This show was the first time I'd been to DC in a while, and my first experience with the RAS hall. The venue is an Ethiopian restaurant, kinda like Asefu's, but with a more sensible layout. The thing is, shows have to be over pretty early, so this one started around 3 pm.
Ilsa opened. They played some new material from their new full-length on A389, coming this Halloween. The new stuff was a marked improvement on their sound, capitalizing on each members' strengths more than in the past. I've watched this band from the beginning, and it's good to see they're still improving. Their live sound in particular these days is much more discernable. They never fail to disappoint.
Richmond greats Inter Arma were next, playing a long set of long songs. They're still playing mostly songs from Sundown, but they have a new EP out and a forthcoming full-length. Here's another band with whom I have a long history. It's always a treat to see these guys, and they always deliver. TJ's drumming usually steals the show for me; over-the-top but always on-point. Their new material delves deeper into the black metal they hinted at with Sundown.
Lastly, Harrisonburg's Valkyrie rocked us for nearly an hour. This band has Alan from the awesome Earthling as well as Pete Adams from a little band called Baroness. Valkyrie play doomy, guitar-harmony-driven rock. It's feel-good music for me, and while perhaps they're not reinventing the wheel, the delivery was nearly flawless. Each member has enough style to make the music special. Though it was weird having the show over at 7, it ran smoothly and hopefully they continue to have shows at RAS hall.
-Ben
Listen/download the show:
Monday, June 25, 2012
Live show #10: Fight Amp at Charm City Art Space
I did not originally intend to attend this show, but my show with Xozo got shut down, so I headed over to Charm City Art Space. These circumstances unfortunately caused me to miss most of the bands, including the amazing Multicult, whose live performances always seem to evade me.
I arrived during the beginning of Pfisters' set.* They played competent, punky noise rock. Their set was a little lengthy but they included a cover of Agent Orange's "Bloodstains" (you might recognize it from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4) which was fun.
Fight Amp were the headliners, one of my favorites. Practically every time I've seen them they've had a new lineup. Tonight was no exception, with a new drummer in the fold (who made his shitty frankenstein kit sound great). Even though Fight Amp have a new album coming out and a better, more recent one, they heavily favored their first album, Hungry for Nothing. I like that album a lot, but I've heard them play those songs many times; it would have been nice to hear some stuff from the underrated Manners and Praise. Still, it's a shame more people didn't show up; Fight Amp's sound and delivery were exceptional. Be sure to catch 'em next time!
-Ben
*I greatly regret posting a myspace link, but this seems to be their only web presence.
Listen/Download the show:
I arrived during the beginning of Pfisters' set.* They played competent, punky noise rock. Their set was a little lengthy but they included a cover of Agent Orange's "Bloodstains" (you might recognize it from Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4) which was fun.
Fight Amp were the headliners, one of my favorites. Practically every time I've seen them they've had a new lineup. Tonight was no exception, with a new drummer in the fold (who made his shitty frankenstein kit sound great). Even though Fight Amp have a new album coming out and a better, more recent one, they heavily favored their first album, Hungry for Nothing. I like that album a lot, but I've heard them play those songs many times; it would have been nice to hear some stuff from the underrated Manners and Praise. Still, it's a shame more people didn't show up; Fight Amp's sound and delivery were exceptional. Be sure to catch 'em next time!
-Ben
*I greatly regret posting a myspace link, but this seems to be their only web presence.
Listen/Download the show:
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Live show #9: Maryland Deathfest X; Sunday
Sunday; the day of DOOOOM! I first caught my pals in Cough's set. Hands down, they had the best sound of the festival, which was mostly because they brought their own gear. In fact, they even had better tone than their masters in Electric Wizard would have later.
Next I saw some of Rwake's set and most of Morgoth's. The latter would have been a lot better on the inside; seeing their eerie death metal outside in the bright sun kind of diminished any atmosphere they might have. Still though, it was fun to see the old Death-imitators.
I really wanted to see all of Japan's Church of Misery, but watching them meant having the blistering afternoon sun in my face, so eventually pasty me decided to head inside for New Zealand's Ulcerate. I'm not too into that technical death metal stuff, but I enjoyed their approach. While the drums and vocals are clearly in the tech death vein, the guitars use Neurosis-like riffs and atmosphere to conjure something more.
Next inside were the mighty YOB. They were crushing as expected. It was my first time seeing them with their original drummer, who made a difference by playing more slowly and forcefully. Forty-five minutes isn't much time for a YOB set though; they only played three songs. They closed with the 20+ minute "Mental Tyrant" from The Unreal Never Lived, which was a rare treat to see. If not for the sheer spectacle of seeing Electric Wizard live, YOB's set would rate as my favorite of the day.
Wino and Saint Vitus were the next band I caught outside. While their set favored their classic Born Too Late, something about this band doesn't lend itself to an outdoor festival environment. I saw them in a more intimate small club and they were much more convincing. Perhaps it was also that everyone (myself included) was most stoked for the immediately proceeding Electric Wizard. Unfortunately, my recorder shut off after one song of Electric Wizard, so that's all you get. I'm sure there are other recordings floating around, though.
I don't care that I didn't record them though; it was insane to actually see this band. Electric Wizard never stray far from their home of England. I have to point out their live guitar tone was not quite up to their recorded standards, but that was clearly due to them using rented, tinny Marshalls. As mentioned before, Richmond's Cough had better Electric Wizard tone than Electric Wizard. But I digress; EW's set was phenomenal. They played mostly Black Masses and Witchcult Today material, but threw in a song from Come My Fanatics and of course they ended with the legendary "Funeralopolis."
The last band I saw was German "dark metal" act Bethlehem. I'm honestly not too familiar with this band even though I have their first two albums. However, they put on a good performance, with an emphasis on atmosphere. Their vocals were actually pretty close to being scary. I recognized their talent, but at this point I was pretty numb from experiencing all the weekend's amazing bands. I hate festivals, but Maryland Deathfest is about as good as it gets in the U.S. for that kind of thing. Another year, another Deathfest.
-Ben
Listen/download the show:
Next I saw some of Rwake's set and most of Morgoth's. The latter would have been a lot better on the inside; seeing their eerie death metal outside in the bright sun kind of diminished any atmosphere they might have. Still though, it was fun to see the old Death-imitators.
I really wanted to see all of Japan's Church of Misery, but watching them meant having the blistering afternoon sun in my face, so eventually pasty me decided to head inside for New Zealand's Ulcerate. I'm not too into that technical death metal stuff, but I enjoyed their approach. While the drums and vocals are clearly in the tech death vein, the guitars use Neurosis-like riffs and atmosphere to conjure something more.
Next inside were the mighty YOB. They were crushing as expected. It was my first time seeing them with their original drummer, who made a difference by playing more slowly and forcefully. Forty-five minutes isn't much time for a YOB set though; they only played three songs. They closed with the 20+ minute "Mental Tyrant" from The Unreal Never Lived, which was a rare treat to see. If not for the sheer spectacle of seeing Electric Wizard live, YOB's set would rate as my favorite of the day.
Wino and Saint Vitus were the next band I caught outside. While their set favored their classic Born Too Late, something about this band doesn't lend itself to an outdoor festival environment. I saw them in a more intimate small club and they were much more convincing. Perhaps it was also that everyone (myself included) was most stoked for the immediately proceeding Electric Wizard. Unfortunately, my recorder shut off after one song of Electric Wizard, so that's all you get. I'm sure there are other recordings floating around, though.
I don't care that I didn't record them though; it was insane to actually see this band. Electric Wizard never stray far from their home of England. I have to point out their live guitar tone was not quite up to their recorded standards, but that was clearly due to them using rented, tinny Marshalls. As mentioned before, Richmond's Cough had better Electric Wizard tone than Electric Wizard. But I digress; EW's set was phenomenal. They played mostly Black Masses and Witchcult Today material, but threw in a song from Come My Fanatics and of course they ended with the legendary "Funeralopolis."
The last band I saw was German "dark metal" act Bethlehem. I'm honestly not too familiar with this band even though I have their first two albums. However, they put on a good performance, with an emphasis on atmosphere. Their vocals were actually pretty close to being scary. I recognized their talent, but at this point I was pretty numb from experiencing all the weekend's amazing bands. I hate festivals, but Maryland Deathfest is about as good as it gets in the U.S. for that kind of thing. Another year, another Deathfest.
-Ben
Listen/download the show:
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Live show #8: Maryland Deathfest X; Saturday
Round two! Fight! My second day of this year's Deathfest started out with a rare performance by Wisconsin thrashers Morbid Saint. They played a solid set, showcasing the classic Spectrum of Death album. It's weird, though; seeing lots of these classic/ostensibly mindblowing bands all in one festival kind of diminishes the greatness of each individual bands' performances. That's just a downside of the festival environment, though.
Speaking of being underwhelmed, there wasn't much to tickle my fancy before Brujeria, so I checked out Anvil. Honestly, I was only familiar with them through their documentary, which is basically them whining about not attaining success over their 30-year run. There's a reason for that: the music just isn't that good. Sloppy playing, tired metal clichés, and cheesy old-metal-guy stage banter do not help.
Most unfortunately, death metal asesinos Brujeria and sludge legends Noothgrush played at the same time. I decided to watch a bit of Brujeria then head inside for Noothgrush. Both bands killed it, but I'm a bit more of a Noothgrush fan honestly, even with Jeff Walker and Shane Embury playing in Brujeria. Morbid Angel were supposed to play immediately following Noothgrush, but there were some technical difficulties (sound man yelling at guitar techs) happening on Morbid Angel's stage which delayed them for a bit. All was good when they launched into their classic "Immortal Rites," though. Their set consisted mostly of songs from Altars of Madness and Covenant, a good move by the band. However, they did play two songs from their dreaded new album, Illud... whatever. This was contrary to the rumor going around that they were contractually forbidden to play any song from that release. When they changed guitars for the last two songs, lead guitarist Trey Azagthoth inexplicitly walked off the stage, without the other members even acknowledging it (my recorder also stopped recording at this point). Weird, but maybe he needed to get back to Quake III or something...
The last band I caught was Winter, after witnessing some police bullshit involving fireworks. Another legendary band, another great set. I feel like a bit of a broken record by praising most of the bands I see/record, but this blog is more about documentation than critique. Winter's bleak Celtic-Frost-at-33rpm set was a fitting closer for the evening; everyone worn out from the long day of metal. One more day!
-Ben
Stream/Download the show:
Speaking of being underwhelmed, there wasn't much to tickle my fancy before Brujeria, so I checked out Anvil. Honestly, I was only familiar with them through their documentary, which is basically them whining about not attaining success over their 30-year run. There's a reason for that: the music just isn't that good. Sloppy playing, tired metal clichés, and cheesy old-metal-guy stage banter do not help.
Most unfortunately, death metal asesinos Brujeria and sludge legends Noothgrush played at the same time. I decided to watch a bit of Brujeria then head inside for Noothgrush. Both bands killed it, but I'm a bit more of a Noothgrush fan honestly, even with Jeff Walker and Shane Embury playing in Brujeria. Morbid Angel were supposed to play immediately following Noothgrush, but there were some technical difficulties (sound man yelling at guitar techs) happening on Morbid Angel's stage which delayed them for a bit. All was good when they launched into their classic "Immortal Rites," though. Their set consisted mostly of songs from Altars of Madness and Covenant, a good move by the band. However, they did play two songs from their dreaded new album, Illud... whatever. This was contrary to the rumor going around that they were contractually forbidden to play any song from that release. When they changed guitars for the last two songs, lead guitarist Trey Azagthoth inexplicitly walked off the stage, without the other members even acknowledging it (my recorder also stopped recording at this point). Weird, but maybe he needed to get back to Quake III or something...
The last band I caught was Winter, after witnessing some police bullshit involving fireworks. Another legendary band, another great set. I feel like a bit of a broken record by praising most of the bands I see/record, but this blog is more about documentation than critique. Winter's bleak Celtic-Frost-at-33rpm set was a fitting closer for the evening; everyone worn out from the long day of metal. One more day!
-Ben
Stream/Download the show:
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