I have clawed my way out of whatever this slump is that I’ve been in (sort of), and I’m about ready to start updating regularly again. Because I just saw Danzig, who played me Misfits songs, as well as The Terrordactyls’ last show, and dammit, that stuff ought to be memorialized in writing.
Sorry I’ve been so skittish this summer. It’s been a hard one, to say the least.
In the meantime, listen to Type O Negative, because that’s what I’ve been doing today.
June 28, 1975- August 13, 2006
Reign in Chaos, brother.
Picture from Encyclopedia Metallum.
Behold Barbarity put together this show back in the spring, and Kommandant was supposed to play originally, but when Station 4 closed for the summer, there was no other venue with a stage big enough to reasonably hold seven people. Between that and Burning Bethlehem disbanding, the bill for this one shifted quite a bit before the final lineup was settled. Local black metallers Maledicere landed the headlining spot, which proved to be quite nice as it will be their last show for a while (Luke is moving to New York; best of luck to him).
House of Atreus started off the night with their brand of thrashy death metal. I really enjoyed them earlier in the spring, and they were really good this time as well. Along with original music they played Absurd and Slayer covers, and I found myself particularly impressed with Andy’s guitar solos (and Dan’s black metal shrieks. That was fun). The only downside was the sound; overall it was fine, but the vocals kept dropping out, taking the bass with them one time. That was not the band’s fault at all, of course, and it’s unfortunate that House of Atreus’ set was the one most plagued with sound problems.
[Audio on this is a little boomy. Sorry. You get the idea.]
Next up was Fin from Chicago, who I believe were the special guests of the evening. I had absolutely no idea who they were, but they played blackened melodic death metal, so I dug it. They also marked the beginning of the night’s stage decorations, with army helmets and other war themed props strewn across the stage. I always like watching two man black metal because it always impresses the shit out of me, and Fin was no exception. I was able to talk with their drummer briefly throughout the evening, and he was very nice and gracious, as well as very complimentary of the other bands (nice dudes rule. Seriously). Sacrificial Massacre joined them onstage to do guest vocals on one song as well, which was an unexpected treat.
[There were only two people playing at the show I saw- the guitarist on the right and the drummer.]
Sacrificial Massacre was next, upping the ante in terms of stage performance. They started their set with a sort of ritual, of which I got a picture that is complete crap (so I’m not going to post it. Seriously, you can’t see anything). The stage was bedecked with animal bones and skulls, the band members smeared with corpsepaint with red accents. Probably the coolest part of their set was the way they mixed Aztec themes with blistering black metal. It was neatly done and a very refreshing and innovative take on black metal, and with the exception of Maledicere, this was the set in which I banged my head the hardest.
Atrum Inritus was the fourth band of the evening, and provided a nice contrast right after Sacrificial Massacre. As is their wont, they brought out all the stops in terms of making the stage into a Satanic ritual chamber, complete with a giant crucifix (inverted, of course) that spent some time in the hands of the audience. Despite a small issue with a guitar strap, the set seemed to go flawlessly; whoever was in the sound booth was even paying attention, as I think this was the first set of the night to not have the vocals drop out at some point. I made sure to pick up one of their patches for the battle jacket.
Maledicere was incredible, as I knew they would be. They didn’t play There Are Wolves, but it was amazing to hear Hail the Black Faith on the eve of what is likely the last hurrah for this band for a great while. I was also glad to see Neil play with Maledicere again, as it was his last show with the band (if you haven’t checked out his blog yet over at Into the Void Records, you totally should. Neil is a badass.) The set, whether intentionally or not, had a bit of a celebratory feel to it; you could definitely feel that there was something special in the air, especially on the last couple of songs. And of course, the show is not complete without a few rotting sheep heads. These had snot dripping off them. I didn’t notice any sound issues at this point, and I’m glad. Maledicere is a really awesome band, and they deserve to have their final show before hiatus go really well.
This show was a great night; a long night, but a good one. I really liked the way that the bands complemented each other while all sounding completely different, and it was nice to see such camaraderie between the local bands and the visiting ones. Everyone played killer sets, despite the bad sound for the majority of the show, and it was absolutely lovely for me to get to hang out with so many friends in one place. Even though it will be sad to see Maledicere go for a while, the performance went off without a hitch in my opinion, and provided a great way to end an era.
Doomy review upcoming. And then I get to see False tomorrow, so that will come too. And more. And more. Because I have to go to all the things before school starts and I have to start being selective again. SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK.
blackmetallurgy