Devildriver – Whitechapel – Revocation – Carnifex: Live at the House of Blues W. Hollywood

Posted on July 14, 2014 by News Team

Multi-bands extreme metal touring packages have become a common theme in recent years, where fans get multiple bands on one bill for a set ticket price and exposing them to newer bands at the same time.

Early door time at 5:30 pm appeared to be a stretch as Fit For An Autopsy and Rivers of Nihil both got early call times and played to early birds who came down to catch their sets. Both put on strong sets of crunching deathcore meets death metal, rarely missing a step and giving the crowd a heedful at the same time. Not letting the light crowd affect them, the crowd got into their respective sets and set the pace for the night.

San Diego’s Carnifex has gotten their name around the metal circuit lately with their powerful blend of metallic hardcore-esque mannerisms with death metal style guitars and breakdowns that got the crowd into their sound. Vocalist Scott Lewis worked the room well and kept the tempo high and the energy even higher. Somehow their diverse sound helped them standout and win over new fans as well as well as people who were already into them.

Revocation has already built a following with their unique blend of technical thrash with odd riffing styles, and energy that goes for hours. Guitarist/vocalist Dave Davidson doesn’t speak much to the crowd but his music does that talking. While their sound doesn’t fit the current wave of Djent riffing styles that has taken the metal world by storm, they found other ways to attract fans and beat them musically silly. The crowd definitely got into them immediately, and their high tempos got the mosh pits going throughout their set.

The big return of Whitechapel was highly anticipated and this time as a co-headlining slot and a longer set time. They brought their trademark deathcore sound and gave the crowd the high energy show they are known for. They featured a good portion of songs from their latest record Our Endless War (Metal Blade), as well as spanning songs from their various releases. Frontman Phil Bozeman worked the crowd and got them moving throughout their whole set. While they have put on strong shows over the years, one small flaw that plagued the band tonight was that their sound did somewhat become a big monotonous and a longer set list made this stand out more than usual. Despite this hiccup, Whitechapel did put on a strong set and showed why they have been one of the bigger deathcore bands on the scene today.

Devildriver came out swinging with their modern thrash metal stylings and took command upon starting. Frontman Dez Fafara came out with his old school mic stand and began barking at the crowd to keep up with the band’s momentum, in which they did. The mosh pits were going and the energy was high. They covered a good cross section of their catalog, including the ‘Sail’ cover which has become a staple part of their set list. They showed why they are still going six albums into their career and no signs of stopping any time soon.

[slideshow_deploy id=’7303′]

Devildriver Set List:

End of the Line

Head on to Heartache (Let Them Rot)

Not All Who Wander Are Lost

Before the Hangman’s Noose

Gutted

I Could Care Less

The Appetite

Sail (Awolnation cover)

Hold Back the Day

Dead to Rights

Clouds Over California

Ruthless

Meet the Wretched

Devildriver on Facebook

Whitechapel on Facebook

Revocation on Facebook

Carnifex on Facebook

Rivers of Nihil on Facebook

Fit For An Autopsy on Facebook

WORDS BY REI NISHIMOTO

PHOTOS BY KALEY NELSON PHOTOGRAPHY

Agalloch – Jex Thoth – Obsidian Tongue: Live at Brighton Music Hall, Allston MA

Posted on July 11, 2014 by News Team

You knew it was going to be a killer night when for the first time I can recall for any show, the line to get in stretched around the block, over an hour before doors at this venue. Agalloch always draws a big crowd in the Boston area, what with our love of black metal and emo-style self-hatred overflowing at all times. All jokes aside, Agalloch on their first tour supporting the excellent new album The Serpent and The Sphere (Profound Lore) was a can’t miss proposition for this summer of metal shows so far. The venue was well sold out with people walking up for tickets turned away. I bumped into many of my friends in the scene and my photographer for the night, the exceptionally cool Hillarie Jason outside while I waited to get in. I wonder if selling out the House of Blues is next for this band, since every time they visit our city, the sell out yet another venue.

Growing local legends Obsidian Tongue opened tonight, following a brief, but successful mid-west run opening for this tour. Front man Brendan James Hayter has long had a relationship to Agalloch, written songs with them, and in general is in a mutual admiration society with them. All good, but playing in front of basically a sold-out hometown crowd had advantages too. Brendan, flanked by powerhouse drummer Greg Murphy just blew everyone in attendance away with their all too brief set. As always, their gut-wrenching, perfectly executed traditional USBM, captivates and kills. In addition to playing a brand new song that was nothing shot of epic at almost 14 minutes long, John Haughm himself joined the band for a closing rendition of “A Nest of Ravens in the Throat of Time”, of which Brendan remarked they will likely “never play this again.” One of the cooler moments of the night was meeting Brendan’s beaming parents, clad in their O.T. Shirts. Parents- you’re doing it right!

The BM-centric crowd was a little less forgiving the doom of Jex Thoth. For her part Jex was awesome, and in her own little world. She was nonplussed by the few mumbles in the room about them and their placement on this bill. Nevertheless her tight band blessed with her namesake blasted through a lengthy set of good songs. Caught up in the ritual, Jex wailed like the chanteuse that she is, connecting with the audience, but she was also on her own trip too. As my pal Mike Vargus commented later, she brought the sexiness to doom. Transformed by the process of the ritual, lost in the magic, she milked every bit of soul out of each note that escaped her throat. Her band was no afterthought either, they were present in the moment, right with her musically, especially guitarist Jason Hartman. Playing songs mostly from their 2013 album Blood Moon Rise (I Hate). At one point Jex jumped off the stage and into the crowd to get up close and personal with everyone. She sang, and danced and played with fire, burning some sage for effect. Maybe the beers and shots I had were fully kicking in by this time, but I was totally in her spell. She said little when their set was done, but they certainly made an impact.

There was a pretty fast change-over for Agalloch to come on. The sold-out crowd held their collective breath together while the band made their way to the stage. Not one note had played, but you felt something electric in the air. Everyone felt it actually, you could just tell. From the swell of the intro music, the wave just hit the eager crowd and a cheer went out. The opening notes of ‘The Astral Dialogue’ and the rollicking beat meant there would be no slow burn build up to start the show tonight. Nope, tonight had is moments of dynamic intensity, but Agalloch was full of hustle and power much more than in the past when I’ve seen them. It was an instant reminder that American black metal is the real deal now, and a band like this is the reason. Haughm’s economical playing style looks almost too easy, and his bleak vocals just crush. He is always note perfect and flawless live. I was immediately surprised by how much knuckle-headed moshing there was, more so than any show in memory for black metal in Boston. Perhaps it is a swell of new fans, but I was turned off by it, as was Haughm who joked about it later on.

The new ‘Vales Beyond Dimension’ was more typical fare I was used to for these Pacific Northwest giants. The fans seems to chill out for a minute and soak it all in. Always impressive, Aesop Dekker almost stole the show on this night with his tireless blasting behind the kit. I have seen him live many times with different acts, and this night was a performance we’d never seen from him before. Epic in scope, ‘Limbs’ was another killer early set highlight. Oh, so heartfelt and deep, I almost felt like a hippie for a second. Almost. John finally addressed the crowd, dissed the moshers, and generally welcomed all to the tour. Picking back up with ‘Ghosts of the Midwinter’s Fires’, we fell into the emotional abyss again. This is what Agalloch does best: toying with your soul and mind with their songs. There was a lot of singing along to this one, which made me smile. Other standout songs were the newer ‘Dark Matter Gods’, ‘Celestial Effigy’ and the mighty ‘Into the Painted Grey’.

Coming back on for an encore, Haughm thanked the openers, made more jokes about moshers and then just melted the place down with the stirring ‘Falling Snow’ and Plataeu of The Ages’. We were all left speechless and happy. What a great night!

[slideshow_deploy id=’7271′]

Agalloch Set List:

Intro(Serpens Caput)

The Astral Dialogue

Vales Beyond Dimension

Limbs

Ghosts of the Midwinter Fires

Dark Matter Gods

The Melancholy Spirit

Celestial Effigy

…and the Great Cold Death of the Earth

Into the Painted Grey

Encore:

Falling Snow

Plateau of the Ages

Agalloch on Facebook

Jex Thoth on Facebook

Obsidian Tongue on Facebook

WORDS BY KEITH CHACHKES

PHOTOS BY HILLARIE JASON PHOTOGRAPHY

Septicflesh – Fleshgod Apocalypse – Black Crown Initiate – Forced Asphyxiation: Live at The Middle East Downstairs

Posted on July 11, 2014 by News Team

On the same night in Boston when nearly a hundred people were hospitalized due to intoxication and drug overdoses at a trance show, the crowd at The Middle East in Cambridge, MA could only complain of short show. After a trade in bands and another band not appearing at the Cambridge stop, The Conquerors of the World Tour came down to just 4 bands: local opening band Forced Asphyxiation, mid tour replacement, Black Crown Initiate, co-headliner Fleshgod Apocalypse, and the masters of symphonic death metal, Septicflesh. After hearing that Necronomicon would not play on this night in Cambridge, the Middle East staff had the downstairs emptied and an hour was killed off as no replacement bands could be found on short notice. As some fellow metal heads in line were a little disgruntled over this news, the bill tonight would surely make up for this slight inconvenience.

Starting the night off first was local band, Forced Asphyxiation. A “classic” death metal band with lyrics that ranged from smoking some sweet ganja to having an epic fight back in the medieval times. Small pits opened up from time to time to show appreciation for the band’s appearance as the Cambridge crowd was getting into the band more with each song. Unfortunately, Forced Asphyxiation’s set was shorter than most were hoping given the delayed start of the show. However, I am certain that for those locals who had not heard of this band before, became fans after this set. Next up was one of my most eyebrow raising bands of the night, Black Crown Initiate.

Having taken over for Hour of Penance on this tour, Black Crown Initiate had quite the shoes to fill, and personally, I think they overfilled them. For those who may not know of BCI, and I was one of them, let me explain what this band sounds like. A melo-death band that plays with djent beats, a death metal lead vocalist with some of the deepest growls you’ve ever heard, and then topped off with jazzy sections and clean vocals from their bassist. I spent most of BCI’s set trying to come up with that sentence as I would lose myself in each song’s complex structure. It was extremely hard figuring out when one song would end and another would begin as each song would smoothly transition to the next. When done right, in this case it was, it can make for quite an experience both in a studio and, a little more challenging, during a live show. I am making it a personal goal to see BCI the next time they come to the Northeast US area as they had certainly left their mark on this warm June night.

Next up on this great night in the heart of Boston was the six piece from Italy, Fleshgod Apocalypse. After hearing of this band a few years ago, and the hype that followed them, I made it a goal of mine to get around to listening to them. Up until this night, I failed miserably. Having said that, I think it was a good thing as this band literally made my jaw hit my sternum on a multitude of occasions. Coming into this show, I understood they were, as some put it, “a lot like Septicflesh.” The death metal outlook, orchestration, piano, and some operatic vocals immediately came to mind, but still I underestimated Fleshgod Apocalypse. All of the members of the band were dressed in old orchestra clothing that had been ripped and tarnished. Each member came complete with a very tasteful corpse paint, and when I say corpse paint I mean they looked dead with pale faces and dark sunken eyes, not trying to impersonate Kiss. Lastly, the two guitarists and bassist each had designs on the bodies of their instruments that made them appear to look like classical instruments with the wooden color and black clef marks. Each and every song that came out of the amplifiers and entered my ears continuously made me so angry that I never got around to listening to this band prior. Songs like ‘The Hypocrisy’, ‘Elegy’, and ‘Pathfinder’ had me itching for more and more as the set moved along and the crowd grew more and more hostile. The night for Fleshgod Apocalypse ended with the amazingly epic closer, ‘The Forsaking’, which left all wide eyed and mouths wide open in amazement at what they just witnessed. At one point, I turned to a friend of mine and proclaimed that I would go home, destroy my iPod, and start over with this band being the first to be uploaded. Just when I thought this night could not get any better, it was time for the main event.

The foursome from Greece known as Septicflesh was here and ready to destroy what was left of the Middle East. Having just released their newest album, Titan, I was hoping for a few new songs and then a few goodies off of the past two releases. When the orchestration hit marking the beginning of ‘Vampire From Nazareth’, I knew we were in for a good night and so did the rest of the crowd behind me. The symphonic death metal gods played a great selection including: classics from Communion like ‘Anubis’, ‘Lovecraft’s Death’, and ‘Persepolis’ to favorites from Great Mass like ‘Pyramid God’, ‘A Great Mass of Death’, and the closer, ‘Five-Pointed Star’. The Cambridge audience was also blessed to hear two new tracks, ‘Order of Dracul’ and one of my favorites, ‘Prototype’. I was impressed to see how far Septicflesh have come in popularity these past few years as finally at my third show, this being the second headlining spot, the fans in attendance actually knew who they were. This time around, everyone around me knew most if not all of the songs and the accompanying lyrics to said songs. These guys have worked so hard to reshape themselves into the well oiled machine they are now and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Overall, this tour did have its changes and last minute cancellation/delays, but I was more than pleased to have been in attendance. One of my favorite bands today, Septicflesh, has started to receive the attention they deserve, Fleshgod Apocalypse smacked me right in the face for never listened to them prior, and Black Crown Initiate made a stand with their very unique style. I also can’t forget local openers, Forced Asphyxiation, now having seen them a second time since their opening spot with Aborted a few months ago, they have gained a fan in me! If you have yet to get out to this tour and a stop near you is coming up, I highly recommend you get a ticket, bang your head until your neck hurts, buy some merch, and enjoy one of the best shows you will see all year.

[slideshow_deploy id=’7244′]

Septicflesh Set List:

The Vampire From Nazareth

Communion

A Great Mass of Death

Order of Dracul

Pyramid God

Unbeliever

Prototype

Lovecraft’s Death

Burn

Persepolis

Anubis

Five-Pointed Star

Septicflesh on Facebook

Fleshgod Apocalypse on Facebook

Black Crown Initiate on Facebook

Forced Asphyxiation on Facebook

WORDS BY TIM LEDIN

PHOTOS BY CWS PHOTOGRAPHY

Thou & The Body – Fórn – Rozamov: Live at The Firehouse, Worcester MA

Posted on July 9, 2014 by News Team

It’s been a while since I went to a DIY show and the perfect, and maybe only, reason to rectify that came about on Sunday July 6th, when the collaborative project between Thou and The Body came to a place called “The Firehouse” in Worcester, MA. As is the norm with most DIY shows, this was not in a very safe part of the city by far, so I was glad that four of us drove in together. These kinds of shows are not my favorite things usually, since you just never know what you are going to get. That can be exciting for people I guess, but me? I just want a freaking bathroom, clean running water and one clear exit I can hop out of the second it looks like any sort of trouble. Call me a pansy, I don’t care.

Around 9:30pm the openers, Fórn, began their set. I saw them once before at The Middle East Upstairs and was really distracted by a combination of bad sound and the smell of electrical wires in their gear frying. I felt like they were too concerned with playing loudly than having any substance back then. This set was definitely musically stronger and lacked the overpowered sound of too many amps turned past 11 just because they had them. Instead it seemed like they were attempting to capture the sludge/doom sound by playing it instead of just blasting a slow riff and calling it sludgy. The microphone went out for two songs but other than that there were no problems and they sounded good.

With a quick changeover, Rozamov was next up and the night was moving right along towards the 12am curfew. For me, this was the first time seeing this band as a three piece and although I feel like they could use more guitar somehow, they totally held their own with the stripped down sound. They steamed through their set with intensity enough to keep everyone inside this quickly becoming oxygen poor room. Suffering through the now quickly rising heat and smell of sweaty arm pits, groins and asses (I may have thrown up in my mouth a little just typing that), the crowd was rapt and made no attempt at escaping the hot stench to the outside area.

I went for some air and was quickly followed by a room full of sweaty twenty somethings all either looking for cooler air or a puff of burning tobacco. During the swapping of gear and whatnot, a couple of people in attendance were apparently shot with BB guns by un-identified neighbors; such a nice part of town. One was shot in the head and one in the arm, but luckily nothing serious and apparently they got the BB’s out.

By the time Thou and The Body started to play it was clearly uncomfortable in there and had come close to about forty minutes before the curfew. I have seen both bands individually but had not even checked out the collaboration on-line so I was kind of blindsided by the experience. Was it heavy? That is a stupid question but it was that special kind of heavy that tugs at your innards just so. Not enough to lose control of your bowels but more than enough to make it almost impossible not to bob your head, stomp your feet and grind your teeth just a bit. There was a little of the electronic element The Body is known for as well as the punishing vocals you get from Bryan Funck of Thou and when you put that together with a bassist, 2 drummers and 3 guitars, you have a truly one of a kind set. I would have liked to have heard more of Chip King’s (The Body) vocals but from where I was it was barely audible and I would have been interested to hear the dichotomy of his signature wails with the shredded vocal style of Bryan. They closed the set with a Nine Inch Nails cover of “Terrible Lie” but sadly for me, I had just popped outside to get some air and missed the song. I was told it was amazing. Go see the collaboration if it comes near you. It was worth it and I am glad I braved the BB’s, the locals and the smell of moist, hot body stink to witness it.

[slideshow_deploy id=’7198′]

Thou on Facebook

The Body on Facebook

Fórn on Facebook

Rozamov on Facebook

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY HILLARIE JASON

Barrows: Live at The Know, Portland, OR

Posted on July 1, 2014 by News Team

The Know is a punk venue located in North Portland on a street populated with boutiques, food cart pods, and the odd carniceria. A curtain sections off a bar and some pinball machines from a low bare-bones stage in a room maybe twenty feet wide by forty long. A couple of what appear to be gold couch cushions are affixed (glued?) to the ceiling above the stage, and there’s a big ‘ol poster of a lightning storm on the right-hand wall, for atmosphere.

Barrows is a band from Los Angeles that plays epic instrumental post-rock with a narrative bent. They are out touring the West Coast on their latest LP, Red Giant (Barrows Recordings), a concept album that lays out the life and death of a star (Hubble Telescope kind, not Tom Cruise) in five spiraling songs. This was their second stop on the tour, third if you count their first date at home.

The night began with Portland locals The Sky Above and Earth Below playing a solid set of melodic screaming hardcore in the vein of Glassjaw or Shai Hulud. The three piece band set up on ground level in front of the stage (D.I.Y. pragmatism’s not dead!) and though no actual floor punching occurred surely we all floor punched in our hearts as they riffed in our midst.

After a brief sound check Barrows began their set on the red-lit stage with the atmospheric winds and clean swells of album opener, ‘Nebula.’ Drummer Richy Epolito and bassist Jim Leonard were joined by guitarists Brock Haltiwanger and Ryo Higuchi, and when they hit the huge flanging crashes that come near the end of the song it was apparent that the band is fully locked in and not prone to lose any power in their live presence.

Their formidable sound brought more people in from the bar, and Barrows ended up playing to a decent room for a Monday night. They moved through the bulk of Red Giant in a focused manner, pausing only a few times to switch basses, and bringing a tight intensity to the many transitions and builds in the material.

Leonard paused briefly to say hi to the crowd before announcing their last song of the night, ‘Pirates,’ the closing track from Barrows 2011 debut , Imprecari Island. Fifteen minutes later Barrows was packed up and ready to, as Saint Rollins once put it, “Get in the van.”

Barrows on Bandcamp

WORDS BY JARED CHRISTENSON

PHOTOS BY CURTISS DUNLAP PHOTOGRAPHY

Meshuggah – Between The Buried and Me: Live at The House Of Blues, Boston MA

Posted on June 30, 2014 by News Team

For 25 years, Meshuggah has been terrorizing the ears and cortices of the music world, and so it was only natural that they’d bring along their apprentice masters of the mindfuck in Between the Buried and Me along for the ride. And what a ride, indeed. They could open a carnival of progressive wonders, where musical rules are meticulously followed and simultaneously twisted to Eldritch proportions. But enough of this posh music academy drivel, this is metal.

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve caught Between The Buried and Me since their tour in 2009 with In Flames, but we’ll just settle for ‘a lot’. And having seen them a lot, one gets used to the Colors closing masterpiece, ‘White Walls’ being used as a closer rather than an opening. And one also gets used to the suspense in waiting for perhaps one, maybe even two gems pre-Alaska (Victory). What with the success of Colors (Victory) and having released three space-exploration reports since, they’ve obviously got a lot of material to choose from, and their priority seems to be the latter half of their career. Essentially, we can look forward to hearing mainly post-Alaska tunes as they played this night. Though keep your fingers crossed for their upcoming 15^th anniversary.

Hillarie Jason-Concert Photography-Boston-House of Blues-Between the Buried and Me (1 of 1)-2

This was one of those odd sets where BtBaM played mainly their longer songs, thus making Paul Waggoner’s statement to interviewers all-too-real. Perhaps we can stop waiting for them to bust out ‘Mordecai’ or ‘Naked By The Computer’ when they’re wrist-deep into ‘Lay Your Ghosts To Rest’, immediately followed by ‘Fossil Genera’ to cap off another amazing set. They’re changing, and we’re being taken with them as listeners and watchers. Keep writing/keep dreaming.

Meshuggah and BtBaM contrasted in a way that honestly took me off guard even though anyone with a working ear can see it immediately in their music. I refer to the aura created not only by 7-string guitars that make the sound of super-astronauts punching asteroids into other ones, but also their stage presence and light show. BtBaM was rather conservative this time, with no fancy screens, just stage lighting that undulated chromatically with the music, and kept their beards in sight. Meshuggah on the other hand was strobe hell, with lights that must be programmed by acid wizards for all of the meticulous timing. And no, you couldn’t see any of Jens Kidman’s faces from the floor unless you wanted to risk blinding yourself. Polyrhythms and infectious grooves were the name of the game. They even used the disco ball during ‘Gods of Rapture’. I don’t even remember the last artist who I’ve seen use that, if ever. Maybe The Roots?

This being their 25^th anniversary, they played the “hits”, if you will, opening up with the caustic ‘Future Breed Machine’, an industrial hellride banger that never fails to incite mechanised violence. Plenty of material from their debut album, Contradictions Collapse (Nuclear Blast), including the robotic thrash of ‘Greed’ and the earlier mentioned ‘Gods of Rapture’. Choice tracks from Chaosphere, one being the mighty ‘New Millennium Cyanide Christ’, and quite heavy on the Koloss. ‘Straws Pulled At Random’ was my favourite of the night, though I wish they had found room for ‘Spasm’ as well, while they were doing Nothing.

Encoring with Riddler-esque green lights and a back-to-back delivery of ‘In Death – Is Life’ and ‘In Life – Is Death’ from Catch ThirtyThree, I can say they’ve officially won me over. Nevermore will I be ambivalent about Meshuggah, as they put on a killer show, even if their crowd doesn’t know the physics of how a circle-pit should work. During the fast parts, people.

[slideshow_deploy id=’7054′]

Meshuggah Set List

Future Breed Machine

obZen

The Hurt that Finds You First

Do Not Look Down

Cadaverous Mastication

Greed

Gods of Rapture

Neurotica

New Millennium Cyanide Christ

Break Those Bones Whose Sinews Gave It Motion

Bleed

Demiurge

Straws Pulled at Random

Encore:

Mind’s Mirrors

In Death – Is Life

In Death – Is Death

Meshuggah on Facebook

Between The Buried and Me on Facebook

WORDS: SEAN PIERRE-ANTOINE

PHOTOS: HILARIE JASON PHOTOGRAPHY

Bl’ast – Denim and Leather: Live at Star and Garter, Manchester, United Kingdom

Posted on June 27, 2014 by News Team

A beloved haven of British punk rock, the Star and Garter pub is rough and ready, but a great setting for an intimate performance from SST Records luminaries Bl’ast. Many will have felt the pull of guest rhythm section, namely former Queens Of The Stone Age men Joey Castillo and bass playing hellraiser Nick Oliveri, himself fresh off his second solo acoustic tour of the UK. Make no mistake about it, this is a set of high-octane punk from a much overlooked underground act that helped shape the face of American hardcore.

Before the main event it’s time for Denim and Leather to warm up an already sweaty venue with their skinny frontman flailing across the stage. The group mainline Black Flag intensity with a few soiled Discharge riffs in an effective manner, warming things pleasantly for the headliners.

Bl’ast are like a kick to the gut. The predominantly thirty plus audience really wake up to the raw intensity before them. Vocalist Clifford Dinsmore passes the mic around and Oliveri hammers out guttural basslines while Castillo is a hive of activity behind the kit. Focussing heavily upon their It’s In My Blood and Take The Manic Ride records, this may be an exercise in punk rock nostalgia but it cannot be denied that this old workhorse can still “go”.

A frantic moshpit ensues at the front of the stage with Dinsmore gleefully egging the crowd on, with the punters hanging on his every word. Even members of Denim and Leather get in on the action hurling each other around amongst the audience. The venue may be an intimate one but it is barely able to contain the celebratory atmosphere within it.

The punishing “Something Beyond” rides another grimy Oliveri bassline with Castillo beating his drums with such vigour he manages to dislodge a fan from the app above him. Without missing a beat he hurls the offending item into the audience who catch it and parade it around like a trophy before dumping it unceremoniously back on-stage.

They may be greying, but this was still a righteous display of exuberance which belied their veteran status.

Bl’ast on Facebook

Denim and Leather on Facebook

WORDS BY ROSS BAKER

PHOTOS BY LUKE DENHAM PHOTOGRAPHY

EyeHateGod – Ringworm – Enabler- Phantom Glue: Live at Brighton Music Hall, Allston

Posted on June 24, 2014 by News Team

Sludge. The very name almost exudes a summer feeling about it. Just as black metal is clearly the music for frozen months of the year, great sludge and doom sounds like the music of the season for sun and sweat. This was evident by tonight’s show in Allston Rock City where we punished our ears and mangled our vertebrae in the name of metal for EyeHateGod. The band is enjoying a resurgence with an excellent new self-titled release, their first in 14 years. EyeHateGod is a band that everyone mentions as an influence, but certainly this generation is behind on their lessons in depraved southern metal violence. They are not a pretty band of well-manicured fake rockstars: these guys were born to the streets of disrepair, they are as real as it gets, and raw to the bone musically and mentally.

After chilling with my dude Bill Richards of Metal Wani before the show, we made our way up the block to the venue. Opening up the night are local favorites Phantom Glue and what a perfect band to open. A blend of weed-soaked grooves and crushing beats, if you are not familiar with their last album A War of Light Cones, stop reading this, go to their Bandcamp and buy it right now! We’ll wait a few minutes for you to come back and read the rest of this review. Anyway as usual, they were loud, raucous and crusty! The swelling local crowd filled up the room during their set, and headbanged lustily. If there was a list of bands that are going to the next big thing out Boston, a city with tons of quality underground bands right now, Phantom Glue would surely top the list or come close depending on whom you chat with. This was a good start to a fun night.

Enabler came on next, although it seemed like an eternity for them to hit the stage. I am used to seeing this band play small stages, and never with such a big professional set-up such as this. The first few minutes of the Enabler set, you almost felt like it was their own headline show they raged so much. On the strength of their new album La Fin Absolute Du Monde (Creator-Destructor/Earsplit Compound), this is a band on the rise. Jeff Lohber does unreal amounts of rocking out with his lanky frame shaking all over the stage. His economical guitar style enables him to touch all the bases from thrash, death beat to a punky-blackened crust and back again with ease. Bassist Amanda Daniels rocks it finger-style, at a time when many prefer the attack of a pick. Don’t let anyone tell you other-wise, plucking bassists are better than pickers, especially in metal. She is also backing up on vocals much more than I recall from their earlier tours. Not only did they play a killer set, they are awesome people to hang out with, as I did, chilling in the van with Jeff for an interview after the set, along with my pal Matt Darcy of Nefarious Realm.

Every time Ringworm plays Boston, it’s a freaking bloodbath. The fact is they can’t help their history as one of the early leaders of metally-hardcore (I refuse to call them metalcore, people) from the Cleveland scene. There are fans that specifically come out to hear those old songs and bash people in the pit, and that’s fine with me. What Ringworm has actually done is matured into a veteran sludge act, capable of much more as a band than when they started out. Human Furnace is an approachable, mellow guy off-stage, but with a mic in his hand he is like a prize-fighter: out for blood. The pit had the most action it was going to have all night, but of course. Songs like ‘Amputee’, ‘Birth is Pain’, and ‘Dollar Whore’ are mandatory pain-inducing hymns for the modern age. The entire band seemed to be energized by the love for them in the room and played their asses off too.

Earlier in the night I had seen Jimmy Bower outside of the club and and thanked him for my recent interview with him regarding Down. Back inside the tension was building to an unbearable level, although that could have been the beer and heat talking too. I had never seen this venue so filled up and body to body tight. There was a rare barricade tonight as well, as much for the band as it was there for the fans and you just knew what was coming. As the band hit the stage I again spied my man Bower, setting an entire six pack on his stack for drinking. I had to laugh! Mike IX Williams checked to see if the readiness was all, and then yowled into the microphone, “We’re EyeHateGod from New Orleans, Louisiana!” Just then an ear-drum wrecking wave of feedback came from the amps and just blew the top off this party. Even from my vantage point on the side of the stage it was perilously high volume. The impressive thing about the sound was it was loud without being too muddy, especially the guitars, which is a good thing. Mike dragged the mic stand around like a dead body while spitting his genius lyrics about pain, poverty, loneliness, and death at the crowd. If the band weren’t masters of all-mighty doom riffs, and were a coffee shop playing, acoustic jam band; I’d still come out to see Mike. He is one of the most compelling artists of the last 35 years, so whatever he is doing in your town, go see him whenever you can. True to form, it isn’t a Mike IX appearance in Boston without a “Where’s Seth? Is Seth here?” joke or two, in tribute to their late ally Seth Putnam (Anal Cunt).

EyeHateGod plays with about as much musical telepathy as you would imaging a band around this long has. The interplay between the members on stage is not telegraphed, but there definitely seems to be a presence shared by them. Led by Bower, his playing dominates as he mans the corner of the stage, always jamming with a lot of passion. Aaron Hill, now filling the drum throne for the departed skin smasher Joey LaCaze, did a great job all night. He is definitely the perfect guy to carry on with. Meanwhile Brian Patton and Gary Mader just groove so perfectly together along with Bower, you have to take notice. Smashing through song after song, you wonder how these guys can stand the volume and the weight of the music. People all around me, losing their minds, to match the guys on stage doing the same. Newer songs like ‘Robitussin and Rejection’ fit in with classics like ‘Sisterfucker’, ‘Medicine Noose’, and ‘$30 Bag’ really well. By the end of the night Jimmy’s six pack was empty, the band looked drained, and everyone in attendance was spent. Thank you and goodnight!

[slideshow_deploy id=’6959′]

EyeHateGod Set List:

New Orleans Is the New Vietnam

Sisterfucker (Part I)

Sisterfucker (Part II)

Robitussin and Rejection

Medicine Noose

Agitation! Propaganda!

Methamphetamine

Parish Motel Sickness

Dixie Whiskey

$30 Bag

Kill Your Boss

EyeHateGod on Facebook

Ringworm on Facebook

Enabler on Facebook

Phantom Glue on Facebook

WORDS: KEITH (KEEFY) CHACHKES

PHOTOS: MEG LOYAL PHOTOGRAPHY

An Evening with Sevendust: Live At The Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA

Posted on June 20, 2014 by News Team

At this point in the career, Sevendust knows they have achieved a certain status as the elder statesman of modern heavy rock or active rock, whatever industry buzzword is trending this week. They are still hungry like a new band, putting out quality releases and always putting on a fine show. At the same time, they don’t play it safe artistically. This is why in spite of my love of music that is progressive, extreme, harsh, and thrashy; I still come back to this band that I have always respected. They have been a part of my many musical journeys for a long time. Whether seeing their first tour in New York at a long gone tiny club, to watching 300,000+ people jump up and down to a song they never heard before (‘Rumblefish’) at Woodstock `99, to their recent record-breaking Kickstarter campaign, I am proud to say I was there.

We were in for a treat tonight, with no opening act and just “An Evening With” format. I didn’t even realize the show was long sold out and there were a ton of people waiting to get inside, when I arrived at The Paradise. As evidenced by my earlier show this year with Carcass, this venue should not host really extreme bands or their fans. However for some lighter, more relaxed concerts such as Crosses or the unplugged show tonight; it’s a solid choice. The first really hot day of summer in Boston meant the AC was on full blast so we were feeling chilly in the dark rectangular room. Meanwhile the stage sat ready for a while with some LED candles adding to the mood of the stage filled with guitars, bar stools, and music stands.

Sevendust finally came on stage to their intro music, and the packed crowd approved. As the band took their seated spots for the night and checked their gear, Lajon Witherspoon welcomed the crowd and promised a good time. Drawing on their new album Time Travelers & Bonfires (7Bros.) The immediately launched into ‘Trust’ and the band sound great. Playing acoustically, and only augmented by their touring piano player Kurt Wubbenhorst, they played a flawless evening of music. Even if they were just doing straight up acoustic versions of their heavier songs note for note (which they are not) it is a challenge to play electric acoustic live in a large venue. The rub is even the best acoustic guitars sound too thin at times. It’s also unforgiving for mistakes, but then again, I heard none tonight. The second song of the night was my personal favorite since their first album, ‘Prayer’. I think this song works even better given this treatment than the original. ‘Crucified’ is one of their older songs they have given a slightly new arrangement to on the new album. Known to be a hard hitter behind the kit, Morgan Rose thrashed around and smashed his drums like any other time I have seen the band. Maybe just a touch softer. The entire band also sounded great singing together, not just Lajon and Clint Lowery either. ‘Under It All’ was the first of the new songs played and it fit right in with the oldies and deep cuts too. The gems they pulled out tonight were especially sweet if you were a long-time fan.

Ever the performer, Lajon got out of his seat, prowled the stage, and connected with the crowd as much as possible. It was cool to hear the entire room sing hits like ‘Denial’ just as loudly as a new cut like ‘Gone’. Lajon told stories about the songs, and the making of the new album, thanking the fans for the support. The band left the stage briefly only to return a little later to play some more. The second set had another new song ‘Come Down’, their well known cover of ‘Hurt’ by Nine Inch Nails. ‘Karma’ is a song the band has never played live and it still sounded fiery in this format too. Before closing out the night with a fitting 1-2 punch of ‘Angel’s Son’ and closer ‘Black’, Witherspoon talked about the late Lynn Strait of Snot for whom ‘Angel’s Son’ was written for as well as Dimebag Darrell. It’s nice how the band have kept their perspective all these years. Whether or not you are a fan, if you have a chance to see this tour, do yourself a favor and go get a ticket.

[slideshow_deploy id=’6867′]

Sevendust Set List:

Trust

Prayer

Crucified

Xmas Day

Under It All

Skeleton Song

The Wait

Denial

Disgrace

Rumble Fish

Gone

(Intermission)

Come Down

Hurt (Nine Inch Nails cover, Johnny Cash version)

Karma

Got a Feeling

Encore:

Angel’s Son

Black

WORDS: KEITH (KEEFY) CHACHKES

PHOTOS: ECHOES IN THE WELL

Sólstafir – Junius – Infera Bruo: Live At the Middle East Upstairs

Posted on June 18, 2014 by News Team

As much jealously as US metal fans claim to have when it comes to the amount quality bands, and tours Europe has, we do get some quality shows. One such tour is the recent tour from Icelandic metallers Sólstafir and gazetastic post-rockers Junius. For Junius, this was a hometown show since there are local and the place was jammed packed equally for both top bands with an occasional crossover of styles. It was cool to have a bit of a diverse bill for change, since had been seeing a lot of same-sounding bands of late. The upstairs part of the Middle East venue is a poorly lit pool of sweat on a good day, so this was a good environment to hear some heavy music.

The first band I caught was the surprising black metal merchants of Infera Bruo. They play an insane meld of sounds ranging from classic old-school black metal, to psychedelic soundscapes, to more finer-ground post-metal bleakness. In spite of having little in common with the headliners, Infera Bruo took the stage like they owned it and just made everyone in attendance cower at their form. Front man Galen is very charismatic, changing his style up vocally from a fiendish bark to a more tempered sound as the music shifted. It was also hard not to be impressed with their keyboardist Germanicus, worked his magic on synths and effects with some really classic industrial elements from his vintage gear. As a whole the band kept my attention no matter they song, and they hop from one genre to another naturally. To a man Infera Bruo are masterful performers, and it has been a long time since I was this impressed with an opener. We’ll be looking out for their next release on Bindrune Recordings with great interest.

The night had gotten off to a slow start apparently, before I even got there, so the fellas in Junius were visibly annoyed that they were late getting on stage (not due to Infera Bruo, but the venue). Junius also brings their own stage lighting, preferring to control their own atmosphere visually as well as musically. They set up quickly and with no fanfare they got underway. The crowd has swelled to the front, and lucky for a shorty like me, the band is very tall. On the smallish stage looked like giants, but even more they sounded like gods. For some bands these condition are less than ideal, but with the patience of a fine craftsmen, Junius plays passionate music for the thinking person. Opening with ‘Hiding Knives’ the band led by Joseph Martinez, took the audience on a heart-wrenching tour de force. The back lighting of the band for some reason made me think of the torture scene in Reservoir Dogs: oddly uncomfortable and bracing myself for what was to come. I don’t think the average person appreciates how hard it is to play gently and slow, since most people who play in some form of metal start out jamming with speed as their guide. Junius are not just talented, but tasteful with their choice of different layers of sounds, coloring each part of a song. Bombastic and solemn all at the same time, we witnessed some folks in the front actually moved to tears during their set. Drawing heavily on their new EP Days of The Fallen Sun (Prosthetic), they surely proved to be one of the must-see bands live in 2014.

Sólstafir was a lot more relaxed coming to the stage, but then again they were drinking and hanging out at their merch table the entire show. They definitely showed what a really successful band does, understanding that this is their lone chance to connect with the fans, hanging out, telling stories and getting very intimate with people. Although a few people left following Junius, if you were still in the house tonight, it’s because you were meant to be there. They also got down to playing immediately and opened up with a string of their more heavy rock-orientated fast numbers. I think this surprised some fans, following the dreamer sounds of earlier in the night, but it was refreshing. Aðalbjörn “Addi” Tryggvason is one of the best performers and band leaders you will ever see. Wildly passionate in his every movement, sung note, and chord that he struck, he was amazing. The entire band had an air about them, like veterans (which they are) of the metal world, and the world at large. Raucous, exciting performers, they were not unlike what I imagine a young Thin Lizzy must have been like in Dublin ca. 1975. As my fellow scribe Wren Leader whispered in my ear at one point, “they are doing Icelandic cowboy songs”. It made sense really. Great songs, no pretense about the music they make. The long set was again, heavy on fast numbers to start. The dull dark room was less suited to these bombastic numbers and I had wished they were in a bigger, better club at this point, with proper lighting and staging. Later in the show however, when the band loosed up their set and slowed things down considerable with their more doom and drone inspired work, it worked. This is where the band really shines. Even though all the songs are sung in the tongue of their homeland, the music definitely no less meaningful or effective. You could hear a few die-hards singing a long in fact! Tracks like ‘Svartir Sandar’, ‘Fjara’ will just make you weep. So heavy and deep, it wasn’t fair. I felt lucky myself to witness this epic band on US soil. I am also happy for those smart enough to make it out for this short tour, and the lucky devils who caught them in the daylight at Maryland Deathfest recently.

Sólstafir on Facebook

Junius on Facebook

Infera Bruo on Facebook