all, this was a kickass, committed set from a kickass, committed band that will still be going, even if it's playing bars in Bedford, NH, and kicking their asses long after the metalcore wave has rolled back out. Originators and imitators, man, and these guys are definitely among the first caption...and pretty fuckin' metal too.
I went back and saw Ruin setting up, without a bass player, and felt the bottoms of my feet whining at me. "All right," I thought to myself, "if it's past one, I'll grab a shirt and then bag this." I pulled my watch out of my pocket (irritates the hairs on my wrist when it gets sweaty), and read 12:40. Thanks, watch!
Ruin [6/7]
Though there were some technical problems with this set -- a stop-and-start when someone fucked up the intro of a song, and the non-singing guitarist blew out his A-string -- these barely held this somewhat unusual band back in their delivery of some surprisingly sharp and kickass technical death metal. The basics were fairly Death-like, and after a few seconds, you stopped noticing that there wasn't a bassist in the lineup. Unconventional, but quite cool, and I'm definitely going to be looking for these guys in the future; if Boston and Maine weren't so far apart, it would be most natural for these guys to get into an evil alliance with Revocation. Kick ass, and I'm glad I stayed, though I probably should have gotten merch while they were setting up rather than waiting.
All in all, a cool show, and the drive isn't that much longer or more intense than going to Worcester. The smoke also wasn't too bad...well, at least not in comparison to the Alter Schlachthof or to general outside conditions in Beijing, which are my current benchmarks for unbreathability. I'll probably be going back...but they gotta do something about this whole pay-to-play thing. LAME. And the 'no moshing' bit, but there's probably less chance of changing that.
I started a little late, but the drive up turned out to be much less demanding than I thought going in. As it turns out, if it's not a weekday rush hour, there's not a whole lot of people driving up to New Hampshire. Who'da thunk? There was some rain coming in, and the lack of proper lane markings on parts of 93 made this a little stressful, but it mostly cleared out by the time I crossed the border...and I actually took the right turns off 101 this time.
I got in late from all this, but not too late; I still saw most of the first band, and all of the 11 following. Yes, you read that correctly. Twelve bands, total, and to handle them with a minimum of latency, they were distributed between two stages. Yes, you read that correctly as well. Two stages. In a bar. To fit in 12 bands.
Kipe [4/7]
I got in after this band started, and watched them from the rail before grabbing my first beer. Most of the other people in the venue at this time were hanging about, shooting pool, etc, and truth told there wasn't a lot about the band to make them pay attention. This band put out some decent, solid, mainstream-friendly nu-thrash, nothing really technical or attention-grabbing. Kipe at this point is a replacement-level metal band, dependable but thoroughly average, but this is hardly surprising given that they're the first of 12 bands on this bill. Maybe I'll see them again -- depends when that "Anthrax" show (I thought this was just Belladonna or something) up there is in the week.
Acariya [4/7]
I didn't catch this band's name until I dug through the merch table to their demo, but I did catch nearly all of their set as soon as I realized that there was a second stage. After I got done boggling, I got up into the crowd and watched some largely generic, replacement-level metalcore. They were decent overall, and thankfully they seemed to be more in line with the headliners on this bill than what this subgenre has become. I did get their demo, and I'll see how they match up on record.
Arsis [6/7]
I finally saw these guys live, and they pretty much match their recorded performance. Technical but still song-oriented, and they still get and perform NWOSDM better than pretty much everyone else on this continent. I've heard far more than my share of Swedish death, so I still can't see them as shatteringly original, but they are extremely solid, and they definitely put on a great show here.
There's been a lot of chatter on why Arsis is playing so relatively low on this bill, when, exposure and talent-wise, they definitely ought to be on above The
Our Last Sacrifice [5/7]
The second stage was still warming up, but these guys did a good job, putting up a nice set of fairly brutal modern thrash. I remember this set less well than I ought to due to the extended nature of the total show, but it was still pretty cool. I did get their CD, and will doubtless have some more intelligent and relevant commentary on that.
After this band, I hit the merch stand, picking up a bunch of CDs from Arsis as well as some buttons for my jacket. I was going to go back and get a shirt from them and God Forbid, but waited until after Ruin, and they were closed up. Hopefully I'll get another chance; that "The Real Black Metal" design is pretty sweet.
The
I kid, I kid. Seriously, though, this band was fairly good, but so totally derivative of Jester Race-era In Flames in both tone and style that it couldn't escape notice. There were some original bits, and the singer spun it in more of a metalcore direction, and really, In Flames isn't exactly using this style any more, but still. At one point, I thought they were covering "Graveland", but no, it was an original. A nice set, still, but more as a replacement for classic In Flames rather than as a new and exceptional band.
Illconcieved [4/7]
After the first song, the assessment was that the bandname could hardly be more accurate. That first song was the most godawful abortion of a musical performance that I've experienced since the last time I saw Halo of Thorns, but fortunately they got it together after that, pulling up the score somewhat. Once they got their feet under them, even before their second guitarist showed up with half the set in the books, they did a decent but unexceptional set of Sam Black Church-styled hardcore. At this point, I see them as pretty good, but erratic; if I ever see them again, I'll be able to determine more concretely whether they're an ok band with bad luck or a marginal band who makes their own bad luck. Either is probably possible at this point, though I'm hoping that the first is the case.
Mnemic [5/7]
I'll get this out at the start: I have never been an especial fan of Mnemic. I think they're oversold and overhyped as a Danish remake of Fear Factory, another band that I'm not a huge fan of, even though they aren't really. Their modern thrash style fit in well with this bill, and they put on a good show, but didn't push themselves up to a standout level. However, this is still a higher rather than a lower 5 (no, I'm not going to break rank and start doing fractional ratings, I hate when I have to knuckle and do that), and this was a nice performance that people largely enjoyed.
Like many of the bands, they were frustrated that people weren't moshing...due to the club's "No Moshing" rule. If you want people to mosh, book yourselves into the Middle East; it's not in the middle of nowhere, and people can brew it up in the pit if they feel like it. There was a little bit of moshing, which consisted mostly of this other bigdood jumping up and dropping an elbow into my shoulder before getting grabbed by security. Fortunately, he didn't get tossed; there was no damage, the content was mostly incidental, and even though I don't have the knees to get in the pit any more, I also oppose the lameness of no-mosh regs. This place is covered in carpet. There were enough people in the front to keep a pit wall and prevent people from flying out and hitting the bar, the rail, or the pool tables. Abstractly, this is one of the safer places to throw down that I've seen a show in, and they have an anti-mosh policy that would do Varg and Euro proud. Ell-four-em-three.
Mortis Deveia [6/7]
It was probably just the much-improved PA, but this set was significantly better than when I saw them the last time. The crowd was just as into it if not more so, and in total volume was basically equal to the "mainstage", probably the largest for the local-band stage. They definitely got what they bargained for, with an awesome and ripping set that included a little brand-new material...if not the blistering Slayer cover that they did back in Saugus. Henry continues to amaze, though he had some significant competition from the two bands that would follow them on this stage. The only down point was when they announced that they had only 7 demos left/with them; it's safe to assume that these have now entirely sold out, and though they may have had a few more copies for their show at Rusty's on the 7th, another pressing is probably (or ought to be) in the cards. They were the only band on this stage where the crowd yelled for an encore, and fortunately the organizers gave them the ok to hang over for another song...perhaps because this doesn't happen in real life for local bands, and when it does, you don't want to fuck it up or fuck with their fans who are buying your beer and filling your headcount.
I previously met up with Henry and paid him for the demo, over his protestations. Too much pride, too much honor, all sides. It's a point of honor for me to pay my debts like a normal dood, but also a point of honor for him to forego compensation to get his music out into the hands of people who dig it. Recording's still not free, though...but if they had some more merch, I would probably have nabbed that instead. Actually, I would probably have done as I did, then also bought a shirt. What can I say, it's not a rational world here.
Goatwhore [6/7]
This, also, was a better set than I saw from them last time, the smaller space proboably drawing them out more and getting them more up for it -- or maybe it's that Mark's sound system, in terms of, like, correct balance and stuff, kicks the hell out of the Palladium's. This set covered over their whole history, which was an illustrative as well as awesome expeience, moving between the pure black metal of the early stuff, the black/death of most of their output, and then closing with their current 'single', which has a lot more of a black'n'roll feel to it. A kickass and headliner-worthy performance, and it sure seemed like the guitarist picked up a bunch more spikes on his rig since I saw them in Worcester two months back...plus a Moser custom V, which is just over-the-top enough to work with his overall medieval-warclub look. Killer.
Frozen [5/7]
These guys also put on a better set than they did opening for Celtic Frost, despite their guitarist's untreated hernia, and the reason was probably also the better sound. Their set, like last time, trended steadily towards the wow-you-guys-really-like-Evergrey as it progressed, but showed off their significant thrash elements a little better. It'll be really interesting to see where and how these guys take this fusion, especially if the reports are accurate that Colin has left Cannae, presumably to focus on Frozen.
After Frozen's set, I met Aaron from RTTP for real, drawing his attention by nearly beaning him in the knee with a beer bottle. It wasn't really close to hitting him on its way to the trash can, but flying glass (even in a low arc) is a hell of an attention-getter. Fortunately, he didn't step off askance or anything, and we talked briefly before Colin cut in, and I headed back off to the other stage.
God Forbid [7/7]
Most of this set wasn't as transcendent as might be inferred, but it built steadily to this level by the final song, feeding off of and driving energy from the crowd, so that anyone wanting to dispute this assessment has a tough argument to make and probably wasn't actually at the show. Most of the set was from the new record, with a little old stuff sprinkled in in places; not that it mattered to anyone, as everyone was up for all of their stuff, and most of the main crowd was singing along with Byron on everything anyway. All in all, this was a kickass, committed set from a kickass, committed band that will still be going, even if it's playing bars in Bedford, NH, and kicking their asses long after the metalcore wave has rolled back out. Originators and imitators, man, and these guys are definitely among the first caption...and pretty fuckin' metal too.
I went back and saw Ruin setting up, without a bass player, and felt the bottoms of my feet whining at me. "All right," I thought to myself, "if it's past one, I'll grab a shirt and then bag this." I pulled my watch out of my pocket (irritates the hairs on my wrist when it gets sweaty), and read 12:40. Thanks, watch!
Ruin [6/7]
Though there were some technical problems with this set -- a stop-and-start when someone fucked up the intro of a song, and the non-singing guitarist blew out his A-string -- these barely held this somewhat unusual band back in their delivery of some surprisingly sharp and kickass technical death metal. The basics were fairly Death-like, and after a few seconds, you stopped noticing that there wasn't a bassist in the lineup. Unconventional, but quite cool, and I'm definitely going to be looking for these guys in the future; if Boston and Maine weren't so far apart, it would be most natural for these guys to get into an evil alliance with Revocation. Kick ass, and I'm glad I stayed, though I probably should have gotten merch while they were setting up rather than waiting.
All in all, a cool show, and the drive isn't that much longer or more intense than going to Worcester. The smoke also wasn't too bad...well, at least not in comparison to the Alter Schlachthof or to general outside conditions in Beijing, which are my current benchmarks for unbreathability. I'll probably be going back...but they gotta do something about this whole pay-to-play thing. LAME. And the 'no moshing' bit, but there's probably less chance of changing that.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Amon Amarth (copypasta)
This was reposted on RTTP recently, but it's a few years old; I think either Keith Bergman wrote it on the original Infernal Combustion (pre-Roadrunner) or it was this other guy whose site I used to follow (can't remember where it was...and he's out of metal now anyways). And despite the title, I promise that it's not going to turn into the Fresh Prince halfway through.
Though....that would be pretty damn funny.
Once, in the land of Zimble-boo,
Where honkweed grew and brimbles flew,
There lived two fans of heavy metal
Who had a great big score to settle.
One, named Nod, was into stuff
That could never be True enough
He always said to his friend Barth,
"I do not like Amon Amarth."
Barth, instead, was just the kind
To try and have an open mind
He worshiped metal in all its forms
And any music outside the norm.
At the Frizz-Frazz Works, all day they worked
And Barth thought Nod a tiresome jerk
For from his truck, he would go get
Graveland, Darkthrone and Negura Bunget.
"I have here bootleg tapes of Mayhem,
I will not hesitate to play them.
They feature both Dead and Euronymous
You don't like these? Ha! You wuss!
Their freezing grimness frightens thee
And flays your soul and sanity.
Thou art untrue, my weak friend Barth.
That's why you like Amon Amarth."
"But Nod," Barth said, his voice a-quiver
"I have catalogs from Spinefarm and Shiver,
Necropolis and House of Kicks
Some bands have learned a few new tricks.
And while it's true these newer bands
Have killed no one by their own hands
There is no law in Zimble-boo
That says all metal must be true."
"Fuck off, you poser!" Nod exclaimed.
"May thy weak ass perish in flames!
The corporate labels are your friends,
To them you look for mindless trends.
"I will not like your Borknagar,
So please don't play it in your car,
I'd sooner hacksaw off my ear
Than listen to Dimmu Borgir
"God Dethroned just makes me laugh
Cradle of Filth incurs my wrath
And most of all, my lame friend Barth,
I do not like Amon Amarth."
"But would you like them, Nod, if soon
They did a record for Full Moon?"
"Not e'en on vinyl, you buffoon;
I would not like them on Full Moon."
"But would you like them, Nod my friend,
If they did a record for The End?"
"Those corporate followers of trend?
Not on your life. I will not bend!"
"Well, how about Necropolis?"
"On them I take a healthy piss!"
"Surely you like Misanthropy."
"You Christian tool, begone from me!
"Please do not mention Hammerheart
Those thieves of diabolic art
Your head is so far up your ass
You might as well say Nuclear Blast
"And mention not Century Media
Or else I will be forced to beat-y ya
Please, Metal Blade? Have you no balls?
Those bastards signed the Goo Goo Dolls!!"
"But Nod," Barth cried, "this band is good
They hate the Lord, just as they should
Their sound is great, which is what you get when
It's engineered by Peter Tagtgren
And though it's all been done before
It kicks much ass, you can be sure
So take it from your old friend Barth,
You'd really like Amon Amarth."
At this, Nod flew into a fit
And tore poor Barth to little bits
He murdered him with Satan's might
Then went to jail without a fight
And there, he only got to hear
What people taped for his imprisoned ear
He could not buy from catalogs
From Breath of Night or from Moonfog
No compact discs could he possess
Only dubbed tapes, to his distress
But then one day, he got a mix
From some homely Goth pen-pal chick
She taped him Emperor and Dawn
Dark Funeral and Apollyon
She even filled all of side two
With bands like Opeth and Lilitu.
And when our Nod was forced to hear
These different bands, his pagan ear
Was startled, and his beady eyes
Did widen in complete surprise
He liked these bands! Yes, quite a bit!
It made old Darkthrone sound like shit!
It wasn't kult, to be quite fair
But, he realized, he didn't care!
And on the end of this cassette
One more surprise waited yet
Amon Amarth, the very band
That made Nod kill his bestest friend
The final song that was in store,
"God, His Son, and the Holy Whore,"
From The Avenger, their new CD,
Came blasting out of Cell Block Three.
Why, Nod was startled and perturbed:
"Where is this place called Gothenburg?
That buzzsaw sound, these catchy songs
I could enjoy this all day long!
"I've seen the error of my ways
But who is this right now that plays?"
He checked the listing on the tape,
Then laughed and said "For goodness sake!
"Barth, had I but listened to thee
You'd be alive, and I'd be free
So hey, I owe ya one, ol Barth
I do so like Amon Amarth!"
Though....that would be pretty damn funny.
Once, in the land of Zimble-boo,
Where honkweed grew and brimbles flew,
There lived two fans of heavy metal
Who had a great big score to settle.
One, named Nod, was into stuff
That could never be True enough
He always said to his friend Barth,
"I do not like Amon Amarth."
Barth, instead, was just the kind
To try and have an open mind
He worshiped metal in all its forms
And any music outside the norm.
At the Frizz-Frazz Works, all day they worked
And Barth thought Nod a tiresome jerk
For from his truck, he would go get
Graveland, Darkthrone and Negura Bunget.
"I have here bootleg tapes of Mayhem,
I will not hesitate to play them.
They feature both Dead and Euronymous
You don't like these? Ha! You wuss!
Their freezing grimness frightens thee
And flays your soul and sanity.
Thou art untrue, my weak friend Barth.
That's why you like Amon Amarth."
"But Nod," Barth said, his voice a-quiver
"I have catalogs from Spinefarm and Shiver,
Necropolis and House of Kicks
Some bands have learned a few new tricks.
And while it's true these newer bands
Have killed no one by their own hands
There is no law in Zimble-boo
That says all metal must be true."
"Fuck off, you poser!" Nod exclaimed.
"May thy weak ass perish in flames!
The corporate labels are your friends,
To them you look for mindless trends.
"I will not like your Borknagar,
So please don't play it in your car,
I'd sooner hacksaw off my ear
Than listen to Dimmu Borgir
"God Dethroned just makes me laugh
Cradle of Filth incurs my wrath
And most of all, my lame friend Barth,
I do not like Amon Amarth."
"But would you like them, Nod, if soon
They did a record for Full Moon?"
"Not e'en on vinyl, you buffoon;
I would not like them on Full Moon."
"But would you like them, Nod my friend,
If they did a record for The End?"
"Those corporate followers of trend?
Not on your life. I will not bend!"
"Well, how about Necropolis?"
"On them I take a healthy piss!"
"Surely you like Misanthropy."
"You Christian tool, begone from me!
"Please do not mention Hammerheart
Those thieves of diabolic art
Your head is so far up your ass
You might as well say Nuclear Blast
"And mention not Century Media
Or else I will be forced to beat-y ya
Please, Metal Blade? Have you no balls?
Those bastards signed the Goo Goo Dolls!!"
"But Nod," Barth cried, "this band is good
They hate the Lord, just as they should
Their sound is great, which is what you get when
It's engineered by Peter Tagtgren
And though it's all been done before
It kicks much ass, you can be sure
So take it from your old friend Barth,
You'd really like Amon Amarth."
At this, Nod flew into a fit
And tore poor Barth to little bits
He murdered him with Satan's might
Then went to jail without a fight
And there, he only got to hear
What people taped for his imprisoned ear
He could not buy from catalogs
From Breath of Night or from Moonfog
No compact discs could he possess
Only dubbed tapes, to his distress
But then one day, he got a mix
From some homely Goth pen-pal chick
She taped him Emperor and Dawn
Dark Funeral and Apollyon
She even filled all of side two
With bands like Opeth and Lilitu.
And when our Nod was forced to hear
These different bands, his pagan ear
Was startled, and his beady eyes
Did widen in complete surprise
He liked these bands! Yes, quite a bit!
It made old Darkthrone sound like shit!
It wasn't kult, to be quite fair
But, he realized, he didn't care!
And on the end of this cassette
One more surprise waited yet
Amon Amarth, the very band
That made Nod kill his bestest friend
The final song that was in store,
"God, His Son, and the Holy Whore,"
From The Avenger, their new CD,
Came blasting out of Cell Block Three.
Why, Nod was startled and perturbed:
"Where is this place called Gothenburg?
That buzzsaw sound, these catchy songs
I could enjoy this all day long!
"I've seen the error of my ways
But who is this right now that plays?"
He checked the listing on the tape,
Then laughed and said "For goodness sake!
"Barth, had I but listened to thee
You'd be alive, and I'd be free
So hey, I owe ya one, ol Barth
I do so like Amon Amarth!"
Indignation with Death Defect, Mortis Deveia, My Pet Demon, and Ravage [Club Tabu, Saugus, 12/28/2006]
This was a good show, the first at this venue in recent memory and unfortunately, quite probably the last for a while. Of course, this because it was a good show...though totally unsuited for this club.
Mark and I got in about 15 minutes before nominal doors, hanging out in the parking lot with some of his crew, discussing past shows, expectations here, and, of course, the venue, which someone had declined to come down to because it was allegedly too sketchy. This was a nightclub on Route 1 in Saugus. On their big sign facing the highway, they were advertising JAM'N 94.5 Night on Friday...and on Thursday night, they had five metal bands in. Obviously, this place had nothing on O'Brien's, Exit 13, Club 125, or any other of the legendarily crummy venues that we'd seen bands at in the past, and I'm sure that we were all looking forward to destroying it.
Eventually, it got to be doors, so we went over to the 'door', but it was not, like, open or anything. This defeats not only the purpose of a 'door', but also the purpose of 'doors', and the idea of getting into a venue in a timely fashion. So we stood around a little more in a different place, until after Indignation's two buses of doods pulled up, and the line stretched back around the front of the club. The buses were kind of whacked out, but Haverhill is a long way from Saugus, and it's better than asking metalheads from the Merrimac Valley to drive this far down into the Great Blight on their own for a local show. The odd lack of metal bands between Boston and the New Hampshire border is kind of weird, but by force and with sufficiently good music, we can overcome the Blight. Provided, of course, that we can get some decent venues that will do more than one show, and don't dick around like this one did with their metal detector, which significantly slowed down the entry process. Metalheads don't stab each other! Metalheads don't carry guns to shows! Seriously, fuck this lame shit.
This delayed the start of the show as people got processed, but eventually things got rolling.
Ravage [5/7]
Ravage opened, and were unfairly held back by this fact...because Al Ravage got lost on the way to the venue. It's easy to get to this place if you know how to turn around on Route 1, but this is not universal knowledge, especially as most people just prefer to never drive on Route 1 at all. So they played half their set as an instrumental four-piece, with Pat from MPD jumping in on guest vocals for the last half of "The Wicked Way", and then Al finally got through security and onto stage. The PA wasn't especially kind to them -- the club's PA was so shitty that MPD had to bring their own down -- but this was still a very solid performance. "DamnNation" was the only 'new' song they did, and despite various people's yelling, "Wyvern" stayed retired. Unfortunately, they pulled out of the venue pretty quick, so I still wasn't able to pick up Spectral Rider. I gotta get more on the ball with this, but this time around, there were a bunch more great bands in the offing.
My Pet Demon [5.5/7]
This was a solid set with a few new touches, mostly Alex playing more of the solos, but pretty much -- after five years following these guys, from their first headlining set in my parents' basement -- just another good set from MPD. More of the set is new material, which Kenny is incredibly pumped about recording, but the "Crime Pays" stuff is still a centerpiece. They covered not only "Ace of Spades", but also "Self Esteem", which they hadn't done in a while, in a sludge-thrash style fairly close to the original but still thoroughly metal. They brought a good number of people in, but many of them drifted out after their set; symptomatic of the local scene at large, but still kind of discouraging. Seven bucks isn't much for a show, and one of the best parts of going to gigs, for me, is the chance to see bands that I don't know and hear something new and cool. Besides, what the hell else are you doing on a Thursday night?
Before Mortis Deveia went on, Chris, Indignation's "hype man", came over and talked with us a bit about the bands, the setup of the show, and plans to finish uniting the scene. Haverhill's got a good scene, but it's cut off from the rest of Massachusetts by something like a Great Blight of venues; there's the Merrimac Valley, and then there's Club Lido in Revere and maybe this place in Saugus if they ever book another metal show here, but basically nowhere else in Essex County. The yuppie population forms a barrier preventing metal fans from easily jumping from town to town and hooking up with other fans from other areas and building scene. More shows like this will connect the Merrimac scene with the holdouts left on the North Shore, and if Chris remembers the tip I gave him on Random Acts of Violence and they're able to work something out, the Massachusetts scene may be able to rebuild itself out of its now-separated component parts. It's a long-term project, but eminently doable; promoters need to cross-book more bands out of region, and normal metalheads like me need to go to more out-of-region local shows -- and try to bring friends.
Mortis Deveia [5.5/7]
I hadn't heard these people before -- 'people', because this band is not uniformly 'guys'. Their female singer looks looks like basically any other slight twentysomething woman from this area, but unleashed a vicious NWOSDM-driven performance that melded well with their overall brutal thrash sound. With a brutal female singer and a standout guitar virtuoso in the lineup, the Arch Enemy comparisons are going to be inevitable, but the more brutal sound and Bay Area thematics (the drummer does one of the best blastbeat-polka beats I've ever heard at the local level) make them much more reminiscent of Exodus. They also showed some flashes of real brilliance, but are still obviously developing; I'll have to hear them on record to assess them further, despite their balls-out, uptempo cover of "Raining Blood", which pulled up Chris from Indignation's crew to do guest vocals. I did get their demo, but I now owe Henry three bucks due to not having proper change. I did get a God Forbid ticket off him, though, so the band is slightly compensated, and I'll be able to pay him for the demo at that show. DIY FTW. I was unsure about going to this show, but now it's a sealed deal.
Between MD and Death Defect, Matt (MPD) invited Mark and me up to the "VIP room", a small green-room kind of area behind the bar, where we sat around, shot the shit with Matt and Alex, and met the brother of one of the guys in Indignation, who was definitely taking full advantage of the fact that he didn't have to drive anywhere any time soon. It was a cool and novel experience, but "VIP" or "backstage" at a local show is definitely more to be taken tongue in cheek than to get amped up about.
Death Defect [4/7]
I hadn't previously heard of this band, but they were decent enough, though not especially well-matched to the overall bill. The strongest similarities were to Danzig, and they didn't really push much beyond this. The crowd was into them, especially on "More Human Than Human", which has more meaning for a Haverhill band and for a Haverhill audience like this one, but all the sentiment and audience participation in the world wouldn't've helped had they not been at least decent in executing it. I picked up their demo, and as an inveterate reviewer and scene head I probably would have had it not been free, but this isn't a band that, at this point without hearing them on record, would draw me in to a show. Part of it is the style, but part of it is also that there are a lot of better bands in this area.
Indignation [5.5/7]
All of the bands had at least some sound problems with the carted-in PA, but Indignation's seemed both the most and least severe. Their overall balance was really good, the vocalist's mic had good response, but their lead guitarist kept going over to the board at the side of the stage to tweak stuff. Overall, this time out, they seem to have smoothed their sound some more, coming off much more like early Testament...with, of course, a nice swirl of Manowar, which really came out when they covered "Hail and Kill". Yes, you read that right: a band on this continent covering Manowar at a local show. Indignation presents a really interesting show; it's melodic thrash on stage, but the singer is still possessed with the egalitarian spirit of hardcore, spending half the gig out in the audience, calling people up for guest vocals, doing trustfalls off the stage (until the security came up and made him stop, lameasses), getting the crowd as much involved as the band. At this point, the combination of accumulated beer and headline performance got the crowd their most thrashing, and while the security did enforce the 'no moshing' regulations, they weren't totally fascist about it. No pit ever really developed, but under the circumstances there was a fairly decent degree of motion. Indignation closed with "Warriors", and then those who were left and hadn't come on buses started out to head home. Mark picked up a replacement knit hat from Indignation, and I got a proper shirt to go with the seconded one from the Negro League museum that Chris geve me back in August.
So, a good show overall, and by the end, there was some good proper traction on the floor from spilled beer. It's not much of a metal show if you can't brace yourself up extra by letting your boots glue themselves to the floor. However, this place is normally a dance club, and now their nice dance floor has alcohol all over it, part of the stage support is pulled out, and if we could have found a fire axe, we would have replicated Tankard's Disco Destroyer cover with one or both of the mirror balls hanging from the ceiling. It's not that metalheads inherently destroy stuff, but when you combine a lot of floor movement with a lot of beer, the floor is going to get 'treated', and I don't really know what disco balls are for if not to get smashed up. I don't know what the club management was expecting, but anyone with disco balls on the ceiling and No Moshing signs probably is not expecting to get their club shittified even this much. Hopefully, the janitors won't complain too much, and the bar receipts will outweigh the trouble enough to allow more shows to be booked here. Despite the hassle of Route 1, the drive is about 15 or 20 minutes, and the venue is located far south enough and convenient enough to major roads for bands to come up from the south and in from the west. It's no substitute for a real metal club, but it'll do.
Next show, as mentioned, is God Forbid on Saturday; I saw a total of like 120 bands in the course of 19 gigs or festivals in 2006, mostly between Metalfest and Wacken, and I'm hoping to improve on that in 2007.
Mark and I got in about 15 minutes before nominal doors, hanging out in the parking lot with some of his crew, discussing past shows, expectations here, and, of course, the venue, which someone had declined to come down to because it was allegedly too sketchy. This was a nightclub on Route 1 in Saugus. On their big sign facing the highway, they were advertising JAM'N 94.5 Night on Friday...and on Thursday night, they had five metal bands in. Obviously, this place had nothing on O'Brien's, Exit 13, Club 125, or any other of the legendarily crummy venues that we'd seen bands at in the past, and I'm sure that we were all looking forward to destroying it.
Eventually, it got to be doors, so we went over to the 'door', but it was not, like, open or anything. This defeats not only the purpose of a 'door', but also the purpose of 'doors', and the idea of getting into a venue in a timely fashion. So we stood around a little more in a different place, until after Indignation's two buses of doods pulled up, and the line stretched back around the front of the club. The buses were kind of whacked out, but Haverhill is a long way from Saugus, and it's better than asking metalheads from the Merrimac Valley to drive this far down into the Great Blight on their own for a local show. The odd lack of metal bands between Boston and the New Hampshire border is kind of weird, but by force and with sufficiently good music, we can overcome the Blight. Provided, of course, that we can get some decent venues that will do more than one show, and don't dick around like this one did with their metal detector, which significantly slowed down the entry process. Metalheads don't stab each other! Metalheads don't carry guns to shows! Seriously, fuck this lame shit.
This delayed the start of the show as people got processed, but eventually things got rolling.
Ravage [5/7]
Ravage opened, and were unfairly held back by this fact...because Al Ravage got lost on the way to the venue. It's easy to get to this place if you know how to turn around on Route 1, but this is not universal knowledge, especially as most people just prefer to never drive on Route 1 at all. So they played half their set as an instrumental four-piece, with Pat from MPD jumping in on guest vocals for the last half of "The Wicked Way", and then Al finally got through security and onto stage. The PA wasn't especially kind to them -- the club's PA was so shitty that MPD had to bring their own down -- but this was still a very solid performance. "DamnNation" was the only 'new' song they did, and despite various people's yelling, "Wyvern" stayed retired. Unfortunately, they pulled out of the venue pretty quick, so I still wasn't able to pick up Spectral Rider. I gotta get more on the ball with this, but this time around, there were a bunch more great bands in the offing.
My Pet Demon [5.5/7]
This was a solid set with a few new touches, mostly Alex playing more of the solos, but pretty much -- after five years following these guys, from their first headlining set in my parents' basement -- just another good set from MPD. More of the set is new material, which Kenny is incredibly pumped about recording, but the "Crime Pays" stuff is still a centerpiece. They covered not only "Ace of Spades", but also "Self Esteem", which they hadn't done in a while, in a sludge-thrash style fairly close to the original but still thoroughly metal. They brought a good number of people in, but many of them drifted out after their set; symptomatic of the local scene at large, but still kind of discouraging. Seven bucks isn't much for a show, and one of the best parts of going to gigs, for me, is the chance to see bands that I don't know and hear something new and cool. Besides, what the hell else are you doing on a Thursday night?
Before Mortis Deveia went on, Chris, Indignation's "hype man", came over and talked with us a bit about the bands, the setup of the show, and plans to finish uniting the scene. Haverhill's got a good scene, but it's cut off from the rest of Massachusetts by something like a Great Blight of venues; there's the Merrimac Valley, and then there's Club Lido in Revere and maybe this place in Saugus if they ever book another metal show here, but basically nowhere else in Essex County. The yuppie population forms a barrier preventing metal fans from easily jumping from town to town and hooking up with other fans from other areas and building scene. More shows like this will connect the Merrimac scene with the holdouts left on the North Shore, and if Chris remembers the tip I gave him on Random Acts of Violence and they're able to work something out, the Massachusetts scene may be able to rebuild itself out of its now-separated component parts. It's a long-term project, but eminently doable; promoters need to cross-book more bands out of region, and normal metalheads like me need to go to more out-of-region local shows -- and try to bring friends.
Mortis Deveia [5.5/7]
I hadn't heard these people before -- 'people', because this band is not uniformly 'guys'. Their female singer looks looks like basically any other slight twentysomething woman from this area, but unleashed a vicious NWOSDM-driven performance that melded well with their overall brutal thrash sound. With a brutal female singer and a standout guitar virtuoso in the lineup, the Arch Enemy comparisons are going to be inevitable, but the more brutal sound and Bay Area thematics (the drummer does one of the best blastbeat-polka beats I've ever heard at the local level) make them much more reminiscent of Exodus. They also showed some flashes of real brilliance, but are still obviously developing; I'll have to hear them on record to assess them further, despite their balls-out, uptempo cover of "Raining Blood", which pulled up Chris from Indignation's crew to do guest vocals. I did get their demo, but I now owe Henry three bucks due to not having proper change. I did get a God Forbid ticket off him, though, so the band is slightly compensated, and I'll be able to pay him for the demo at that show. DIY FTW. I was unsure about going to this show, but now it's a sealed deal.
Between MD and Death Defect, Matt (MPD) invited Mark and me up to the "VIP room", a small green-room kind of area behind the bar, where we sat around, shot the shit with Matt and Alex, and met the brother of one of the guys in Indignation, who was definitely taking full advantage of the fact that he didn't have to drive anywhere any time soon. It was a cool and novel experience, but "VIP" or "backstage" at a local show is definitely more to be taken tongue in cheek than to get amped up about.
Death Defect [4/7]
I hadn't previously heard of this band, but they were decent enough, though not especially well-matched to the overall bill. The strongest similarities were to Danzig, and they didn't really push much beyond this. The crowd was into them, especially on "More Human Than Human", which has more meaning for a Haverhill band and for a Haverhill audience like this one, but all the sentiment and audience participation in the world wouldn't've helped had they not been at least decent in executing it. I picked up their demo, and as an inveterate reviewer and scene head I probably would have had it not been free, but this isn't a band that, at this point without hearing them on record, would draw me in to a show. Part of it is the style, but part of it is also that there are a lot of better bands in this area.
Indignation [5.5/7]
All of the bands had at least some sound problems with the carted-in PA, but Indignation's seemed both the most and least severe. Their overall balance was really good, the vocalist's mic had good response, but their lead guitarist kept going over to the board at the side of the stage to tweak stuff. Overall, this time out, they seem to have smoothed their sound some more, coming off much more like early Testament...with, of course, a nice swirl of Manowar, which really came out when they covered "Hail and Kill". Yes, you read that right: a band on this continent covering Manowar at a local show. Indignation presents a really interesting show; it's melodic thrash on stage, but the singer is still possessed with the egalitarian spirit of hardcore, spending half the gig out in the audience, calling people up for guest vocals, doing trustfalls off the stage (until the security came up and made him stop, lameasses), getting the crowd as much involved as the band. At this point, the combination of accumulated beer and headline performance got the crowd their most thrashing, and while the security did enforce the 'no moshing' regulations, they weren't totally fascist about it. No pit ever really developed, but under the circumstances there was a fairly decent degree of motion. Indignation closed with "Warriors", and then those who were left and hadn't come on buses started out to head home. Mark picked up a replacement knit hat from Indignation, and I got a proper shirt to go with the seconded one from the Negro League museum that Chris geve me back in August.
So, a good show overall, and by the end, there was some good proper traction on the floor from spilled beer. It's not much of a metal show if you can't brace yourself up extra by letting your boots glue themselves to the floor. However, this place is normally a dance club, and now their nice dance floor has alcohol all over it, part of the stage support is pulled out, and if we could have found a fire axe, we would have replicated Tankard's Disco Destroyer cover with one or both of the mirror balls hanging from the ceiling. It's not that metalheads inherently destroy stuff, but when you combine a lot of floor movement with a lot of beer, the floor is going to get 'treated', and I don't really know what disco balls are for if not to get smashed up. I don't know what the club management was expecting, but anyone with disco balls on the ceiling and No Moshing signs probably is not expecting to get their club shittified even this much. Hopefully, the janitors won't complain too much, and the bar receipts will outweigh the trouble enough to allow more shows to be booked here. Despite the hassle of Route 1, the drive is about 15 or 20 minutes, and the venue is located far south enough and convenient enough to major roads for bands to come up from the south and in from the west. It's no substitute for a real metal club, but it'll do.
Next show, as mentioned, is God Forbid on Saturday; I saw a total of like 120 bands in the course of 19 gigs or festivals in 2006, mostly between Metalfest and Wacken, and I'm hoping to improve on that in 2007.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)