While some were out hunting for Easter eggs, headbangers had a special treat of their own to look forward to in the form of the eOne Heavy Livestream. With five bands and almost four hours of footage, the livestream was a strong showcase of the label’s impressive heavy roster.
Kicking off the livestream were newcomers Plague Years out of Detroit. They have proven they are a force to be reckoned with, harkening back to the old school thrash sound with fresh and inventive grooves. It’s going to be exciting to see them grow and evolve with time.
Next up was Florida’s Bodysnatcher, who offered a sludgy deathcore experience with heavy-hitting tracks and entertaining personality, like announcing “You’re going to want grandma in the room for this one” before breaking into a crushing breakdown-heavy banger.
Third on the bill were Enterprise Earth, who delivered their brand of technical deathcore mastery tinged with elements of black metal and grindcore. Adorned in an ominous black shawl, frontman (and ex-Infant Annihilator vocalist) Dan Watson and his bandmates showed off their ability to hypnotize viewers with their brutal melodies.
Hailing from Massachusetts and Texas, Within The Ruins pulled from their 18+ years of experience to put the progress back in progressive death metal, expertly ripping through track after track. Looking forward to jumping in one of their mosh pits when shows do come back.
The quality musicianship of The Contortionist was on full display during their headlining set. The Indiana band continues to prove there is truth to their name, artfully bending and weaving through genres with ease. The bands’ performance utilized shadows and multi-colored lighting to their advantage, which was reminiscent of ex-The Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Greg Puciatio’s recent solo performance (catch our review of that event here.)
The host of the evening was Ethan Harrison of Great American Ghost, yet another talented band on eOne’s roster. Harrison keeps it real and made the interviews felt down-to-earth and intimate. The Plague Years, Enterprise Earth, and Within The Ruins interviews had a great vibe where it felt like the bands were all just hanging out and having fun backstage at a show. The few interviews held on Skype, were fun as well, giving us an “at home with the band” experience with The Contortionist and Bodysnatcher, which is a relatable perspective for fans in these literal plague years.
https://youtu.be/WxcIWtUEEfM
The eOne Heavy Live event was a creative and celebratory way of keeping fans engaged with live music in the post-Covid musical landscape. Keep an eye out for these bands in the future, as I suspect we’ll be getting a lot more great tunes from them going forward. For more eOne coverage, check out our recent review of Avatar’s epic four-night livestream.
Buy eOne label merch and music here: https://www.entertainmentone.com/artists/?Metal
SCOTT SOMMER