The Blog of Doom - Concert Reviews

Ohio Doomed & Stoned Fest - July 21-22; Buzzbin; Canton, OH

7/20/2018

This weekend, 20 of Ohio's heaviest bands descend on Canton to melt faces and crush skulls at the first Ohio Doomed & Stoned Fest, with guest appearances out of TN, WV and PA. Kicking off Saturday, July 21 at Buzzbin Art & Music Shop in beautiful downtown Canton, the festival spans two nights across two stages. Organized by Dan Simone of Cleveland doomsters Black Spirit Crown, this is the premiere Metal Fest in Ohio this Summer and Doomed & Stoned's first event in the state. The festival is presented by Akron pedal company Earthquaker Devices, who will also be selling their wares at the event. Tickets are $15/day and can be purchased at the door or in advance at Ticketfly. Set times and Bandcamp links below. Doom.

SATURDAY, JULY 21 (Doors 4:00)

INSIDE STAGE

5:00 Monastery (Doom Metal - Cleveland)
6:00 Cult of Sorrow (Doom/Heavy Metal - Cincinnati)
7:00 Black Spirit Crown (Stoner/Doom Metal - Cleveland)
8:00 Night Goat (Noise Rock - Canton)
9:00 Maharaja (Stoner/Sludge Metal - Dayton)
10:00 Pale Grey Lore (Psychedelic Doom - Columbus)
11:00 Horseburner (Stoner Metal - Parkersburg, WV)
11:45 Howling Giant (Stoner/Doom Metal - Nashville, TN)

OUTSIDE STAGE

5:30 DoomChrist (Noise/Doom - ???)
6:30 DeathCrawl (Sludge/Doom Metal - Cleveland)
7:30 Matter of Planets (Post-Metal - Columbus)
8:30 Enhailer (Doom/Stoner/Sludge Metal - Akron)
9:30 Bridesmaid (Sludge/Doom Metal - Columbus)
10:30 Weed Demon (Sludge/Stoner/Doom - Columbus)

SUNDAY, JULY 22 (Doors 5:00)

INSIDE STAGE

6:00 Reflex Machine (Noise/Sludge - Columbus)
7:00 Sweaty Mammoth (Sludge Metal - Cleveland)
8:00 BlackWater (Doom Metal - Cleveland)
9:00 Contra (Stoner Metal - Cleveland)
10:00 Close the Hatch (Doom/Post-Metal - Dayton)
10:45 Silent Monolith (Stoner/Doom Metal - Nashville, TN)

OUTSIDE STAGE

6:30 Urns (Doom/Sludge Metal - Pittsburgh, PA)
7:30 Supercorrupter (Stoner Rock - Cuyahoga Falls)
8:30 goosed (Heavy Metal - Kent)
9:30 Pillars (Sludge/Doom/Crust Punk - Cleveland)

Skeletonwitch; 09/06/14, Agora Theater, Cleveland, OH

9/8/2014

There aren't a lot of bands that I'll drive 4 hours to see. Part of that has to do with the strong metal scene in Cincinnati; I can see killer bands every weekend without driving far. Part of that also has to do with the proximity of so many cities in the region that aren't saddled with the bogus "C Market" designation that Cincinnati is cursed with. That being said, when the best damn metal band on the planet is playing in Cleveland on a Saturday night, I'm there without question.

Saturday night's show started off strong with New York black metallers Black Anvil thrashing through a powerful 30+ minute set. I was unfamiliar with Black Anvil prior to the show, but I was impressed with their musicality and the creepy ambience they created with their guitar harmonies and copious fog. Somehow I missed the boat on their May release Hail Death, but I plan to rectify that as soon as I get some time.

Oakland's Ghoul was up next with their weirdo brand of Gwar-lite stage antics and thrash/punk. The members, who officially hail from "Creepsylvania", all donned burlap sacks over their heads. I'm sure those smell pleasant at the end of the tour. Giants, chainsaw-wielding robots, some hairy beast thing and a corrupt futuristic cop took turns on stage, harassing the band and spewing blood and other fluids into the crowd. I'm not a big fan of gimmicks, but it was certainly entertaining and the music was actually quite good.

This night belonged to Skeletonwitch, though. A homecoming show of sorts for the Ohio-based thrashers, Saturday's headlining show also provided an opportunity for the 'Witch to burn through material from every album in the catalog, with heavy emphasis on Beyond the Permafrost and Serpents Unleashed. That's pretty awesome, because those are their two best albums, in my opinion. When all of your songs are in the 3 minute range, you can certainly bust out a ton of material in a headlining slot. Singer Chance Garnette absolutely owned the stage with his classic metal poses and killer pipes. The minimal banter between songs wasn't forced or corny, which is always a plus. Nate Garnette and Scott Hedrick melted faces all night long with their shredding and soloing and bassist Evan Linger added the necessary punch with his bottom end solos. "Crushed Beyond Dust" and "Burned From Bone" were particularly pleasing to this blogger, but when you have an impressive catalog like Skeletonwitch, you basically can't fuck up your setlist.

I don't think it's hyperbole to suggest that Skeletonwitch is indeed the best damn metal band on the planet. They've already proven that with 4 top-notch releases and I was stoked to find that their live performance is every bit as awe-inspiring as the records. Some bands can't do their albums justice onstage, but these hardened road warriors absolutely nail it. They're all rock stars in every sense of the word and I'm already looking forward to seeing them again next month with Amon Amarth, albeit as an opener. All hail the 'Witch!

Sea of Bones & Grey Host; July 17, Three Kings Bar

7/20/2014

How loud is too loud? That was the question on my mind last Thursday as I watched Connecticut doom trio Sea of Bones roll in cabinet after cabinet, a backline that literally took up the entire stage at Three Kings Bar in Covington. Keep in mind that Three Kings is like 12' x 50', max, in my estimation. I definitely picked the wrong night to forget my earplugs (for the 457th consecutive show).

Sandworm, a Cincinnati trio, opened the show with a short 20 minute set consisting of just two songs. These guys had a pretty unique lineup, with drums and bass accompanied by synths that basically just made swirling wind noises. There were sparse screeched vocals, but it basically amounted to a 20 minute bass solo, which is fine with me. If you have the chops to pull it off, bass can be a pretty cool lead instrument, and this dude was definitely up to the task. I'm not sure if they're just getting started and haven't fleshed out the setlist or if they were restricted by a set time, but I'm looking forward to checking them out again and hearing some more.

Cincinnati's reigning doom lords Grey Host were up next, opening their set with a new track that started off mellow and built up to the trademark heaviness that the 5-piece is known for. Already known for long, epic compositions, Grey Host is looking to reach the rare territory of 20+ minute tracks with their latest gem. In total, the Host doomed out for 45 minutes and every bit was as fantastic as we've come to expect. I don't want to slurp these guys too much, but some bands just resonate with certain people and I really dig the Grey Host sound. Doom perfection.

Okay, let's get back to that monster backline. I was heretofore unfamiliar with Mammoth guitar cabs, but it turns out that one of the dudes from Sea of Bones builds the cabinets. I guess if you're building your own rig, you can afford to bring as many damn cabs as you want. Pretty sharp looking wood grain cabinets, too. I was obsessed, to say the least. After the backline was in place and I took a shitload of pictures, my attention shifted to the guitarist's pedal board, which is about the size of your average kitchen table. These guys don't fuck around with gear. But how did it sound?

From the opening note, you didn't merely hear the sound, you felt it. Every inch of my body was vibrating. It was absolutely unbelievable. I'm not a good enough writer to adequately describe the feeling. You really had to be there to understand. Being unfamiliar with Sea of Bones catalog, I didn't really know what to expect, but I was delighted with their brand of doom/drone that combined with the massive sound to create the heaviest fucking show I've seen all year. Unfortunately, they only played for 30 minutes, including a quick break to replace a bass drum head (which was also comically oversized, by the way). I'm already looking forward to seeing these guys around next time and if you're anywhere near an upcoming show on this tour, you owe it to yourself to experience the wall of doom.

So to answer the question, I think "too loud" is a sliding scale and when you can back up the sound with killer riff after killer riff, no harm no foul. Now excuse me, while I go buy a half dozen 8x10 bass cabs.

Agalloch, Obsidian Tongue & Beneath Oblivion; June 22...

6/23/2014

Black metal bands playing in an old, converted church…what could go wrong? Though marred by a 30 minute fire alarm delay and building evacuation, last night’s Agalloch/Obsidian Tongue/Beneath Oblivion show at The Southgate Revival was a rousing success. And really fucking loud.

Local openers Beneath Oblivion kicked things off with a strong 30 minute set that contained all of 3 songs. I’ve covered these guys in the past, so I don’t want to get into a lot of detail, but it was nice to finally hear them in a big room where their sound could just absolutely take over and devastate everything in its path. By the time the band kicked on the siren that signaled the closing of their set, heads were bobbing all around and ear drums were throbbing. Doom at it's finest and heaviest.

Unfortunately, the alarms included in the Obsidian Tongue were not part of the show. Due to excessive smoke from the fog machines, the SGH alarms started screeching midway through Obsidian Tongue’s first song. The two-man band cut the song short after a couple of minutes of the siren blaring and strobes flashing all around. Once the alarms were silenced, the house lights came on and Obsidian Tongue made two short, aborted attempts to get the show going before the fire department showed up and evacuated the building. Once the all-clear was issued and we returned inside, Obsidian Tongue blazed through another half hour or so of solid atmospheric black metal. It’s really a shame that the set was interrupted because I really enjoyed what I heard. The band didn’t seem fazed by the delay, but I don’t think they really had time to conquer the audience properly. With only two albums under their belts, Obsidian Tongue is a relative newcomer so I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for future shows in the area.

Due to the apparently sensitive smoke detectors at SGH, Portland blackened folk metallers Agalloch had to abandon their usual stage setup, which usually features a bunch of candles and incense and wood smoke. That was kind of a bummer, but once they got going it was easy to forget the inconvenience and focus on the music. As cheesy as this sounds, you don’t really watch an Agalloch show; you experience the show. The term atmosphere kind of gets overused (I even used it the previous paragraph), but I can’t think of a better description for what Agalloch brings to the table. I’m not familiar enough with the band’s catalogue to know if they were playing new stuff, old stuff, fan favorites, or deep cuts, but whatever it was, I was definitely digging it. I’m always impressed with ridiculously fast tremolo picking, and it’s even more impressive if it involves some melody. I believe the band brought their own sound guy on tour and it showed. Every instrument and vocal was mixed perfectly. It’s kind of cool to hear bass prominently in a black metal-ish mix. The lead guitar player’s solos were stunning, in an emotional way, not the typical shredfest. The drumming was fast and heavy as shit and the vocals, while screamed in typical black metal fashion, had enough variety to keep me interested. Without gushing too much, let’s just say I was really impressed with Agalloch, overall. The crowd was great, too. I hope promoters take note of the huge turnout and realize that there is a market for this type of stuff in Cincinnati.

Black Pussy & Mothership; June 19, The Southgate House Revival...

6/20/2014

I don’t generally leave the cozy confines of Blog of Doom Headquarters on a weeknight, but when two of the baddest stoner rock bands in the country are co-headlining a show nearby, I tend to bend the rules. That was the case last night when Black Pussy (Portland) and Mothership (Dallas) invaded The Southgate House Revival for an evening of retro-tastic metal that still has my ears ringing 12 hours later.

With no local openers on the bill, Black Pussy took the stage around 9:00 and proceeded to blaze through an hour long set of fuzzed-out 70’s metal that was every bit as catchy as it was heavy. The absurd amount of Sunn amps along the backline was the sexiest thing I’ve seen on stage in a long time and provided ample wattage to deliver the bands riffage. The drummer just beat the shit out of his kit the whole show, while the bassist kept to the shadows and cranked out some super melodic bass lines. The lead guitarist can shred for days and his leads evoke images of Pink Floyd. The keyboards add a cool, spacey effect on top of everything and the frontman is just a rock star, plain and simple. Also, I usually don’t take note of a band’s sartorial prowess, but the Black Pussy guys pull off a retro look that’s so cohesive and complete and that you would swear that you woke up in 1974. The guitar player from Mothership joined the boys onstage for a 10+ minute space jam entitled “Galaxies” that closed out the set and was arguably the highlight of the whole evening. It’s quite obvious that Black Pussy has grown in leaps and bounds since I saw them last time, and I thought they were killer then.

On a side note, I saw these guys open for Vista Chino all the way back in September and they were already shifting away from the mellow stoner rock featured on their debut release, On Blonde. The band has added an assload of heavy to their sound in the time since the debut was recorded. It’s kind of weird to see a band stray away from the recorded material on stage, but I’m digging the newer stuff way more than the debut, so I’m definitely looking forward to getting my hands on a new release as soon as possible. Stay tuned.

Dallas power trio Mothership strips the sound down a little and goes for more of a classic metal vibe with some serious blues influence, which is to be expected from a band of Texas gypsies. Co-fronted by a pair of brothers, Mothership takes the vibe from 60’s and 70’s rock and adds a touch of early 80’s metal to create a fairly unique sound that still manages to melt faces. The guys played a mix of stuff of their self-titled debut and songs from their upcoming release (Fall 2014, I believe) and everything sounded amazing. The bass player handles the bulk of the vocals, and his voice is not what you’d expect from a big dude with a killer beard. He’s not exactly in the high register, but he has a smooth, mellow voice that blends in perfectly with the sound. Killer bass fills, too. His brother has more of a rough-edged voice, but when he took the mic, it just sounded natural. His lead work was astounding and the interplay between the two brothers was almost telepathic; the kind of cosmic mojo that only brothers can manufacture. The man behind the kit laid down a solid foundation for the heavy maelstrom and gets credit for the band’s super tight stops and starts. I think those guys just got back from Europe, which shows in the absolute lack of rust in their performance. It appears that I’ve been missing out on these guys for too long. Killer band with killer tunes.

There are still plenty of dates left on this tour and I encourage every single one of you in the Midwest and West Coast to check out these two fine bands. You’re just not going to get more bang for your buck in one evening and all the dudes are super cool, too, so that’s a bonus.

21-Jun The Outland Springfield, MO
25-Jun Duffy's Tavern Lincoln, NE
26-Jun Moon Room at Summit Music Hall Denver, CO
28-Jun Bar Deluxe Salt Lake City, UT
29-Jun Neurolux Boise, ID
1-Jul Soda Bar San Diego, CA
2-Jul Backstage Bar & Billiards Las Vegas, NV
3-Jul The Satellite Los Angeles, CA
9-Jul Harlow's Sacramento, CA
10-Jul Volcanic Theatre Pub Bend, OR
11-Jul Kenton Club Portland, OR
12-Jul Highline Seattle, WA
18-Jul Yucca Tap Room Tempe, AZ
19-Jul Leftwoods Amarillo, TX
20-Jul Backstage Lubbock, TX

Grey Host & Yautja; 06-07-14, Backstage Cafe

6/9/2014

I headed out Saturday evening to catch local doom lords Grey Host at Backstage Café and I was treated to killer performance from Yautja, a grind/sludge band out Nashville who were stopping by on tour in support of the debut album, Songs of Descent. Unfortunately, I missed show openers Smoke Signals, who I’ve been meaning to check out ever since I saw some of the members’ other band, Ethicist, play at Iron Fest last year.

I got there just as Yautja was setting up. I hadn’t heard anything from those guys prior to the show, but I was familiar with the band name from researching something else. They turned out to be a pleasant surprise, loud as fuck and heavy as can be. All three members took turns singing, even though they all had basically the same vocal style. That was weird. The songs were brutal, though. They combine the basic sludge sound with some interesting stop/start riffs, some thrashy riffs and some cool drum & bass parts. I heard enough good stuff to grab a copy of the band’s album on my way out, so I’ll be reviewing that at some point.

Grey Host closed out the night. Due to schedule conflicts, this was the first time I was able to catch the Host in quite some time and I think they’ve made tremendous strides. I thought they were pretty damn good before, but I don’t remember the keyboard being so instrumental to their sound. I’m not usually a big keyboard guy, but I thought it sounded fantastic throughout Grey Host’s set. I’m assuming that the guys were playing mostly new stuff, but I can’t confirm that because it’s been a while since I’ve listened to their album. Regardless, everything sounded great and you could even hear the vocals, which is hit and miss at Backstage. Grey Host’s combination of heavy doom and melodic interludes is really only surpassed in the American doom scene by Pallbearer. Until I hear someone better, I’m sticking with that assessment. Hopefully I won’t go another 6 months without seeing those guys and I hope they have some new material coming out soon.

Queensryche; 05/14/14, Bogart's, Cincinnati, OH

5/15/2014

"I remember now..."

I remember now why Queensryche is one of my favorite bands and why I consider Operation: Mindcrime to be one of the best metal albums of all time. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Mindcrime, Geoff Tate's version of Queensryche treated a near capacity crowd at Bogart's to a front-to-back live rendition of the now-classic progressive metal masterpiece last night.

Regardless of where you stand on Tate and his role in the breakup of the classic Queensryche lineup, you have to admit that he's a hall of fame frontman. He doesn't have the range that he once possessed, but he's still able to deliver the goods and it was awesome watching him ham it up on stage and interact with the crowd throughout the set. His voice has shifted down a pitch or two, but it still fits seamlessly with the music. Speaking of which, the backing band that Tate is touring with handled the Mindcrime tunes admirably. Unless you're a DeGarmo fanatic or a guitar aficionado, you probably wouldn't have been able to tell that these were a bunch of fill-ins. Also, it was fun watching Rudy Sarzo do Rudy Sarzo things. I felt that the classic Queensryche tone was missing just a bit, but let's face it, we're there to see Tate.

After a miserable set from openers Hurricane, who couldn't have shown less enthusiasm to be there, the curtain was drawn as the anticipation built. I didn't do any research prior to the show so I had no idea that the 'Ryche would be playing Mindcrime in its entirety until the piped-in intercom paged Dr. Blair and Dr. J. Hamilton. What followed was a glorious hour of classic metal with very little interruption, save for a boner drum solo and a misguided rant from Tate on terrorism or some such nonsense. As I mentioned, Tate sounded fantastic and the band was on point. They even had a female backup singer who stepped forward to play the role of Sister Mary when necessary. All of the quirky interludes were included and the crowd didn't stop singing along and pumping fists until the last strains of "Eyes of a Stranger" were drowned out by the sinister, robotic "Mindcrime" voice that closes out the album. Well worth the price of admission.

The 'Ryche came back out and played five more songs, all of the subsequent album Empire. "Silent Lucidity" is probably a requirement at this point, and it went over well enough. "Best I Can" could've been skipped, but the trio of "Another Rainy Night", "Jet City Woman" and "Empire" was a pretty damn strong closer. I guess I'll have to check out the other version of Queensryche to hear some of the older tunes, but I was glad Tate's band stuck to those two albums and didn't try to force any new material on the audience. I definitely recommend that you check out what's left of this tour if you get a chance. Tate will no longer be allowed to use the Queensryche moniker after August, so this is kind of the end of an era. If you're an old 'Ryche fan like me, you won't be disappointed.

Editor's Note: Thanks for indulging my two day Queensryche bender. Back to the heavy stuff later today. -JO

Paganfest America, Columbus, OH 05/02/14

5/4/2014

The mead was flowing and the violins were humming Friday night at the famous Alrosa Villa in Columbus, OH as Paganfest America rolled into town, presumably on a well-oared Viking ship. I made the quick trip up I-71 from Blog of Doom headquarters to take in what turned out to be my favorite concert in a long time. Pagan metal, folk metal, Viking metal...call it whatever you like. There's nothing quite like it and it's pretty fucking fun.

A local band called Kingsblood got the festivities started at 6:00. They didn't have any folk instruments, so they didn't fit in perfectly, but they had Viking imagery, so we'll give them a pass. Kingsblood played a half hour of melodic death metal and it all sounded pretty good. Their stage presence was a little lacking, though. They didn't really know what to do between songs and it was a little awkward. They had a handful of killer riffs, though, and the Phil Anselmo lookalike singer had a pretty decent voice, as far as screamers go. They're worth keeping an eye on.

Winterhymn was up next. Despite being from the same city, I've never actually had the opportunity to catch a Winterhymn show, so I was pretty excited to finally see them on stage. Talk about stage presence; these kids have it in spades, especially the frontman/guitarist. The songs stood on their own, but the band's performance took the show to another level. Winterhymn slayed the crowd for 30 minutes with heavy, thrashy folk metal, complete with electric violin and some other keyboard-coaxed folk instruments. The crowd was singing along with their arms in the air for the majority of the set, which is pretty rare for early set bands. The between song banter was excellent and entertaining, which is also rare. I was really impressed with these kids and I think they're on their way to international acclaim. The lone complaint was the volume level of the violin really drowned out the guitars. Small complaint, but worth noting.

Next up was Varg, a blackened melodeath band out of Germany. Their performance was absolutely ferocious. The guitar parts were incredibly melodic while still staying heavy. This singer was an imposing force and he commanded attention throughout the set. There was no bass player on stage, but there were a few moments when the guitars dropped out and the bass was audible. I'm not really down with those kind of shenanigans, so I'm deducting a few points there. Also, I kind of wonder about the nearsighted decision to name your band Varg when one of the biggest dickheads in metal history goes by the same name. I imagine that's costing the band a few potential listeners here and there, but I'm glad they were on this bill so I had a chance to check them out. I'm a fan and I'll be checking out some albums when I get a chance. Very solid live show.

Heading into the show, I knew pretty much nothing about the next band, Chthonic. They're a black/melodeath band from Taiwan and they were pretty interesting, if not memorable. The singer plays some wild Taiwanese stringed instrument that looks like a ball with a stick and sounds like a violin. The bass player is quite attractive, but she's also a killer bassist. Their set was really powerful sounding, but the only moment that sticks out is when the singer said something along the lines of, "We're all from different countries, but tonight we all belong to the Republic of Metal". Cheesy stuff, but cool as shit. The crowd, including myself, ate that up.

Finland's Turisas took the stage next, and from the number of folks in the crowd with red/black face paint, I'd say they were the top attraction for a good chunk of the crowd. (Varg also does the red/black scheme, but it's a little different.) I was super impressed with these dudes. They're like a better version of Manowar, singing tales of battle and glory. The violin was a major part of their sound, but it worked perfectly. I was mesmerized for their whole set and I was completely sober. They don't take themselves too seriously, which is a breath of fresh air in the metal community, where everyone usually tries to act tough for some reason. Turisas just kicked ass, no scowls necessary. They were the first band of the night to feature exclusive clean singing and the whole set was catchy as hell. Add another band to the download list.

After the longest break of the night, the evening's headliners, Korpiklaani, finally took the stage. This is the band I was most familiar with heading into the evening and I'm happy to report that the live show just blows the albums out of the water. They look like a band of roving gypsies or something, not like a metal band at all. In addition to the required violin, Korpiklaani also features an accordion, which proves the age old adage that accordions are, indeed, metal as fuck. The songs were all extremely catchy and the folk elements were amazing. There were actually people doing jigs in the crowd outside of the mosh pit. I've never experienced anything like it. Korpiklaani played for well over an hour and the crowd was digging it the whole time. Highly recommended.

I never knew that folk metal was big enough in this country to support an event like Paganfest, so the whole evening was a huge success for metal. Every band on the tour is amazing in their own way and the camaraderie between bands and fans was palpable. Usually after 6+ hours at a show, I'm ready to roll, but I could've handled another 6 hours of killer folk metal on Friday night. Incredible show all around; insanely fun. I'll absolutely check out future editions of this tour and I implore all of you to check out the 2014 version when it hits your closest city. Bring a drinking horn for the mead.

Weekend Blowout: Mangrenade & Soul Rot

4/28/2014

Due to my non-Blog of Doom schedule, I haven't been able to check out as many local shows lately as I would like to. I rectified that issue big time this past weekend with a double-dip of Cincinnati's finest in heavy music.

Friday night I had the pleasure of attending Mangrenade's first show in Cincinnati in over 4 months. I headed down to Mainstay Rock Bar after my own band practice and arrived just in time to see the Reds lose on a horseshit replay call. More importantly, I arrived in time to see the complete set from show openers Bearer of Bad News, out of Dayton, OH. I don't really know how to accurately describe Bearer of Bad News. In my show notes, I simply wrote down, "heavy as fuck, three chord punk metal". They struck me as a marriage between Helmet and Matt Pike. That's a good start, but I think you really need to see these guys live in order to get the full effect. Very solid set; extremely entertaining. I'll make it a point to see Bearer of Bad News again and I recommend that you all do the same.

One of Cincinnati's top unsigned bands, Mangrenade, was up next. Despite having a fill-in drummer for the evening (Aaron Boyer from Valley of the Sun), Mangrenade was as tight as I can ever recall seeing them. Playing mostly tunes from their upcoming double-EP Severed, Mangrenade blasted their way through a furious set filled with their signature brand of catchy, dual-vocal rock and roll. If the new recordings are anywhere close to the live performance, I think we're all in for a treat when Severed is released. These dudes know how to write a hook and the new stuff sounds incredible. It's good to have Mangrenade back in the live rotation.

Saturday night, I made my way to Covington to check out a local extreme metal show at the fabulous Backstage Café, which is quickly becoming my favorite local music venue. I missed the first three bands because I was working overtime at The Blog of Doom headquarters (and watching the Reds lose again). The first band I was able to catch was Machinations of Fate. I've heard a lot about these guys, but I never had a chance to see them live before this weekend. I was really impressed. Machinations of Fate delivered an absolutely monstrous set, with killer thrash riffs and excellent black/death vocals, courtesy of the drummer and his headset mic. The star of the show, though, was the bass player who took center stage to give the crowd the full view of his destruction of his 6-string fretless bass. I was in awe the entire set, and I don't think that's just because I play bass. This dude was absolutely incredible and his bass lines were outstanding. I don't think a single square inch of his fretboard went untouched throughout the course of the set. That dude was worth the price of admission by himself, but the whole band was incredibly tight for such a fast unit. Thumbs up, guys.

The evening's headliners were local death metallers Soul Rot, who seem to be on every single extreme metal bill in town. They're definitely one of the hardest working bands in town. Soul Rot had one of the thickest live sounds I can recall in a long time. I was immediately headbanging along to their brand of brutal death metal and the vocals sounded great. I'm always impressed when I can make out the lyrics to a death metal band. They grabbed a dude out of the crowd to sing on a Cannibal Corpse cover and he knocked it out of the park. I assume he was from one of the earlier bands, but if not, someone needs to pick that dude up as a singer. I'm looking forward to checking out Soul Rot again and based on their track record, I shouldn't have to wait long. All in all, it was a very enjoyable show at Backstage. The sound guy there has figured out how to make extreme metal bands sound fantastic in a small venue. Usually you get a muddy sound when everything is so fast, but Saturday night I could hear every instrument and vocal line like I was listening through headphones. Well done, Backstage sound guy. Impressive turnout, too. It's always fun to see a shitload of local metalheads out supporting local music on a Saturday evening. Something cool is going on at Backstage Café. Don't miss out.

Lo-Pan & Whores, 03/23/14

3/24/2014

I headed up to Columbus on Saturday for my maiden voyage to the famous Ruby Tuesday to see one of my favorite bands, Lo-Pan, making a hometown stop on their current tour with Whores and Fuck You Pay Me. Lo-Pan only ended up playing like 5 or 6 songs for whatever reason, but they played some stuff off of their upcoming new album (recording starts next week!), which sounds promising and they sounded fantastic, as usual, on all of the old stuff.

I first discovered Lo-Pan when they opened for Weedeater at the Southgate House Revival this past year and I saw them again, opening up for Vista Chino, last fall. I think they just get better every time I see them. Normally I would roll my eyes at the gimmick of putting the drummer out in front with the singer standing behind him, but I like the setup for Lo-Pan. The drummer just beats the shit out of his kit the whole time and it's all extremely entertaining for some reason. He hits so hard that I can't believe he doesn't go through like 50 sticks every night. The singer doesn't move around anyway, so it's good that he's hidden in the background while he belts out his soulful vocals that go so well with the music. Seriously, I wouldn't like those vocals in 99% of bands, but I wouldn't have it any other way for Lo-Pan. Perfect match. The bass player is a monster, inducing incredible growls out of his Rickenbacker bass and dominating the fretboard like a bass boss. He's one of those guys that makes me want to go straight home and practice until my fingers bleed. I hate guys like that. Why do you have to be so much better than the rest of us, man? Then you have the old Jerry Garcia dude over on the other side of the stage, just lost in his own world of fuzzy riffs. I have no idea how Lo-Pan came together, but I like to think that guy just showed up one day with a Les Paul and some Ampeg cabinets and they let him stick around because he's such a badass.

I like all of Lo-Pan's studio work, but there's just nothing like seeing them live. Check them out for sure, if you ever get a chance (I heard a rumor that they'll be in the Cincinnati area this fall). They're one of the best stoner metal bands in the country. I'm glad they're fairly local so I can check them out as often as I have. Tight, heavy and catchy. Can't ask for much more than that, unless you're not talking about music.

I had never heard of Whores before this show was announced and I didn't do my homework on them before the show. Major mistake on my part. Those dudes had some of the thickest, sickest, heaviest tones I've ever heard come out of an amp. The songs were good, too, so that's always a bonus. I picked up a double EP at the show, so I'll be reviewing these guys shortly. From what I can tell, they sound like a stoner metal version of Helmet, and that's a good thing.

The singer from Fuck You Pay Me inexplicably emptied a full garbage can in front of the stage in an effort to get some attention, and that's about the extent of what I have to say about those guys.

I really liked Ruby Tuesday as a venue. The sound was awesome, the crowd was into the music and they don't charge for Diet Cokes (take notes, Kentucky venues). 80% of the crowd was going with the shaved head, beard and glasses look, so I guess I would have to hang out there if I lived in Columbus. I already have the uniform. Fun night. Thanks to Lo-Pan and Whores for making the drive and the 45 minute parking odyssey worth my while.