hells to the yeah. i totally made my 16 year old self fucking proud this weekend. i woke up saturday morning a little groggy. it had been a long, tiring week at work and i was feeling sluggish and just generally lazy. my options for the day were: 1) heading to the mid- afternoon all ages Forbidden/Evile/Gamma Bomb/Bonded by Blood/Fog of War show at dna lounge, 2)heading to the later night Voodoo Glow Skulls show at bottom of the hill, or 3) both. i rolled outta bed thinking, "i'm tired, i'll pick one show to go to" and made myself some brunch, assembling a play list of Evile and Voodoo Glow Skulls tunes hoping to aid in my decision making process. a pot of coffee and some food set me in the proper mood to take on the day, so i busted ass through my chores, got myself ready and hopped on my bike headed towards dna lounge telling myself i'd see how i felt after i got home, but i was pretty sure i would crash before the Voodoo Glow Skulls show, but what the fuck ever. i rolled out to soma and was locking up in front of dna by 3:20. by the time i got inside i heard the delightful sound of shred and realized this show started earlier than i thought, Bonded by Blood was midway through their set. fuck! i had missed Fog of War, it was past time to get my thrash on!
this was my third time seeing Bonded by Blood since moving to the bay area, but the first time seeing them with new frontman Mauro Gonzales. they had always been a shit load of fun live and all of their studio work is pretty fucking phenomenal...but that was also all Jose Barrales' work on vocals. i walked into dna lounge to see Gonzales rockin' it like no other. the difference is noticeable, but there's nothing to dislike. Bonded by Blood put on a show on par with every other time i've seen them play. they're always a fun band to watch, but unfortunately due to being on tour with the likes of Gamma Bomb, Evile, and Forbidden, it's hard to set oneself apart from bands that have become the titans of the modern revival of the thrash movement. while Bonded by Blood's incredible talent and aggressive tone makes it obvious that they are one of the bands responsible for assisting in the rise of the present thrash metal revival that Earache and Nuclear Blast Records seem to be promoting, the show was my first time seeing Evile and i was more than ready to see the folks i had come for.
taking the stage next was Gamma Bomb from newry, ireland. having bands like Gamma Bomb and Evile holding such prolific places in the modern thrash scene does seem a little...well, off maybe? both bands hail from the uk which has of course brought us a slew of incredible metal bands, but thrash is a less common metal sub genre for uk bands to be a part of. going into the show i knew Evile was badass, but i had only heard a few tracks from Gamma Bomb before the show. what i had heard reminded me of a cross breed between classic bay area thrash and delightful old school NWOBHM styled riffage. what i got from Gamma Bomb live was the equivalent of a running my soul through a spiritual meat grinder (read 'brutally awesome beyond belief' from that analogy). quick to note the influence of the bay area scene on their music, Gamma Bomb attacked their set with a clear and infectious enthusiasm. whenever i watch interviews with any of the members of Iron Maiden, it's always so striking how positive and friendly they always seem to be. Gamma Bomb projects the same positive energy, coupled with a quick musical steel toed boot to the teeth. to say they had the audience going was an understatement. unfortunately, dna's security was feeling authoritative and had been breaking up many of the mosh pits frontman Philly Byrne had attempted to get started (undoubtedly an issue involving the club's insurance), but Gamma Bomb was undeterred and kept the audiences energy high until the need to mosh reached it's breaching point. Byrne divided the audience down the middle to prepare for Gamma Bomb's anti-fascist anthem,"Mussolini Mosh". "it's not that we're telling you to mosh", Byrne explained in the introduction to the song, "it's just that we need half of you on the left, half of you on the right, and when the music starts, ignore it. ignore the guitar, ignore the drums but when i drop my arm, you all do whatever it is you feel like you need to do..." dna lounge staff cautiously approached the gathering masses as the audience waited for the tomahawk chop of Bryne's arm. the music kicked up and air started to buzz with electric anticipation and as Bryne cut into an over the top rallying cry, his arm came down and the audience erupted, rushing at the headbangers standing opposite and colliding in the center of the pit with the dull thud of bone tenderizing flesh. unable to contain the awesomeness, befuddled dna lounge staff retreated away from the pit and resorted simply pushing careening mosh pitters back to the center of the pit if they happened to drift towards the bar. PURE. METAL. MAYHEM. it was perhaps the most epic mosh pit moment i've had all fucking year. that crunch as we tore into our brothers and sisters on the left side of the pit may very well be my favorite moment of 2010. i was still stoked as shit for Evile, but Gamma Bomb had just stolen the whole fucking show.
still reeling from Gamma Bomb's merciless musical assault on the audience i made my way to the bar so as to seek comfort from the happy burn provided by a jameson on the rocks as Evile's techs started re-arranging the speaker cabs on stage. my excitement could hardly be contained as guitar checks started and the overall weight and breadth of the distortion on the guitars seemed exponentially higher than that of the last two bands, despite being a fantastic example of the modern thrash movement, Evile definitely thrashes with much more girth and attack than most in their genre. needless to say, i downed that jameson and waded my way into the center of the pit well before the end of the sound checks. i was a little nervous as they got started. i had totally built this band up in my mind, and was starting to worry that i let my expectations get too lofty, and besides, Gamma Bomb had just put forth a pretty fucking epic set, topping that would be tough for any band. from the moment Evile took the stage i realized all of my doubt was completely misplaced. the heaviness of the guitar strings, the extreme thickness of the guitar picks, and the undeniable broad diameter of the drum sticks used were apparent as Evile pounded listeners with shred that seemed to be broadcasted by sledgehammers. Evile's sound on their studio worked carried over to their stage show with such accuracy it almost seemed like listening to their albums, but at double the tempo with flashier guitar solos...in other words, bliss in the form of ear drum brutality. dna lounge staff seemed unwilling to fight the crowd and maintained a ring around the pit, keeping moshers from taking over the whole crowd, though during Evile's set they had a particularly hard time doing so. when Evile finally cut into "The Thrasher" (easily a modern classic) the audience went fucking nuts, screaming out "BOW DOWN TO THE THRASHER!!" in delightful vocal chord shredding unison.
i'll admit, after Evile finished up, i was a little exhausted. being an all ages show (and the show taking place in the middle of the day) meant the pit was crazy chaotic and full of energy. my knuckles and elbows were red from repeated impacts with meat and bone, my jaw was a little sore from that elbow i took to the teeth, and someone had definitely gotten a clean kidney shot on me, so i was feeling the consequences of a prolific and extremely well executed mosh pit. i hung back and nursed a second drink as Forbidden took the stage, figuring i should let myself recuperate a bit and consider whether or not two shows in one day was going to be a possibility for me. did i mention the awesomeness of the pit at dna lounge that day? although in my mind the uk thrash bands had totally shown up the bay area bands that opened the show, the bay area pit was no fucking joke. Forbidden put on a great show and played an awesome mix of older and newer stuff, but the sheer force Gamma Bomb and Evile put forth definitely dwarfed that of Forbidden. despite that fact, Forbidden were the hometown heroes headlining the show, and the audience was not about to forget that. severe appreciation occurred in the pit, and despite my bumps and potential bruises, it was impossible to hang back past the first couple of songs. the last time i moshed that hard in one day was Ozzfest 2005...i totally forgot how good that feels!
after Forbidden was denied the opportunity for an encore (due to dna staff already setting up for whatever lame music-ed burlesque show they had coming up next) and i made my way towards my bike i passed a winnebago with an attached trailer and found Oi and Matt Drake of Evile standing outside sipping tea and smoking cigarettes. i stopped and chatted for a bit, thanking them for the fucking brilliant show and inquiring when they might be through the area next. Oi mentioned they're writing a new album now and that they'd be back on their next tour (hopefully headlining!). as i wished Evile a good night and safe travels, i realized something: professional rockers are too fucking cool for words. why would i not want to put myself in close proximity to dudes like this as often as possible? FUCK YES i was going to be at that Voodoo Glow Skulls show!!!
without a second to waste, i hopped on my bike, pounded my way from soma to the mission for a quick dinner break, then home to pull on that Voodoo Glow Skulls t shirt i had from my high school days, then back on the bike headed for bottom of the hill. i prepped myself out on the way. being an Epitaph band meant the Skulls would probably play with other punkier bands as opposed to metal bands. i think the last punk show i had been to was actually seeing the Skulls back in 2006 at el corazon in seattle, so it had been a while. that show had been pretty painful (not in a good way), and i remember downing drinks as one generic nasally vocaled ska band sporting stupid hair-dos followed another, wondering how it was that the Skulls were one of the few bands that brought heavier metal stylings into simple ska structures (i believe the Skulls call it 'metalli-ska'). regular ska is either unique and interesting, or comprised of totally generic, lame ass folks who add a horn section to their Blink 182 sound alike bullshit. i'm not even going to dignify the band that played before the Skulls at bottom of the hill by mentioning their name, but yeah, whiny Blink type un-creativity was pretty much all they had to offer. after an afternoon of amazing thrash, i had a hard time booing loud enough to truly let that band know how awful they really are. thankfully they announced their last song (i cheered at that) and cleared out after only about 35 mins on stage (35 mins too long that is).
undeterred by the mediocrity i had just witnessed, i was relatively stoked to see the Voodoo Glow Skulls. the last "new" album of theirs that i had really gotten into was 2000's Symbolic and it's easily one of my favorites from their catalog. despite having purchased a couple of their later albums, none of them struck me the same way, so i expected to hear some songs i was unfamiliar with, but looked forward to going fucking crazy when i heard some of my favorites. the Voodoo Glow Skulls did not disappoint. as the Skulls opened up their set with the title track off of Band Geek Mafia, waves of previously dormant 9th grade inspired angst coursed through the very core of my spirit and i tore through the pit, effortlessly making it to the rail before Frank Casillas started into the first verse. true to form, the Skulls rocked it, playing newer stuff as well as a ton of old school stuff off of Band Geek Mafia, Baile de Los Locos, Firme, and Who is, This is. of course they cut into a set of songs in spanish, tearing into 'Yo Soy el mas Chingon', 'Los Hombres no Lloran', 'La Migra', 'El Coocooi', and 'Baile de los Locos' leading to some intensive pit action from a core of latin kids in the audience. feeling like i was super fucking old was easy at that show, as kids bounced around to new Skulls songs i was unfamiliar with, but reclaiming my youth was equally easy as i mosh-danced my ass off to old school tunes i used to bump in my high school days as the kiddies in the audience looked on trying to find the beat so they could get their mosh on as well. the only disappointing part of the Voodoo Glow Skulls set that night was not hearing 'The Delinquent Song', but they did play 'Broadie Johnson Weekend' (perhaps because Broadie has returned to his position behind the trombone after a couple years on hiatus), which i've never heard them play live before, so that was pretty fucking cool. all in all, saturday reminded me that 1)the Voodoo Glow Skulls are fucking sweet. 2)thrash is always and will always be almost indescribably badass and 3)i've still still got that old school, headbangin', shit kickin' spirit, and as long as i keep puttin' in some solid pit time, i 'aint about to lose it. keep it gloomy y'all.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Walken/Huntress/Dark Black - Bender's Bar 12/4
"...so, how'd you hear about the show man?" the lead singer of Dark Black asked me as he handed me my freshly purchased copy of their 3 day old EP. i smiled immediately, "well i'm a big fan of Walken", i replied' "so whenever they have a show i try to check out the other bands on the bill as well, they're usually pretty badass too."
holy shit was last night an awesome night for music. i was stoked as hell as i locked up my bike outside of bender's bar, one of my favorite mission dive bars and the site of many a badass show in the past. it was just shy of a month from the last Walken show at the hemlock tavern. Walken, being one of if not my favorite local band (see previous posts for necessary confirmation) always shares bills with badass bands. Everything from big names like Death Angel and St. Vitus, to underground favorites like Lesbian, and often playing shows with other killer SF based indie metal bands like Hightower and Floating Goat. in my last 3 and a half years of living and show going in the bay area i have seen a wide variety of serious amounts of spine crushingly awesome music courtesy of attending Walken shows. yesterday night's show at bender's might have been one of the best though.
opening the show was portland's Dark Black. this may end up a comment i make in many of my future posts, but shiiiiiiiiiit, portland is churning out massive amounts of badass underground metal of various sub genres these days! i feel like i come across a new portland band that totally ends up melting my fucking face off at least once every couple weeks, Dark Black being the most recent addition to that list. belting out tunes that sounded distinctly of vintage power metal with a driving percussive bass, tight stabbing drums, epic double chorused lead guitars and a soaring vocals over the top coupled with sludgy doom riffs, heavy reverb on the vocal mics, and gratuitous use of crash cymbals Dark Black took the show going crowd through a set that encompassed some of the finest aspects of doom, power metal, and straight up good old fashioned 70s hard rock. their 30 odd minute set was hands down (horns up?) one of the most fun show going experiences i've had this year. the only downside of the set was being almost unable to hear the 2nd guitarist. the sound dude was running around the during the show trying to figure out what was up, by the end of the set, the audience was still straining to hear the dude shredding on the pink Charvel.
after Dark Black finished their set i felt a twinge of worry for LA based Huntress as i made my way to the merch tables. Dark Black has just torn it up, Walken would undoubtedly put on a brilliant show, so as far as i was concerned Huntress had a lot to live up to. before i get into some details on their performance, let me just say i never should have fucking doubted Huntress. the band took the stage and went on to bludgeon the audience with a skull crushing combination of rock n' roll attitude and aptitude. let's be honest, it's easy to please dudes at a metal show by throwing a super hot girl with a mic in front of the band, but add the fact that the dudes on strings and skins are fucking amazing and the girl with the mic can not only really sing (REALLY FUCKING SING) but she rocks that metaphorical spotlight in a way that would make Paul Stanley bow down and you have an amazing piece of ass kicking rock n' roll. the musical high i was riding from Dark Black was kicked into overdrive by Huntress' knee to the face, Judas Priest meets Electric Wizard meets Saxon styled heavy metal beat down. after their set i was mouth foamingly eager to pick up a disc or some vinyl and rushed over to the merch table as i saw the drummer sitting down and chatting with audience members. i asked if they had any recordings, but was informed that unfortunately they have yet to record an album, all they were selling were shirts. the drummer went on to mention that he plays in a number of other bands in the LA area and remembered seeing me at shows at annie's before that badass venue was shut down. :) well color me amused, guess i stick out in a crowd. in the end though, i was hoping the supporting bands would be good, turned out they were both fucking awesome.
Walken, of course was headlining last night (did i already mention that?). as i've said before, i'm not sure i'll ever get tired of writing about how fucking amazing i think this band is. i don't know what it is about 'em, but the way they put their music together is pretty much exactly my definition of awesome. to see it done live is always an ass kicking experience, and of course this saturday was no exception. slick sludgy guitar grooves, gut rattling bass, esophagus shredding vocals and intensely heavy handed yet agile drumming set Walken outside any label or box. is it doom? thrash? all and none of the above, it's just badass bay area metal (seriously, if you haven't yet, just go to this myspace page and listen to some samples...they're good for the soul: http://www.myspace.com/walken ). before they took the stage i had a chance to chat with Max Doyle (guitar for Walken and Grayceon) about what was up musically. excitingly, i was told that Grayceon has finished writing a new album (so hopefully that means they'll be recording soon!), but that Walken is still writing and rehearsing with about half an album put together. of course if either band makes any official announcements, i'll be sure to let y'all know. seriously though, i cannot fucking wait for the new Walken album! what unrecorded songs of theirs i have heard played live kick the shit outta me. this band does not stop progressing and growing musically. y'all gotta come to their next show with me. you'll be fucking blown away. Walken started saturday night's show with what i currently consider my favorite of their new songs (and possibly favorite overall Walken song as well) and didn't stop tearing it up until the sheer force of awesomeness caused a broken guitar string leaving Max to quickly replace it so that the show could go on. thankfully it did, and Walken kept the audience groovin' for a few more songs. unfortunately the brief break seemed to ruin any chances of an encore, so we didn't get to hear 'Running Out of Time', but ah well, all the more reason to be sure not to miss Walken's next show! keep it gloomy y'all.
holy shit was last night an awesome night for music. i was stoked as hell as i locked up my bike outside of bender's bar, one of my favorite mission dive bars and the site of many a badass show in the past. it was just shy of a month from the last Walken show at the hemlock tavern. Walken, being one of if not my favorite local band (see previous posts for necessary confirmation) always shares bills with badass bands. Everything from big names like Death Angel and St. Vitus, to underground favorites like Lesbian, and often playing shows with other killer SF based indie metal bands like Hightower and Floating Goat. in my last 3 and a half years of living and show going in the bay area i have seen a wide variety of serious amounts of spine crushingly awesome music courtesy of attending Walken shows. yesterday night's show at bender's might have been one of the best though.
opening the show was portland's Dark Black. this may end up a comment i make in many of my future posts, but shiiiiiiiiiit, portland is churning out massive amounts of badass underground metal of various sub genres these days! i feel like i come across a new portland band that totally ends up melting my fucking face off at least once every couple weeks, Dark Black being the most recent addition to that list. belting out tunes that sounded distinctly of vintage power metal with a driving percussive bass, tight stabbing drums, epic double chorused lead guitars and a soaring vocals over the top coupled with sludgy doom riffs, heavy reverb on the vocal mics, and gratuitous use of crash cymbals Dark Black took the show going crowd through a set that encompassed some of the finest aspects of doom, power metal, and straight up good old fashioned 70s hard rock. their 30 odd minute set was hands down (horns up?) one of the most fun show going experiences i've had this year. the only downside of the set was being almost unable to hear the 2nd guitarist. the sound dude was running around the during the show trying to figure out what was up, by the end of the set, the audience was still straining to hear the dude shredding on the pink Charvel.
after Dark Black finished their set i felt a twinge of worry for LA based Huntress as i made my way to the merch tables. Dark Black has just torn it up, Walken would undoubtedly put on a brilliant show, so as far as i was concerned Huntress had a lot to live up to. before i get into some details on their performance, let me just say i never should have fucking doubted Huntress. the band took the stage and went on to bludgeon the audience with a skull crushing combination of rock n' roll attitude and aptitude. let's be honest, it's easy to please dudes at a metal show by throwing a super hot girl with a mic in front of the band, but add the fact that the dudes on strings and skins are fucking amazing and the girl with the mic can not only really sing (REALLY FUCKING SING) but she rocks that metaphorical spotlight in a way that would make Paul Stanley bow down and you have an amazing piece of ass kicking rock n' roll. the musical high i was riding from Dark Black was kicked into overdrive by Huntress' knee to the face, Judas Priest meets Electric Wizard meets Saxon styled heavy metal beat down. after their set i was mouth foamingly eager to pick up a disc or some vinyl and rushed over to the merch table as i saw the drummer sitting down and chatting with audience members. i asked if they had any recordings, but was informed that unfortunately they have yet to record an album, all they were selling were shirts. the drummer went on to mention that he plays in a number of other bands in the LA area and remembered seeing me at shows at annie's before that badass venue was shut down. :) well color me amused, guess i stick out in a crowd. in the end though, i was hoping the supporting bands would be good, turned out they were both fucking awesome.
Walken, of course was headlining last night (did i already mention that?). as i've said before, i'm not sure i'll ever get tired of writing about how fucking amazing i think this band is. i don't know what it is about 'em, but the way they put their music together is pretty much exactly my definition of awesome. to see it done live is always an ass kicking experience, and of course this saturday was no exception. slick sludgy guitar grooves, gut rattling bass, esophagus shredding vocals and intensely heavy handed yet agile drumming set Walken outside any label or box. is it doom? thrash? all and none of the above, it's just badass bay area metal (seriously, if you haven't yet, just go to this myspace page and listen to some samples...they're good for the soul: http://www.myspace.com/walken ). before they took the stage i had a chance to chat with Max Doyle (guitar for Walken and Grayceon) about what was up musically. excitingly, i was told that Grayceon has finished writing a new album (so hopefully that means they'll be recording soon!), but that Walken is still writing and rehearsing with about half an album put together. of course if either band makes any official announcements, i'll be sure to let y'all know. seriously though, i cannot fucking wait for the new Walken album! what unrecorded songs of theirs i have heard played live kick the shit outta me. this band does not stop progressing and growing musically. y'all gotta come to their next show with me. you'll be fucking blown away. Walken started saturday night's show with what i currently consider my favorite of their new songs (and possibly favorite overall Walken song as well) and didn't stop tearing it up until the sheer force of awesomeness caused a broken guitar string leaving Max to quickly replace it so that the show could go on. thankfully it did, and Walken kept the audience groovin' for a few more songs. unfortunately the brief break seemed to ruin any chances of an encore, so we didn't get to hear 'Running Out of Time', but ah well, all the more reason to be sure not to miss Walken's next show! keep it gloomy y'all.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Grayceon/Lesbian/Walken - 11/5
so, how was your friday night? undoubtedly pretty fuckin' lame compared to sandeep's. three of the most badass bands i've encountered in the last 10 years, one show, $8 cover, and it was diwali (and birthdays of members of two of the bands!). i had been stoked about this show for a while, with Grayceon (SF), Lesbain (Seattle), and Walken (SF) playing on one night it was almost an ideal lineup for me.
before coming to the bay, i spent a few years kicking around seattle. upon encountering Lesbian, i made it a point to attend as many of their shows as possible and buy up every recording of theirs that i could. Lesbian forges the way into a delicate metal sub genre of their own. dipping into sludgy doom coupled with intensely psychedelic jams interwoven between math rock-esque break downs, they are more than a little hard to cram into a box.
Grayceon, also being a very uniquely artistic band, has never failed to amaze audiences at every show i've seen them play. i distinctly recall some random dude approaching Grayceon guitarist Max Doyle (also of Walken) after the band had just tore it up on the roof of idle hands tattoo parlor during the lower haight art walk, shaking his hand and saying "i never knew i could like a metal band before today...". there are many qualities that about Grayceon that one doesn't often encounter in metal bands. Jackie Perez Gratz (also of Giant Squid and Amber Asylum) fronts the band as vocalist and electric cello shred mistress. add guitarist Max Doyle's crushingly heavy handed finger picking and drummer Zack Farwell (also of Walken)'s thundering rhythms into the mix and all you're doing is bringing together keen minds for music theory and ridiculous amounts of obvious musical prowess. it's impossible to describe the bands sound without frighteningly redundant use of the word 'epic', so i'm just going to recommend you head to their website (http://www.grayceon.com/) and their myspace page (http://www.myspace.com/grayceon), listen to a couple tunes, and have your credit card ready, you'll be wanting to buy the albums as soon as you're finally able to tear yourself from listening to the songs over and over online...if of course you don't own them already.
Walken...well i'll lay my bias out on the table, i fucking LOVE this band. i don't know what it is, but from the firs time i saw them play, i was fucking hooked. taking some of the greatest elements of doom, math rock, and a healthy dollop of thrash Walken churns out tunes that are just so satisfying to my ears and soul. somehow it's like their music better describes my emotions than words can...it would be fucking sweet if i could walk into work and simply say 'i'm feeling very Thunder Paws today' as opposed to explaining that i feel very intense and mind bendingly groovy with high chances of repeatedly throwing some metal horns...(seriously, look up the song! it makes sense!!)...but i digress. these guys fucking rock. featuring the guitar and drum combination of Max Doyle and Zack Farwell you've already come to love with Grayceon, Walken also hosts Sean Kohler on guitar and backing vocals, with Shane Bergman (also of Hazzard's Cure) rounding the grinding quartet off on bass and lead vocals. together, the band belts out a sound worthy of the badassittude and groovyness of their namesake.
walking in to the hemlock on friday night i could already hear the chug of the cello. it was 10:05 and Grayceon was already on stage! i rushed to the bar, grabbed a beer, paid my cover to gain entrance to the tiny back room with the stage and dashed in, only to be met by a wall of show goers nodding to the hypnotic stylings Grayceon shreds their audiences with. their churning, heavy tunes cutting back and forth between sharp, driving speed sections and grinding, epic, down tempo dirges all within one 5 to 12 minute opus. i have yet to see this band put on a bad show, not even an okay so, Grayceon throws down. add in the fact that it was Zack's birthday, and all the good vibes that brought, and you have one killer fucking set with an audience packed so tightly there isn't even room for a gangly indian dude to slither his way to the front.
next up on stage was Lesbian...i love those guys! i was sure to stake out a spot up front for this, it was maybe april when i saw them last, but being in SF means having way fewer opportunities to see them play, so i jumpon any chance i get! i remember reading once that they first chose to call themselves 'Lesbianwitch' because they were searching for a band name that would be as offensive to christians as 'Black Sabbath' or 'Pentagram', then after a bit, it became Lesbian (i have no idea why, but who the fuck cares?! they tear it up!). Lesbian's set began with frontman Dorando Hodous letting the audience know they only had time for two songs. i smiled, recalling a Lesbian show at chop suey in Seattle more than a few years ago with Book of Black Earth and Melt Banana where their show started the exact same way, it was a good indication that epic slaughter was soon to follow. Lesbian warmed the audience up slowly, weaving intricate, oddly syncopated patterns with more reverb than distortion, creating a pleasant false sense of security before tearing into some intensely sludgy yet mind bogglingly technical riffs, which managed to sound simultaneously hap hazard and delicately crafted. luckily with Lesbian, two songs is a good 30 minutes, and Lesbian utilized that time to batter the audience with two amazing tracks off of their recently released (a month ago maybe) album, Stratospheria Cubensis (which is awesome by the way...more details on that in a later post [oh, and just a side note, but Lesbian is going to be playing in oakland this thursday the 11th at Sugar Mountain Records on San Pablo]).
closing out the show was Walken. since y'all already know how i feel about their music, prepare for more of the same. the show was fucking awesome, AWESOME. Grayceon and Lesbian alone made it an amazing night, but with Walken headlining...i'm struggling to some up with a simile to adequately express how FUCKING AWESOME this show was. let's jsut say, i would have paid 8 bucks to hear Walken play just one song live.
i got a bit of a kick out of the fact that this show was happening almost a year to the day after the CD release show for Walken's most recent full length album (Nov. 6th, 2009 at annie's social club...oh annie's...) . this year, it was celebrating Zack and Sean's birthdays that was adding extra emphasis to the fact that it was bound to be a badass fucking set. i was super excited to see Walken play. i had missed a couple of previous opportunities to see them, and was super pissed at myself each time. after the first Walken show i saw, i made it a point to see them as often as they had shows i was aware of. there was one point a couple of years ago when i saw them three times within two months and i was thrilled as fuck. friday night lived up to and my expectations and completely destroyed any part of me that would ever contribute to missing a Walken show ever again.
y'know when you're chilling right before a show and you tell yourself, 'man, if they start with (fill in your favorite song by the band here) or (fill in your very close second favorite, but possibly actually favorite song by them here)', and then the band totally plays one of the songs? that was my exact situation as Walken tore into 'Right at Home' to open their set. from there it was straight into a five song block with almost no break for applause, Walken wasn't on stage to fuck around, they were up there to melt some fucking faces...and melt them they did (musically). i tried to keep track of the set list in my head, but got way too carried away rocking the fuck out to 'Watch it Burn', 'In the city of No Seasons' and of course getting some serious headbanging in on 'Thunder Paws'. the best part of the show was undoubtedly the new tracks, keeping me eagerly awaiting new recordings from these guys. after an intense and killer set of tunes, the guys from Walken stepped off stage, leaving the audience calling out to hear 'Running Out of Time'. i checked my phone, it was still hardly 12:40,surely there was time for...and before i could finish my thought they were back. the unstoppable machine of metal badassitude that is Walken tore into 'Running Out of Time' and 'Beast Toker' providing the audience their sought after encore.
as with all the bands that played friday night, Walken is a band that strives to play music that is recognizably metal in a way that few metal bands conceptualize their music. in my opinion, Walken owned the show that night. yes i'm biased, but seriously, give 'em a listen and go to a show. you'll be blown the fuck away. seriously, go buy some of these albums. check out some samples of the bands first if you need to:
http://www.myspace.com/grayceon
http://www.myspace.com/lesbianwitch
http://www.myspace.com/walken
alright, that's it, go listen to some music fun new music...and keep it gloomy y'all.
before coming to the bay, i spent a few years kicking around seattle. upon encountering Lesbian, i made it a point to attend as many of their shows as possible and buy up every recording of theirs that i could. Lesbian forges the way into a delicate metal sub genre of their own. dipping into sludgy doom coupled with intensely psychedelic jams interwoven between math rock-esque break downs, they are more than a little hard to cram into a box.
Grayceon, also being a very uniquely artistic band, has never failed to amaze audiences at every show i've seen them play. i distinctly recall some random dude approaching Grayceon guitarist Max Doyle (also of Walken) after the band had just tore it up on the roof of idle hands tattoo parlor during the lower haight art walk, shaking his hand and saying "i never knew i could like a metal band before today...". there are many qualities that about Grayceon that one doesn't often encounter in metal bands. Jackie Perez Gratz (also of Giant Squid and Amber Asylum) fronts the band as vocalist and electric cello shred mistress. add guitarist Max Doyle's crushingly heavy handed finger picking and drummer Zack Farwell (also of Walken)'s thundering rhythms into the mix and all you're doing is bringing together keen minds for music theory and ridiculous amounts of obvious musical prowess. it's impossible to describe the bands sound without frighteningly redundant use of the word 'epic', so i'm just going to recommend you head to their website (http://www.grayceon.com/) and their myspace page (http://www.myspace.com/grayceon), listen to a couple tunes, and have your credit card ready, you'll be wanting to buy the albums as soon as you're finally able to tear yourself from listening to the songs over and over online...if of course you don't own them already.
Walken...well i'll lay my bias out on the table, i fucking LOVE this band. i don't know what it is, but from the firs time i saw them play, i was fucking hooked. taking some of the greatest elements of doom, math rock, and a healthy dollop of thrash Walken churns out tunes that are just so satisfying to my ears and soul. somehow it's like their music better describes my emotions than words can...it would be fucking sweet if i could walk into work and simply say 'i'm feeling very Thunder Paws today' as opposed to explaining that i feel very intense and mind bendingly groovy with high chances of repeatedly throwing some metal horns...(seriously, look up the song! it makes sense!!)...but i digress. these guys fucking rock. featuring the guitar and drum combination of Max Doyle and Zack Farwell you've already come to love with Grayceon, Walken also hosts Sean Kohler on guitar and backing vocals, with Shane Bergman (also of Hazzard's Cure) rounding the grinding quartet off on bass and lead vocals. together, the band belts out a sound worthy of the badassittude and groovyness of their namesake.
walking in to the hemlock on friday night i could already hear the chug of the cello. it was 10:05 and Grayceon was already on stage! i rushed to the bar, grabbed a beer, paid my cover to gain entrance to the tiny back room with the stage and dashed in, only to be met by a wall of show goers nodding to the hypnotic stylings Grayceon shreds their audiences with. their churning, heavy tunes cutting back and forth between sharp, driving speed sections and grinding, epic, down tempo dirges all within one 5 to 12 minute opus. i have yet to see this band put on a bad show, not even an okay so, Grayceon throws down. add in the fact that it was Zack's birthday, and all the good vibes that brought, and you have one killer fucking set with an audience packed so tightly there isn't even room for a gangly indian dude to slither his way to the front.
next up on stage was Lesbian...i love those guys! i was sure to stake out a spot up front for this, it was maybe april when i saw them last, but being in SF means having way fewer opportunities to see them play, so i jumpon any chance i get! i remember reading once that they first chose to call themselves 'Lesbianwitch' because they were searching for a band name that would be as offensive to christians as 'Black Sabbath' or 'Pentagram', then after a bit, it became Lesbian (i have no idea why, but who the fuck cares?! they tear it up!). Lesbian's set began with frontman Dorando Hodous letting the audience know they only had time for two songs. i smiled, recalling a Lesbian show at chop suey in Seattle more than a few years ago with Book of Black Earth and Melt Banana where their show started the exact same way, it was a good indication that epic slaughter was soon to follow. Lesbian warmed the audience up slowly, weaving intricate, oddly syncopated patterns with more reverb than distortion, creating a pleasant false sense of security before tearing into some intensely sludgy yet mind bogglingly technical riffs, which managed to sound simultaneously hap hazard and delicately crafted. luckily with Lesbian, two songs is a good 30 minutes, and Lesbian utilized that time to batter the audience with two amazing tracks off of their recently released (a month ago maybe) album, Stratospheria Cubensis (which is awesome by the way...more details on that in a later post [oh, and just a side note, but Lesbian is going to be playing in oakland this thursday the 11th at Sugar Mountain Records on San Pablo]).
closing out the show was Walken. since y'all already know how i feel about their music, prepare for more of the same. the show was fucking awesome, AWESOME. Grayceon and Lesbian alone made it an amazing night, but with Walken headlining...i'm struggling to some up with a simile to adequately express how FUCKING AWESOME this show was. let's jsut say, i would have paid 8 bucks to hear Walken play just one song live.
i got a bit of a kick out of the fact that this show was happening almost a year to the day after the CD release show for Walken's most recent full length album (Nov. 6th, 2009 at annie's social club...oh annie's...) . this year, it was celebrating Zack and Sean's birthdays that was adding extra emphasis to the fact that it was bound to be a badass fucking set. i was super excited to see Walken play. i had missed a couple of previous opportunities to see them, and was super pissed at myself each time. after the first Walken show i saw, i made it a point to see them as often as they had shows i was aware of. there was one point a couple of years ago when i saw them three times within two months and i was thrilled as fuck. friday night lived up to and my expectations and completely destroyed any part of me that would ever contribute to missing a Walken show ever again.
y'know when you're chilling right before a show and you tell yourself, 'man, if they start with (fill in your favorite song by the band here) or (fill in your very close second favorite, but possibly actually favorite song by them here)', and then the band totally plays one of the songs? that was my exact situation as Walken tore into 'Right at Home' to open their set. from there it was straight into a five song block with almost no break for applause, Walken wasn't on stage to fuck around, they were up there to melt some fucking faces...and melt them they did (musically). i tried to keep track of the set list in my head, but got way too carried away rocking the fuck out to 'Watch it Burn', 'In the city of No Seasons' and of course getting some serious headbanging in on 'Thunder Paws'. the best part of the show was undoubtedly the new tracks, keeping me eagerly awaiting new recordings from these guys. after an intense and killer set of tunes, the guys from Walken stepped off stage, leaving the audience calling out to hear 'Running Out of Time'. i checked my phone, it was still hardly 12:40,surely there was time for...and before i could finish my thought they were back. the unstoppable machine of metal badassitude that is Walken tore into 'Running Out of Time' and 'Beast Toker' providing the audience their sought after encore.
as with all the bands that played friday night, Walken is a band that strives to play music that is recognizably metal in a way that few metal bands conceptualize their music. in my opinion, Walken owned the show that night. yes i'm biased, but seriously, give 'em a listen and go to a show. you'll be blown the fuck away. seriously, go buy some of these albums. check out some samples of the bands first if you need to:
http://www.myspace.com/grayceon
http://www.myspace.com/lesbianwitch
http://www.myspace.com/walken
alright, that's it, go listen to some music fun new music...and keep it gloomy y'all.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
week of epicness part tres...
impressed by my knowledge of numbers in foreign languages? don't be, you're seeing the limit of it. after the crazy go nuts time that was the Evil Survives show saturday, i almost considered taking it easy and sitting out the Red Fang / Valient Thorr show on monday the 11th. i quickly reconsidered after recounting how uncanny Red Fang's show at the oakland metro opera house had been this summer, and besides, what's a better cure for the mendacity that is a monday than a metal show?
going in to the bottom of the hill, i wasn't sure what to expect. i knew Red Fang would be bringing that crazy energy that their music inspires, but i wasn't super familiar with Valient Thorr...in fact all i really had heard about them was that "their shows are fucking crazy". i was tired, i wanted a beer, i wanted to see what kinda merch Red Fang had for sale, and wasn't feel 100%, so i concluded i'd rock out to Red Fang, listen to the first couple Valient Thorr songs and if i wasn't feeling it, i'd head home...but firs the merch table! one of the best parts about going to indie metal shows is $5 music. always buy the $5 music. if it sucks, hey, it was just 5 bucks, but rarely if ever does it suck. between the Pirates of Darkwater EP purchased at the Sword show, or the Ten Miles Wide album purchased at the Mendozza show, my life has been brutally enriched by $5 music. as i approached Red Fang's merch table, saw the same vinyl i had at home i got a little bummed, until i noticed the $5 tour EPs they had for sale. i immediately snatched one up and waded my way through the crowd as Red Fang took the stage.
combining well loved vintage gear with Thin Lizzy-esque song structure, the best way to describe Red Fang's sound would be as groovy, roots metal. a brilliant throw back to double chorused guitar solos, solid, steady, driving drums, booming bass, and severely harmonized vocals. Red Fang tore through a slew of new tracks (to be featured on their upcoming LP from Relapse Records and despite audience unfamiliarity, the whole crowd was groovin'. from the new tracks Red Fang cut into some golden oldies off their first LP. my personal highlight was getting to hear "Good to Die" live, though "Prehistoric Dog" and "Humans Remain, Human Remains" were pretty prolific as well. all 'round awesomeness.
after watching Red Fang kick the shit out of their instruments for about 40 minutes, my energy was definitely up and i was ready to see what Valient Thorr had to offer, fucking craziness sounded like just what i needed as i waded my way closer to the stage so as to get some pit action in. the phrase "rock n' roll party" only begins to describe what Valient Thorr brought. providing an all around sonic assault was pretty much their game plan as song after song pummeled the audience. not being too familiar with Valient Thorr's work, i must admit i wasn't totally prepared for the energy of their pit, and was pretty fucking impressed when a ring of dudes held the pit back so i could search for the glasses that had gotten knocked off of my face. When playing live, Valient Thorr does an excellent job of keeping the audience going crazy, but with super positive attitudes. Comments from lead singer Valient Himself like "this song's about those times when you feel down in the dumps, like nothin's going your way, but you just power through and keep going, cuz you know there's a thousand people out there who feel the same and need to party with you!" kept audience members smiling while dropping heavy elbows in the pit. their political stances came out through at various points in the show with Valient announcing the title of their latest single as "a message about the people who actually have power in our country and what we wanna do to them! this song is called Killionaire!!" and noting how the band's logo is a modified peace symbol. a supreme highlight came when the entire band left their instruments aside to take up drums, as Valient hopped into the audience and started freak dancing random show goers female and male alike. seriously, a ball to the wall, "who gives a fuck, let's go crazy" rock n' roll party. Hell yeah, brutality on a monday night...and the week was yet to be concluded...keep it gloomy y'all.
going in to the bottom of the hill, i wasn't sure what to expect. i knew Red Fang would be bringing that crazy energy that their music inspires, but i wasn't super familiar with Valient Thorr...in fact all i really had heard about them was that "their shows are fucking crazy". i was tired, i wanted a beer, i wanted to see what kinda merch Red Fang had for sale, and wasn't feel 100%, so i concluded i'd rock out to Red Fang, listen to the first couple Valient Thorr songs and if i wasn't feeling it, i'd head home...but firs the merch table! one of the best parts about going to indie metal shows is $5 music. always buy the $5 music. if it sucks, hey, it was just 5 bucks, but rarely if ever does it suck. between the Pirates of Darkwater EP purchased at the Sword show, or the Ten Miles Wide album purchased at the Mendozza show, my life has been brutally enriched by $5 music. as i approached Red Fang's merch table, saw the same vinyl i had at home i got a little bummed, until i noticed the $5 tour EPs they had for sale. i immediately snatched one up and waded my way through the crowd as Red Fang took the stage.
combining well loved vintage gear with Thin Lizzy-esque song structure, the best way to describe Red Fang's sound would be as groovy, roots metal. a brilliant throw back to double chorused guitar solos, solid, steady, driving drums, booming bass, and severely harmonized vocals. Red Fang tore through a slew of new tracks (to be featured on their upcoming LP from Relapse Records and despite audience unfamiliarity, the whole crowd was groovin'. from the new tracks Red Fang cut into some golden oldies off their first LP. my personal highlight was getting to hear "Good to Die" live, though "Prehistoric Dog" and "Humans Remain, Human Remains" were pretty prolific as well. all 'round awesomeness.
after watching Red Fang kick the shit out of their instruments for about 40 minutes, my energy was definitely up and i was ready to see what Valient Thorr had to offer, fucking craziness sounded like just what i needed as i waded my way closer to the stage so as to get some pit action in. the phrase "rock n' roll party" only begins to describe what Valient Thorr brought. providing an all around sonic assault was pretty much their game plan as song after song pummeled the audience. not being too familiar with Valient Thorr's work, i must admit i wasn't totally prepared for the energy of their pit, and was pretty fucking impressed when a ring of dudes held the pit back so i could search for the glasses that had gotten knocked off of my face. When playing live, Valient Thorr does an excellent job of keeping the audience going crazy, but with super positive attitudes. Comments from lead singer Valient Himself like "this song's about those times when you feel down in the dumps, like nothin's going your way, but you just power through and keep going, cuz you know there's a thousand people out there who feel the same and need to party with you!" kept audience members smiling while dropping heavy elbows in the pit. their political stances came out through at various points in the show with Valient announcing the title of their latest single as "a message about the people who actually have power in our country and what we wanna do to them! this song is called Killionaire!!" and noting how the band's logo is a modified peace symbol. a supreme highlight came when the entire band left their instruments aside to take up drums, as Valient hopped into the audience and started freak dancing random show goers female and male alike. seriously, a ball to the wall, "who gives a fuck, let's go crazy" rock n' roll party. Hell yeah, brutality on a monday night...and the week was yet to be concluded...keep it gloomy y'all.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
week of epicness part deux...
If my evenings this week could have been bottled, the only name they could be marketed under would be 'awesomesauce'. looking back over the past week i've seen awesome performances, been privy to opportunities to purchase awesome new underground metal vinyl, cassettes, or cds, and hopped around in a couple of pretty prolific pits.
the week of epicness began last saturday, october 9th at the hemlock tavern. on the bill were Serpent Crown (sf), Spellcaster (portland), Evil Survives (manitoba), and Midnight Chaser (sf). going in the only band on the ticket i was familiar with was evil survives, and even then it was mainly due to the fact that serpent crown is one of the many local metal outfits featuring Will Carroll (of Death Angel, Scarecrow, Old Grandad...) on drums. in all of my eagerness to see them, i naturally miscalculated my bike commute to the hemlock and totally missed their set. fuck you murphy and your fucking laws (i'm flipping off the hypothetical "murphy" as i type).
as i entered the back of the hemlock where the stage is after wading through crowds of fleet week yuppies (though, with all the sailor outfits i just assumed it was some pride event) on my way in, i arrived to a band assaulting eardrums as their front man thanked everyone for coming and that they hoped to come back soon...yup, i missed the second band, Spellcaster, as well! worried that my $7 dollar admission fee might have been for naught (as just that brief glimpse was enough to convince me i needed to buy Spellcaster's album...what if i had missed the best bands?!) i nervously sipped my beer awaiting Evil Survives. what came next, did not disappoint.
from the instant they took the stage Evil Survives proved themselves a force to be reckoned with. slashing speed licks supported by a skull rattling bass and gut pummeling blast beats with searing vocals tearing through the mix in a style that exemplifies some of our favorite aspects of classic NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal...y'know, the prolific post Black Sabbath stuff like Iron Maiden, Saxon, Judas Priest...). despite an audience that seemed content to hang back as far away from the stage as possible, Evil Survives rocked it as if playing to a packed arena. fortunately the small performance space that is the hemlock tavern was put to full use as the lead singer belted lyrics from the pit occasionally using audience members standing idly by as supports during vociferous headbangs. as far as the riffage went, the guitar talent of Evil Survives clearly showed strong influence from the likes of Dave Murray and KK Downing, augmented by a tangible love for thrash and early american death metal. in many ways, at the end of Evil Survives' set i felt like i had just been treated to a performance by Helloween in their prime.
as Evil Survives left the stage, I was already telling myself that Midnight Chaser's performance would have no bearing on the fact that the night had already reached extreme levels of badassitude. luckily, Midnight Chaser brought it with the same over the top energy that had defined the night thus far. at that point in the night, the crowd was warmed up (and boozed up) enough not to need much more than some loud driving rock. Midnight Chaser tore through some old school power metal styled party rock that had the audience grooving right away. the only downside to the show came about 20 minutes later when Midnight Chaser had to end their set abruptly due to a broken guitar string. audience members waited, unmoving, as the guitarist scrambled around looking for a replacement string, but as the search continued last call was, well, called, and the music had to be shut down for the night. despite being unable to see Midnight Chaser's entire set, missing most of Spellcaster and all of Serpent Crown, it was a seriously epic night at the hemlock, and just the beginning of a show going week so epic, my ears are still ringing. what happened next?! keep checking back and you'll see, otherwise, keep it gloomy y'all.
the week of epicness began last saturday, october 9th at the hemlock tavern. on the bill were Serpent Crown (sf), Spellcaster (portland), Evil Survives (manitoba), and Midnight Chaser (sf). going in the only band on the ticket i was familiar with was evil survives, and even then it was mainly due to the fact that serpent crown is one of the many local metal outfits featuring Will Carroll (of Death Angel, Scarecrow, Old Grandad...) on drums. in all of my eagerness to see them, i naturally miscalculated my bike commute to the hemlock and totally missed their set. fuck you murphy and your fucking laws (i'm flipping off the hypothetical "murphy" as i type).
as i entered the back of the hemlock where the stage is after wading through crowds of fleet week yuppies (though, with all the sailor outfits i just assumed it was some pride event) on my way in, i arrived to a band assaulting eardrums as their front man thanked everyone for coming and that they hoped to come back soon...yup, i missed the second band, Spellcaster, as well! worried that my $7 dollar admission fee might have been for naught (as just that brief glimpse was enough to convince me i needed to buy Spellcaster's album...what if i had missed the best bands?!) i nervously sipped my beer awaiting Evil Survives. what came next, did not disappoint.
from the instant they took the stage Evil Survives proved themselves a force to be reckoned with. slashing speed licks supported by a skull rattling bass and gut pummeling blast beats with searing vocals tearing through the mix in a style that exemplifies some of our favorite aspects of classic NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal...y'know, the prolific post Black Sabbath stuff like Iron Maiden, Saxon, Judas Priest...). despite an audience that seemed content to hang back as far away from the stage as possible, Evil Survives rocked it as if playing to a packed arena. fortunately the small performance space that is the hemlock tavern was put to full use as the lead singer belted lyrics from the pit occasionally using audience members standing idly by as supports during vociferous headbangs. as far as the riffage went, the guitar talent of Evil Survives clearly showed strong influence from the likes of Dave Murray and KK Downing, augmented by a tangible love for thrash and early american death metal. in many ways, at the end of Evil Survives' set i felt like i had just been treated to a performance by Helloween in their prime.
as Evil Survives left the stage, I was already telling myself that Midnight Chaser's performance would have no bearing on the fact that the night had already reached extreme levels of badassitude. luckily, Midnight Chaser brought it with the same over the top energy that had defined the night thus far. at that point in the night, the crowd was warmed up (and boozed up) enough not to need much more than some loud driving rock. Midnight Chaser tore through some old school power metal styled party rock that had the audience grooving right away. the only downside to the show came about 20 minutes later when Midnight Chaser had to end their set abruptly due to a broken guitar string. audience members waited, unmoving, as the guitarist scrambled around looking for a replacement string, but as the search continued last call was, well, called, and the music had to be shut down for the night. despite being unable to see Midnight Chaser's entire set, missing most of Spellcaster and all of Serpent Crown, it was a seriously epic night at the hemlock, and just the beginning of a show going week so epic, my ears are still ringing. what happened next?! keep checking back and you'll see, otherwise, keep it gloomy y'all.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
week of epicness...
dude. DUDE. this week has been fucking awesome! Spellcaster and Evil Survives last Saturday, Red Fang and Valient Thorr on Monday, Grayceon and Deadsea last night...fucking awesome. is this post gonna be a full on review? no, cuz sandeep is fucking exhausted, but a massive review will follow this weekend...maybe after i've figured out whether i'm going to the Hightower show at el rio or the Kowloon Walled City (though i will see KWC for free with Saviours next thursday at the SF tattoo convention pre-party at thee parkside...) show at the hemlock tavern this saturday night...more to come, keep it gloomy y'all.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Red Octopus - layers upon layers of psychadelic goodness
i don't get why some metal heads or so anti-prog. prog is super fun! it's all spastic and abrasive and confusing to people that listen to all that mainstream bull shit that's always on the radio. in my mind, prog is the purest spirit of metal in musical for, a big, loud, unapologetic fuck you to folks who dont get it or like it. when you start through heavy elements of psychadelic rock, prog only gets more fun. case in point, san diego's Red Octopus. walking into thee parkside last month for a Hightower show, i was hoping the other bands on the bill would be pretty prolific. from Walken, to Pride Tiger, to Frontside Five, i've seen some pretty badass supporting bands courtesy of Hightower. Red Octopus is definitely the latest addition to that list (oh and Hightower's new album...freakin' sweet, review to come...soonish). claiming oneself to be in a psychadelic band can definitely pigeonhole one's sound. for me it invokes mental imagery of Jimi Hendrix spasmodically expressing his way through a full body performance of 'Voodoo Chile'...a ridiculously high standard to achieve. it's no surprise that many bands well worthy of referring to themselves as psychadelic bands prefer the label of 'math rock' as they use their extremely non-traditional time signatures and riffs to fight for musical legitimacy. some bands can totally pull it off, while other slip into the 'noise rock' category making them inaccessible to many music fans (especially during live performance). keeping in tradition with greats like King Crimson, Red Octopus goes out of their way to provide awe inspiring musicianship held together by a tightly mathematical rhythm section supporting ethereal lead grooves to keep your toe tapping despite being totally mesmerized by the enticing wall of sound this power trio puts forth. providing just enough of that gritty noise we would hope for from an extremely talented prog band, layered with dooomed out grooves, catchy melodies, and intensely headbangable moments.
Red Octopus' set that night was maybe 45 min or so, which was the perfect amount of time for them to power though 2 (yup, just 2) songs as the audience struggled to fight the urge to applaud at each down tempo breakdown. the tenacity and focus with which Red Octopus attacked their instruments was mesmerizing convincing me that i wasn't about to leave thee parkside without either a recording of their stuff or very explicit instructions on how to get one of their recordings. luckily their EP was for sale (or really just available for folks will to throw some cash down for it) on unlabeled burned CDs which came in a fun card stock sleeve which featured Red Octopus' logo silk screened on the outside (which the guitarist did in his bedroom after creating the stencil off a pen sketch!). the show was an unmitigated success with audience members converging upon the band to share congratulations, ask about recordings, and a slew of other questions around musical influences, song writing technique, and nerding out on their gear (they had some SWEET fucking gear). waking up the next morning and having the opportunity to give Red Octopus a listen in a state of *ahem* sobriety was mind blowing. the sheer power of this band's stage show is audible through one's headphones. though their recordings might be extraordinarily hard to get your hands on, it'll be well worth the effort. keep it gloomy y'all.
Red Octopus' set that night was maybe 45 min or so, which was the perfect amount of time for them to power though 2 (yup, just 2) songs as the audience struggled to fight the urge to applaud at each down tempo breakdown. the tenacity and focus with which Red Octopus attacked their instruments was mesmerizing convincing me that i wasn't about to leave thee parkside without either a recording of their stuff or very explicit instructions on how to get one of their recordings. luckily their EP was for sale (or really just available for folks will to throw some cash down for it) on unlabeled burned CDs which came in a fun card stock sleeve which featured Red Octopus' logo silk screened on the outside (which the guitarist did in his bedroom after creating the stencil off a pen sketch!). the show was an unmitigated success with audience members converging upon the band to share congratulations, ask about recordings, and a slew of other questions around musical influences, song writing technique, and nerding out on their gear (they had some SWEET fucking gear). waking up the next morning and having the opportunity to give Red Octopus a listen in a state of *ahem* sobriety was mind blowing. the sheer power of this band's stage show is audible through one's headphones. though their recordings might be extraordinarily hard to get your hands on, it'll be well worth the effort. keep it gloomy y'all.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Floating Goat & Hellbeard - 9/19
a distinct memory of mine from the first Hellbeard show i ever experienced out at the merchant's saloon in oakland is midway through the first song the reggae loving friend of mine i had been dragging to metal shows for the past couple months turned to me with a huge smile on his face and mouthed 'fuck yeah!' the slow sludgy, booming, percussion laden grooves and intense vocal nodule inducing vocals brought a heaviness that no one could not sway to. from then on we made it a point to check out Hellbeard any chance we had. a couple more east bay shows happened, and each one had me searching for a merch table so as to buy a recording, but they never seemed to have any. then for a while...Hellbeard just seemed to drop off. my hope was that there was recording happening, but i really had no idea.
so yeah, i was pretty fucking stoked when i walked by force of habit records (a badass shop by the way) and noticed a flyer announcing Hellbeard and Floating Goat playing together at the parkside, i stopped dead in my tracks. Floating Goat?! It'd been a while since i had seen Floating Goat. the epicness that was the Walken cd release show last november was uncanny. though not the firs time i had seen floating goat, the excitement of the night made it the most on point and hard rockin' performances i had ever seen the band put on...until last sunday night that is. Floating Goat layed into their groovy, old timey, chunky, doomy, sound with a gut wrenching intensity. despite the twenty five odd person sunday night audience, Floating Goat electrified thee parkside. persoanlly, i was really hoping to hear them play 'half alive', but they closed out with the groove-tastic 'heaven's burning', which was pretty fucking epic.
after Floating Goat, the wall of melodic sludge that is Hellbeard took the stage. totally living up to my memory based expectations, Hellbeard threw the fuck down. those funkily syncopated sloshy down-tuned legato licks left the audience swaying at pace with the waves of sound. much to my excitement the band was also selling cds and i was finally able to take home some Hellbeard for myself. all in all, an awesome fucking show, and some fun new music to block out the sounds of muni with...keep it gloomy y'all!
so yeah, i was pretty fucking stoked when i walked by force of habit records (a badass shop by the way) and noticed a flyer announcing Hellbeard and Floating Goat playing together at the parkside, i stopped dead in my tracks. Floating Goat?! It'd been a while since i had seen Floating Goat. the epicness that was the Walken cd release show last november was uncanny. though not the firs time i had seen floating goat, the excitement of the night made it the most on point and hard rockin' performances i had ever seen the band put on...until last sunday night that is. Floating Goat layed into their groovy, old timey, chunky, doomy, sound with a gut wrenching intensity. despite the twenty five odd person sunday night audience, Floating Goat electrified thee parkside. persoanlly, i was really hoping to hear them play 'half alive', but they closed out with the groove-tastic 'heaven's burning', which was pretty fucking epic.
after Floating Goat, the wall of melodic sludge that is Hellbeard took the stage. totally living up to my memory based expectations, Hellbeard threw the fuck down. those funkily syncopated sloshy down-tuned legato licks left the audience swaying at pace with the waves of sound. much to my excitement the band was also selling cds and i was finally able to take home some Hellbeard for myself. all in all, an awesome fucking show, and some fun new music to block out the sounds of muni with...keep it gloomy y'all!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
metal swim...the Bay OWNS!!!
so this post is gonna be a quick one. don't worry, you'll get more from me (in the form of a review of sunday's floating goat/hellbeard show), but, did y'all see this 'metal swim' post on adult swim's website? apparently they're putting together a compilations of "16 rare or unreleased tracks form the heaviest bands in existence". not sure how they plan to back that claim up, but there is a super impressive bay area showing in their mix! Death Angel, Ludicra, Saviours, Black Cobra...i fuckin' love the bay.
http://www.adultswim.com/promos/201009_scion/index.html
keep it gloom y'all.
http://www.adultswim.com/promos/201009_scion/index.html
keep it gloom y'all.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Sleep - Regency Ballroom 9/12 & 9/13 - Awe Inspiring Iommi Worship
so i remember being back at an ozzfest in the early 2000s and seeing a stack of t-shirts at a merch booth with some crazy picture of Ozzy channeling lightening and the words "Listen to Black Sabbath" written across the back. simple yet essential advice that luckily i had been adhering to for quite a while at that point, but advice that has always provided me with an incredibly high quality of life. it's obvious that the message also got through to the young Al Cisneros, Matt Pike, and Chris Hakius in their early days growing up in san jose. those slow, oppressively heavy grooves Black Sabbath is legendary for led those three gentleman to create one of the bay area's most prolific underground metal bands, Sleep, featuring drony, hazy, Sabbathy riffs, deeply technical and mathy percussion, heavily wahed bass and that angst ridden nasally vocal style Ozzy created for us all to admire. despite strong support from fans across the globe and Sleep's unique path in early 90's metal, creative differences with their record label caused Sleep to disband in 1995 after only one full length, two EPs, and an album that their label refused to release (which went onto become the uncanny album/song 'Dopesmoker'...after being cut up into pieces and released as 'Jerusalem').
when i found out Sleep was doing a reunion show in england at the all tomorrow's parties festival in 2009 i was a little pissed. at that point rumors were circulating that the festival appearance would be a one shot, and afterward the members of sleep would re-split and continue to work on their current musical projects. though new material was on the horizon for High on Fire and Om as well as the debut of doom supergroup Shrinebuilder featuring Al Cisneros on bass, getting a chance to see some good old fashioned Sleep grooves performed live would have been epic beyond words.
hearing a confirmed san francisco date for Sleep's 'Marijuananaut's Return' tour sent me to ticketmaster's diabolical money sucking website right away, there was no fucking way i was missing a chance to see Sleep. a few clicks and i was feeling very content with my purchase as i eagerly awaited the arrival of my ticket. not two weeks after my order, i noticed a facebook announcement from Saviours highlighting the fact that they would be opening up for Sleep and i nearly shat myself. Saviors, then Sleep?! fuck yes! i was stoked beyond belief until i realized the date Saviours had listed was monday the 13th and my ticket was for sunday the 12th. upon discovering the 2nd Sleep show opened up by Saviours, i was back to ticketmaster and their bank account violating "convenience charges" (it'd be convenient if it was free...douchebags). all unnecessary fees aside, i had my tickets and two consecutive nights of uncanny bay area doom to look forward to...shortly thereafter, i discovered black cobra had been added to the bill for the monday show...seriously?! i couldn't ask for a more perfect show! it was like a show designed to highlight the finest examples of the bay area doom scene...and only three months to wait...
after some patient waiting, Sleep sunday had finally arrived! i trying not to raise my expectations to impossibly high levels was impossible as i stood on my corner awaiting muni to whisk me away to the regency ballroom. seething with childish excitement, i checked my wallet twice to ensure that i indeed had my ticket with me. i had it planned out already, sunday night was my night all about Sleep and taking in this genuine opportunity to see something legendary. Sleep did not disappoint.
i arrived a little after 9 and found out that the opener, Thrones, had already played. i knew what i was there for, so i wasn't bummed. on stage, amps were being set up and sound checks conducted in front of a backdrop on which was projected a huge photograph of Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath's glory days with that signature mustache and Gibson SG and a mix of Black Sabbath tunes came seeping from the speakers scattered across the venue.
as the lights dimmed and the audience surged forward a man in a space suit came on stage carrying a bass and guitar as Jason Roeder (also of Neurosis) settled in behind the drumset. the excitement was tangible as fans yearned for the first notes of a show that some had waited over a decade for. silently, Matt Pike and Al Cisneros came to the stage, did a quick intonation check, and cut straight into the opening of 'Dopesmoker', Sleep's (in)famous hour and a half long album/song. i had read that Sleep had been preforming 'Holy Mountain' in it's entirety on this tour and thought thatmaybe SF was about to be the first city to get 'Dopesmoker' in it's entirety, but i was put in my place when Cisneros and co. rolled right onto a set of songs from 'Holy Mountain' (beginning with the title track)with healthy chunks of 'Dopesmoker' medleyed in between. Awesome is truly an inadequate adjective to describe what we ere hearing. it was like the sound a giant wad of crunchy peanut butter would make upon being flung at a wall and allowed to drip to the floor...beautiful, delicious,crunchy, and slooooooooow. i realize it's hard to imagine, but even some Sleep tunes were played through at a slower tempo than the originals leaving the audience dazed as we all reveled in some of the grooviest, heaviest, gut shatteringly chuggiest metal ever created. true to form, Sleep laid it down while periodically taking breaks to step off stage only to return minutes later bleary eyed and coughing with a partially smoked joint hanging from Matt Pike's lips.
Despite the undeniable excitement in the crowd, all of the Regency Ballroom was as if in a trance as Sleep droned through all of Holy Mountain (aside from the short instrumental space filler 'Some Grass') with healthy chunks of 'Dopesmoker' sprinkled in between. An unexpected highlight came during the first encore as fans' swaying motions were interrupted by an unfamiliar tune, but those with a good ear and a knowledge of serious metal (ahem, yours truly) were able to instantly recognize Ozzy's 'Over the Mountain' being performed at half tempo, up until the guitar solos which were taken at double time compared to The Blizzard's original work.
At the end of the night fans walked out simultaneously sated and wanting more. as i sat on muni waiting to get home, eavesdropping on other concert goers headed to their beds a couple of folks mentioned how the idea of seeing Sleep two nights in a row might be "just a little too much". i sat back and smiled, internally making plans to leave way sooner for the monday night show so that i wouldn't miss Black Cobra or Saviours...all in all, last week started out with nothin' but badass. one can only hope for a round three. keep it gloomy y'all.
when i found out Sleep was doing a reunion show in england at the all tomorrow's parties festival in 2009 i was a little pissed. at that point rumors were circulating that the festival appearance would be a one shot, and afterward the members of sleep would re-split and continue to work on their current musical projects. though new material was on the horizon for High on Fire and Om as well as the debut of doom supergroup Shrinebuilder featuring Al Cisneros on bass, getting a chance to see some good old fashioned Sleep grooves performed live would have been epic beyond words.
hearing a confirmed san francisco date for Sleep's 'Marijuananaut's Return' tour sent me to ticketmaster's diabolical money sucking website right away, there was no fucking way i was missing a chance to see Sleep. a few clicks and i was feeling very content with my purchase as i eagerly awaited the arrival of my ticket. not two weeks after my order, i noticed a facebook announcement from Saviours highlighting the fact that they would be opening up for Sleep and i nearly shat myself. Saviors, then Sleep?! fuck yes! i was stoked beyond belief until i realized the date Saviours had listed was monday the 13th and my ticket was for sunday the 12th. upon discovering the 2nd Sleep show opened up by Saviours, i was back to ticketmaster and their bank account violating "convenience charges" (it'd be convenient if it was free...douchebags). all unnecessary fees aside, i had my tickets and two consecutive nights of uncanny bay area doom to look forward to...shortly thereafter, i discovered black cobra had been added to the bill for the monday show...seriously?! i couldn't ask for a more perfect show! it was like a show designed to highlight the finest examples of the bay area doom scene...and only three months to wait...
after some patient waiting, Sleep sunday had finally arrived! i trying not to raise my expectations to impossibly high levels was impossible as i stood on my corner awaiting muni to whisk me away to the regency ballroom. seething with childish excitement, i checked my wallet twice to ensure that i indeed had my ticket with me. i had it planned out already, sunday night was my night all about Sleep and taking in this genuine opportunity to see something legendary. Sleep did not disappoint.
i arrived a little after 9 and found out that the opener, Thrones, had already played. i knew what i was there for, so i wasn't bummed. on stage, amps were being set up and sound checks conducted in front of a backdrop on which was projected a huge photograph of Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath's glory days with that signature mustache and Gibson SG and a mix of Black Sabbath tunes came seeping from the speakers scattered across the venue.
as the lights dimmed and the audience surged forward a man in a space suit came on stage carrying a bass and guitar as Jason Roeder (also of Neurosis) settled in behind the drumset. the excitement was tangible as fans yearned for the first notes of a show that some had waited over a decade for. silently, Matt Pike and Al Cisneros came to the stage, did a quick intonation check, and cut straight into the opening of 'Dopesmoker', Sleep's (in)famous hour and a half long album/song. i had read that Sleep had been preforming 'Holy Mountain' in it's entirety on this tour and thought thatmaybe SF was about to be the first city to get 'Dopesmoker' in it's entirety, but i was put in my place when Cisneros and co. rolled right onto a set of songs from 'Holy Mountain' (beginning with the title track)with healthy chunks of 'Dopesmoker' medleyed in between. Awesome is truly an inadequate adjective to describe what we ere hearing. it was like the sound a giant wad of crunchy peanut butter would make upon being flung at a wall and allowed to drip to the floor...beautiful, delicious,crunchy, and slooooooooow. i realize it's hard to imagine, but even some Sleep tunes were played through at a slower tempo than the originals leaving the audience dazed as we all reveled in some of the grooviest, heaviest, gut shatteringly chuggiest metal ever created. true to form, Sleep laid it down while periodically taking breaks to step off stage only to return minutes later bleary eyed and coughing with a partially smoked joint hanging from Matt Pike's lips.
Despite the undeniable excitement in the crowd, all of the Regency Ballroom was as if in a trance as Sleep droned through all of Holy Mountain (aside from the short instrumental space filler 'Some Grass') with healthy chunks of 'Dopesmoker' sprinkled in between. An unexpected highlight came during the first encore as fans' swaying motions were interrupted by an unfamiliar tune, but those with a good ear and a knowledge of serious metal (ahem, yours truly) were able to instantly recognize Ozzy's 'Over the Mountain' being performed at half tempo, up until the guitar solos which were taken at double time compared to The Blizzard's original work.
At the end of the night fans walked out simultaneously sated and wanting more. as i sat on muni waiting to get home, eavesdropping on other concert goers headed to their beds a couple of folks mentioned how the idea of seeing Sleep two nights in a row might be "just a little too much". i sat back and smiled, internally making plans to leave way sooner for the monday night show so that i wouldn't miss Black Cobra or Saviours...all in all, last week started out with nothin' but badass. one can only hope for a round three. keep it gloomy y'all.
Monday, September 13, 2010
it starts...
so let me preface this by saying, this is something i've talked about doing for a while. since my first foray into blogging back in a 2006 when i had the opportunity to do a few metal reviews for soundonthesound.com i realized ranting and raving about the music i love is something i get kinda excited to do. so here it goes, from here on out expect at least weekly post featuring show reviews, album reviews, music suggestions, show announcements for the SF Bay Area, and just general heavy metal goodness. so raise your horns, and keep it gloomy y'all!
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