Tesseract – Intronaut – Cloudkicker – Aviations: Live at Brighton Music Hall, Allston MA

Posted on May 16, 2014 by News Team

Well another weekend and another show in Allston Rock City, as the denizens here have taken to calling it. Sure it has its share of faults like too many hipsters, huge rates, and a general nexus of drama that comes from being a hiccup from Boston and smack dab between two nicer neighborhoods. What Allston lacks in class, it has style up the rear end, and three of my favorite music venues within 7 blocks of each other. At Brighton Music Hall the band camp geek crowd of Boston was out to see some of prog/djent’s finest bands come to town.

Local youngsters Aviations were first up tonight. I had heard a bit about them, but I wasn’t familiar with their music until now. They were really impressive, accomplished players doing their take on djent. They also had a huge crew of friends and fans there, as evident by how active they were singing along, moshing and in general, being hyped as if these guys were the headliners. It was infections because the rest of the crowd quickly caught on. As as band they are a lot of fun live, put on an energetic show and their singer Adam Benjamin even jumped into the pit to mosh a few times! They are opening up for Animals as Leaders soon, so big things are in store for them.

A lot of folks in the house tonight were lured by the draw of Cloudkicker finally touring. Studio whiz Ben Sharp could finally strut his stuff, and with Intronaut as his backing band, it was going to be pretty exciting. They even had their own commemorative shirts that said Cloudtronaut… or was it IntroKicker? I can’t recall. Led by Sharp, the band cut through a string of flawless prog tunes such as ‘We’re Going In’, ‘You & Yours’, and ‘Dysphoria’. It was fairly amazeballs! Sharp’s guitar mastery is impeccable, as he pulled out a bevy of techniques. Techniques, mind you, not tricks. There is a difference. For their part, the Intronaut guys played great and helped bring these little masterpieces to life. Behind the band a video screen showed space satellite footage that added a little more juice to the scene. I for one hope this collaboration continues live, and perhaps even extending to the studio someday.

Staying on stage with only a short break, Intronaut continues to remind me over and over why they are one of the preeminent heavy music bands of our time. At this point in their career they can go out on a lot of tours they want to take, or just tour by themselves if they want, but to hit the road on this kind of package says a lot about them. Tonight they were doing a shorter set, on top of double duty. Opening with ‘Killing Birds with Stones’ was great, and such a good indicator of where the band is headed. Each of the players in this band is stellar, but none more so than Danny Walker on the drums. The guy is a machine on the kit, but plays with a lot of passion too. The vocals of Sacha Dunable and Dave Timnick always get me right in the guts too. Tracks like ‘Venom’ and set closer ‘The Way Down’ just stay with you long after the final notes disappear. Typical of Boston area shows, some people left after Intronaut and didn’t stay to the end of the show, possibly because their girlfriends were bored or something.

Tesseract took quite a while to go on, but everyone in the room was amped to see them. A rumor had gotten around the club before long that singer Ashe O’Hara was sick, and could not sing tonight. When the band hit the stage, there were still a lot of perplexed faces in the crowd as the band appeared to be down to a three-piece with no singer. The band played great and the crowd none the wiser enjoyed a few songs before Amos Williams addressed the crowd, confirming that doctors advised Ashe not to sing. However, the band planned to play their full set without him, apologized profusely over it. They ran through a mix of songs from their catalog, with the audience singing back at the singer-less band. It was actually awesome and a testament to the fan base of this band. From what I could tell, some people left early, disappointed. But those who stayed were rewarded for their patience, and the band played their asses off. It was one of the most mature and professional things I have seen in a long time, just how hard the band played and how humble they were the entire time. The situation was far from ideal, but isn’t that what live music is all about? Especially in a scene where everyone plays along to backing tracks and the like, it was great to see these guys were so unflappable. A special treat for the crowd was the closing number of the night ‘Concealing Fate: Part I Acceptance’ which was played to a lot of oohs and ahhs for those remaining in the room. Afterward the band went into the crowd for a long time, signing merch and taking pictures.

TesseracT Set List:

Of Mind – Exile

Concealing Fate, Part 2: Deception

Concealing Fate, Part 3: The Impossible

April

Of Energy – Singularity

Of Mind – Nocturne
Encore:

Concealing Fate, Part 1: Acceptance

TesseracT on Facebook

Intronaut on Facebook

Cloudkicker on Facebook

Aviations on Facebook

Words: Keith (Keefy) Chachkes

Photos: Echoes In The Well

The Dillinger Escape Plan – Trash Talk – Retox – Shining (NO): at Brighton Music Hall, Allston MA

Posted on April 24, 2014 by News Team

There aren’t many tours that are revealed that I get giddy with excitement for immediately after they are announced. After hearing The Dillinger Escape Plan were playing Boston, however, it became one of my most highly anticipated shows of the year, and it did not disappoint in the slightest. They are one of those bands who, from the times I have seen them, put on some of the most intense shows I have ever seen.

So, when I reached the sold out Brighton Music Hall and saw the crowd building up when doors opened, I knew Boston was going to be in for a hell of a show. The night started off with the band Shining. No, not the black metal band from Sweden, but the experimental metal act from Norway. Fronted by guitarist, vocalist, and saxophonist Jørgen Munkeby, Shining blends the intricacy of progressive metal with the sound of jazz and black metal in order to craft very interesting pieces of music, which can be heard on their releases Blackjazz and One One One (Indie Recordings). Opening with the track ‘I Won’t Forget’, it was obvious that some of the crowd did not know what to expect after they began to play. The band played with a lot of energy and had a very strong stage presence throughout their set. By the end, most of the crowd was into their performance, even some of the people who were talking about why they were on the bill. They ended their set with a cover of ’21st Century Schizoid Man’ by King Crimson, and having the whole crowd sing along was a perfect way to close their set.

Following Shining were glitchy hardcore noisemakers Retox, whose mathy approach must have been a tad too offbeat for a crowd awaiting Trash Talk. With a more straightforward and urban approach to hardcore, it lends itself more to the mosh, essentially. Busting out oldies like a souped-up version of ‘F.Y.R.A.’ and the title track from their fastcore favourite, ‘Walking Disease’ and evenly dotting in some of their darker, heavier material from Eyes & Nines and 119 paved the way for stage-dive and crowd surf central. With vocalist Lee Spielman keeping the crowd hype in order to give them their money’s worth in next day bruises, there was no shortage of circle pits, rafter hanging (guitarist Spencer included), and of course, good old fashioned mosh ignorance. Those near the stage during the seasonably doom-laden ‘Hash Wednesday” would also be able to smell a certain sweet leaf making the rounds. Surprisingly, no hospitalizations, but definitely a lot of damaged shoes.

To pile mayhem on mayhem came The Dillinger Escape Plan, who, unlike Retox, have the history and long-standing reputation for hosting shows where the trend generally is rafter hanging, pit violence, more rafter hanging, impassioned singalongs, and maybe more rafter hanging, but this time instigated by guitarist extraordinaire Ben Weinman. Of course, you can guess that this set followed the formula of a normal Dillinger set, but is that ever a bad thing?

Aside from vocalist Greg Puciato telling all couples to make sweet love for the sake of procreation during the swank, ear-friendly intro to the title track of their Sumerian Records debut, One Of Us Is The Killer, you can guess what happened, short of the venue walls collapsing under the weight of ‘43% Burnt’, or the glorious pile-on/stage invasion during ‘Sunshine The Werewolf’, a fitting closer. Whoever programs their light show should get an academy award for the headache inducing task of syncing up anti-epilepsy death rays with the mind-bending time signatures that they bust out as easily as a grade schooler can beat-box. When even ‘Panasonic Youth’ is a comparatively ‘easy’ song to tap your foot to, you know you’re in for the musical equivalent of a plane crash. In the best way, of course. Be sure to pick up the wreckage that was your brain on the way out of the venue.

Despite all odds, the Brighton Music Hall still stands, and so we may tell the tale of the night it survived Trash Talk And The Dillinger Escape Plan back to back. Honestly, I’m still puzzled, but some things are best not to think too hard about and just accept. Life is kind of like stage-diving, if you think about it that way.

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Shining (NO) on Facebook

Retox on Facebook

Trash Talk on Facebook

The Dillinger Escape Plan on Facebook

Review by Jason Mejia and Sean Pierre-Antoine

Photos by Meg Loyal Photography

Carcass – The Black Dahlia Murder – Gorguts – Nosiem: Live At The Paradise, Boston MA

Posted on April 22, 2014 by News Team

Easily the most anticipated tour in the USA this year, practically everyone I know that is a fan of metal was going to attend the 2014 Decibel Magazine sponsored tour to see Carcass. Oddly enough I know people who straight out dislike anything resembling death metal, but were still going to attend on the strength of the Carcass name alone. I know some scoff at the near mythological amount of praise heaped on Surgical Steel (Nuclear Blast), even though it was the Ghost Cult 2013 album of the year (*cough cough*). Any way you slice it (bad pun intended), it is good to have them back, kicking ass, and going strong. The Paradise isn’t really a venue fit for metal on so many levels: from the awkward layout of the place, the inexperienced staff more used to indie rock fans, and clearly not ready drunk moshers, and stage divers. Most venues in Boston ignore the city-wide ban on moshing (WTF Boston!?!), but these guards were intimidated, overly cautious, and sometimes hapless. I felt a little bad for them, until they treated my friend and occasional Ghost Cult photog Hillarie Jason, and all the other photogs badly too. Sad that a club with the kind of history it has can’t rise up and better.

Nosiem: holy shit! They opened a can of whoopass on the entire Paradise. I really only listened to their Agony Defined (A389) album once or twice, and boy was I regretting it during their show. They were young and full of energy and immediately had the early crowd feeling wide open and angry. Lead screamer Tyler was mad impressive, running all over the cluttered stage. They were a loud unruly bunch, glorious young noise-makers who totally pumped up the already excited crowd. If I was under 20 again, they would be my favorite band.

Gorguts was up next and the Boston nerd-musician-Jazz hands kids quotient in the room rose significantly while the sperm count dipped to dangerous levels. Luc Lemay’s current incarnation of the band includes Colin Marston and Kevin Hufnagel from Dysrhythmia, with Patrice Hamelin on drums. It’s always like going to guitar school watching Luc play his mighty axe, and he sports his glasses on stage now, rocking a very professor-type feel to his demeanor. They did focus their short set list predominantly on the moody Colored Sands (Season of Mist) material, which left me a little flat. Thankfully they did an encore of their classic ‘Obscura’ which saved the day for me. Enjoyable, sure. But Gorguts is a band I really need to see play a longer, or headline set for me to really sink my teeth into.

Always a fun time, The Black Dahlia Murder, just hit the stage already seemingly full of sweat and smiles. As per usual Trevor Strnad just flew all over the place, raging hard and high—fiving everyone. He is one of my favorite performers to watch. Similar to Gorguts, they were short on time. However they did a nice job touching on some hits and a few cuts from last years’ Everblack (Metal Blade) album. The band sounded as tight as ever, and despite how much TBDM has toured the New England area, the room seemed to be enraptured by their set. They almost have an arena rock bigness to their shows, which seems unbelievable until you see them live. Ryan Knight in particular was amazing on guitar with a few sick solos, but the entire band continues to be exceptional and consistent year after year.

Despite their comeback US tour in 2009, I was surprised at how many people were seeing Carcass for the first time ever. It guess it owes as much to the latest generation of death metal fans coming up of late. There was a weird energy in the room like anything could happen, in a good way. Rather than watch the show from the crowd, I snagged a spot from the balcony so I could soak in the madness. There was already moshing and a few surfers testing the jumpy security before the first note was played. When the lights went down a roar went up like you wouldn’t believe. I will likely never forget the beautiful insanity of this crowd when ‘Buried Dreams’ from Heartwork kicked in. The miniscule Jeff Walker is like a living Chucky doll, since he is so small and evil. I kind of want to scoop him up and give him big a hug. Dan Wilding was immediately impressive at how perectly crushed on the drums. The early set mixed in Surgical Steel tracks with classic ones perfectly. The material certainly meshed well with the oldies, and since everybody and their mother had the new album, it was cool to hear many folks growling along.

Jeff is still quite the showman after 30 years in the business. Hilariously funny, with a wry sense of humor that is just a little too smart for most Americans, if I may disparage my own country for second. Still, everybody laughed when Jeff singled out a super- tall guy for blocking the view of a short-statured girl. Too funny for words. Of course a lot of people still grump about the absence of Michael Amott, who is no longer in the band, but I have to wonder why? Bill Steer was terrific and new guitarist Ben Ash was more than capable of creating the bands’ signature sound. Steer possesses on of the best guitar tones ever in metal. Naturally the band was flawless in its execution of their classic songs, like ‘Reek of Putrefaction’ and ‘Corporeal Jigsaw Quandary’. It was a pretty amazing night and a good time, leaving everyone satisfied and feeling like we just saw the best concert we will see in 2014.

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Carcass Set List:

Buried Dreams

Incarnated Solvent Abuse

Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System

Carnal Forge

Noncompliance to ASTM F 899-12 Standard

No Love Lost

The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills

This Mortal Coil

Reek of Putrefaction

Unfit for Human Consumption

Genital Grinder

Pyosisified (Rotten to the Gore)

Exhume to Consume

Captive Bolt Pistol

Corporal Jigsore Quandary

Keep On Rotting in the Free World

Heartwork

Carcass on Facebook

The Black Dahlia Murder on Facebook

Gorguts on Facebook

Nosiem on Facebook

Words by Keith Chachkes

Photos by Hillarie Jason Photography

Protest The Hero – Battlecross – The Safety Fire – Intervals: Live at the Middle East, Cambridge MA

Posted on April 21, 2014 by News Team

It was a chilly night in a quieter than usual Saturday in Cambridge Massachusetts. The Middle East nightclub sits on a welcoming strip of culturally diverse shops and restaurants. A perfect location for Protest the Hero’s Volition (Razor & Tie) tour; a multi-national and eclectic metallic offering.

For all of the shows I’ve been fortunate enough to attend in the New England area, this marked the first time I’ve attended a show downstairs at the Middle East. A basement venue that resembles the ultimate metal mancave or what Rocko’s in Manchester New Hampshire could have been if the staff actually cared. An hour between doors and the opening band afforded me ample time to down some economy brews and admire the not particularly well-lit, but intimate locale.

First up were Protest the Hero’s Canadian brethren in Intervals. For an unsigned band they’ve garnered lots of attention in progressive and tech-metal circles, especially with their latest release, A Voice Within. With the room starving for some live volume, the boys in Intervals were happy to oblige. Heavy 7-string palm muting was underway with tunes like ‘Alchemy’ and ‘Ephemeral’ starting the evening’s first mosh-pits. It was modern tech-metal or djent through and through; Tesseract shirts and Ibanez/Steinberger guitar interplay aplenty. Obviously talented players with a lot of stage energy, the only problem being the repetitive nature of djent. Midway through the set the songs began to feel repetitive. However things livened up again at the end of the performance when they jumped into songs like ‘Automaton’ and ‘Moment Marauder’ which featured some catchy melodies and riffs not unlike Periphery’s.

London England’s The Safety Fire sieged the stage next with their frenetic, noisy art-metal. Since I had missed out on their last North American trek, it was very satisfying to finally catch them tearing into live numbers from last year’s sublime Mouth of Swords (Inside Out). To the best of my knowledge The Safety Fire is considered progressive metal, but to be honest I wouldn’t know what to label them as. As evidenced by live flow of offerings like ‘Red Hatchet’ and ‘Huge Hammers’ their sound is metal one second and sometime that you’d find in Spin magazine the next. And I liked that. A lot, actually. Now that I had gotten a taste of their live sound, I’m ready for a proper headlining turn from these British upstarts.

At this point the Middle East was a sweatbox and I needed some more Pabst Blue Ribbon relief in order to properly enjoy the awesome that is Battlecross live. After refueling at the bar I took a spot front and center to take in Battlecross’ brand of “Blue Collar Thrash Metal” as close and loudly as possible. The bearded Michigan metal warriors did not disappoint. Guitarists Tony Asta and Hiran Deraniyagala traded off blazing riffs and searing leads effortlessly. What I thought would be a very pro-progressive metal audience ate up Battlecross’ savage thrash stylings. Sure the argument can be made that they only have one speed (a very brisk one, thanks to former Black Dahlia Murder drummer Shannon Lucas holding down on drums), but is that really an issue when you’ve got most of the crowd buying what you’re selling? If you weren’t headbanging you were in one of the various circle pits that would break at the drop of a hat or raiding their merchandise booth. Audience reaction to pit-churners like ‘Kaleb’ and ‘Flesh and Bone’ was so raucous that frontman Kyle Gunther declared Cambridge to be the best crowd of the entire tour.

Protest the Hero faced the stiff challenge of following up Battlecross’ assault, but the Torontonians were up to the task. Armed with some truly respectable facial hair, Protest served their Dream Theater by the way of Botch sonic cocktail to a crowd that hung on to every word. The young Canadians burned through 12 songs in the span of an hour and ten minutes, ranging from Kezia era anthems like ‘Blindfolds’ to more recent stompers like ‘Underbite.’ Midway into their effort the many fans had forgotten about the “No Crowd-Surfing” policy and were attempting to join the band onstage. Having the best live-sound on the bill paid dividends as it showcased the band’s technical mastery and vocalist Rody Walker’s pipes. And speaking of Walker, his witty lyrics are only matched by his onstage banter. Walker maintained an easy charm with the crowd even though most in attendance were Bruins fans while he’s partial to his Toronto Maple Leafs. I mean if we can’t agree on how much The Montreal Canadians and Max Pacioretty suck, then what can we agree on really? Conversations on hockey and the integrity of modern Star Trek movies is how you make inroads to great international relations. They capped off their set with crowd favorites ‘Bloodmeat’ and for my money is their best song, ‘C’est La Vie.’

It was good night in Cambridge. Overall we got quality sets from great bands at a good price. If I had my way, Protest the Hero would have played for a little longer than an hour and ten minutes. And maybe I should’ve gotten a couple of more economy suds from the bar before calling it a night. But all things considered, a highly enjoyable time.

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Protest The Hero on Facebook

Battlecross on Facebook

The Safety Fire on Facebook

Intervals on Facebook

Words: Hansel Lopez

Photos: Chris Small of CWS Photography

Scale The Summit – The Ocean – The Atlas Moth – Silver Snakes: Live At The Sinclair, Cambridge MA

Posted on April 10, 2014 by News Team

With winter’s frozen spirit finally broken we got out on drizzly, but not too awful Sunday night to see some of sludge and prog’s finest bands at The Sinclair for the last night of this trek. Before the show we hung out at a local dive/diner Charlie’s Kitchen, where we sipped beers with buds, and our contest winner, who won two free tickets to the show, Mike Vargus, courtesy of Prosthetic Records. Thanks guys! Good times!

With the popularity of prog, especially local to Boston with Berklee School of Music right nearby, it was a confluence of music nerds, “girlfriend metal” types, hipsters, crusties, vest wearing mofos, and our usual army of Boston metal types in the house. It’s funny to me sometimes how clique-ish groups of people are at metal shows these days, in many way reminding me of the early 90s again. Silver Snakes from L.A. hit that stage first and sounded tight, but were a little uneven musically at the start. I think it was their set list because they got stronger as they played on. They play an energetic mix of post-hardcore and alt-metal that you can definitely get into. They had their fans in the house, so that helped.

The Atlas Moth came next, and when we last saw our mid-western sludge heroes, they blew our brains out opening for Gojira and Devin Townsend last year. In the meantime they have been hard at work recording their highly anticipated new album, The Old Believer (Profound Lore), due this June. The Atlas Moth has always been a humble bunch, willing to open for anyone, stick to their guns and slog it out on the road in vans for a long time. Judging by tonight’s performance, including three new songs, I think their days as an opening band are numbered. Doing what they do best, a slow-burn and churn of layered riffs and waves of sounds, and just bludgeoning the crowd sonically with songs like ‘Coffin Varnish’ and ‘Holes In the Desert’. The interplay of the band, especially Stavros Giannopoulos and Dave Kush who alternate guitars and vocals, just kills. Of the new numbers in the set, ‘Halcyon Boulevard’ was a real face peeler, and you could tell the band has advanced their sound once again. I was impressed with the quality of the volume tonight too, since sometimes the band is so loud, it hurts. Basically never trust a fart at The Atlas Moth show! You might regret it.

The Ocean was next and I was beyond excited to see them.. The co-headlining tour has afforded this musically adventurous troupe the ability to add a little more production value to their show now, which is great. Awash in blue lights and with a cool video screen full of quirky images synchronized to their set, the band put on a great show. Playing Pelagial (Metal Blade) in its entirety was a magical experience to witness. Granted, it was my personal favorite album of the year for 2013, so I have probably spun it more times than anyone except Robin Staps’ mom, but this heady masterpiece of an album was meant to be enjoyed complete, not unlike Dark Side of The Moon by Pink Floyd, or even more recently Crack The Skye by Mastodon. The band is very purposeful in their performance and definitely feel the heavy emotions of the music they play. Vocalist Loic Rossetti definitely plays to the crowd, although atypical of many singers, he spends most of his time lurking toward the back of the stage, except when singing. It was a masterful performance and as far as I could tell the music was played to perfection. I ended up missing the last quarter of their performance to do some interviews I had to conduct back stage, but I did catch the unexpected highlight of the night. Stavros from The Atlas Moth came out to do a lead vocal turn towards the end of the set. It was a pretty killer and the crowd was a little stunned. Some folks filed out after The Ocean, which is always a little disappointing.

Last up, Scale the Summit were due to hit the stage. With a little sparser set up that The Ocean, STS is a band I respect a great deal. Some instrumental prog bands and even some of your post metal bands like Rosetta and Pelican) try too hard to “put on a show” rather than just let the music do the talking. They set up quick with the lights up and started to play without so much as a word to start things off. Like their co-headliners, Scale the Summit made great use of the video screen behind them. I had seen the band as an opener, but never for a headlining set and certainly not on as big. Each man played their instrument to perfection as they had the audience entranced with their music. Well, most of the audience. I definitely saw a few put upon girlfriends and spouses who were dragged out tonight, likely against their wills. Meanwhile the band, fairly oblivious to the audience for them most part, played with a lot of passion and not really machine-like perfection, but with a lot of soul. STS is heavy, but a different kind of heavy. They definitely leaned on The Collective and The Migration for the set list, but there were few complaints. It was a very enjoyable show and the again, staying true to what the band is about: simplicity in style, and outstanding musicianship. After the show the band hung out and signed autographs and took pictures with fans, which was really cool too. We caught up with Chris Letchford to thank him for the show, and talk about their upcoming prog cruise show opening for Yes.

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Scale The Summit Set List:

The Levitated

The Dark Horse

Redwoods

Atlas Novus

Odyssey

The Olive Tree

The Traveler

Whales

Black Hills

Narrow Salient

Origin of Species

Scale The Summit on Facebook

The Ocean on Facebook

The Atlas Moth on Facebook

Silver Snakes on Facebook

Words: Keith Chachkes

Photos: Echoes In The Well

The Winery Dogs – Tony Harnell: Live at BB Kings, New York NY

Posted on April 4, 2014 by News Team

Starting off their current tour with not one, but two New York City shows, The Winery Dogs backed up their bite with a huge bark. Their brand of hard rock is so full of energy you couldn’t help but get drawn into the hype Opening the night was an acoustic set from Tony Harnell of TNT and his guitarist Virus, of Device fame. They belted out songs from his solo career as well as Westworld. Singer Rachel Lorin joined them for the final three songs of the set including a cover of the Nazareth song ‘Love Hurts’. Tony did reveal there will be some TNT shows in the US to mark their upcoming anniversary.

The Winery Dogs fans are surprisingly vocal. For a band with only one album there was a sing-a-long for almost every song. From opening songs ‘Elevate’ and ‘We are One’ the crowd nearly eclipsed the bands’ harmonies. Maybe it has something to do with the musicians themselves being killer players. It was a pick-less night between the bass behemoth of Billy Sheehan and singer/guitarist, Richie Kotzen they both displayed insane finger playing. Seeing a bassist in rock without a pick is normal, but for a guitarist, rare. During ‘Six Feet Deeper’, they leaped into part of Jimi Hendrix staple ‘Hey Joe’ before diving head first into a dizzying drum solo by the mighty Mike Portnoy. Following that up, Billy blurring goodness filled ‘The Other Side’. With only an hours worth of material on their debut album, they treated the crowd to a brand new song. As they were wrapping up they went into my personal favorite, ‘The Dying’. It is one of those great, moody songs can stay on repeat forever.

They returned to the stage for the encore, a massive rocking rendition of The Four Tops, ‘Reach Out (I’ll be There)’. Before closing the night off they Richie made his way over to the church organ for rendition of “Regret”. Instead of lighters, there were cell phone lights shining as the ballad carried on. To wrap up the first night of a two night stand, they knocked out ‘Shy Boy’ by Sheehan’s old band Talas. The Winery Dogs are a rocking groove machine of fun that I’d encourage anyone to check out when they hit your area.

Set List:

Elevate

Criminal

We are One

Time Machine

Damaged

Six Feet Deeper

Drum Solo

The Other Side

Bass Solo

You Saved Me

Not Hopeless

I’m No Angel

Untilttled New Song

The Dying

Desire

Encore:

Reach Out (I’ll Be There) (The Four Top cover)

Regret

Shy Boy (Talas cover)

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The Winery Dogs on Facebook

Tony Harnell on Facebook

Words and Photos by Omar Cordy

Immortal Bird – Obsidian Tongue – Cryostasium– Grue: Live At Ralph’s Rock Diner, Worcester MA

Posted on March 21, 2014 by News Team

Boston is well known for a bar where everybody knows your name. Worcester has a bar where not everyone knows you, but everyone knows if you are there, you probably love metal. Except one guy in a suit and tie, there with his date. I think they showed up by accident. Anycase, Metal Thursdays’ at Ralph’s Rock Diner is a local institution as an semi-intimate place to catch a show, and one I have partaken in too few times, living closer to Boston proper myself. Still, it was worth the trek out there to see a ton of cool friends (and some of the Ghost Cult crew such as Wren Leader and Hillarie Jason) to see Chicago’s Immortal Bird and some other killer bands as such a cool place.

Grue opened up the night with their evil sounding, mystery laden black metal set. Setting the mood just right, with a two-man affair, monks cloaks, and eerie sounds. From the start they barely spoke to the crowd, and just bludgeoned all in attendance with their songs; that’s how you do it right, folks! Precise beats dropped and blasts fell and shifted with interesting, uncomfortable tempo changes. The articulate rasp of the vocalist could rot the hearts of the kvltist of man, or woman. The guitars went back and forth from melodious and really catchy, to a sickening crust. Their songs were varied and their writing was much more mature than I expected, making me beam. Absolutely terrific, I became an instant fan. This is clearly a band on the rise in USBM circles, and I need to catch up on their new album Casualty of the Psychic Wars (Eternal Death Records), like yesterday.

Cryostasium was next and they are an interesting prospect, at first. They have a lot of releases out under this moniker, have been around over 15 years. Their combination of Neurosis sludge, avant-garde noise, and post-metal, post-hardcore heaviness is usually right up my alley. Unfortunately, even pulling in all of those influences together, requires a certain mastery these guys seem to lack. They were a little all over the place stylistically, and as a result some of the songs went from experimental to nonsensical quickly. Still, I liked where they fit in on this bill and I gave them every chance to win me over. Then at the end of the set the front man ragged out his band mates on the mic for continuing to play, after he thought the set should have ended. A total non-pro move. No excuses, just lameness. I was glad they were done at this point.

Immortal Bird went on third on this bill and the crowd was sufficiently amped. Front woman Rae Amitay (Thrawsunblat) attended nearby Berklee College of Music, so this show had a homecoming vibe of sorts. As the band began playing, I spied Rae off-stage, psyching herself up for what was to come, and readying for battle. When she finally jumped on the mic, the gruesome voice that sprang from her came from a truly primal place. Playing their harrowing songs full of equal parts blacked doom-grind and terror-inspiring death metal, the band pummeled away at their short, tight set. The songs came off of their excellent new EP Akrasia (Closed Casket Recordings), and the set had no filler, no jokes, and no covers. None were needed as it was straight to business. Rae prowled the stage, at times in-between vocal lines, looking pensive and calm; later giving way to more anguished expressions, and screams. She has a very clear growling voice and shows off cool technique for the lowest lows; never rushing herself or running out of air. The band was killer, highlighted by the crushing style of touring drummer Garry Naples (November’s Doom) in place of Rae herself, who played drums on the album. Bassist John Picillo’s killer tone and deft lines held it down, while touring guitarist Ryan Bruchert of Trials filled in admirably as well. Whether it was rabid riffs of ‘Ashen Scabland’ or the gruff bombast of ‘The Pseudoscientist’, this band slays live. Wren Leader even dubbed them blackened tech death, which I think is appropriate.As the outro of the latter track heard Naples bash away with abandon on some of the best power grooves I’ve heard in an age or two, I couldn’t come away more impressed.

Obsidian Tongue has almost become a black metal institution in these parts. Their brand of painstakingly crafted psychedelic influenced black metal has seen them become a fixture in the local scene and has garnered them fans in the underground USBM scene far and wide. Not only did they open for Agalloch when they played here, John Haughm made a guest appearance on their last album! That shows the kind of talent these guys have and why they deserve your respect. It’s takes a Sherpa-like patience to absorb their music, but that is also its reward. Guitarist/vocalist Brendan James Hayter and drummer Greg Murphy have a flair for the dramatic, but they can be heavy as hell too. Like a mosaic, their songs come together a piece at a time, creating a whole, only understood when its all over. Triumphant is another word I would use for this bands music too, as all kinds of feelings come to in the course of a set. ‘Into The Heart of Night’ is still my favorite song by the band, with its many changes and twists. Folk, black metal, thrash, doom, and even some slight power metal influences can be heard in about 10 minutes time. The thing is, with the long, complex structures, the songs somehow stay fresh and never feel over-wrought. At times vocally Hayter will remind you of Heri Joenson of Týr or his former band mate, the late David Gold from Woods of Ypres with his dynamic baritone voice contrasting his shrieks and howls. Murphy is an unbelievable drummer, who matches Hayter musically and emotionally with his drums. Their hour long set closed out the long night of metal in style.

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Grue on Facebook

Cryostasium on Facebook

Immortal Bird on Facebook

Obsidian Tongue on Facebook

Words: Keith (Keefy) Chachkes

Photos: Hillarie Jason Photography

Lord Dying – Vaporizer – Lunglust: Live At O’Brien’s Allston MA

Posted on March 20, 2014 by News Team

Thankfully for the majority of shows I have been to this year, the brutal winter weather has been no match for the brutal live music scene. Although O’Brien’s barely holds 100 people, the joint was sold out on this frigid, windy night. The placed was packed and people were keeping warm with a pint or three for this Friday night. Lots of local luminaries were out in force, naturally. One of the cooler people in the scene is Michelle Dugan, who makes gorgeous silk screen print posters and other kinds of design work for local and national bands. Hit her up if you need some fresh designs. Nice to even see some of the hipster metal elite of Boston, supporting a local artist, as I saw several people leave with their own posters. O’Brien’s is one of those places that is really small, but feels homey and cool to take in a show. Low lights, cold brews, decent sound, and good metal playing in between bands is always a recipe for a fun time.

Sadly I missed seeing The Modern Voice while BS-ing with the door guy about getting in, which bummed me out a bit. Luckily for me Lunglust was coming on next. One of the best up-and-coming bands of the Boston scene, Lungust is the kind of band you never want to miss, with their brutal, crusty hardcore influenced metal. They have yet to let me down. Front man Jeffrey Sykes spits venom on the mic with his manic performance and spent most of the set in the crowd in front of the stage. With a lineup is now bolstered by the rhythm section from The Proselyte, they are super tight now and better than before. They have a new record coming out this year, so we will be keeping an ear out for that too. Definitely a group you want to listen to when your usual KEN Mode or Trap Them fix runs out.

Vaporizer, hailing from Vermont, is a band I had heard a lot about, but never had seen live until tonight. They seemed to had the stage presence of ten guys with their ton of gear, packing onto the stage that is small for a four piece band, let alone five. They played an amalgam of doomy sludge with cool, weird occasional flourishes of proggyness, thanks to the vocalist Dan getting down on bended knee to make love/hate to his synthesizer. The crowd was definitely into these guys and they performed well,. Some of their tunes meander on a bit for my taste with some extras codas as the culprit. However, they definitely have the goods talent-wise. From what I could tell, the majority of their songs are about weed and mysticism, weed mysticism, and did I mention songs about weed? They had a lot of confidence as a unit too. So many bands look like they don’t care, so it’s cool (and sad) that bands that give a shit about performing live these days make themselves stand out a lot.

Lord Dying set up their own gear with a quick-fast, like the tireless professional road dogs that they are. Out on the road supporting their release Summon The Faithless (Relapse) which has seen them open up regularly for their hometown Portland bromein in Red Fang on several tours, as well as many other bands in just a few years time. Tearing into a short set of songs from that release, the crowd was hella into it and many were singing along which was cool to hear. The band rocks out with none of the pretense of some of their stoner rock loving brethren, which makes them heavier and cooler than most. I also noticed their live versions of their songs are a lot tougher sounding, making me think their next album is going to be a real killer if they can capture this live feeling with these new songs. They played their jams like ‘Dream of Mercy’, ‘What is Not….Is” and ‘Greed Is Your Horse” to the loud approval of the crowd. In addition to their massively heavy title track, they also played a new song, that I missed the name of, but it was balls out hard. When they announced their closer ‘In a Frightful State of Gnawed Dismemberment’, there was an audible groan from the fans, as well as the usual “one more song” chant. Nonetheless, these workman like dudes, came, conquered and left as quick as they came in. Well done!

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Lord Dying on Facebook

Vaporizer on Facebook

Lunglust on Facebook

Words: Keith (Keefy) Chachkes

Photos: Echoes In The Well

The Devil You Know: Live at Chain Reaction, Anaheim, CA

Posted on March 7, 2014 by News Team

There is a certain degree of anticipation for a debut performance of a band, especially when the act features members of well recognized bands. Billed under the name “All Devolved Shall Engage’, this brand new band known as The Devil You Know gave some interested fans a taste of what was to come, and they definitely ate it up immediately.

The band features Howard Jones, the former Killswitch Engage vocalist, as well as All Shall Perish guitarist Francesco Artusato, Devolved drummer John Sankey, Bleeding Through bassist Ryan Wombacher and second guitarist Roy Lev-Ari. The fivesome sounded strong for a band who had never shared a stage together, and definitely had very few kinks to work out throughout the evening.

Jones came out on fire and did not seem to lose a step from his time away from the stage. His new support team complimented him well and he looked very comfortable with them. Wombacher’s interaction with Jones worked well and they looked like they having fun throughout the entire evening during the set.

They gave the eager crowd their first taste of material from their forthcoming album The Beauty of Destruction (Nuclear Blast), and it definitely did not disappoint. Musically The Devil You Know’s sound is heavy emotion driven, somewhat like Jones’ previous outfit, but also features more metal driven guitar parts as well. Songs like ‘Shut It Down’ was one of the few leaked tuned the crowd was somewhat familiar with their tunes.

The Devil You Know gave fans hope for a new band to get excited over in 2014. Very seldomly do brand new acts come out on fire like this and hopefully will attract a lot more fans throughout the year. Do not pass up opportunities to experience them.

The Devil You Know on Facebook

By Rei Nishimoto

Chimaira – iwrestledabearonce – Oceano: Live at The Palladium, Worcester MA

Posted on February 21, 2014 by News Team

Compared with last year when I had already started January off with five shows in three weeks, 2014 started rather quiet. These days as Ghost Cult’s chief editor, I simply don’t get out as much as I used to. So you know I wouldn’t brave the (over-hyped) Polar Vortex conditions and hazardous roads for just any show, but I did for Chimaira. It has been well documented that a lot of other bands would have quit in the face of adversity ten times over after what these guys have been through. Still, what keeps me interested as a journalist and earns my respect as a fan is their dedication to take every negative and turn it into a positive, and in the most hostile way conceivable musically. So with a planned set list “Celebrating the Chaos” of their career, and on the strength of another tour supporting the excellent Crown of Phantoms (eOne) release, I was all in for this.

With my buddy and photog for the night Chris Small in tow, we got the the Palladium early in time to get in and mingle with some of our local metal brethren. Beers and Happy New Year’s greetings out of the way and we were ready to get hopping. Starting things off was Reflections, who played a pretty typical bunch of screamy death-core. I was immediately shocked by how bored to tears they looked on this, the first night of the tour. Their emotionless faces, except for the front man James Foster, put me off in a big way. I just couldn’t figure out why. They have enough potential musically for me to say I will give them another shot down the road. Second openers Fit For An Autopsy could not be more different in how they set it off from their first notes. I have seen these guys grow steadily more and more impressive over time and they are definitely coming into their own. Straddling the tech-death/traditional death metal horse with an occasionally fierce breakdown, it was hard not to be amped up for every second of their set. See this is what an opening band should do, be a cool warmup act, and provide a hint of what is to come the rest of the night.

Oceano is one of those bands for me, that it really depends on the day or the show how I feel about them. They have made some killer songs and there is no denying their ability to pump up a crowd and throw down in the death metal/deathcore style. You could also single out their fans in the house on this night by who looked like they were their to punch people, and not really there to watch the show. I’d feel bad about per-judging some of these pit ninjas, but for the most part, I was proven right by the end of their set when about 25% of the crowd left. On the plus side, Oceano is over that entire we’re quitting/we’re back phase and they are just out for blood right now. Front man Adam Warren was all over that tiny stage, imploring the crowd to get violent and trying to drum up their energy. Based on the crowd response during ‘Contagion’, that energy was high. Warren also had some compelling things to say about being a hungry band with a new record out, (Depths on Earache) that not a lot of people know about.

Iwrestledabearonce is in a good place in the penultimate spot in the line-up on this tour. They confound and anger the battle-vest wearing set with their wry sense of humour and mashing-up of sub genres. Seeing all of the day glow shirts, booty shorts, and tons of core kids, outside opinion doesn’t matter tonight as the band came out and crushed it. Playing a short (for them) set of their hits plus a few recent tracks from Late For Nothing (Century Media), the band made the odd choice of having some of their typical production value from their headline set. Strobe lights and amp covers/banners seem a little out of place on the tiny stage when no one else had them, but it is part of their schtick I guess. Courtney LaPlant has really risen to the challenge of coming into a popular band and replacing a popular singer and she has killed it on every level, ever since. Her stage persona makes for the perfect master of ceremonies, and she slays all the material in case you still had doubts. Closing with ‘Tatses Like Kevin Bacon’ is a reminder why this band made it in the first place. These guys are still growing I think it will be exciting to see where they take it next.

The front line gear was removed for a very simple set up as the remaining crowd filled in the front of the stage. I watched from a perch in the balcony, in relative safety, mindful of the the many brutal Chimaira mosh pits I have been tossed around in. The change over was quick as the fans were ready for the final music of the night to ring out. The band took the stage and immediately launched into ‘Cleansation’ and it was pure bedlam in the pit. The band was tight as usual, and as usual on the side of the pit was a group of Eli Werstler worshipers. Watching Eli shred and abuse his guitar is worth the price of admission alone, and he has absolutely carried the mantle of great guitar work in the band. Of course Mark Hunter is front and center in the midst of the chaos. He is always focused, connecting with the crowd and really seems to enjoy his job with an evil relish. The set list was carefully crafted showing the greatness of the bands history, as well as the recent albums too. Sean Z helps take the music to another level with his terrific backing vocals. People forget sometimes that Sean fronted his own, worthy band in Daath not too long ago.

Like a well-oiled machine the band cut through the set list of hits and deep cuts. Mark smiled and cracked jokes between songs, and then menaced and scowled appropriately to the material such as ‘Crown of Phantoms’, ‘Pure Hatred’, and ‘Power Trip’. Simple, Brutal, and tight describes the relentless performance, more akin to a boxing champion than a metal band. ‘The Dehumanizing Process’ for years was a great choice as a set opener, but here towards the end of the night it proves the strength and talent of the band. I finally shed my fear and ran down to the floor to Eli’s side of the stage, of course, to finish out the night. Not quite an encore, but more like an extended ending ‘Resurrection’ would have been a fine choice to end the set. However, the band stayed on stage to play the song that is their new video, ‘Wrapped In Violence’. Proving how strong their last album as with this bruising cut, and hearing everyone left in the venue screaming their lungs out, was killer. What a way to start what promises to be a great year of concerts.

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Reflections on Facebook

Fit For An Autopsy on Facebook

Oceano on Facebook

iwrestledabearonce on Facebook

Chimaira on Facebook

Words: Keith (Keefy) Chachkes

Photos: By CWS Photography

Ghost Cult Magazine

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Category Archives: Concert Reviews: USA

Tesseract – Intronaut – Cloudkicker – Aviations: Live at Brighton Music Hall, Allston MA

The Dillinger Escape Plan – Trash Talk – Retox – Shining (NO): at Brighton Music Hall, Allston MA

Carcass – The Black Dahlia Murder – Gorguts – Nosiem: Live At The Paradise, Boston MA

Protest The Hero – Battlecross – The Safety Fire – Intervals: Live at the Middle East, Cambridge MA

Scale The Summit – The Ocean – The Atlas Moth – Silver Snakes: Live At The Sinclair, Cambridge MA

The Winery Dogs – Tony Harnell: Live at BB Kings, New York NY

Immortal Bird – Obsidian Tongue – Cryostasium– Grue: Live At Ralph’s Rock Diner, Worcester MA

Lord Dying – Vaporizer – Lunglust: Live At O’Brien’s Allston MA

The Devil You Know: Live at Chain Reaction, Anaheim, CA

Chimaira – iwrestledabearonce – Oceano: Live at The Palladium, Worcester MA