Manchester, New Hampshire. ManchVegas, as it’s sometimes called, was the site of the March Radness Tour: Part 2 kickoff show for New England metal heroes Lich King alongside former tour mates, StoneCutters, and Toxic Ruin at Jewel Nightclub. And let me tell you, this night was an adventure to say the least, more on that later…

Opening up for the night was New Hampshire metal outfit, Guillotine. Having never heard of this band I was excited to see what tone they would set for the night. Let me be the first to say, they got themselves a new fan this night. If you took Morbid Angel and gave them Anthrax’s attitude, you have Guillotine. Thick riffs and fun energy was definitely the idea for the night, and Guillotine understood the assignment! 

Next to the stage were some good friends of mine, Epicenter. Having not seen these gentlemen perform in over two years, I was very excited to see what new things they’ve been working on. With the departure of former vocalist Micheal Lentine (ex-Carnivoa) and introduction of former Barishi vocalist Sascha Simms, who very much feels like a match made in heaven for this band who I still firmly believe is the future of New England thrash metal. Hearing “Invaders” and “Counterweight” live for the first time and hearing a BRAND brand new song put a smile on my face that I can’t really describe, you just have to hear it to believe it with Epicenter.

Coming onto the stage after Epicenter’s set was a band that I immediately fell in love with the moment I heard their name… ladies and gentlemen, Frog Mallet. Slamming Death Metal in the middle a thrash/groove metal show? A surprisingly welcome addition! A lot of green (frogs, remember?) in a flurry of slams, breakdowns, and sequel… I’m here for it. Hope to see catch these guys again at a show soon.

Once the openers had cleared the stage we get to the main attractions of this show. Toxic Ruin took the stage just like they did back on March 12th, 2020: Which was what would end up being the last night of the original March Radness Tour, a show which I also attended. The night before all Massachusetts went into initial lockdown for Covid-19 Quarantine. Ahhh, good times. Songs about coma induced drunk tour nights, the voices of the dead, and “The Human Condition! All in all, Toxic Ruin brought rowdinesses to Jewel for sure. 

Remember at the beginning when I said this night was an adventure, well, here’s where that all happened. Right as Toxic Ruin’s set was finishing up, I was informed by a friend of mine that our cars had been towed from the venue. So I had get that situation figured out, which in turn made me miss all of Stonecutters’ set (which I heard was phenomenal, as to be expected). I also missed most of Lich King’s set, due to the car situation. BUT I did manage to catch the end of their set including the encore. “Combat Mosh”, “Black Metal Sucks”, and “Crossover Songs Are Too Damn Short” are always a fun time. 

All in all, an enjoyable night and fun time. Minus the towed car. 

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY CHRIS SMALL