Man, I'm bummed...
Can't afford this show....
Not much more to say except I hope my finances change soon...
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Weedeater, Gates of Slumber and Black Tusk 4-1-10
...I have been very broke lately. Chris, the disabled gentleman I was paid to take care of and lived with our e not been the family for almost 7 years passed away in early March and my finances and leisure time have not been the same.
Being a bit down, I really needed to go to a cheap show. Weedeater, Gates of Slumber and Black Tusk was under $20, so, I could justify going.
The venue, the Larimer Lounge is a bit of a hipster dive bar; folks can come in and spin their own records on certain nights. The stage area is wide open and stickers and posters adorn every square inch of space on the walls.
...And in come the beards...
You know you are in for a stoner/doom show when the beards come out. Roadies with beards, band members with beards, fans with beards; a veritable beard-o-rama.
I looked at the merch table and only Black Tusk had any patches. I gave the merch woman behind Gates of Slumber shit in a joking manner about it and she said she's been begging them to get patches.
I had attended the show with my stepson who is much more into black metal than stoner/doom but was willing to give it a try. He was probably the youngest and most clean-shaven person there.
I met some dudes and we talked about Eyehategod and other sludgy acts. and then the place started to get packed.
I jockeyed to get closer to the front to see Black Tusk. The bassist's beard was so long he could have subbed for Dusty Hill in ZZ Top. They played a crazy, aggressive slugde/stoner rock that reminded me of a moshable Kyuss. The guitarist Andrew and bassist Athon charged at each other, grinning like madmen playing their swamp metal birthed from Savannah, Georgia. Song duties were shared equally as even the drummer James got into the act. probably the first time since the Eagles I have seen song duties shared with all members of the band. I told them I hope I can review their release for Invisible Oranges when it comes out in May.
In addition to beards, all the bands were power trios; tight blues-oriented metal with sludgy tones. Up next was the one band I actually knew the most about and bought their record months ago; Gates of Slumber lead singer Karl Simon came out with is Gibson and sleeveless 'Devil Baby' t -shirt and absolutely tore it apart. The drummer,Bob Fouts, (any relation to Dan Fouts I wonder?), bashed away like a demented Mr. French (from TVs 'Family Affair'). I perhaps judged the bassist, Jason McCash, harshly as he was wearing a Burzum shirt but after the set, I was joking with Karl, Bob and Jason who were super cool and offered me free band buttons and offered to mail me a patch! I declined the patch because that was waaaay too cool for them to do but took the buttons.
Weedeater was up next and Bassist lead singer 'Dixie' Dave Collins. Now, I love Buzzov*en and had heard the album "Good Speed and God Luck" and knew I was in for a sludgy time. Distortion and feedback was the rule as they trudged thru their set. Dave hopped like a crazy-eyed Poopdeck Pappy as the big, blond dreadlocked drummer Keko pounded away. I have to admit, Dave looked wasted on something; eyes rolling around and breathing heavy between songs...not that it affected the set one bit. Maybe it was the altitude. A great set with great thunderous riffing.
All the bands were good. The show was a late start but I believe that was due to the fact that Stuck by Lightning didn't play as their van went kablooey. Otherwise a solid 4 points to the star for this show...It was just what I needed to clear my money blues away.
Being a bit down, I really needed to go to a cheap show. Weedeater, Gates of Slumber and Black Tusk was under $20, so, I could justify going.
The venue, the Larimer Lounge is a bit of a hipster dive bar; folks can come in and spin their own records on certain nights. The stage area is wide open and stickers and posters adorn every square inch of space on the walls.
...And in come the beards...
You know you are in for a stoner/doom show when the beards come out. Roadies with beards, band members with beards, fans with beards; a veritable beard-o-rama.
I looked at the merch table and only Black Tusk had any patches. I gave the merch woman behind Gates of Slumber shit in a joking manner about it and she said she's been begging them to get patches.
I had attended the show with my stepson who is much more into black metal than stoner/doom but was willing to give it a try. He was probably the youngest and most clean-shaven person there.
I met some dudes and we talked about Eyehategod and other sludgy acts. and then the place started to get packed.
I jockeyed to get closer to the front to see Black Tusk. The bassist's beard was so long he could have subbed for Dusty Hill in ZZ Top. They played a crazy, aggressive slugde/stoner rock that reminded me of a moshable Kyuss. The guitarist Andrew and bassist Athon charged at each other, grinning like madmen playing their swamp metal birthed from Savannah, Georgia. Song duties were shared equally as even the drummer James got into the act. probably the first time since the Eagles I have seen song duties shared with all members of the band. I told them I hope I can review their release for Invisible Oranges when it comes out in May.
In addition to beards, all the bands were power trios; tight blues-oriented metal with sludgy tones. Up next was the one band I actually knew the most about and bought their record months ago; Gates of Slumber lead singer Karl Simon came out with is Gibson and sleeveless 'Devil Baby' t -shirt and absolutely tore it apart. The drummer,Bob Fouts, (any relation to Dan Fouts I wonder?), bashed away like a demented Mr. French (from TVs 'Family Affair'). I perhaps judged the bassist, Jason McCash, harshly as he was wearing a Burzum shirt but after the set, I was joking with Karl, Bob and Jason who were super cool and offered me free band buttons and offered to mail me a patch! I declined the patch because that was waaaay too cool for them to do but took the buttons.
Weedeater was up next and Bassist lead singer 'Dixie' Dave Collins. Now, I love Buzzov*en and had heard the album "Good Speed and God Luck" and knew I was in for a sludgy time. Distortion and feedback was the rule as they trudged thru their set. Dave hopped like a crazy-eyed Poopdeck Pappy as the big, blond dreadlocked drummer Keko pounded away. I have to admit, Dave looked wasted on something; eyes rolling around and breathing heavy between songs...not that it affected the set one bit. Maybe it was the altitude. A great set with great thunderous riffing.
All the bands were good. The show was a late start but I believe that was due to the fact that Stuck by Lightning didn't play as their van went kablooey. Otherwise a solid 4 points to the star for this show...It was just what I needed to clear my money blues away.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Kreator, Evile, LAzarus A.D., Lightning Swords of Death, 3-16-10
Coming down with some kinda cold, I was both excited and dreading going to Kreator, Evile, LAzarus A.D., Lightning Swords of Death at the Bluebird on March 16th.
What a difference a concert makes!
I was glad it wasn't sold out becaquse the price was a bit steep ($27!) and would have been steeper had I paid online. I walked up to the balcony which was full of folks who looked like old timers (thirtysomethings). I looked at one table and saw Karl! The phlebotomist tech that used to draw blood from Chris, the gentleman I used to take care of (RIP). He was there with his wife, Tanya. They had paid $70 for two tickets online; service charges will screw you every time.
We talked about bands a bit. I told him about Deathspell, and Krallice he told me about Watain's demos, 3 inches of Blood and that I need to pick up the new Gorgoroth. Karl's black metal knowledge is unimpeachable; if I need to ever find a black metal reference, I should go to him... Being a death metal, thrash metal guy first, my black metal wing is my weakest. Some holdover from my Baptist upbringing no doubt.
I went to get a patch but Kreator was sold out and the Evile merch guy had to go to the van to get one which he would do eventually.
I decided to take Karl and Tanya's kind invitation to sit with them and get my metal on.
Up first, Lightning Swords of Death. They were OK; they would have been a revolutionary form of black metal 15 years ago. Now, it was just derivative a bit. Black metal doesn't always translate to a concert experience save the theatrics. I had an epiphany about that during their set; it was probably necessary to have the theatrics with some artists because of the punk/drone polemics of the music. The lead singer had the facepaint of course and the spiky armband of course and was just kinda boring. I was set to snooze until the last song which was great at the beginning(bass solo? YEAAAH!) and at the end(dark, droning feedback). I would have been more impressed if these black metal artists didn't try to coast on atmosphere.
Next was Lazarus A.D. which Karl told me wasa Municipal Waste kind of crossover metal thing. They were absolutely enjoyable with their punky thrash. They are from Wisconsin and mentioned this and their love of beer to the ho-hum of the audience. When they replied they liked weed, plenty of whistles and shouts from the crowd. Their crossover sound got the pit going and the crowd fist-pumping. Absolutely enjoyable.
Karl and were chatting about how black metal can sometime sound derivative when I noticed the guy at the next table over drop a twenty dollar bill and not even notice it. I picked it up and went over to the guy and asked if it was his. He looked at me a bit puzzled and rifled through his pockets. "Yeah. It is mine! Thanks, man! Really!", he said. It made me feel good. Yeah, I am broke and can't even afford a t-shirt but that reminded me I am who I am.
Evile was next. Now, I have love for this band...I sometimes neurotically fall back to an insecurity about whether bands are racist or not on occasion. This band with their recently deceased bassist Mike Alexander, who was black, made me open to liking them fully. That, and that my first metal love is thrash and they do a ripping example of it. My only problem with them is that they occasional sound too much like Slayer or Metallica. The lead singer Matt Drake, even came out in black jeans and sleeveless plain, black t-shirt ala Hetfield circa 1989. They were on their first American tour and did a great job keeping the energy up. Though not as much sheer, stupid fun as Lazarus A.D., it was serviceable thrash metal and got you where you want to go.
I don't remember how it came up but Karl and Tanya were talking about how they got to the venue (walking and light rail from a Park-and-Ride) and I offered to drop them off at their Park-and-Ride location. They live by Fiddler's Green and are going to have a tailgater before the Iron Maiden show. They're cool and a taxi would've been waaay too much. I wanted them to get home safe
Of course, everyone was there for Kreator who came out and slayed. My Kreator knowledge is pretty weak; my early thrash metal tastes don't go far outside of the big 4. That said, I did pick up "Enemy of God" when it first came out and REALLY enjoyed it. They came out and had a sense of drama lost to some of their peers and the young, neo-thrash whippersnappers. I'd love to quote what their set list was and maybe, I'll make an effort to get them from now on, but it didn't matter not knowing all the songs.
They tore it up.
What a difference a concert makes!
I was glad it wasn't sold out becaquse the price was a bit steep ($27!) and would have been steeper had I paid online. I walked up to the balcony which was full of folks who looked like old timers (thirtysomethings). I looked at one table and saw Karl! The phlebotomist tech that used to draw blood from Chris, the gentleman I used to take care of (RIP). He was there with his wife, Tanya. They had paid $70 for two tickets online; service charges will screw you every time.
We talked about bands a bit. I told him about Deathspell, and Krallice he told me about Watain's demos, 3 inches of Blood and that I need to pick up the new Gorgoroth. Karl's black metal knowledge is unimpeachable; if I need to ever find a black metal reference, I should go to him... Being a death metal, thrash metal guy first, my black metal wing is my weakest. Some holdover from my Baptist upbringing no doubt.
I went to get a patch but Kreator was sold out and the Evile merch guy had to go to the van to get one which he would do eventually.
I decided to take Karl and Tanya's kind invitation to sit with them and get my metal on.
Up first, Lightning Swords of Death. They were OK; they would have been a revolutionary form of black metal 15 years ago. Now, it was just derivative a bit. Black metal doesn't always translate to a concert experience save the theatrics. I had an epiphany about that during their set; it was probably necessary to have the theatrics with some artists because of the punk/drone polemics of the music. The lead singer had the facepaint of course and the spiky armband of course and was just kinda boring. I was set to snooze until the last song which was great at the beginning(bass solo? YEAAAH!) and at the end(dark, droning feedback). I would have been more impressed if these black metal artists didn't try to coast on atmosphere.
Next was Lazarus A.D. which Karl told me wasa Municipal Waste kind of crossover metal thing. They were absolutely enjoyable with their punky thrash. They are from Wisconsin and mentioned this and their love of beer to the ho-hum of the audience. When they replied they liked weed, plenty of whistles and shouts from the crowd. Their crossover sound got the pit going and the crowd fist-pumping. Absolutely enjoyable.
Karl and were chatting about how black metal can sometime sound derivative when I noticed the guy at the next table over drop a twenty dollar bill and not even notice it. I picked it up and went over to the guy and asked if it was his. He looked at me a bit puzzled and rifled through his pockets. "Yeah. It is mine! Thanks, man! Really!", he said. It made me feel good. Yeah, I am broke and can't even afford a t-shirt but that reminded me I am who I am.
Evile was next. Now, I have love for this band...I sometimes neurotically fall back to an insecurity about whether bands are racist or not on occasion. This band with their recently deceased bassist Mike Alexander, who was black, made me open to liking them fully. That, and that my first metal love is thrash and they do a ripping example of it. My only problem with them is that they occasional sound too much like Slayer or Metallica. The lead singer Matt Drake, even came out in black jeans and sleeveless plain, black t-shirt ala Hetfield circa 1989. They were on their first American tour and did a great job keeping the energy up. Though not as much sheer, stupid fun as Lazarus A.D., it was serviceable thrash metal and got you where you want to go.
I don't remember how it came up but Karl and Tanya were talking about how they got to the venue (walking and light rail from a Park-and-Ride) and I offered to drop them off at their Park-and-Ride location. They live by Fiddler's Green and are going to have a tailgater before the Iron Maiden show. They're cool and a taxi would've been waaay too much. I wanted them to get home safe
Of course, everyone was there for Kreator who came out and slayed. My Kreator knowledge is pretty weak; my early thrash metal tastes don't go far outside of the big 4. That said, I did pick up "Enemy of God" when it first came out and REALLY enjoyed it. They came out and had a sense of drama lost to some of their peers and the young, neo-thrash whippersnappers. I'd love to quote what their set list was and maybe, I'll make an effort to get them from now on, but it didn't matter not knowing all the songs.
They tore it up.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Black Dahlia Murder, Obscura, Augury and Hatesphere, 3-12-10
...Its been a hard couple of weeks....
If I had been of a superstitious and cowardly lot, I would think that listening to all that Deathspell Omega opened a portal in my house or something...
One of my other jobs is as a Host Home Provider for 2 developmentally disabled adults...Its a bit like foster care for adults with moderate to severe cognitive disabilities. Anyway, Chris Benson, who lived with my wife and I for nearly seven years passed away on March 4th. I was the one to discover him and my wife; the EMTs and I all tried to revive him to no avail...
So, the funeral was March 11th and I probably needed to go to Friday's Black Dahlia Murder, Obscura, Augury and Hatesphere to purge a bit.
I bought my ticket only the day before and almost thought better of it. Luckily, my wife gave me the clearance to buy it early and, as it turned out, the concert was sold out when I arrived. I went thru the usual brandishing of my I.D. to prove I was over 21 which, given a cursory examination of the crowd, was EXTREMELY rare.
Now, I had figured that the Black Dahlia Murder's fans skewed young; I was a bit shocked as to how young. I was far and away in a group of probably no more that 15 people above the age of 30 and in a group of no more than 10 that were over 35. Shows like these create deep questions for me as to whether or not I should continue 'My Metal Year'; I didn't care for teenagers when I was one. The false non-conformity, the willingness to follow trends while mocking other trends, the sloppiness in their consumption of drugs and alcohol(try to have some class while wasted! PLEASE!), the lack of sub-culture etiquette(pick up a person when they fall in the pit!) and all the other judgments leveled at me 20 some years ago, I find myself now repeating.
The reason why I question my metal mission at such times is one thing teenagers lack often is taste and am I a pathetic loser trying to recapture my youth?. I admit, I was there for Obscura and really no one else. The times I heard Black Dahlia Murder I just felt kinda 'meh' about them; they weren't going to make me forget Entombed or Dismember or At the Gates or anything. Plus, I was 'blah' about all the faux-mook, Red-Hot-Chilli-Peppers-in-1990 photo spreads I've seen. I don't need all metal artist photo shoots to be in the woods on some rocks grimacing; but I get it, "THEY'RE ZANY"...
After wading through the teen-aged throng, I went to the Obscura merch table. I asked Steffan Kummerer, lead singer and guitarist if he had an Obscura patch... "You're the first person on this tour to ask for one.." he said. WHAT?!? No-one is rocking the patches?! We had a brief chat about how patches are big n Europe. A couple of folks next to me also thought that was unfortunate about the patches... I bought a very reasonably priced shirt from him ($15!). He chatted me up joking about Hatesphere being from Denmark and Augury being from Montreal but how everyone was getting along. After negotiating through enough folks with tight black levis to fully stock a Hot Topic, I got to the perfect place to stand right on the top step leading down into the Marquis' concert floor. I am rather small so I always have to find a bit of height at shows. (damn tall, lanky metalheads ).
I looked at the crowd and saw the aforementioned teenage wasteland but also noticed a preponderance of teenage women at the show. I am by no means a misogynist/ sexist; quite the contrary, but this was in some ways strike two for the show. Why you ask dear reader? Because metal, while not the exclusive domain of XY chromosome holders, does seem to be mostly male-dominated. Now, this is not necessarily a good thing and there are plenty of notable exceptions in terms of authentic and creative metal done by women. However, when I see teenagers and teenage women in particular in a show, then I really start to wonder about the quality. It was the most teenagers at a metal show I have attended this year thus far.
Metals' aggression and non-conformity seem to be diametrically opposed to the type of negative conditioning this country seems to aim at young women. Teenage women are such targets for all of our society's neuroses; beauty obsession, superficiality, materialism, a misogyny that demands them to be pretty and nothing else...On and on. I would have to say that any show with a sizable teenage woman audience would have a headlining act that was dominant paradigm 'acceptable', which doesn't always bode well for daring creativity. Now, before you burn me at the stake, hear me out. I have already established that teens suck (well, some) and have no taste(grumpy old man voice). So, I am already a judgmental asshole. To introduce teenage women into the mix?! Please! You could look and just tell some had just gotten out of liking Hannah Montana/Brittany Spears a couple of years ago and now just want to piss their parents off by liking metal. Thusly, whatever is the most 'seemingly' authentic yet 'popular' metal would be the first destination for the folks that I judged (rather harshly) as being attendees at this show..
It would be different if I saw a bunch of teenagers in Carcass and Death shirts(I did see two!). I should add to my previous observation about the teenage women in the audience to say they seemed to be folks that weren't a bit rougher looking. Dressing up to go to a metal show just reeks of "Oooh! We're going out! I have to look nice." Its a bit like folks that say they like jazz and name-check Yanni or Kenny G...You ask them about Coltrane or Monk and they're like "Who???" Its b.s. I know but wear a metal shirt to a show although really that looks poseur too.
There should be a commitment to the 'outsider art' of metal; sure it treads the line of conformity and one must be careful (including judgmental guys looking derivatively and judging books by their covers like grumpy old me). Looking the 'part' however, sometimes establishes your cred and indirectly, the cred of the band you are there to see. Sucks I know, but there you go. (I guess I should look into why too many pretty people make me think the band is, well, less dangerous. And my nascent ageism)
OK judgmental old guy hat off, what about the show? I really liked the energy of the show but in terms of being impressed, I was impressed to varying degrees by all of the acts....Let's get to it.
First up was Hatesphere from Denmark... They brought a great deal of energy with a sort of neo-thrash/death-y metal. Sometimes, it bordered on being a kind of hardcore...Thoroughly enjoyable but short.
Augury from Montreal was next. Plenty of thick accented banter. I really enjoyed their tech-y progressive death metal but you just know it sounds waaaaaaaaaaaay better on CD. Part of the problem is the venue; the Marquis is just not that great a place to see shows. Their psychedelic elements were hampered by the acoustics of the Marquis and the crowd didn't seem to have the patience for this sort of Opeth-y experimental band. I was upset that their sound check was almost as long as their set.
A guy probably in his late 30s or early forties was there with his kid who was about 16 and we started to talk about Obscura who was next. They asked if I was a musician, which I get a lot when talking about bands and their technicality. I'm not, but my ear gets bored with predictable and derivative sounds. We discussed some bands and proceeded to name check bands we like(Decrepit Birth, Chasm). Another guy next to me started discussing jazz and tech death. I would find out later this is Peter's roommate (Peter from "Angelo's CDs")
Obscura came on and even though their brand of progressive/technical death may have been a bit heady, their sense of dynamics and stellar musicianship got the crowd moving. When you see a fretless bass, you just know there is a command of their instruments you don't often see. I couldn't quite make out whether or not Steffan, lead singer and guitarist, was playing a seven string (like Patric Loisel of Augury) but I believe so. Both Augury and Obscura had members who were very proficient at their instruments(fretless bass was played in Augury too).
The mosh pit was going pretty much non-stop starting at the beginning of the show...I just didn't have the energy to participate but I send a 'hail' to the folks plugging and flailing away inside the pit.
There was no question that the majority of folks were their for Black Dahlia Murder. Just before they came on, the music played between their set and Obscura's was a mix of 1980's tv theme songs. The ageist in me wondered how many folks were even born when these shows aired. Apparently, some of the folks around me wondered the same thing and we joked a bit about it.
The floor went mad! I hadn't seen that energetic pit at a metal show probably ever. Crowd-surfing and being dumped on your head seemed to be the norm. It was bad enough that Trevor Strnad, lead singer, had to break down the rules of picking up someone when they fall. Black Dahlia ran thru old hits and tracks off of the new album 'Deflorate' and it was all entertaining but...
OK, here goes...The problem with many artists in metal is that unless you already like them, the 'sameness' of the tracks begins to wear on you unless its a band with a sense of dynamism, tempo change and contrasts. When I first heard Black Dahlia in 2003 or so, I knew that their sound was a bit derivative. They are original but not so much that if you had an ear towards our Scandinavian brothers, you hadn't heard it all before. That said, being a fan of a band when 10 songs or more gets played, is a plus. When you hear the same sounding songs and aren't wasted/young , it becomes tedious...FAST.
I liked the concert but I really couldn't hear any solos during their set, the guys looked high or bored or tired/hungover and so their energy was muted and even though they played a ton of songs, the effect was tedium. Had I been moshing or had I known the lyrics by heart like the kids all around me, the effect might have been different. As it was, I was impressed by their playing and the enthusiasm of Trevor, but really was lukewarm on the set as a watcher.
I know what you're thinking...I came in, didn't like all the teenagers and wrote the band off because of it. Well, I have softened somewhat on my view of the audience. (What a difference a few paragraphs make!) The set was still kinda same sounding. I guess Opeth and Emperor have ruined me because of their sense of dynamics. Maybe I wasn't in the mood so, I'll give the show a solid 3 points of the 5 pointed star, taking my crotchetyness into account.
If I had been of a superstitious and cowardly lot, I would think that listening to all that Deathspell Omega opened a portal in my house or something...
One of my other jobs is as a Host Home Provider for 2 developmentally disabled adults...Its a bit like foster care for adults with moderate to severe cognitive disabilities. Anyway, Chris Benson, who lived with my wife and I for nearly seven years passed away on March 4th. I was the one to discover him and my wife; the EMTs and I all tried to revive him to no avail...
So, the funeral was March 11th and I probably needed to go to Friday's Black Dahlia Murder, Obscura, Augury and Hatesphere to purge a bit.
I bought my ticket only the day before and almost thought better of it. Luckily, my wife gave me the clearance to buy it early and, as it turned out, the concert was sold out when I arrived. I went thru the usual brandishing of my I.D. to prove I was over 21 which, given a cursory examination of the crowd, was EXTREMELY rare.
Now, I had figured that the Black Dahlia Murder's fans skewed young; I was a bit shocked as to how young. I was far and away in a group of probably no more that 15 people above the age of 30 and in a group of no more than 10 that were over 35. Shows like these create deep questions for me as to whether or not I should continue 'My Metal Year'; I didn't care for teenagers when I was one. The false non-conformity, the willingness to follow trends while mocking other trends, the sloppiness in their consumption of drugs and alcohol(try to have some class while wasted! PLEASE!), the lack of sub-culture etiquette(pick up a person when they fall in the pit!) and all the other judgments leveled at me 20 some years ago, I find myself now repeating.
The reason why I question my metal mission at such times is one thing teenagers lack often is taste and am I a pathetic loser trying to recapture my youth?. I admit, I was there for Obscura and really no one else. The times I heard Black Dahlia Murder I just felt kinda 'meh' about them; they weren't going to make me forget Entombed or Dismember or At the Gates or anything. Plus, I was 'blah' about all the faux-mook, Red-Hot-Chilli-Peppers-in-1990 photo spreads I've seen. I don't need all metal artist photo shoots to be in the woods on some rocks grimacing; but I get it, "THEY'RE ZANY"...
After wading through the teen-aged throng, I went to the Obscura merch table. I asked Steffan Kummerer, lead singer and guitarist if he had an Obscura patch... "You're the first person on this tour to ask for one.." he said. WHAT?!? No-one is rocking the patches?! We had a brief chat about how patches are big n Europe. A couple of folks next to me also thought that was unfortunate about the patches... I bought a very reasonably priced shirt from him ($15!). He chatted me up joking about Hatesphere being from Denmark and Augury being from Montreal but how everyone was getting along. After negotiating through enough folks with tight black levis to fully stock a Hot Topic, I got to the perfect place to stand right on the top step leading down into the Marquis' concert floor. I am rather small so I always have to find a bit of height at shows. (damn tall, lanky metalheads ).
I looked at the crowd and saw the aforementioned teenage wasteland but also noticed a preponderance of teenage women at the show. I am by no means a misogynist/ sexist; quite the contrary, but this was in some ways strike two for the show. Why you ask dear reader? Because metal, while not the exclusive domain of XY chromosome holders, does seem to be mostly male-dominated. Now, this is not necessarily a good thing and there are plenty of notable exceptions in terms of authentic and creative metal done by women. However, when I see teenagers and teenage women in particular in a show, then I really start to wonder about the quality. It was the most teenagers at a metal show I have attended this year thus far.
Metals' aggression and non-conformity seem to be diametrically opposed to the type of negative conditioning this country seems to aim at young women. Teenage women are such targets for all of our society's neuroses; beauty obsession, superficiality, materialism, a misogyny that demands them to be pretty and nothing else...On and on. I would have to say that any show with a sizable teenage woman audience would have a headlining act that was dominant paradigm 'acceptable', which doesn't always bode well for daring creativity. Now, before you burn me at the stake, hear me out. I have already established that teens suck (well, some) and have no taste(grumpy old man voice). So, I am already a judgmental asshole. To introduce teenage women into the mix?! Please! You could look and just tell some had just gotten out of liking Hannah Montana/Brittany Spears a couple of years ago and now just want to piss their parents off by liking metal. Thusly, whatever is the most 'seemingly' authentic yet 'popular' metal would be the first destination for the folks that I judged (rather harshly) as being attendees at this show..
It would be different if I saw a bunch of teenagers in Carcass and Death shirts(I did see two!). I should add to my previous observation about the teenage women in the audience to say they seemed to be folks that weren't a bit rougher looking. Dressing up to go to a metal show just reeks of "Oooh! We're going out! I have to look nice." Its a bit like folks that say they like jazz and name-check Yanni or Kenny G...You ask them about Coltrane or Monk and they're like "Who???" Its b.s. I know but wear a metal shirt to a show although really that looks poseur too.
There should be a commitment to the 'outsider art' of metal; sure it treads the line of conformity and one must be careful (including judgmental guys looking derivatively and judging books by their covers like grumpy old me). Looking the 'part' however, sometimes establishes your cred and indirectly, the cred of the band you are there to see. Sucks I know, but there you go. (I guess I should look into why too many pretty people make me think the band is, well, less dangerous. And my nascent ageism)
OK judgmental old guy hat off, what about the show? I really liked the energy of the show but in terms of being impressed, I was impressed to varying degrees by all of the acts....Let's get to it.
First up was Hatesphere from Denmark... They brought a great deal of energy with a sort of neo-thrash/death-y metal. Sometimes, it bordered on being a kind of hardcore...Thoroughly enjoyable but short.
Augury from Montreal was next. Plenty of thick accented banter. I really enjoyed their tech-y progressive death metal but you just know it sounds waaaaaaaaaaaay better on CD. Part of the problem is the venue; the Marquis is just not that great a place to see shows. Their psychedelic elements were hampered by the acoustics of the Marquis and the crowd didn't seem to have the patience for this sort of Opeth-y experimental band. I was upset that their sound check was almost as long as their set.
A guy probably in his late 30s or early forties was there with his kid who was about 16 and we started to talk about Obscura who was next. They asked if I was a musician, which I get a lot when talking about bands and their technicality. I'm not, but my ear gets bored with predictable and derivative sounds. We discussed some bands and proceeded to name check bands we like(Decrepit Birth, Chasm). Another guy next to me started discussing jazz and tech death. I would find out later this is Peter's roommate (Peter from "Angelo's CDs")
Obscura came on and even though their brand of progressive/technical death may have been a bit heady, their sense of dynamics and stellar musicianship got the crowd moving. When you see a fretless bass, you just know there is a command of their instruments you don't often see. I couldn't quite make out whether or not Steffan, lead singer and guitarist, was playing a seven string (like Patric Loisel of Augury) but I believe so. Both Augury and Obscura had members who were very proficient at their instruments(fretless bass was played in Augury too).
The mosh pit was going pretty much non-stop starting at the beginning of the show...I just didn't have the energy to participate but I send a 'hail' to the folks plugging and flailing away inside the pit.
There was no question that the majority of folks were their for Black Dahlia Murder. Just before they came on, the music played between their set and Obscura's was a mix of 1980's tv theme songs. The ageist in me wondered how many folks were even born when these shows aired. Apparently, some of the folks around me wondered the same thing and we joked a bit about it.
The floor went mad! I hadn't seen that energetic pit at a metal show probably ever. Crowd-surfing and being dumped on your head seemed to be the norm. It was bad enough that Trevor Strnad, lead singer, had to break down the rules of picking up someone when they fall. Black Dahlia ran thru old hits and tracks off of the new album 'Deflorate' and it was all entertaining but...
OK, here goes...The problem with many artists in metal is that unless you already like them, the 'sameness' of the tracks begins to wear on you unless its a band with a sense of dynamism, tempo change and contrasts. When I first heard Black Dahlia in 2003 or so, I knew that their sound was a bit derivative. They are original but not so much that if you had an ear towards our Scandinavian brothers, you hadn't heard it all before. That said, being a fan of a band when 10 songs or more gets played, is a plus. When you hear the same sounding songs and aren't wasted/young , it becomes tedious...FAST.
I liked the concert but I really couldn't hear any solos during their set, the guys looked high or bored or tired/hungover and so their energy was muted and even though they played a ton of songs, the effect was tedium. Had I been moshing or had I known the lyrics by heart like the kids all around me, the effect might have been different. As it was, I was impressed by their playing and the enthusiasm of Trevor, but really was lukewarm on the set as a watcher.
I know what you're thinking...I came in, didn't like all the teenagers and wrote the band off because of it. Well, I have softened somewhat on my view of the audience. (What a difference a few paragraphs make!) The set was still kinda same sounding. I guess Opeth and Emperor have ruined me because of their sense of dynamics. Maybe I wasn't in the mood so, I'll give the show a solid 3 points of the 5 pointed star, taking my crotchetyness into account.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
DREAM: Black Metal Pepperoni
I had a dream last night where I delivered pizza to Varg Vikernes...
...I either am delivering too much pizza or listening to too much black metal...Weird thing is, I have never listened to Burum on purpose nor do I care for his opinions.
...
He lived in some sort of trailer park...I can't remember if he tipped or not.
...I either am delivering too much pizza or listening to too much black metal...Weird thing is, I have never listened to Burum on purpose nor do I care for his opinions.
...
He lived in some sort of trailer park...I can't remember if he tipped or not.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Through a glass darkly...(Black on Black part 2, I think)
I have had a bit of bad luck of late...The superstitious side wants to blame it on my continuing investigation of extreme/orthodox black metal.
Remember when you were a kid and you had ideas that there were people who worshiped the devil? You really didn't understand how they did, you just knew that is what they did. Well, it turns out those folks were just shtick. A few crosses here, a thrusted horn salute there; it was a means of keeping the outsiders out and the scenesters in.
Sure Venom played with the energy and Bathory too. Slayer had some scary songs ("Praise Hail Sataaaan!") but you knew they were either atheists or church goers.
Then, there is this, well, this other shit...
Watain, Deathspell Omega, anything on Norma Evangelium Diaboli...These folks actually worship the dark forces of the universe!
Anyway, they are all EXTREMELY talented musicians/bands. Makes it darn hard to criticize them...
Now, we African-Americans have deep devotional/evangelical Christianity hardwired into our brains; when everything was taken from us (names, drums, religion, freedom, property etc), all that was left in its place was Christianity given by the slavemasters. So, even in the enlightened aughts, we can be a superstitous lot.
Therefore, when investigating these bands and the Temple of the Black Light, a sort of Gnostic Satanism, I fell back on conditioning when my car crapped out the week of an appointment that was years in the making.
Of course the Watain and Deathspell Omega music research wasn't part of it, right? RIGHT?!?
Anyway, good albums, good bands...Check them out, but make sure you have no pressing engagements...
Remember when you were a kid and you had ideas that there were people who worshiped the devil? You really didn't understand how they did, you just knew that is what they did. Well, it turns out those folks were just shtick. A few crosses here, a thrusted horn salute there; it was a means of keeping the outsiders out and the scenesters in.
Sure Venom played with the energy and Bathory too. Slayer had some scary songs ("Praise Hail Sataaaan!") but you knew they were either atheists or church goers.
Then, there is this, well, this other shit...
Watain, Deathspell Omega, anything on Norma Evangelium Diaboli...These folks actually worship the dark forces of the universe!
Anyway, they are all EXTREMELY talented musicians/bands. Makes it darn hard to criticize them...
Now, we African-Americans have deep devotional/evangelical Christianity hardwired into our brains; when everything was taken from us (names, drums, religion, freedom, property etc), all that was left in its place was Christianity given by the slavemasters. So, even in the enlightened aughts, we can be a superstitous lot.
Therefore, when investigating these bands and the Temple of the Black Light, a sort of Gnostic Satanism, I fell back on conditioning when my car crapped out the week of an appointment that was years in the making.
Of course the Watain and Deathspell Omega music research wasn't part of it, right? RIGHT?!?
Anyway, good albums, good bands...Check them out, but make sure you have no pressing engagements...
Sunday, February 7, 2010
MOVIE REVIEW
Your intrepid blogger went to see "Until the Light Takes Us" tonight directed by Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell. After making sure all was right in the homestead, I journeyed out in the not-so-northern darkness to the Starz Film Center in Denver. I was almost completely alone in the theater save two young women slightly across from me. I had my popcorn, some paper and a pen to sketch out some notes on this film about the wildness of the Norwegian Black Metal movement in its earliest days. (They even sell beer here but I was unsure of the proper liquor to imbibe during a movie about church burnings, suicide and murder. It was late too, so, I passed).
I admit to passive-aggressive action on my part in seeing the film. First off, its $9.75 to see a movie at Starz (!) and the prospect of sitting in a darkened theater at 10 p.m. with people who could possibly be into Norse boogeyman/Eugenics fan Varg Vikernes was a bit daunting. But I was alone save the young women across the aisle. No need to use peripheral vision like I have to at black metal concerts (damn NSBMers!)
The movie opens with Fenriz from Dakthrone saying that the typical Norwegian stands in line a few meters away from one another; a statement that seems to echo the movie's undertow of isolation. We are treated to a few too many shots of Fenriz walking through the forest in black leather jacket and cargo pants or listening to music on trains or smoking cigarettes in bars. These shots are easily 20 minutes of the movie and do get old after awhile. But the isolation of the scene, Norway and Fenriz in particular is deeply conveyed.
For those that don't know, a 'Reader's Digest' version of the story.....The Norwegian Black Metal 'scene' in Norway in the late 80s early 90s centered around the Helvete record store and a handful of bands including Mayhem, Emperor and Darkthrone. They wanted to stand apart from 'commercial' death metal. Apparently Morbid Angel must have been played alongside Michael Jackson and Madonna. I don't remember this in the 1980s. A few lads were pro-Pagan and anti-Christian, and burned some very old churches. A lead singer (Dead) killed himself and pictures were taken by other band members. Varg of Burzum, killed Euronymous, of Mayhem. Faust of Emperor killed a homosexual acquaintance because of his homosexuality....Fun bunch you say? Yeah...
Now, most metal fans know a bit of this story and I mean no insult in this curt description, but the movie in trying to build mood and, apparently trying to do a film version of the rustic (some would say crappy) production of early black metal releases, does scarcely a better job than the above description. If you know this story already, NOTHING new will be shown to you. When you see the gleam of pride when Hellhammer (drummer for Mayhem) speaks of how Faust killed that "f*****t", you realize slowly, almost glacierlike, that whether you like the music or not, these bunch of folks are royal douchebags. Even Immortal come off a little like rock star idiots. This is fine because really, how many documentaries have likable protagonists as the main characters?! Everyone gets off light; very little examination of the activities themselves outside of fond remembrances. By makings caracatures of those that were upset by the church burnings and such, the directors eliminate a well-rounded examination of the scene.
If you don't like black metal or the artists of black metal, this movie will not convert you. If you are like me and like black metal, some of the sheen gets worn off and the curtains expose some of the wizards for the frauds they are. We followers of art forms often project our deepest realizations onto the works we are enthused by. We imbue transcendental/intelletual wisdom where there is none. If one were to take this movie as the definitive examination on the black metal culture in Norway at its beginning, then we ALL would need therapy to not idolize folks who haven't the mental maturity to show even a multifaceted opinion on their pasts. Don't get me wrong, I do think there was amazing creativity in the scene but this movie shows precious little of that (a song here, a corpsepainted grimace there).
Part of the problem is the fact that the directors have all of the subjects speak English which makes them sound like they are speaking some form of Scandinavian ebonics. I feel all the subjects would have been better served speaking their original language and allow for more depth in the interviews rather than minutes of stumbling over words.
If Fenriz is the Seasonal Affective Disordered soul of the movie, its brooding heart if you will, then Varg is its brain. He eloquently, and in my opinion, retroactively and revisionistically, cast the movement in terms of a rejection against American capitalism and Christian hegemony of Norway. I do believe his nationalistic tendencies were the esprit de corps for him and a few who idealized him but this seems contradictory when given the lyrical content of the bands at the time... At one point early in the movie, Varg complains about the fact that Euronymous controlled the storyline of what was going on and why and that he didn't have a chance to correct that storyline as he was incarcerated. It seems as though this movie has only switched who gets to control the history now that only Varg is alive to tell the tale.
When Varg comes of as the most eloquent and reasonable man in the picture, well-spoken and thoughtful, you're film has problems. Now, there's no need to paint Varg with a broad brush but his viewpoints aren't that out of step with the Germany of the 1930's (sorry kids, no links to his site. I don't need to receive spam from Stormfront or other supremacist websites). Not exposing Varg for some of his wackier sentiments lets him off the hook and cuts the depth of the film in half. If it weren't for a few pix of him in Hilter youth haircut and garb, you'd never even have an inkling of some of these views. In becoming 'friends' with the elder scensters, the directors castrate any criticism that could possibly arise.
I really wanted to like this movie. I didn't hate it by any means and there are moments, particularly when Varg is discussing the religious oppression Christianity has conducted on cultures all over the world when the film gets both interesting and challenging. Other elements belong in the "WTF?!" category. The performance art piece of Frost, while gripping, seems out of place save for the fact he is in Satyricon, a black metal band that was not even in the first generation of artists.
Fenriz seems mostly frustrated that this child called black metal that he fathered has snuck out of the house and become a whore. You really feel bad for him as no-one else seems particularly apologetic, not that I needed them to be. Nor do they mention much about the music itself. It leads to this static feeling; a sense that any dynamism that characterizes black metal itself does not attach itself to its creators. It is this fact that really gives the subjects this sort of regressed quality that makes you as a film-goer feel that they haven't really evolved much or thought about their actions as being incorrect or immature. Varg seems a little penitent in a half-hearted way. This is most obviously apparent when Fenriz attends a photo exhibit of Bjarne Melgaard's depicting pix of the movement and its members in its infancy. Fenriz looks as though he is a bashful adult sheepishly explaining his 'movement's' past indiscretions. Aside from him, nary an element of real self-awareness, just nostalgic reminisces. I don't need self-awareness from documentary subjects but in not showing that or really much about the music, we are left to fill in the blanks, which if I knew nothing about the scene at all, would make for an empty experience. The movie avoids sensationalism but the dynamism too.
I am reminded of the story of Icarus and Daedalus and flying too close to the sun. In the case of this metal movement, they flew too close to one another and the spiked armbands pierced the bubble of their solitude. One of the first things Fenriz says in the picture was that the distance the Norwegians have with one another says it all. Perhaps a close group such as the early Norwegian black metallers just got too close to one another where isolation and solitary misanthropy is the rule. To get too close caused passion but the psychic distance, still intact, allowed for reactionary violence. Essentially a movie about people that didn't know how to deal with other people and the movie doesn't show that had changed for any of them.
ONE SENTENCE REVIEW: A movie with no new info and poorly edited cult-of-personality documentary done by film students with no previous knowledge of the music or the scene who eliminate an even-handed portrayal of a unique sub-culture.
I admit to passive-aggressive action on my part in seeing the film. First off, its $9.75 to see a movie at Starz (!) and the prospect of sitting in a darkened theater at 10 p.m. with people who could possibly be into Norse boogeyman/Eugenics fan Varg Vikernes was a bit daunting. But I was alone save the young women across the aisle. No need to use peripheral vision like I have to at black metal concerts (damn NSBMers!)
The movie opens with Fenriz from Dakthrone saying that the typical Norwegian stands in line a few meters away from one another; a statement that seems to echo the movie's undertow of isolation. We are treated to a few too many shots of Fenriz walking through the forest in black leather jacket and cargo pants or listening to music on trains or smoking cigarettes in bars. These shots are easily 20 minutes of the movie and do get old after awhile. But the isolation of the scene, Norway and Fenriz in particular is deeply conveyed.
For those that don't know, a 'Reader's Digest' version of the story.....The Norwegian Black Metal 'scene' in Norway in the late 80s early 90s centered around the Helvete record store and a handful of bands including Mayhem, Emperor and Darkthrone. They wanted to stand apart from 'commercial' death metal. Apparently Morbid Angel must have been played alongside Michael Jackson and Madonna. I don't remember this in the 1980s. A few lads were pro-Pagan and anti-Christian, and burned some very old churches. A lead singer (Dead) killed himself and pictures were taken by other band members. Varg of Burzum, killed Euronymous, of Mayhem. Faust of Emperor killed a homosexual acquaintance because of his homosexuality....Fun bunch you say? Yeah...
Now, most metal fans know a bit of this story and I mean no insult in this curt description, but the movie in trying to build mood and, apparently trying to do a film version of the rustic (some would say crappy) production of early black metal releases, does scarcely a better job than the above description. If you know this story already, NOTHING new will be shown to you. When you see the gleam of pride when Hellhammer (drummer for Mayhem) speaks of how Faust killed that "f*****t", you realize slowly, almost glacierlike, that whether you like the music or not, these bunch of folks are royal douchebags. Even Immortal come off a little like rock star idiots. This is fine because really, how many documentaries have likable protagonists as the main characters?! Everyone gets off light; very little examination of the activities themselves outside of fond remembrances. By makings caracatures of those that were upset by the church burnings and such, the directors eliminate a well-rounded examination of the scene.
If you don't like black metal or the artists of black metal, this movie will not convert you. If you are like me and like black metal, some of the sheen gets worn off and the curtains expose some of the wizards for the frauds they are. We followers of art forms often project our deepest realizations onto the works we are enthused by. We imbue transcendental/intelletual wisdom where there is none. If one were to take this movie as the definitive examination on the black metal culture in Norway at its beginning, then we ALL would need therapy to not idolize folks who haven't the mental maturity to show even a multifaceted opinion on their pasts. Don't get me wrong, I do think there was amazing creativity in the scene but this movie shows precious little of that (a song here, a corpsepainted grimace there).
Part of the problem is the fact that the directors have all of the subjects speak English which makes them sound like they are speaking some form of Scandinavian ebonics. I feel all the subjects would have been better served speaking their original language and allow for more depth in the interviews rather than minutes of stumbling over words.
If Fenriz is the Seasonal Affective Disordered soul of the movie, its brooding heart if you will, then Varg is its brain. He eloquently, and in my opinion, retroactively and revisionistically, cast the movement in terms of a rejection against American capitalism and Christian hegemony of Norway. I do believe his nationalistic tendencies were the esprit de corps for him and a few who idealized him but this seems contradictory when given the lyrical content of the bands at the time... At one point early in the movie, Varg complains about the fact that Euronymous controlled the storyline of what was going on and why and that he didn't have a chance to correct that storyline as he was incarcerated. It seems as though this movie has only switched who gets to control the history now that only Varg is alive to tell the tale.
When Varg comes of as the most eloquent and reasonable man in the picture, well-spoken and thoughtful, you're film has problems. Now, there's no need to paint Varg with a broad brush but his viewpoints aren't that out of step with the Germany of the 1930's (sorry kids, no links to his site. I don't need to receive spam from Stormfront or other supremacist websites). Not exposing Varg for some of his wackier sentiments lets him off the hook and cuts the depth of the film in half. If it weren't for a few pix of him in Hilter youth haircut and garb, you'd never even have an inkling of some of these views. In becoming 'friends' with the elder scensters, the directors castrate any criticism that could possibly arise.
I really wanted to like this movie. I didn't hate it by any means and there are moments, particularly when Varg is discussing the religious oppression Christianity has conducted on cultures all over the world when the film gets both interesting and challenging. Other elements belong in the "WTF?!" category. The performance art piece of Frost, while gripping, seems out of place save for the fact he is in Satyricon, a black metal band that was not even in the first generation of artists.
Fenriz seems mostly frustrated that this child called black metal that he fathered has snuck out of the house and become a whore. You really feel bad for him as no-one else seems particularly apologetic, not that I needed them to be. Nor do they mention much about the music itself. It leads to this static feeling; a sense that any dynamism that characterizes black metal itself does not attach itself to its creators. It is this fact that really gives the subjects this sort of regressed quality that makes you as a film-goer feel that they haven't really evolved much or thought about their actions as being incorrect or immature. Varg seems a little penitent in a half-hearted way. This is most obviously apparent when Fenriz attends a photo exhibit of Bjarne Melgaard's depicting pix of the movement and its members in its infancy. Fenriz looks as though he is a bashful adult sheepishly explaining his 'movement's' past indiscretions. Aside from him, nary an element of real self-awareness, just nostalgic reminisces. I don't need self-awareness from documentary subjects but in not showing that or really much about the music, we are left to fill in the blanks, which if I knew nothing about the scene at all, would make for an empty experience. The movie avoids sensationalism but the dynamism too.
I am reminded of the story of Icarus and Daedalus and flying too close to the sun. In the case of this metal movement, they flew too close to one another and the spiked armbands pierced the bubble of their solitude. One of the first things Fenriz says in the picture was that the distance the Norwegians have with one another says it all. Perhaps a close group such as the early Norwegian black metallers just got too close to one another where isolation and solitary misanthropy is the rule. To get too close caused passion but the psychic distance, still intact, allowed for reactionary violence. Essentially a movie about people that didn't know how to deal with other people and the movie doesn't show that had changed for any of them.
ONE SENTENCE REVIEW: A movie with no new info and poorly edited cult-of-personality documentary done by film students with no previous knowledge of the music or the scene who eliminate an even-handed portrayal of a unique sub-culture.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
February is for lovers...
Looking at the calendar, there is a surplus of concerts in March and April but February is severely lacking... Lucky for me actually as my wife was getting burned out by my concert going which was only just beginning!
February is going to be a concert free month ('cept seeing Dave's band Havok on Friday). This month will be posts about metal; genres, hang-ups, philosophy etc., rather than concert reviews.
So, February is going to be for lovers: my wife and, for readers of this blog, lovers of metal...
February is going to be a concert free month ('cept seeing Dave's band Havok on Friday). This month will be posts about metal; genres, hang-ups, philosophy etc., rather than concert reviews.
So, February is going to be for lovers: my wife and, for readers of this blog, lovers of metal...
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Anvil! My Story of Anvil
Dear reader,
Your intrepid blogger had EVERY intention of going to see Anvil at the Gothic theater tonight but forces greater than myself conspired to thwart even this most determined metal fan...
First off, it was a late Saturday at the 'Metal as Art' show at the Lion's Lair...That show (see previous post) started late and had four bands. These travellers were not giving short shrift to those of us in attendance and it was well past 1:00 a.m. when headliners Hypno5e collapsed in a pile of sweat and feedback on the tiny stage. This, and the tickle at the back of my throat assured me I was to have a long night.
My wife has a hard time sleeping without me home and was cranky about the Mike situation (buying him drinks) and the lateness of the hour. Had this been an Andy Capp strip, she might have had a rolling pin behind her back waiting for yours truly to arrive.
By the morning, with a full 4 hours of sleep (!), I wrote my previous blog entry, and scooted off to work at my second job of pizza guy. That tickle at the back of my throat was slowly but surely turning into heavy petting.
Work at Pudge Brothers was what it always is when you are the only driver, are sick and haven't slept; busy. I had a ton of "coast to coast" deliveries; trips from one farthest point of our delivery area to the opposite farthest point in our delivery area.
Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I haven't ever seen Anvil...I haven't heard Anvil...My relationship to Anvil is seeing the trailer and the trailer alone. It was enough to get me to support these sad sack workhorses with my dinero. I suppose like many folks, I just passed over them because of the name. I mean, it is a stupid name right? Sure, its heavy and gets beaten on but does anyone younger than 50 know what the hell an anvil is?! or what its used for?! I guess they belong in the list of great bands with stupid names (I am looking at you, Decrepit Birth, Psycroptic, Baroness, Moss, Celtic Frost, Gojira...man the list is practically endless).
Alas it was not to be...
After work, I had to go to my friend Jim's house. Jim is a friend I met when I was a meter reader for Public Service and we hit it off because he was into comic books just like I am. I had been putting him off for days in helping him fix his computer because my schedule has been crazy. He's a bit of a shut-in and has terrible luck with computers. I am that dude; the one who fixes his relatives' and friends' computers. Earlier in the week I had to move a big dresser from my mother-in-law's storage facility to our house, take a woman I help take care of to the dentist TWICE and get a person I take care of a physical, H1N1 shot and a new winter coat. When my unmarried, childless friends say they're busy I usually say "BULLSHIT.".
I was starting to get more sick as the hours were going by and there was nothing I could do about his computer. My head was feeling like it was half helium and half water. After the looks my wife was giving me last night, there was no way I was going to push my luck and go a SECOND night to a concert. Plus, not much money thanks to paying for drinks for Mike and his date and cheapskates wanting pizza today but not tipping. That tickle that turned to heavy petting before? Now was full on molestation.
I was disheartened, tired, broke and sick. I just didn't have the energy or the WILL to go to the show...
How do they do it? How did these guys, on whom the rays of fame never shined on save the reviews about the movie 'Anvil! The Story of Anvil' showing their pathos, keep going? Bungled tours, manager problems and just being ignored by the media? Am I a total wuss, because a little sinus infection and lack of funds got me down? not. very. metal.
I even showed the trailer to my wife who got misty and said I should go, but quickly recanted. I did have to help with Ruby, our 8 year-old, I don't have any extra cash and I do need some rest to keep being the provider I am for my family and to recover from whatever this is... The boys in Anvil will have to wait; see you next time around fellas.
My wife wondered aloud whether or not Anvil's historically bad luck was just that everyone around them has bad luck in dealing with them? How strange would that be? The story of Anvil could just be a circle of people connected loosely to Anvil, (fans, managers, friends and family), that are just being beaten like the item of the band's namesake and its Anvil that suffers for it. Strange indeed...
Your intrepid blogger had EVERY intention of going to see Anvil at the Gothic theater tonight but forces greater than myself conspired to thwart even this most determined metal fan...
First off, it was a late Saturday at the 'Metal as Art' show at the Lion's Lair...That show (see previous post) started late and had four bands. These travellers were not giving short shrift to those of us in attendance and it was well past 1:00 a.m. when headliners Hypno5e collapsed in a pile of sweat and feedback on the tiny stage. This, and the tickle at the back of my throat assured me I was to have a long night.
My wife has a hard time sleeping without me home and was cranky about the Mike situation (buying him drinks) and the lateness of the hour. Had this been an Andy Capp strip, she might have had a rolling pin behind her back waiting for yours truly to arrive.
By the morning, with a full 4 hours of sleep (!), I wrote my previous blog entry, and scooted off to work at my second job of pizza guy. That tickle at the back of my throat was slowly but surely turning into heavy petting.
Work at Pudge Brothers was what it always is when you are the only driver, are sick and haven't slept; busy. I had a ton of "coast to coast" deliveries; trips from one farthest point of our delivery area to the opposite farthest point in our delivery area.
Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I haven't ever seen Anvil...I haven't heard Anvil...My relationship to Anvil is seeing the trailer and the trailer alone. It was enough to get me to support these sad sack workhorses with my dinero. I suppose like many folks, I just passed over them because of the name. I mean, it is a stupid name right? Sure, its heavy and gets beaten on but does anyone younger than 50 know what the hell an anvil is?! or what its used for?! I guess they belong in the list of great bands with stupid names (I am looking at you, Decrepit Birth, Psycroptic, Baroness, Moss, Celtic Frost, Gojira...man the list is practically endless).
Alas it was not to be...
After work, I had to go to my friend Jim's house. Jim is a friend I met when I was a meter reader for Public Service and we hit it off because he was into comic books just like I am. I had been putting him off for days in helping him fix his computer because my schedule has been crazy. He's a bit of a shut-in and has terrible luck with computers. I am that dude; the one who fixes his relatives' and friends' computers. Earlier in the week I had to move a big dresser from my mother-in-law's storage facility to our house, take a woman I help take care of to the dentist TWICE and get a person I take care of a physical, H1N1 shot and a new winter coat. When my unmarried, childless friends say they're busy I usually say "BULLSHIT.".
I was starting to get more sick as the hours were going by and there was nothing I could do about his computer. My head was feeling like it was half helium and half water. After the looks my wife was giving me last night, there was no way I was going to push my luck and go a SECOND night to a concert. Plus, not much money thanks to paying for drinks for Mike and his date and cheapskates wanting pizza today but not tipping. That tickle that turned to heavy petting before? Now was full on molestation.
I was disheartened, tired, broke and sick. I just didn't have the energy or the WILL to go to the show...
How do they do it? How did these guys, on whom the rays of fame never shined on save the reviews about the movie 'Anvil! The Story of Anvil' showing their pathos, keep going? Bungled tours, manager problems and just being ignored by the media? Am I a total wuss, because a little sinus infection and lack of funds got me down? not. very. metal.
I even showed the trailer to my wife who got misty and said I should go, but quickly recanted. I did have to help with Ruby, our 8 year-old, I don't have any extra cash and I do need some rest to keep being the provider I am for my family and to recover from whatever this is... The boys in Anvil will have to wait; see you next time around fellas.
My wife wondered aloud whether or not Anvil's historically bad luck was just that everyone around them has bad luck in dealing with them? How strange would that be? The story of Anvil could just be a circle of people connected loosely to Anvil, (fans, managers, friends and family), that are just being beaten like the item of the band's namesake and its Anvil that suffers for it. Strange indeed...
Metal As Art 1-30-10 French Reactions and Alternator Dung
Many things need be sacrificed on an altar of madness on my way to being the Lester Bangs of heavy metal journalism...Health, hearing in my 60s, rest, time with my long-suffering wife and patience with friends. For those of you whippersnappers unfamiliar with the Great Lester, he was a Hunter S. Thompson of rock journalism (now, if you don't know who he is, Cobalt's 'Gin' was dedicated to him and maybe pick up a book for Chrissakes!) All sacrifices were worth it to see the 'Metal as Art' tour sail in.
Vince Neilstein of Metalsucks.com said I should check out the "Metal As Art" tour and, after finding out it was $6, (!), I figured it would be worth the time to support some bands. I invited my oldest friend, Mike, who was the first kid I met in 1983 into metal, to go with. I remember back in the day taking his jean jacket to the mirror to see if his Dio patch spelled 'devil' when looked at backwards...This was the early 80's mind you when evil intentions in bands were hidden rather than proclaimed loudly from corpsepaint and pigs' blood. He had a lady-friend Sheree that wished to go as well...(More on this later).
As soon as we got to the Lion's Lair, I could smell the hunger from the bands. It was like when Burgess Meredith was talking to Rocky in 'Rocky III' saying he needed to be hungry for it right before he croaked in the movie. These bands were sweating for their art; this was metal at its purest. A bunch of guys making shit money, drinking shit beer (PBR all around!) in a bar known for its shit ambiance. You know the kind of bar; stickers of bands plastered all over smoke-blackened walls (and toilets), long-suffering bar mistress with tattoos and worn eyes looking at you like she just knows you aren't going to tip(which you probably can't afford to).
Mike and his date were much more into consuming alcohol than watching bands, but I was trying to find out who was who... I first bumped into Dan Gargiulo, touring guitarist for Revocation. They are trying him out for the tour to add a dual guitar attack. The band, along with tour mates Binary Code have had some van troubles. The lads in Revocation broke down a stones throw from Mexico. (Binary Code had it worse and were forced onto a guardrail by some crazy driver which totaled their van). Anyway, I talked to Anthony (bassist) and Phil (drummer) about actually getting one decent meal on the tour at the Buckhorn, a famous eatery in Colorado that serves all sorts of animals including alligator, elk and hometown favorite Rocky Mountain Oysters (for the uninitiated, they're not from the sea).
Turns out the Revocation guys had some of the bulls balls and found them quite chewy. A local patron then regaled us with stories about how he got to do dome snipping and cooking himself. A laugh was had by all at the expense of the cows tasty testes. The guys from Revocation also have an informal bet with Binary Code to see who can go the longest without an actual shower. My sinuses have been screwed for days, so I smelled nothing...
First up was a local band Frozen Eternity; well, by local I should say the same state. This Colorado Springs band were all probably half my age (remember, dear reader, I'll be 40 this year). Still, their musicianship was strong; I felt a 'Children of Bodom' sound emanating from the speakers. Now, anytime a keyboardist is thrown into metal, the comparison goes 1 of 2 ways; Bodom or Norwegian Black Metal wankery. Luckily, the keyboardist was restrained unlike Bodom and our Scandinavian 'ELP/Yes' men. Tight and well rehearsed, and hard-working, they were enjoyable in the small venue. I spoke to bassist Michael Hylands who had just been added to the lineup along with rhythm guitarist Stuart Hetzler about about how they were excited to play with the other bands. A good opportunity for a young band.
Next were Binary Code. I got to meet Jesse, the lead guitarist, who apparently works for the Metal Sucks website that Vince (Ben?...your secret identity is OUT) runs. Before the show, we had a good talk on his band and the tour thus far. He was initially concerned with the bands that were to tour together but now feels the "flow of the line up" has been great. Anyone can see that the camaraderie of all the bands is strong...I know the image of touring bands being a ship of pirates sailing through the lands is about as old as likening traveling musicians to cowboys; but you do get a "take no prisoners Jolly Roger" vibe.
Now, Mike and his date were getting drinks on my tab...This of course, sucked...I was assured I would be paid back but between Mike, the perpetual "starving artist" and this 23 year-old (!) woman I don't know from Adam, how the hell was I going to get paid back?! Plus, I have one rule about these shows; I have to buy merch to support these road-trippers. After ordering 2 more drinks on my bill (~@#$!), they decided to get something to eat...They came back shortly with Mike saying they couldn't hold out, specifically SHE, couldn't hold out for the rest of the show. I was pissed but didn't show it...I wanted to do this concert write up as a writing sample for SkullNBones, I was NOT leaving. So, they got some more money from me (cue storm cloud over my head and daggers from my eyes) and were taking a bus back to Westminster, a northern suburb of Denver. Their tab made this an expensive show.
Binary Code had a little bit of a "Between the Buried and Me" sound and progressive touches. There's was a high energy set with lead singer, Mike Appritch running off the stage and the bassist, Brett Bamberger, flailing like a metal version of Flea. Also a tight band with interesting slow melodic passages in the maelstrom of their deathcore-ish center. Song structure seems to be the Binary's key. (Also, do I hear Zappa in there? NICE!)
After the Binary Code was Revocation, easily the group of guys who I hung out with the most. Between talking about Colorado's quirky cuisine and van troubles, I got to talk with touring guitarist, the previously mentioned Dan, a bit. I was wondering how the young guitarist, who reminded me of Vincent Gallo in looks not temperament, would fit. He was a friendly fellow and had that 'hungry' quality I mentioned before. I had talked to David Davidson, lead guitarist, earlier who is, along with the rest of Revocation, staying at Dave's place (from the local band Havok). David is a HILARIOUS guy, and we bullshitted with Dave and his penchant for the cougar-ish ladies of the world. This was AFTER a grizzled barfly patron tried to suck on his neck like an elderly Vampira.(Dave, its because of the Troy Polamalu locks, buddy!)
Revocation's show was a twisting, turning, thrashy, technical death-ish, musical meltdown. David and bassist Anthony Buda do the majority of the vocals with Phil keeping crazy time on the drums. I did like the addition of Dan on rhythm guitar; the band has been a trio for a decade but the addition of Dan for the tour allows for probable prodigy Dave, to showcase his stellar playing. Then you get the twin guitar attack ala Tipton and Downing (look it up if you don't know who they are and bow your head in shame when you do). The rhythm guitarist of Binary Code would share his PBR with the band members while they were playing to keep the good vibes alcohol propelled. All of the chaos of this show was NEVER an interruption on the musicianship and the band was excellent live.
See, I don't buy that a metal band has to be a group of assholes who you wouldn't leave your kid alone with. Guess was jerkwads, you can play metal and NOT be a douchebag. Why do I need to fear my entertainers?! Isn't paying taxes and living in a world of sociopaths who blow up buildings fearful enough? I don't need my metal musicians to be as horrifying as the music. I got into a conversation with a guy named Todd who was there to see Revocation and he was as pleased as I was about their show...(He told me to get the New Megadeth and Alice in Chains which I must remember to do).
Anyway, a solid set that was followed by Hypno5e, a French band of post-metal experimentation. While they were tuning up, a woman in one of those Nordic ear flap caps that you see hippies in Boulder wear in the winter was playing jokey songs. Nothing wrong with a Manic Pixie Dream Girl playing ukulele and singing indie versions of rap songs while you're waiting for the band.
Hypno5e play a crunchy, atmospheric, post-y kind of metal; slow and fast mixed with precision. When I was talking with Anthony from Revocation, he was saying that Hypno5e get drunk before they play every time and still sound great. He also told me that the band did a 2 minute song and dance about Taco Bell when they were in Spokane when they found out they were going to go to the eatery...TACO BELL! There was plenty of dancing before the show and during from their entourage. They were a beautiful mess; the music was practiced and tight but the band was loose limbed and jovial. A sort of serious playfulness. By the end of the set, lead singer and guitarist,Emmanuel Jessua, was on the ground with Binary bassist and rhythm guitarist hovering over and the stage was a shambles. Anthony from Revocation remarked "You can tell the tour is almost over, huh?"
So now, let's do the numbers...The sheer joviality and camaraderie of all the bands plus the professionalism of the playing plus the doing it for the love of the music times the originality of all of the acts equals a solid 5 points of the pentagram from me. Were there sound problems, sure, did the ship sail in late, yeah, but the sheer,pure FUN of the 'Metal as Art' show made even paying my friend's tab worth it... So, support this tour...With all the hipsters talk about tr00 metal when referring to tours that dwarf a U2 show, this is what the scene is really about...Word of mouth about bands hungry to play you their original music...
Vince Neilstein of Metalsucks.com said I should check out the "Metal As Art" tour and, after finding out it was $6, (!), I figured it would be worth the time to support some bands. I invited my oldest friend, Mike, who was the first kid I met in 1983 into metal, to go with. I remember back in the day taking his jean jacket to the mirror to see if his Dio patch spelled 'devil' when looked at backwards...This was the early 80's mind you when evil intentions in bands were hidden rather than proclaimed loudly from corpsepaint and pigs' blood. He had a lady-friend Sheree that wished to go as well...(More on this later).
As soon as we got to the Lion's Lair, I could smell the hunger from the bands. It was like when Burgess Meredith was talking to Rocky in 'Rocky III' saying he needed to be hungry for it right before he croaked in the movie. These bands were sweating for their art; this was metal at its purest. A bunch of guys making shit money, drinking shit beer (PBR all around!) in a bar known for its shit ambiance. You know the kind of bar; stickers of bands plastered all over smoke-blackened walls (and toilets), long-suffering bar mistress with tattoos and worn eyes looking at you like she just knows you aren't going to tip(which you probably can't afford to).
Mike and his date were much more into consuming alcohol than watching bands, but I was trying to find out who was who... I first bumped into Dan Gargiulo, touring guitarist for Revocation. They are trying him out for the tour to add a dual guitar attack. The band, along with tour mates Binary Code have had some van troubles. The lads in Revocation broke down a stones throw from Mexico. (Binary Code had it worse and were forced onto a guardrail by some crazy driver which totaled their van). Anyway, I talked to Anthony (bassist) and Phil (drummer) about actually getting one decent meal on the tour at the Buckhorn, a famous eatery in Colorado that serves all sorts of animals including alligator, elk and hometown favorite Rocky Mountain Oysters (for the uninitiated, they're not from the sea).
Turns out the Revocation guys had some of the bulls balls and found them quite chewy. A local patron then regaled us with stories about how he got to do dome snipping and cooking himself. A laugh was had by all at the expense of the cows tasty testes. The guys from Revocation also have an informal bet with Binary Code to see who can go the longest without an actual shower. My sinuses have been screwed for days, so I smelled nothing...
First up was a local band Frozen Eternity; well, by local I should say the same state. This Colorado Springs band were all probably half my age (remember, dear reader, I'll be 40 this year). Still, their musicianship was strong; I felt a 'Children of Bodom' sound emanating from the speakers. Now, anytime a keyboardist is thrown into metal, the comparison goes 1 of 2 ways; Bodom or Norwegian Black Metal wankery. Luckily, the keyboardist was restrained unlike Bodom and our Scandinavian 'ELP/Yes' men. Tight and well rehearsed, and hard-working, they were enjoyable in the small venue. I spoke to bassist Michael Hylands who had just been added to the lineup along with rhythm guitarist Stuart Hetzler about about how they were excited to play with the other bands. A good opportunity for a young band.
Next were Binary Code. I got to meet Jesse, the lead guitarist, who apparently works for the Metal Sucks website that Vince (Ben?...your secret identity is OUT) runs. Before the show, we had a good talk on his band and the tour thus far. He was initially concerned with the bands that were to tour together but now feels the "flow of the line up" has been great. Anyone can see that the camaraderie of all the bands is strong...I know the image of touring bands being a ship of pirates sailing through the lands is about as old as likening traveling musicians to cowboys; but you do get a "take no prisoners Jolly Roger" vibe.
Now, Mike and his date were getting drinks on my tab...This of course, sucked...I was assured I would be paid back but between Mike, the perpetual "starving artist" and this 23 year-old (!) woman I don't know from Adam, how the hell was I going to get paid back?! Plus, I have one rule about these shows; I have to buy merch to support these road-trippers. After ordering 2 more drinks on my bill (~@#$!), they decided to get something to eat...They came back shortly with Mike saying they couldn't hold out, specifically SHE, couldn't hold out for the rest of the show. I was pissed but didn't show it...I wanted to do this concert write up as a writing sample for SkullNBones, I was NOT leaving. So, they got some more money from me (cue storm cloud over my head and daggers from my eyes) and were taking a bus back to Westminster, a northern suburb of Denver. Their tab made this an expensive show.
Binary Code had a little bit of a "Between the Buried and Me" sound and progressive touches. There's was a high energy set with lead singer, Mike Appritch running off the stage and the bassist, Brett Bamberger, flailing like a metal version of Flea. Also a tight band with interesting slow melodic passages in the maelstrom of their deathcore-ish center. Song structure seems to be the Binary's key. (Also, do I hear Zappa in there? NICE!)
After the Binary Code was Revocation, easily the group of guys who I hung out with the most. Between talking about Colorado's quirky cuisine and van troubles, I got to talk with touring guitarist, the previously mentioned Dan, a bit. I was wondering how the young guitarist, who reminded me of Vincent Gallo in looks not temperament, would fit. He was a friendly fellow and had that 'hungry' quality I mentioned before. I had talked to David Davidson, lead guitarist, earlier who is, along with the rest of Revocation, staying at Dave's place (from the local band Havok). David is a HILARIOUS guy, and we bullshitted with Dave and his penchant for the cougar-ish ladies of the world. This was AFTER a grizzled barfly patron tried to suck on his neck like an elderly Vampira.(Dave, its because of the Troy Polamalu locks, buddy!)
Revocation's show was a twisting, turning, thrashy, technical death-ish, musical meltdown. David and bassist Anthony Buda do the majority of the vocals with Phil keeping crazy time on the drums. I did like the addition of Dan on rhythm guitar; the band has been a trio for a decade but the addition of Dan for the tour allows for probable prodigy Dave, to showcase his stellar playing. Then you get the twin guitar attack ala Tipton and Downing (look it up if you don't know who they are and bow your head in shame when you do). The rhythm guitarist of Binary Code would share his PBR with the band members while they were playing to keep the good vibes alcohol propelled. All of the chaos of this show was NEVER an interruption on the musicianship and the band was excellent live.
See, I don't buy that a metal band has to be a group of assholes who you wouldn't leave your kid alone with. Guess was jerkwads, you can play metal and NOT be a douchebag. Why do I need to fear my entertainers?! Isn't paying taxes and living in a world of sociopaths who blow up buildings fearful enough? I don't need my metal musicians to be as horrifying as the music. I got into a conversation with a guy named Todd who was there to see Revocation and he was as pleased as I was about their show...(He told me to get the New Megadeth and Alice in Chains which I must remember to do).
Anyway, a solid set that was followed by Hypno5e, a French band of post-metal experimentation. While they were tuning up, a woman in one of those Nordic ear flap caps that you see hippies in Boulder wear in the winter was playing jokey songs. Nothing wrong with a Manic Pixie Dream Girl playing ukulele and singing indie versions of rap songs while you're waiting for the band.
Hypno5e play a crunchy, atmospheric, post-y kind of metal; slow and fast mixed with precision. When I was talking with Anthony from Revocation, he was saying that Hypno5e get drunk before they play every time and still sound great. He also told me that the band did a 2 minute song and dance about Taco Bell when they were in Spokane when they found out they were going to go to the eatery...TACO BELL! There was plenty of dancing before the show and during from their entourage. They were a beautiful mess; the music was practiced and tight but the band was loose limbed and jovial. A sort of serious playfulness. By the end of the set, lead singer and guitarist,Emmanuel Jessua, was on the ground with Binary bassist and rhythm guitarist hovering over and the stage was a shambles. Anthony from Revocation remarked "You can tell the tour is almost over, huh?"
So now, let's do the numbers...The sheer joviality and camaraderie of all the bands plus the professionalism of the playing plus the doing it for the love of the music times the originality of all of the acts equals a solid 5 points of the pentagram from me. Were there sound problems, sure, did the ship sail in late, yeah, but the sheer,pure FUN of the 'Metal as Art' show made even paying my friend's tab worth it... So, support this tour...With all the hipsters talk about tr00 metal when referring to tours that dwarf a U2 show, this is what the scene is really about...Word of mouth about bands hungry to play you their original music...
Thursday, January 28, 2010
OPINION: Black on Black (part 1 of, who knows how many...) Some initial thoughts...
As a metal fan, while not required to listen to every genre, one typically gives every one a chance.
Black metal, that rather petulant and rambunctious bastard child of a three-way between Wagner, punk and metal, comes across every metal fan's plate at some point in time and reactions certainly vary...Some feel it to be pretentious and cartoonish, others find it the only tr00 metal genre around... Whatever your opinion, it probably has dozens of forum posts from dozens of sites agreeing with it or disagreeing with it. I am still working my opinion on it out...
Now, my first exposure to the form was scant proto-black metal artists like Bathory and Venom. I had a little bit of curiosity in college in 1988 after my friend Sam turned me on to metal, so, I figured I check stuff out. Outside of Anthrax, Motley Crue and Priest, my experience with metal was minimal. I eventually would get into all genres, strangely enough, in order of their appearance in the history of the music scene. In college towns, (mine was Ft. Collins, Colorado) there are plenty of good record stores. There was a local shop named Finest Records that I would go to and pick up vinyl (!) and cassettes (!!) for my Walkman (!!!).
I was a new wave/punk/industrial/alternative kid, but I would look at the metal and found the Venom covers just friggin' intimidating. At the time, the Norwegian Black Metal kids scarcely could play instruments much less play with fire...I also remember seeing Black Sabbath's "Born Again" cover and just wrote off ALL metal as satanic conformity. See, I was given a ton of $#@! for liking the music I liked in my black Baptist family. College, being the time of questioning, would eventually lead me to shed the anti-life, anti-truth, anti-reality aspects of Christianity in favor of the non-theistic, non-religious, philosophical and scientific Buddhism and actually break down and buy some metal records. (Some?! I probably have over 300...)
Off and on, it was the sheer audacity of black metal I was intrigued by. Death metal was intimidating with its overtly satanic lyrics and technical proficiency but it was its kid brother (that sometimes was thought to be the older brother)that seemed to grab the headlines... Burning churches for goodness sakes?! Really?! WTF!
Now, outsider art and pop surrealism has always been interesting to be; Joe Coleman, Robert Williams and Robert Crumb were necessary extensions from my love of comic books...These artists and others were always interesting to me. John Waters, John Woo, George Romero, Gus Van Zandt and Russ Meyer were outsider directors that I loved. As an 'alternative' kid in the 80s (we really didn't have a name outside of 'new waver' or 'weirdo' or 'fag'), I wasn't threatened by the odd... but this was... WHOA!
The corpsepaint, inverted crosses and, did I mention burning CHURCHES?!?
But still, there was something there...There was some primal need for expression, a proto-civilization vibe that was just... enticing...
Now, hearing that first Mayhem record or Emperor or Immortal... That felt like what it felt like to listen to Zepplin's "Houses of the Holy" for the first time; kinda scary in that wow-this-is-cool-but-am-I-going-to-hell-for-this??? kind of way.
I DON'T want this blog to be about race but the National Socialist vibe of some of the Norwegian Black Metal bands makes listening to the records daunting. (Satanists AND Racists?!? What the hell?!)
I can't help but enjoy the genre but investigation has been difficult. I know the stories about Euronymous, Dead, Varg and Faust. I am not bothered by them (Easy E and Suge Knight would eat those kids for breakfast). However, this strain of fascism that has been hinted at in the lyrics and band imagery in metal for a long time now, is metaphor, not as something actually to embrace. Not with some of the Norwegian Black metal guys though...
This side of black metal seems to be a de-evolution to a naturalistic nationalism and suffers from the Pre/Trans fallacy; the notion that going back to some sort of way of experiencing reality of the past is a transcendent state rather than just going backwards... Nationalism and a desire for a simpler time of warriors and the like is not an advancement either spiritually or psychologically and is doomed to find itself clashing with modernity.
Plus, is anyone really more intimidated by a group of folks from the place on earth with just about the lowest crime, poverty, unemployment, homelessness and the highest standard of living? It sometimes makes me think the whole Norwegian Black Metal thing is a product of Seasonal Affective Disorder and a good dose of vitamin D and Zoloft would have saved a bunch of folks a great deal of heartache...
...Still, the music is raw, creative and primal...And mostly good.... I still have thoughts about it rumbling around my cranium, so, I'll have to continue this in part 2 of, who knows how many.
Black metal, that rather petulant and rambunctious bastard child of a three-way between Wagner, punk and metal, comes across every metal fan's plate at some point in time and reactions certainly vary...Some feel it to be pretentious and cartoonish, others find it the only tr00 metal genre around... Whatever your opinion, it probably has dozens of forum posts from dozens of sites agreeing with it or disagreeing with it. I am still working my opinion on it out...
Now, my first exposure to the form was scant proto-black metal artists like Bathory and Venom. I had a little bit of curiosity in college in 1988 after my friend Sam turned me on to metal, so, I figured I check stuff out. Outside of Anthrax, Motley Crue and Priest, my experience with metal was minimal. I eventually would get into all genres, strangely enough, in order of their appearance in the history of the music scene. In college towns, (mine was Ft. Collins, Colorado) there are plenty of good record stores. There was a local shop named Finest Records that I would go to and pick up vinyl (!) and cassettes (!!) for my Walkman (!!!).
I was a new wave/punk/industrial/alternative kid, but I would look at the metal and found the Venom covers just friggin' intimidating. At the time, the Norwegian Black Metal kids scarcely could play instruments much less play with fire...I also remember seeing Black Sabbath's "Born Again" cover and just wrote off ALL metal as satanic conformity. See, I was given a ton of $#@! for liking the music I liked in my black Baptist family. College, being the time of questioning, would eventually lead me to shed the anti-life, anti-truth, anti-reality aspects of Christianity in favor of the non-theistic, non-religious, philosophical and scientific Buddhism and actually break down and buy some metal records. (Some?! I probably have over 300...)
Off and on, it was the sheer audacity of black metal I was intrigued by. Death metal was intimidating with its overtly satanic lyrics and technical proficiency but it was its kid brother (that sometimes was thought to be the older brother)that seemed to grab the headlines... Burning churches for goodness sakes?! Really?! WTF!
Now, outsider art and pop surrealism has always been interesting to be; Joe Coleman, Robert Williams and Robert Crumb were necessary extensions from my love of comic books...These artists and others were always interesting to me. John Waters, John Woo, George Romero, Gus Van Zandt and Russ Meyer were outsider directors that I loved. As an 'alternative' kid in the 80s (we really didn't have a name outside of 'new waver' or 'weirdo' or 'fag'), I wasn't threatened by the odd... but this was... WHOA!
The corpsepaint, inverted crosses and, did I mention burning CHURCHES?!?
But still, there was something there...There was some primal need for expression, a proto-civilization vibe that was just... enticing...
Now, hearing that first Mayhem record or Emperor or Immortal... That felt like what it felt like to listen to Zepplin's "Houses of the Holy" for the first time; kinda scary in that wow-this-is-cool-but-am-I-going-to-hell-for-this??? kind of way.
I DON'T want this blog to be about race but the National Socialist vibe of some of the Norwegian Black Metal bands makes listening to the records daunting. (Satanists AND Racists?!? What the hell?!)
I can't help but enjoy the genre but investigation has been difficult. I know the stories about Euronymous, Dead, Varg and Faust. I am not bothered by them (Easy E and Suge Knight would eat those kids for breakfast). However, this strain of fascism that has been hinted at in the lyrics and band imagery in metal for a long time now, is metaphor, not as something actually to embrace. Not with some of the Norwegian Black metal guys though...
This side of black metal seems to be a de-evolution to a naturalistic nationalism and suffers from the Pre/Trans fallacy; the notion that going back to some sort of way of experiencing reality of the past is a transcendent state rather than just going backwards... Nationalism and a desire for a simpler time of warriors and the like is not an advancement either spiritually or psychologically and is doomed to find itself clashing with modernity.
Plus, is anyone really more intimidated by a group of folks from the place on earth with just about the lowest crime, poverty, unemployment, homelessness and the highest standard of living? It sometimes makes me think the whole Norwegian Black Metal thing is a product of Seasonal Affective Disorder and a good dose of vitamin D and Zoloft would have saved a bunch of folks a great deal of heartache...
...Still, the music is raw, creative and primal...And mostly good.... I still have thoughts about it rumbling around my cranium, so, I'll have to continue this in part 2 of, who knows how many.
...No High on Fire, but...
For those of you that don't know(and I assure you, I will tell the tale throughout these posts), my interest in metal bands follows the actual metal timeline. I was first interested in doom (Black Sabbath, natch) then NWOBHM bands like Judas Priest. I moved on to Slayer almost simultaneously with my interest in NWOBHM. Then onto death and black metal with some sludge thrown in.
So, when I heard that High on Fire was playing FOR FREE tonight, I was super stoked. Alas, dear reader, I was scheduled to work at my second job as a pizza guy for Pudge Brothers Pizza. I consider Sleep, and by extension, High on Fire part of my doom necessities. And as doom/stoner metal is my first love in metal, I was super bummed by not seeing them...
On my last delivery, the one that sealed the deal of me not going by occurring after 10 p.m., I met Nick, who was wearing a Whitechapel t-shirt. We started talking about bands and it turns out A) he was at the Nile show and the Devildriver show and knows those guys, B) can get into shows for nothing and C) would perhaps be able to help yours truly in his quest for metal show supremacy. Turns out he used to roadie and may be able to get me into some shows! More importantly, I may have a new metal friend and someone to hang with while seeing bands, Pretty cool...
So, when I heard that High on Fire was playing FOR FREE tonight, I was super stoked. Alas, dear reader, I was scheduled to work at my second job as a pizza guy for Pudge Brothers Pizza. I consider Sleep, and by extension, High on Fire part of my doom necessities. And as doom/stoner metal is my first love in metal, I was super bummed by not seeing them...
On my last delivery, the one that sealed the deal of me not going by occurring after 10 p.m., I met Nick, who was wearing a Whitechapel t-shirt. We started talking about bands and it turns out A) he was at the Nile show and the Devildriver show and knows those guys, B) can get into shows for nothing and C) would perhaps be able to help yours truly in his quest for metal show supremacy. Turns out he used to roadie and may be able to get me into some shows! More importantly, I may have a new metal friend and someone to hang with while seeing bands, Pretty cool...
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Metal As Art Tour
The Metal As Art tour sounds intriguing but I have only heard Revocation....This is a possibility for Saturday but I've got to find out about Hypno5e and Binary Code...
Revocation sounded like they were about an album and a half away from greatness. Their debut "Existence is Futile" sounded a wee bit busy the way tech death can sound when it forgets the riff... Enjoyable, but without knowledge about the other two bands, this show has to go on the 'maybe' pile..
Revocation sounded like they were about an album and a half away from greatness. Their debut "Existence is Futile" sounded a wee bit busy the way tech death can sound when it forgets the riff... Enjoyable, but without knowledge about the other two bands, this show has to go on the 'maybe' pile..
Nile, Immolation,Krisiun, Dreaming Dead and Enemy Reign at the Bluebird 1-25-10
My ears are bleeding and my eyes are bleary from a truly awesome show. I initially went to see Nile and Krisiun but all the bands tore my face off.
Now, I know what you are thinking, dear reader, "ALL the bands?!? Impossible! What is the standard?!" Nay, it is absolutely possible. Believe it.
I was a bit bummed being at the show alone...My wife is a metal widow at home with the folks we take care of and our 8 year-old. So, I trudge out in the cold to go see these bands and feel a bit like some kind of metal geek holding up the wall and rocking by my lonesome. I knew Peter from Angelo's Records was going to be there and the dude from Ace Hardware that comes into Pudge Brothers Pizza every now and again. I looked for them in vain.
First up was Dreaming Dead... I don't often see a lead singer who also is the lead guitarist....Well, actually the lead singer trades solos with the other guitarist. I enjoyed the vocals and the riffs. Dreaming Dead came on before locals Enemy Reign but used their drum kit. Now, what you will inevitably hear about in reference to Dreaming Dead is the fact that both guitarists are women; this is a non-issue because the question is not the gender but the skills and they indeed have the skills...Too short a set but thoroughly enjoyable. Straight to the point death metal... When the guitarists would swing their hair in a circle, the entire front of the pit would do the same creating a hair wind farm effect...
Enemy Reign was good as well; kind of a Death/metalcore band. They definitely raised the energy level of the crowd. (Breakdowns for everyone!) Some of the clutter in my muscles was burned away. After this set, I saw Peter from Angelo's CDs and we rapped a bit...He missed the Dreaming Dead set.
Now Krisiun was up. Earlier in the evening, I purchased a shirt from the bassist who was super respectful and appreciative...Its funny that so many bands in metal sing about some of the most effed up $#!@, but are really cool. The bassist for Immolation, one of the two original members, was right next to him but I didn't realize it until after their set. He was super cool too...
At this point I looked behind me and recognized the dude standing behind me...It was Carl Kumpe! He was the drummer for Painstake, a band that my buddy Thom Gann was in...I lost touch with Thom which was a MAJOR bummer to me; he actually figures prominently in my rediscovery of metal in the early part of this decade and we got our black belts together in Kung Fu at Chinese Shao-lin Center Denver. He moved to Conifer and I lost touch with him. Carl was there with his friend Darryl. Now, Carl is a person who has a positively encyclopedic knowledge of metal bands and history; he was involved in representing bands such as locals Cephalic Carnage and was involved with Relapse back in the day. Plus, Painstake put out a couple of records. He introduced me to some people around including folks from Enemy Reign. Man, if it hadn't been for him and Darryl, the show would still have been great, but not as funny. (Hope I spelled their names right!).
Anyway, Krisiun felt like a roiling storm...The floorboards of the Bluebird rumbled in a way that made walking afterward kinda like what it feels like to walk after wearing roller-skates for an hour. Darryl made me laugh when he remarked that the bassist's regular speaking voice sounds like the death vocal. My only criticism of any of these shows were their brevity. Darryl and I rapped a bit about being black guys in a notoriously un-black scene.. It was nice to meet someone who listens to all kinds of music who was in his forties and black...Yeah, yeah, I know this blog isn't really about being a metal guy who happens to be black but it is noticeable at shows on occasion.
Immolation was up next...When they came on, Carl and I had just started a conversation about black metal which is the genre I have the lowest interest in(I pretty much like Emperor, Immortal and the new USBM bands like Wolves in the Throne Room, Krallice and Cobalt). The conversation where I pick his brain would have to wait...
Now, I wasn't really a fan of Immolation...Probably a little too much of me judging the book by the insanely blasphemous album covers. I mean, I'm a parent; there really is no need for me to try and piss of my parents at this time, is there?! The show they put on was AMAZING! These workhorses of the second wave of US death metal put on a show! How can you not get behind a bassist with four foot long hair(Ross Dolan) and an Anton LaVey looking lead guitarist (Robert Vigna)just punishing his guitar and searing atonal sounds into your brain?! I mean what is not to love? Carl was saying that they were signed to Roadrunner when EVERYONE was signed to Roadrunner who then flew them to Germany to record "Dawn of Possesion" which apparently went nowhere...Too bad too, because they should probably be headlining instead of Nile based on time on the road. I'm converted...(Hmm. Is that and ironic statement or what given their lyrical content?)
Nile was certainly the crowd's reason for being there...A very genial Karl Sanders came out with a wave and proceed to shake the place to Egyptian dust. They opened with "Kafir" which got the crowd involved with screaming the words 'there is no god but god' and closed with "Black Seeds of Vengeance" I believe...By this time my ears were ringing (forgot the ear plugs). They played a bit from most of their albums, maybe all of them (I don't have "In the Beginning" or "Ithyphallic"). Still, well worth the wait. Carl and Darryl left early which was too bad.
I made my way to the Immolation, Dreaming Dead, and Krisiun merch table to shake hands with Ross from Immolation. I didn't recognize him before and had to tell him what a great show.. He said the new album drops in March; look for it.
I have no real way of setting a standard as to what a great show is but this show seems to be it.
When I was younger, I might have judged a show on the size of the pit or some such thing(just because my first metal shows were in 2004 doesn't mean I haven't been going to other shows for a looong time). Now, I would have to say enthusiasm from the bands themselves, respect for the other performers, attentiveness from the crowd and the venue's sound quality would be what separates the average from the mind-blowingly, face searingly, bowel releasingly (eww!) good. This show was just that; good. This show was certainly quality if not quantity. But it is better wanting more than wanting less...
So, on this rather arbitrary scale I have created and am occasionally uncomfortable with and continually revise, I feel absolutely content to give this show 5 out of 5 points of the pentagram star(I figure everyone rates things by stars, why not the points of the pentagram, admittedly a cliched symbol of metal but you gotta work with what you've got, right?!). I used a five star rating for the Devildriver show but I like the sound of this new rating system better.
P.S.
Before Carl and Darryl left, we finished our talk about black metal and his respect for what the French (!) are doing with the genre. So, now I have to find some Deathspell Omega and go from there. No, I am by no means anti-France; that was the foreign language I studied in High School(liked the language, didn't care for the class). But to think that the innovation in regards to black metal is NOT coming from Scandinavia?! That is surprising and worth looking into...
I saw the Ace Hardware dude walking out after the show who looked as stoked as I did. "I toldja I was comin' to this show!", he said grinning... I knew he and I were in agreement about this greatness of the show. I walked back in the cold midnight happy for the experience and looking forward to the next show.
*UP NEXT (possibly)High on Fire,(maybe)Black Dahlia Murder/Obscura, (definitely) Kreator/Evile.
Now, I know what you are thinking, dear reader, "ALL the bands?!? Impossible! What is the standard?!" Nay, it is absolutely possible. Believe it.
I was a bit bummed being at the show alone...My wife is a metal widow at home with the folks we take care of and our 8 year-old. So, I trudge out in the cold to go see these bands and feel a bit like some kind of metal geek holding up the wall and rocking by my lonesome. I knew Peter from Angelo's Records was going to be there and the dude from Ace Hardware that comes into Pudge Brothers Pizza every now and again. I looked for them in vain.
First up was Dreaming Dead... I don't often see a lead singer who also is the lead guitarist....Well, actually the lead singer trades solos with the other guitarist. I enjoyed the vocals and the riffs. Dreaming Dead came on before locals Enemy Reign but used their drum kit. Now, what you will inevitably hear about in reference to Dreaming Dead is the fact that both guitarists are women; this is a non-issue because the question is not the gender but the skills and they indeed have the skills...Too short a set but thoroughly enjoyable. Straight to the point death metal... When the guitarists would swing their hair in a circle, the entire front of the pit would do the same creating a hair wind farm effect...
Enemy Reign was good as well; kind of a Death/metalcore band. They definitely raised the energy level of the crowd. (Breakdowns for everyone!) Some of the clutter in my muscles was burned away. After this set, I saw Peter from Angelo's CDs and we rapped a bit...He missed the Dreaming Dead set.
Now Krisiun was up. Earlier in the evening, I purchased a shirt from the bassist who was super respectful and appreciative...Its funny that so many bands in metal sing about some of the most effed up $#!@, but are really cool. The bassist for Immolation, one of the two original members, was right next to him but I didn't realize it until after their set. He was super cool too...
At this point I looked behind me and recognized the dude standing behind me...It was Carl Kumpe! He was the drummer for Painstake, a band that my buddy Thom Gann was in...I lost touch with Thom which was a MAJOR bummer to me; he actually figures prominently in my rediscovery of metal in the early part of this decade and we got our black belts together in Kung Fu at Chinese Shao-lin Center Denver. He moved to Conifer and I lost touch with him. Carl was there with his friend Darryl. Now, Carl is a person who has a positively encyclopedic knowledge of metal bands and history; he was involved in representing bands such as locals Cephalic Carnage and was involved with Relapse back in the day. Plus, Painstake put out a couple of records. He introduced me to some people around including folks from Enemy Reign. Man, if it hadn't been for him and Darryl, the show would still have been great, but not as funny. (Hope I spelled their names right!).
Anyway, Krisiun felt like a roiling storm...The floorboards of the Bluebird rumbled in a way that made walking afterward kinda like what it feels like to walk after wearing roller-skates for an hour. Darryl made me laugh when he remarked that the bassist's regular speaking voice sounds like the death vocal. My only criticism of any of these shows were their brevity. Darryl and I rapped a bit about being black guys in a notoriously un-black scene.. It was nice to meet someone who listens to all kinds of music who was in his forties and black...Yeah, yeah, I know this blog isn't really about being a metal guy who happens to be black but it is noticeable at shows on occasion.
Immolation was up next...When they came on, Carl and I had just started a conversation about black metal which is the genre I have the lowest interest in(I pretty much like Emperor, Immortal and the new USBM bands like Wolves in the Throne Room, Krallice and Cobalt). The conversation where I pick his brain would have to wait...
Now, I wasn't really a fan of Immolation...Probably a little too much of me judging the book by the insanely blasphemous album covers. I mean, I'm a parent; there really is no need for me to try and piss of my parents at this time, is there?! The show they put on was AMAZING! These workhorses of the second wave of US death metal put on a show! How can you not get behind a bassist with four foot long hair(Ross Dolan) and an Anton LaVey looking lead guitarist (Robert Vigna)just punishing his guitar and searing atonal sounds into your brain?! I mean what is not to love? Carl was saying that they were signed to Roadrunner when EVERYONE was signed to Roadrunner who then flew them to Germany to record "Dawn of Possesion" which apparently went nowhere...Too bad too, because they should probably be headlining instead of Nile based on time on the road. I'm converted...(Hmm. Is that and ironic statement or what given their lyrical content?)
Nile was certainly the crowd's reason for being there...A very genial Karl Sanders came out with a wave and proceed to shake the place to Egyptian dust. They opened with "Kafir" which got the crowd involved with screaming the words 'there is no god but god' and closed with "Black Seeds of Vengeance" I believe...By this time my ears were ringing (forgot the ear plugs). They played a bit from most of their albums, maybe all of them (I don't have "In the Beginning" or "Ithyphallic"). Still, well worth the wait. Carl and Darryl left early which was too bad.
I made my way to the Immolation, Dreaming Dead, and Krisiun merch table to shake hands with Ross from Immolation. I didn't recognize him before and had to tell him what a great show.. He said the new album drops in March; look for it.
I have no real way of setting a standard as to what a great show is but this show seems to be it.
When I was younger, I might have judged a show on the size of the pit or some such thing(just because my first metal shows were in 2004 doesn't mean I haven't been going to other shows for a looong time). Now, I would have to say enthusiasm from the bands themselves, respect for the other performers, attentiveness from the crowd and the venue's sound quality would be what separates the average from the mind-blowingly, face searingly, bowel releasingly (eww!) good. This show was just that; good. This show was certainly quality if not quantity. But it is better wanting more than wanting less...
So, on this rather arbitrary scale I have created and am occasionally uncomfortable with and continually revise, I feel absolutely content to give this show 5 out of 5 points of the pentagram star(I figure everyone rates things by stars, why not the points of the pentagram, admittedly a cliched symbol of metal but you gotta work with what you've got, right?!). I used a five star rating for the Devildriver show but I like the sound of this new rating system better.
P.S.
Before Carl and Darryl left, we finished our talk about black metal and his respect for what the French (!) are doing with the genre. So, now I have to find some Deathspell Omega and go from there. No, I am by no means anti-France; that was the foreign language I studied in High School(liked the language, didn't care for the class). But to think that the innovation in regards to black metal is NOT coming from Scandinavia?! That is surprising and worth looking into...
I saw the Ace Hardware dude walking out after the show who looked as stoked as I did. "I toldja I was comin' to this show!", he said grinning... I knew he and I were in agreement about this greatness of the show. I walked back in the cold midnight happy for the experience and looking forward to the next show.
*UP NEXT (possibly)High on Fire,(maybe)Black Dahlia Murder/Obscura, (definitely) Kreator/Evile.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
2010 Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival Lineup
MAIN STAGE
KORN
ROB ZOMBIE
LAMB OF GOD
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH
MAYHEM FESTIVAL STAGE
ATREYU
NORMA JEAN
IN THIS MOMENT
3 INCHES OF BLOOD
JAGERMEISTER STAGE
HATEBREED
CHIMAIRA
SHADOWS FALL
WINDS OF PLAGUE
....Man, my concert going 'Metal Year' WAS going to include this but only the Jager stage has a lineup that is worth sitting all the way through. I love LOG and have heard great things about 3 Inches of Blood but I might have to say 'no' to this festival...
*Sigh* Why doesn't the States have festivals as good as Europe?! I would sell all my comic books (and that is saying something) to go to 'Hellfest'.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Devildriver,Suffocation,Goatwhore and Thy Will Be Done show 1-16-09 Gothic Theater
So, this wasn't my first metal show; I suppose that was Ozzfest 2004. In that show, I was able to see a ton of bands I liked; Lamb of God, Slayer(responsible for my entry to the extreme scene), Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Hatebreed, God Forbid, etc. I knew what to expect...A ton of pot smoke, a circle pit of varying size, hair, y'know a metal show. I had just purchased a new pair of Doc Marten's. This was the show to break them in...I felt secure and assured.
I met a guy while going in who was totally into Devildriver. His name was Brian and he remind me of a young Brian Dennehy. Me, I was there for Suffocation and Goatwhore. As an African-American metalhead, I find it reassuring that two of the members of Suffocation are black (Mike Smith and Terrance Hobbs)...Silly, I know but there is a bit of racism in the world of metal. Some bands, (I am looking squarely at you, Arghoslent) and even genres ('black' metal, ironically enough) have been racially intolerant. Now, before you get your briefs in a bunch, (or your corpsepaint running from crying),not all black metal nor a majority of metalheads I find are racist. Still, I highly doubt anyone who would tour with Suffocation would be racist and it makes for a relaxed show for me...(Someday, I'll tell you about the NSBM fans at the Marduk show).
So, Brian, the guy into Devildriver was into Thy Will Be Done, Goatwhore and of course Devildriver...He was not into Suffocation. When we talked, he definitely mentioned Death was not his genre. In his defense, the sound made all the Suffo songs sound similar; I assured him it was different on album but he was unconvinced.
Anyway, a good show overall; mic kept cutting out which, I am not sure, but I don't think that the bands knew that. Thy Will Be Done were energetic but didn't have any merch. Much respect that the bands had for us and for the pit..."If a person falls, pick them up" was said by more than one frontman. The cynic in me thought it had to do with insurance issues that the Gothic Theater had.
The lead singer of Thy Will Be Done, whose name I do not know (MERCH fellas!) wore an Entombed shirt which earned a bit of respect ('Left Hand Path' kicks serious tail!).
What struck me at this show is how stellar the drummers and bassists were of ALL of the bands. The low ends on the speakers were easily heard but the solos were few and didn't come off well with the system. I know Sammy Duet of Goatwhore (and Acid Bath!) can play but it was hard to hear.
Nice to see the lead singer of Goatwhore (Ben Falgoust) selling his own merch; I bought a t-shirt and shook his hand while leaving....
Frank of Suffocation was entertaining; slapping himself, doing the hand shaking thing he does and wagging his tongue. He told us to prepare for the apocalypse and get guns to which a guy near me said to "shoot a liberal"...I laughed and thought does he think the right wing is down with death metal or something?!?
Devildriver put on a good show with plenty of banter from Dez Fafara who is Dio short (thoughts out with Dio during his cancer battle). I'm short too, so its not a slam but in all the pix I've seen, he seems imposing....Shot from the ground I guess....He reminds me of my old Jiu-Jitsu teacher with his look...It automatically meant he got a pass from me, superficial I know.
Overall on a 5 star scale, I give it a solid 3 stars. The sound was a problem and I would have liked more energy from the crowd. There were some oldsters like me there, probably to see Suffocation...It is never a pretty sight to see a balding metalhead holding onto long hair...(That wasn't a factor on the rating though!)
Keep it metallic...
*Next show, Nile, Immolation, Krisiun, Dreaming Dead*
I met a guy while going in who was totally into Devildriver. His name was Brian and he remind me of a young Brian Dennehy. Me, I was there for Suffocation and Goatwhore. As an African-American metalhead, I find it reassuring that two of the members of Suffocation are black (Mike Smith and Terrance Hobbs)...Silly, I know but there is a bit of racism in the world of metal. Some bands, (I am looking squarely at you, Arghoslent) and even genres ('black' metal, ironically enough) have been racially intolerant. Now, before you get your briefs in a bunch, (or your corpsepaint running from crying),not all black metal nor a majority of metalheads I find are racist. Still, I highly doubt anyone who would tour with Suffocation would be racist and it makes for a relaxed show for me...(Someday, I'll tell you about the NSBM fans at the Marduk show).
So, Brian, the guy into Devildriver was into Thy Will Be Done, Goatwhore and of course Devildriver...He was not into Suffocation. When we talked, he definitely mentioned Death was not his genre. In his defense, the sound made all the Suffo songs sound similar; I assured him it was different on album but he was unconvinced.
Anyway, a good show overall; mic kept cutting out which, I am not sure, but I don't think that the bands knew that. Thy Will Be Done were energetic but didn't have any merch. Much respect that the bands had for us and for the pit..."If a person falls, pick them up" was said by more than one frontman. The cynic in me thought it had to do with insurance issues that the Gothic Theater had.
The lead singer of Thy Will Be Done, whose name I do not know (MERCH fellas!) wore an Entombed shirt which earned a bit of respect ('Left Hand Path' kicks serious tail!).
What struck me at this show is how stellar the drummers and bassists were of ALL of the bands. The low ends on the speakers were easily heard but the solos were few and didn't come off well with the system. I know Sammy Duet of Goatwhore (and Acid Bath!) can play but it was hard to hear.
Nice to see the lead singer of Goatwhore (Ben Falgoust) selling his own merch; I bought a t-shirt and shook his hand while leaving....
Frank of Suffocation was entertaining; slapping himself, doing the hand shaking thing he does and wagging his tongue. He told us to prepare for the apocalypse and get guns to which a guy near me said to "shoot a liberal"...I laughed and thought does he think the right wing is down with death metal or something?!?
Devildriver put on a good show with plenty of banter from Dez Fafara who is Dio short (thoughts out with Dio during his cancer battle). I'm short too, so its not a slam but in all the pix I've seen, he seems imposing....Shot from the ground I guess....He reminds me of my old Jiu-Jitsu teacher with his look...It automatically meant he got a pass from me, superficial I know.
Overall on a 5 star scale, I give it a solid 3 stars. The sound was a problem and I would have liked more energy from the crowd. There were some oldsters like me there, probably to see Suffocation...It is never a pretty sight to see a balding metalhead holding onto long hair...(That wasn't a factor on the rating though!)
Keep it metallic...
*Next show, Nile, Immolation, Krisiun, Dreaming Dead*
Monday, January 18, 2010
Let us begin as we hope to continue...
This is the first ever entry for "My Metal Year"; a blog detailing how I am dealing with turning forty by seeing as many metal concerts as possible. A sort of mid-life crisis done metallic...and a place to discuss whatever comes up in this process...
In the past few years, I have done a strange dance with the world of metal...I, unlike many folks, got into this music late; well into my twenties. It didn't take firm hold until the disillusionment of my teen years and young adulthood gave way to the the malaise of adulthood. In other words, when I actually had to start dealing with real-world $#*%, my sheltered, aversion-based naivete became a small but growing kernel of hostility to a world that probably just doesn't have to be the way it is save for human greed, hatred and ignorance.
Perhaps, I have embraced metal as a way of catharsis; a way of being able to puke out all the wretched abuses of humanity...That sounds a bit simplistic (and young, strangely enough) but its that bluntness, that directness that has drawn me to metal in this my most stressful, busy, neurotic and depressed period. Its a white hot beacon of hope in the swirling chaos. This 'dark night of the soul' has a soundtrack and that soundtrack is metal.
(...I am listening to Buzzov-en right now, so perhaps my view as I write this is slanted to the misanthropic. I also am coming down with some sinus thing and listening to the sludgy Buzzov-en is oddly soothing.)
In this blog, I will do some reviews, some discussion, some meandering around all sorts of topics built around this, My Metal Year.
In the past few years, I have done a strange dance with the world of metal...I, unlike many folks, got into this music late; well into my twenties. It didn't take firm hold until the disillusionment of my teen years and young adulthood gave way to the the malaise of adulthood. In other words, when I actually had to start dealing with real-world $#*%, my sheltered, aversion-based naivete became a small but growing kernel of hostility to a world that probably just doesn't have to be the way it is save for human greed, hatred and ignorance.
Perhaps, I have embraced metal as a way of catharsis; a way of being able to puke out all the wretched abuses of humanity...That sounds a bit simplistic (and young, strangely enough) but its that bluntness, that directness that has drawn me to metal in this my most stressful, busy, neurotic and depressed period. Its a white hot beacon of hope in the swirling chaos. This 'dark night of the soul' has a soundtrack and that soundtrack is metal.
(...I am listening to Buzzov-en right now, so perhaps my view as I write this is slanted to the misanthropic. I also am coming down with some sinus thing and listening to the sludgy Buzzov-en is oddly soothing.)
In this blog, I will do some reviews, some discussion, some meandering around all sorts of topics built around this, My Metal Year.
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