Post by Misanthropic Philanthropist on Aug 29, 2004 3:42:49 GMT -5
Aberrant was the first band to play. I’d never heard of them before, but heard from a member of another band playing that night that they were old school grindcore in the vein of Napalm Death. In fact, they were awesome. They had like a twenty-two minute set, which is very grindcore. Did quite a few songs in that set too, including a cover I’m not familiar with, but still, they were awesome. It would have been cool to know what to expect from them, but at least it was awesome, and really, that’s all that counts at a live show.
Skinned played nexts, and wow, talk about a really awesome band live. The singer can do a brutal ass growl that he can do on studio albums and live. The initial thing that drew me to watch Skinned at the stage was the guitarist because he was wearing a Dismembered Fetus shirt, “Lesbian Grandma” and that’s pretty metal right there just to be wearing a defunct grind band shirt. They were the band to really loosen up the crowd. They are brutal death metal with a fun attitude. At one point, they all put on wigs and just started playing their stuff, and it was awesome as all hell. They were pretty brutal, and the last two songs were just “oh my god, I could poop a brick” they were just so heavy. They knew how to get the crowd going, because on their final song they were getting everyone into it by singing the chorus of the song, which was called “Arise.” They are one of the coolest local bands I’ve ever seen.
Throcult played next and their set was pretty sweet. They played some material from their upcoming album, “Stormbringer.” They played older material as well, like you would expect them to, and played their heaviest and fastest song, “Kill or be Killed.” Unlike the last time I saw them, they didn’t have a special appearance by Chris Vigil, the former vocalist of the band. He was at the concert though, but didn’t do a song for “old times sake.” They were good, but the sound guy just had way too much drums going and not enough vocals or guitars. So that was probably the biggest downer of this one. I got to meet Ivan after the show, and he gave my bud and me a promo disc with two songs from their upcoming October release.
And finally, the Mandrake. Holy hell, this band is brutal as all hell live. They were even better than the last time I saw them, which was more than a year ago. This was their cd release party, and it’s one of the greatest bands to see live. They’re melodic death metal, but definitely very unique in their sound and the vocals. They do not, and I repeat, do not sound like In Flames or Soilwork or any Gothenburg band. They know how to get a crowd like Skinned and it was definitely their show. They had amazing opening acts, but this was just their show. I would have paid 7 bucks just to see this band, and without a question, the 7 bucks to get in was totally worth it. They ended up playing their entire album, except for “Bringer of Dreams: A Fallen Angel” because it’s a flamenco guitar instrumental. They ended the show by doing a cover of “The Trooper” as the encore. It was a great cover and it’s such a great maiden song, so it definitely owned. Ron is the lead guitarist, and he’s amazing at it. If he only added a wah or some kind of effect for leads, they’d be that much more intense. He ended up just going off during one part of the show, doing taps and some wicked lead work. This was quite possibly the best show I’ve been to in a long time. It was the only concert I went to this summer, and I don’t think I’d trade it for anything. Also, this was Bret Phillips’ (bass) last show with the band. They showed his replacement, and wow, she’s pretty damn good looking.
After the show was great. We got to meet someone from every band except for Skinned. My friend and I got our copies of The Mandrake’s cd signed by the entire band, which was really cool. I figured I’d have to go to each member and have them sign it, but I had the drummer sign it first, and he took it to everyone else in the band. So that was very cool to have happen. And that’s why I love small venues. You get to meet the bands and most of the local bands appreciate their fans, especially if they’re not well known or received outside of the area. This all-local band show was definitely worth it and I’d pay 7 bucks to see it again. Hopefully The Mandrake will get better known throughout America and overseas because this band definitely has some talent and skill.
Skinned played nexts, and wow, talk about a really awesome band live. The singer can do a brutal ass growl that he can do on studio albums and live. The initial thing that drew me to watch Skinned at the stage was the guitarist because he was wearing a Dismembered Fetus shirt, “Lesbian Grandma” and that’s pretty metal right there just to be wearing a defunct grind band shirt. They were the band to really loosen up the crowd. They are brutal death metal with a fun attitude. At one point, they all put on wigs and just started playing their stuff, and it was awesome as all hell. They were pretty brutal, and the last two songs were just “oh my god, I could poop a brick” they were just so heavy. They knew how to get the crowd going, because on their final song they were getting everyone into it by singing the chorus of the song, which was called “Arise.” They are one of the coolest local bands I’ve ever seen.
Throcult played next and their set was pretty sweet. They played some material from their upcoming album, “Stormbringer.” They played older material as well, like you would expect them to, and played their heaviest and fastest song, “Kill or be Killed.” Unlike the last time I saw them, they didn’t have a special appearance by Chris Vigil, the former vocalist of the band. He was at the concert though, but didn’t do a song for “old times sake.” They were good, but the sound guy just had way too much drums going and not enough vocals or guitars. So that was probably the biggest downer of this one. I got to meet Ivan after the show, and he gave my bud and me a promo disc with two songs from their upcoming October release.
And finally, the Mandrake. Holy hell, this band is brutal as all hell live. They were even better than the last time I saw them, which was more than a year ago. This was their cd release party, and it’s one of the greatest bands to see live. They’re melodic death metal, but definitely very unique in their sound and the vocals. They do not, and I repeat, do not sound like In Flames or Soilwork or any Gothenburg band. They know how to get a crowd like Skinned and it was definitely their show. They had amazing opening acts, but this was just their show. I would have paid 7 bucks just to see this band, and without a question, the 7 bucks to get in was totally worth it. They ended up playing their entire album, except for “Bringer of Dreams: A Fallen Angel” because it’s a flamenco guitar instrumental. They ended the show by doing a cover of “The Trooper” as the encore. It was a great cover and it’s such a great maiden song, so it definitely owned. Ron is the lead guitarist, and he’s amazing at it. If he only added a wah or some kind of effect for leads, they’d be that much more intense. He ended up just going off during one part of the show, doing taps and some wicked lead work. This was quite possibly the best show I’ve been to in a long time. It was the only concert I went to this summer, and I don’t think I’d trade it for anything. Also, this was Bret Phillips’ (bass) last show with the band. They showed his replacement, and wow, she’s pretty damn good looking.
After the show was great. We got to meet someone from every band except for Skinned. My friend and I got our copies of The Mandrake’s cd signed by the entire band, which was really cool. I figured I’d have to go to each member and have them sign it, but I had the drummer sign it first, and he took it to everyone else in the band. So that was very cool to have happen. And that’s why I love small venues. You get to meet the bands and most of the local bands appreciate their fans, especially if they’re not well known or received outside of the area. This all-local band show was definitely worth it and I’d pay 7 bucks to see it again. Hopefully The Mandrake will get better known throughout America and overseas because this band definitely has some talent and skill.
