It is an odd thing to see bands on the rise. At capacity, Showbox Sodo in Seattle holds 1,800 people. To see Knocked Loose, Show Me The Body, Loathe, and Speed there for the Weapon of Choice Tour, is something is incredible to imagine. I have been to that venue many times, and of those, few were sold out. Still, the night was thick with hardcore energy and the venue floor filled up quickly.Continue reading
In September of 2023, Baroness released their sixth studio album Stone (Abraxan Hymns, review here) and with the summer concert season heating up, they are touring to support it. That tour recently came to the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center (HMAC) in Harrisburg, PA.Continue reading
I could not have picked a better night to go out to Oakland to see the headline tour from Crosses. I remember seeing their debut tour over a decade ago when I lived in Boston, at the Paradise Rock Club. That night, the venue was packed to the gills, and I distinctly remember being by the soundboard and seeing the separate rack settings and notes for Chino Moreno’s microphone and effects. It was a pretty cool glimpse inside the live sound of the guy who I have followed since the mid-nineties with Deftones. But much like Maynard James Keenan and Puscifer, it does seem like Crosses is his favorite child and passion. Along with his partner Shawn Lopez, formerly of the awesome and now defunct Sacramento band Far. They make for a sick team of creatives. Continue reading
Ahhh, Christmas time. A time when the family gets together, sits by the fire, trade stories back and forth… and moshes. That’s right folks, it may have been 5 days before Christmas but that didn’t stop Will and the boys from putting together a handful of Christmas shows complete with deathcore Christmas trees and lights a plenty!Continue reading
On a beautiful autumn night we headed out to see one of my favorite bands in one of my favorite Bay Area venues. To readers of this website, no one will be shocked that Baroness is one of my all-time top bands and I hold all their albums in high regard. We recently did a deep dive discography over at the Glacially Musical Pouredcast. I even own an exclusive John Dyer Baizley-made print from the Yellow and Green album era (Relapse Records) that holds a special place in my heart. Needless to say, the 2023 release of the album Stone (Abraxan Hymns) has not left my rotation. Not only was I getting to see one of the best bands to ever do it live, three other killer bands were joining them tonight in Primitive Man, Midwife and Agriculture. The approach of the headline band to have different sets of rotating openers should be a more common practice when possible.
No review from the Colchester Arts Centre would be complete without hailing the best small venue in the UK. Able to host 400 when packed to the architraves, its post-COVID refurb has cleaned up and modernised where needed (toilets, bars), whilst maintaining the features and character that every converted church that is now a gig-hosting venue should. Added to that, great views and a powerful sound-system, and the stage is quite literally set for a much more adventurous and welcome Tuesday night than you might normally get in the Britain’s oldest (and newest – Google it) city*
*It’ll always be a town, to me.
Mid-August always carries a wistful air as the summer heat reaches full swing but so does our knowledge of its impermanence. What better way to quell our gloomy pondering than with a black metal show at The Brooklyn Monarch?
Roseville, California’s Goldfields club saw the yellow and the black attack! No, not those guys, but the originals… Stryper! They took to the stage to a mixed crowd of young and old fans. Wow, I just called my age group old! Nearly 40 years ago Stryper began spreading the gospel, literally and figuratively through blistering dueling solos, pounding drums, high-octave vocals, and self-branded Bibles.
It had been far too long since I have seen OTEP, when I arrived in Sacramento, at the start of a road trip. Other than a few one-offs to celebrate some album anniversaries, the band had not been on tour since 2019 and I have not had the good fortune to see them even then. Excitement was high as I arrived at the venue for the “Sermons of Fire Tour” and mingled with many fans who lined up early, and made some new friends. I saw many with OTEP tattoos and heard personal stories, exchanging some favorite show anecdotes or talking about personal experiences with meeting Otep Shamaya herself. Sac always has great metal fans of all stripes. Amazing stuff. Everyone was buzzing about the show and the new album, coming later in 2023.
Opening up the night was Bangkok’s Defying Decay, the seven-piece crammed to the very front of the stage at Academy 1 with masses of equipment behind them. Their sound was a heady cocktail of bludgeoning heaviness and melodic cadences, with frontman Jay Poom Euarchukiati poppy cleans and a liberal dose of groove rounding off the potent mix.