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.