One of the most beautiful things about music is that there is always more to explore. Having lived near Seattle for more than 10 years, I’ve had a lot of chances to catch some local talent. But occasionally, you miss a band for a while. However, having finally caught local Death Metal/Grindcore trio Rat King, I can say that sometimes you must follow the hype.
I’m thankful that I did, because going to see Rat King also allowed me to check out the Melodic Death Metal of Whythre, who has roots in Seattle, but its members come from different areas and playing styles. At the show, vocalist Adam Chambers delivered scathing vocals (reminiscent of early Chimaira) over riffs and synths that made the skating crowd speed up and the crowd in the center of the rink begin to sway and collide. Shon Petrey delivered riffs with ease while Eric Close (bass) and Steve Fournier (percussion) provided the thunder and rhythm. It was more impressive in that the band hadn’t played a show in five years and had two new members since their last show. I would have liked to see more overall action and movement from the band, but not I’m not sure if the stage area was restrictive, or perhaps they were shaking a little rust off, but Whythre is a band to catch if they come your way.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMdw3TmKWyi33DSquqbHCZjM4ofcanMWY
Next up was Abhoria, a five-piece black metal (I’d say leaning toward death metal) band from Denver, Colorado. Admittedly, I struggle with Death Metal that is more straightforward and traditional in nature, but the black metal elements helped make the set more exciting for me. Emanating some unexpected positive energy, vocalist Ben Pitts (whose birthday was the same night) engaged with the crowd immediately and then the metal came. The group of skaters were caught off guard by the change in music (previously, modern pop was playing in the rink) and a few crashes happened (no one was injured). The dual guitars of Theo Romeo and Trevor Portz began to cut the air into riffs while bassist Igor Panasewicz’s large stature and stony grimace filled the center of the rink with some old school metal energy, which was pushed out into the air by JS on drums. All-in-all, I think the death metal elements and deeper, more jagged vocals were something I couldn’t connect with, but the energy and sound was good. Abhoria put on a good set, and they gave out vegan cookies, which made for a nice transition between the first and last band without sounding directly like either.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMdw3TmKWyi36e0HfsOAEqF5pRLr_g5b3
Without disrespect to either of the other bands, I was chomping at the bit to see Rat King (again; I had first caught them about a week prior opening for Go Ahead and Die and was immediately hooked). A trio from the Seattle area, brothers Danny Racines (bass, vocals) and Ricky Racines (guitar, backup vocals) are joined by Carlos Delgado (drums) and produce some of the finest thundering death metal (with grindcore elements) that the area, and perhaps state, has to offer. The Racines brothers have a calm, almost unassuming, energy before the music starts, but when it does, they have an unrelenting energy that pushes you to sing, dance, mosh, stagedive, and rage into the night. Delgado, on the other hand, has a higher, more animalistic energy that feeds the frenzy immediately, and the band delivered a terrific set for about an hour. During that time, the crowd let loose and became their most physical during that time. Rat King doesn’t waste time frills or filler and doesn’t put on much in the way of a performative show, but they deliver high-quality music in a direct and uncompromising fashion. I’ll catch them as often as I can.
https://youtu.be/rIyFYhA88Tw
https://youtu.be/uiTpM-ZiNUo
https://youtu.be/VkJxXjW7KG8
Follow the bands and buy their music and merch!
https://ratkingband.bandcamp.com/
https://prostheticrecords.com/artists/abhoria
https://whythre.com/epk/
WORDS, PHOTOS AND VIDEOS BY C.ELL ARTS & MEDIA