Norwegian hipster operatic metal: Got your attention?

Leprous, the opening act at the House of Blues, Anaheim, sure had mine with lead singer and keyboardist Einar Solberg’s crowd wooing; his Iron Maiden/Radiohead-esque harmonic vocals emanating from the stage. It felt like the band was performing a personal score to the movie of my life.

The HoBA is a spacious venue, yet manages to retain that small, intimate bar feeling, allowing patrons to wander close to the stage for a more personal experience. And wander I did, soaking in the melodious tones and washing in the warm stage lights.

The middle child of the night was The Deer Hunter, a group hailing from Rhode Island with a penchant of genre mixing. There seemed to be an amalgamation of prog rock, rockabilly, funk, and what I can only describe as an Unsolved Mysteries television soundtrack feel. A few of their tracks seem to take cues from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes.

The venue’s staff were friendly and helpful at both will call and the bar. The facilities were well maintained and clean, and the acoustics were well-balanced and clear. Beer prices were to be expected and parking was expectantly pricey as is the norm. HoBA had moved to GardenWalk just a year prior to its former fifteen-year location of Downtown Disney. I never had the chance to experience the old location, but I was impressed with its current one and hope to visit many more times.

The night ended with a band of which I guiltily confused a track or two belonging to them with that of mysterious band Ghost. North Carolinians Between the Buried and Me played to the crowd and played well. And no, Mr. Jones was not in attendance. BTBAM’s style could be described as a mash of hardcore, 70’s glam metal, and in the case of one particular track called ‘The Coma Machine’, a section of score music from the movie The Goonies.

WORDS BY JUSTIN RHOADS

PHOTOS BY MEG LOYAL PHOTOGRAPHY