Tag Archives: Metal

The Vault: Mayhem Fest 2015 at the PNC Bank Arts Center (7/21/15)

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Editor’s Note: In the wacky world of publishing, some stories don’t see the light of day. Whether they sit on the back burner until they become irrelevant, positions change hands or they just plain get cut, it’s just one of those things. Today, one of those unpublished articles will finally get its due as we traverse the archives of “The Vault.”

Rockstar Energy’s Mayhem Fest, the annual touring metal festival with a more mainstream lineup than others. Due to the festival being a haven for nu-metal and metalcore artists, I usually never bother to go.

However,in 2012 I planned on going to see Motorhead, get a second round with Slayer and Anthrax and in 2013 Amon Amarth and Mastodon; but car repairs and work schedules made it impossible. When King Diamond was announced for 2015 I knew I had to go.

I went down to the PNC Bank Arts Center with my friend Drew as well as my middle-aged metalhead friend Jay for our chance to see the King. Due to the amount of crappy bands on the bill, we decided to get there in time for Jungle Rot, skipping the first three hours of the fest. Due to the PNC Bank Arts Center being 90 minutes away and New Jersey being traffic land, we left with an extra hour in between (just in case we got stuck).

Sister Sin

We got there around 3:20. Drew and I had free tickets while Jay still had to buy his. After waiting for Jay at the box office we then walked over to the Victory Records stage, where Sister Sin was playing. Drew and I watched them while Jay looked at merch. Sister Sin were a hair metal throwback band from Sweden and while Drew and I both agreed that though not our thing, they still performed well.

Jungle Rot

Jay came back just in time for us to catch these death metal legends. Both Jay and I have seen these guys before but its been years for both of us. Drew had yet to ever see them and was very curious. As they always had been for us, the band’s hardcore influenced death metal delivered. Due to having a short set they didn’t get to play a lot of their classics like “Fractured” and “Victim of Violence.” This aside, the set was still good and the pit was pretty violent.

Thy Art is Murder

I had already sat through this terrible deathcore band about a year ago at Summer Slaughter and they were the worst band on the bill (although neither them or Within The Ruins stopped it from being one of the best shows of 2014). During their set we just got some disgusting overpriced dinner and came back to hear their last 2 songs (which sucked).

Whitechapel

Drew is a big fan of the first two albums (2007’s “The Somatic Defilement” and 2008’s “This Is Exile”) by deathcore pioneers Whitechapel. He’s also had five chances to see them and missed them every time. Though the setlist only had two songs from that era, Drew still wanted to see them because he missed them so many times before.

Jay and I on the other hand are not fans of them at all. During this time I noticed Jungle Rot were at their merch booth. I waited in line to meet vocalist Dave Matrise in person, whom I’ve also interviewed. Matrise was a really nice guy. I then watched the rest of Whitechapel’s set. Neither Jay or I were impressed while Drew was only impressed when they played the two older songs.

The Devil Wears Prada

Around 6:30 p.m. I was scheduled to interview Slayer’s Paul Bostaph behind the main stage. This left me with about 20 minutes with The Devil Wears Prada. We all walked to the main stage where they were playing. Drew and I had close seats while Jay sat a little higher up. None of us wanted to see them. They played very boring and very generic metalcore. When I was finally called to go back stage I was very happy to not be watching them anymore while Drew and Jay were stuck.

Hellyeah

After that awesome interview with Bostaph, it was time for the show to shift from generic metalcore to generic groove metal. Drew and I KNEW this was going to be bad. Jay on the other hand was curious simply because Pantera’s Vinnie Paul was in the band and had never heard them before (he ended up hating them).

The band looked straight out of Oniontown (a hick part of Dutchess County, NY) and the vocalist Chad Gray of Mudvayne always annoyingly chanted about metal brotherhood. Four days before this show I saw Superjoint Ritual play live. Seeing these two in within a week reminded me why I respect Phil Anselmo more.

King Diamond

The time finally came for the main reason why I was here. Drew and I were huge King Diamond fans for many years and never thought we would ever see him. Jay had not seen him since he played The Chance ten years ago with Behemoth, Nile and The Black Dahlia Murder (where are these tour packages now?). Jay realized that the seating area was pretty empty and that security was pretty bad.

King opened the set with “The Candle,” getting Jay really hyped. The stage was very theatrical with coffins, grave stones and a woman who would play characters from King’s songs. The set contained classics like “Tea,””Welcome Home,””Eye of the Witch” and “Sleepless Nights.” It got even better midway through the set. Slayer’s Kerry King got on guitar and they played the Mercyful fate songs “Evil” and “Come to the Sabbath.” King then ended the set with THREE songs from his 1987 masterpiece “Abigail.”

Slayer

The final act of the night was Slayer (or as people like to call this lineup, “Slayodus”).

I saw Slayer once five years ago with Megadeth and Anthrax. Slayer had the original lineup and played all of  1990’s “Seasons in the Abyss” and some other random songs. Megadeth played all of their greatest album (which also came out in 1990) “Rust in Peace,” plus some random songs as well. Rather than keep tradition and play all of their 1990 classic “Persistence of Time,” Anthrax met the others halfway and just played seven random songs.

Jay has seen Slayer many times with the last time at this point being Mayhem Fest 2012. For Drew this was his first time. They started the set with mostly newer songs. If you had read my ranking on Slayer albums you know I mostly like the older Slayer albums other then a few songs (which some of those were played). The band then shifted into a set of older songs. I was really glad they played “Hell Awaits,” ”Postmortem,” ”Chemical Warfare” and “Ghosts of War”- which were all songs they didn’t play last time. While it wasn’t the original lineup, it still was a great set and all three of us were glad we went (which is all that matters anyway).

 

Bonesaw Podcast: Episode 37 – Shawn Knight of Child Bite

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Generating pools of video blood, sweat and tears it’s Shawn Knight of Child Bite. Knight sits down to talk music, business and more as he opens our eyes and ears to the wild life of Child Bite.

Bonesaw Podcast: Episode 36 – King Parrot’s Matt “Youngy” Young

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It’s time to grind with King Parrot’s maniac frontman Matt “Youngy” Young. Young chats about Game of Thrones, road life, past jobs and a whole lot more.

 

My Experience at MDF 2016 – Part 3: Sunday

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After two days of straight-up metal and hardcore we woke up to the last day of this year’s Maryland Deathfest.

Jason,Herb,Matt and I headed to Panera Bread for lunch. After everyone made jokes out of the fact that the name sounds like Pantera, we went over to Edison Lot.

Author’s Note: Due to the schedule no longer being up and not remembering  what order they played, the bands for the day are surmised according to memory and not time.

Denouncement Pyre

First on were black/death band Denouncement Pyre. I decided to give them a look since they are an offshoot of Nocturnal Graves. The band was pretty decent in both sound and performance.

Shed The Skin

Next on was death metal band Shed the Skin. As soon as I saw Kyle Severn from Incantation and his mustache playing the drums I knew this was going to be good. Thankfully I was right.

Nocturnal Graves

Blackened thrash masters Nocturnal Graves were one of the must-see bands of the day for me and they did not disappoint.

Wombbath

Classic Swedish death metallers Wombshedbath were anther one of the bands I wanted to catch the most on Sunday. While their sound was lacking, they were still fun to see.

Desaster

These German black thrashers put on a very fun and energetic performance (although they didn’t top Nocturnal Graves).

Bongzilla

While I do enjoy stoner doom, I always found Bongzilla to be one of the more boring and generic bands of that genre. Live they were no different as I sat in the shade bored.

Interment

As a big fan of Swedish death metal, I always found this band to be a more generic entry and similar to Bongzilla, their live performance didn’t do them any favors.

Incantation

Being one of my favorite death metal bands, seeing Incantation is always a charm. The last time I was able to catch them was at MDF 2014 and they were one of the best performances of that year. While I feel they sounded better then due to playing at the Rams Head, they still killed like always.

Demolition Hammer

Along with Venom, they were one of my top must-see bands of Sunday (and the whole fest!) and they ended up being the best band of the whole Edison Lot. They sounded great and played all of their classics. It was raining a lot on Sunday but this didn’t stop the crowd from circle pitting as hard as they could.

Satan

The second to last band on the bill was the New Wave of British Heavy Metal band Satan. While traditional metal was never something I was big on (outside of the main bands and a few other exceptions), I can appreciate it when it’s good – and Satan were really good. They had a great sound, great energy and their songs were pretty catchy and memorable.

Venom

The last band of the Edison Lot was a band I was really interested in seeing. Earlier this year, I saw the offshoot Venom Inc. and they had an amazing set. Now it was time to see how Cronos’ band measures up to that version of the band.

While Venom didn’t have as good as a set list as Venom Inc. (Venom’s set kinda had too many later songs), they did play classics like “Buried Alive” and “Warhead.” These staples sounded amazing thanks to Cronos’ vocals. This made both Venom and Venom Inc. experiences pretty even. After Venom finished with “Black Metal” (of course), Herb and I headed down to Sound Stage. After chilling with his friend Greg, I made it in time for the last band.

Doom

I had seen crust punk legends Doom back at MDF 2011. It was about time I’d hear them play a longer set. Just as 2011, they ruled and were a nice end to the fest.

After Doom’s set Jason and I headed back to the hotel (while Herb watched Mystifer). We all went to sleep and already wondered what next year will hold.

Unlocking The Truth: Controlling Chaos

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Unlocking The Truth (left to right): Alec Atkins, Malcolm Brickhouse, Jarad Dawkins. Credit: Phil Knotts.

It’s a warm Wednesday afternoon. Fifteen year-old Malcolm Brickhouse skates one of New York City’s East Village streets. His fellow bandmates Alec Atkins, 15 and Jarad Dawkins, 14; strut behind the sound of trucks on pavement and Brickhouse’s leather trenchcoat covering his DGK skateboard, giving him a floating appearance. People are quick to notice as Japanese freelance photographers begin shooting the boys being themselves on a Summer afternoon.

The attention and aura the kids give off is interesting. Passerby don’t seem to worry about it, being used to all sorts of things that bustle through the bowery; but they do glance here and there (and they should) as these are no ordinary Brooklyn high-schoolers.

Brickhouse, Atkins and Dawkins are Unlocking The Truth – a young heavy metal band who only a year ago had gotten out of a monumental deal with Sony and have been slowly but surely taking the world by force after being discovered by Eric Clapton’s drummer Steve Jordan during a 2012 Washington Square Park performance. Tonight marks the first of several intimate release shows for their debut album “Chaos” (available now from iTunes, Spotify and other online retailers via Tunecore) at The Studio of the one and only Webster Hall.

The boys are clam, cool, collected and hungry. They’re more concerned about what to order from the Chinese food menu than how many friends, family and fans will come to see them. They’ve already mastered the art of crowd control by playing to tens of thousands at Coachella, Vans Warped Tour and one-off gigs with the likes of Metallica, Guns ‘N’ Roses and Marilyn Manson (who the boys find extremely funny; had the most beneficial backstage advice for them, offering life lessons, business tips and visited them regularly instead of the usual “don’t do drugs” cliche’).

“He was much more open with us,” Dawkins said. “He would come in our dressing room here and there and talk about what he went through and what we should watch out for in this business. He’s really funny.”

Backstage, the young rockers hang out in the empty venue, messing around on their phones and jokingly teasing one another as teenagers do. Tired of sitting, Brickhouse busts out the 8.5” DGK (his other weapon of choice due to the artwork and company vibe) and skates around the venue to scope the place out for a minute before event staff inform him it’s not permitted to be on a board inside. While he doesn’t remember what got him into the action sport initially, skating calms his nerves. His favorite pro is none other than the multi-champion son of a comic Paul “P-Rod” Rodriguez, who is known for pulling off flawless contest runs and has one heck of an inward heelflip; Brickhouses’ favorite trick. The opening band’s sound check starts up and the guitarist heads back to the dressing room to rejoin his friends before they take the stage.

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The early days, the city streets would soon become festival stages.

The openers are decent – a cross between Alice In Chains, Nirvana and the Stone Temple Pilots. No one remembers their name, but they do well and show a good amount of energy and charisma. The fans in attendance are not for them, but for the boys. Family and friends are catching up and piling in until the set comes to an end. Annette Jackson, Brickhouses’ mother and Unlocking The Truth’s co-manager stands in the back and hustles the boys merchandise – a bevy of T-shirts, stickers and posters to the adoring public. A strong but tiny fireball, Jackson is a Supermom in every sense of the word.

“It feels good supporting our son Malcolm and his goals of becoming one to the best bands and a music producer,” she says. “It’s very expensive, very time consuming and a thankless job, but we always say our prayers and thank the good Lord for blessing him and to never let us take our blessings for granted.”

One piece of “Truth gear” is noticeably absent, however. There are no physical copies of “Chaos” present as Jackson doesn’t want to risk an individual leaking the album two days before its release. The boys have worked too long and too hard to let someone else let the cat out of the bag.

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Unlocking The Truth ripping it up at Coachella.

When the Brooklyn metal band signed a whopping $1.8 million, five album deal with Sony in 2014, things changed immediately (because of their ages, they had to get the Supreme Court’s approval to ink the contract). At the request of producers, the band decided vocals would be essential to their then-instrumental arsenal. There were talks of auditions with various singers, but they never surfaced when Brickhouse stepped up to the plate shortly after the decision was made. After taking lessons to this day from Melissa Cross, a vocal teacher for major label artists better known for her “Zen of Screaming” DVDs; Brickhouse now performs double-duty on guitar and vocals simultaneously.

“Someone has to sing. You can’t be a big band and not have a singer,” he said . “We were thinking of getting a girl singer, but it just didn’t happen. We even tried him (Atkins), but it didn’t work out, so I just said “I’ll sing.”

In addition to the new sound, a plethora of publicity, commercial spots and dream gig offers knocked on the boys proverbial doors. In the blink of an eye, they’d made it to the big leagues well before graduation. While they were still treated the same by their peers, the rest of the world was another story. Everything was happening all at once for the trio and the instant fame was more than they could handle at the time. After an intense legal battle, Unlocking The Truth would be released from their contract with Sony roughly a year after their initial signing.

“A lot of it was between our parents and laywers. It wasn’t the contract that made us leave. It was the pressure of dealing with fame. It was just a thing of too much too fast. I miss it now, but we’re trying to get it back at our own pace,” Brickhouse says.

During the Sony days, a six song EP (titled “Free As You Wanna Be”) was recorded by Disturbed producer John “Johnny K” Karkazis that eventually got scrapped after things didn’t work out. This would be a blessing (and omen) in disguise as Karkazis would be a necessary contact the boys needed to make when they would record “Chaos” with him over the course of a week.

“We were in a rush, but it worked,” Dawkins said. “He (Karkazis) is very fun to work with, a very good guy. He has over 20 years of experience, he’s wonderful at what he does and he’s passionate.”

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The Chaos cover: proof that hard work pays off.

The house lights fade to black and Unlocking The Truth take the stage to a screaming horde of Truth Seekers commissioned by the Metal Gods. For the next 45 minutes, the lads initiate phase one of their plan for world domination. It’s their night and everything goes down like an ice cold beer after a hard day’s night. Brickhouse and the gang come out of their offstage shells alive with songs like “Monster,” “Take Control” and the album’s title track, “Chaos.” Brickhouse sweeps away on various ESP guitars– an endorsement he’s absolutely ecstatic about while Atkins and Dawkins lay down the heavy semi-latin grooves that make for a strong musical core. They call for mosh pits – which on any other evening would already be in full swing, but with the amount of family and friends in their Sunday best (despite the actual day of the week) the demand goes mostly unheeded. A sign of respect for the maturing monsters of rock.

After a wildly energetic performance, the boys take the time to thank everyone in attendance for their support, tell jokes, goof around and even bring close friends onstage. The crowd roars their approval – the loudest being Brickhouse’s devoted father Tracey, who travels with the band and never misses a gig. As the house lights come back on, the boys celebrate their achievements with their adoring public.

“Our son is giving everything he has to reach his goals and make his dreams come true,” said Jackson.

As Unlocking The Truth take their leave, the joy in their eyes tells the whole story. Three rockers from Brooklyn with a vision who’s shared identity is not just a name – but a manifesto.

“I plan on doing this my entire life,” Brickhouse says. “It’s what I love. I can’t picture myself outside of making music. I don’t like school and I can’t have an office job.”

My Experience At MDF 2016 – Part 2: Saturday

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After a most excellent Friday night we woke to another crazy day with an even better lineup to boot. After some Chipotle Jason and I headed to the venue while Herb and Matt went back to the hotel. The two of us got to the fest just in time for a band we both really wanted to see.

Demonical

A Centinex offshoot, Demonical which were similar to their step-band and  also like Centinex, they were killer live.

Gruesome… again

Since Gruesome was playing the same exact set again (this time on the day they were actually scheduled), I just used this time to look at merch. Seeing as nothing changed, it’s safe to say they played and sounded well.

Deranged

Swedish brutal death metal legionaries Deranged were another band I was curious about. BDM is hit or miss to me and this band was a surefire hit. Around this time Herb and Matt finally came to the lot.

Tulus

Another band I was curious about. Tulus are a 90’s black metal band from Norway that just never got as big as acts like Mayhem and Darkthrone. Tulus was good but nothing mind-blowing. They also did a very random cover of “Slowly We Rot” by Obituary.

Hirax

California thrash legends Hirax were one of the Saturday bands I wanted to see the most. As soon as their set started they easily became one of the fest’s best. They sounded spot on and vocalist Katon W. De Pena showed the crowd how it’s done.  Pena was running around shaking everyone’s hands and giving crazy facial expressions that reminded me of a friend back home.

Atrophy

In the ashes of Hirax’s wake were another 80’s thrash band called Atrophy. To me they were not offensively bad but were very forgettable and boring. Long story short, Hirax is a tough act to follow.

Hail of Bullets

While I am a big fan of Martin Van Druuen’s work in both Asphyx in Pestilence, I find Hail of Bullets boring and this set (which didn’t even have him in the lineup) didn’t improve my view of them at all.

Impaled Nazarene

After two boring bands, the fest got good again with Finland’s Impaled Nazarene. I had seen them at my very first MDF back in 2011 and found their set to be powerful and lots of fun. During most of the set I hung with Coco who I met at last year’s MDF.

Exciter

These speed/thrash titans were the band I wanted to see the most of Saturday’s Edison Lot lineup. Exciter had the entire original members playing this show as well (always a plus). Their set was intense with more moshing then you’d expect from a band this old-school. After they wrapped up their set I ran down to Soundstage.

Haemorrhage

Being one of my favorite goregrind bands, I was pretty excited to see Haemorrhage. Since I’ve already seen Nuclear Assualt twice and Testament once before I figured I was done with Edison lot for the day. Between Haemorrhage’s awesome songs, energy and the theatrics of the lead vocalist Lugubrious (yes, his stage name is Lugubrious), this was one of the best sets of the year.

Infest

Powerviolence pioneers Infest followed, continued and indulged in the lugubriousness. I only watched a little of their set (though I’d later find out they actually didn’t play that long), what I saw was intense (like all hardcore shows should be).

Grave Miasma

After Infest I headed to Rams Head and caught up with Herb. Grave Miasma put on a crushing,  heavy performance that impressed just about everyone in the crowd but Herb (how they didn’t I’ll never know) and prepared us for what was next.

Dragged Into Sunlight

Dragged Into Sunlight were another one of the bands I wanted to see most (esepcially since they dropped last year). They did not disappoint at all. Dragged Into Sunlight’s multi-subgenre sound translated very well at Rams Head and their performance was top notch. On stage were flicking strobe lights while the singer T (what’s up with these stage names?) had his back turned to the audience. This didn’t stop the band from having a really intense pit. After their set we stayed for one more Rams Head band.

Craft

Originally I was going to see Discharge at this time but unfortunately they dropped due to issues with their Visas (why don’t they just get MasterCards and be done with it?). Because of that we decided to see Craft instead while Jason went to see Drugs of Faith at the Sidebar Tavern.While a downgrade from the amazing set Dragged had, Craft still delivered and it was cool to catch this classic band.

After Craft’s set we said goodbye to a bunch of our concert friends and went back to the hotel where Matt and Herb were.

Check out the final part here.

 

My Experience At MDF 2016 – Part 1: Friday

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Another year, another MDF and another adventure. With an amazing line up as always, I knew I wasn’t going to break the chain of MDF every year.

The night before, my friend Matt and I stayed at our friend Herb’s and headed for the annual metal fest the next morning. When got to the hotel we dropped off our stuff, met up with our friend Jason and headed down to the venue. After taking a cab down, we got there around 3:50 and started watching the band that was on.

Centinex

We got there during the middle of Swedish death legends Centinex’s set. Due to en-route traffic, we missed Horrendous and a good chunk of this band’s set. However, I was still able to catch several songs from them including the classic track “Moist Purple Skin.” Centinex sounded great and the fans were not disappointed.

Novembers Doom

Next up were Chicago’s melodeath/doom giants Novembers Doom. Around this time I ran into some of my Chicago friends who included members of Nucleus and Morditorium. I also ran into members of a Facebook group I’m part of. While I do like Novembers Doom I was never a massive fan. With that said, I did enjoy their set and thought they sounded great.

Wormed

Spain’s brutal death outfit Wormed transitioned the tone of the crowd from slowly brooding to intense and mosh heavy. Being one of my favorite bands of this subgenre, I was stoked to see them and my expectations were exceeded. After their set Jason and I head to Soundstage.

Bruce X Campbell

With a name liked that who would skip them? Bruce X Campell are a power violence act named after the one and only Bruce Campbell himself. And like the man with the iron chin, they were awesome.

Gruesome

After Bruce X Campell I head back to Edison lot. During this time slot, the classic death metal band Sinister was supposed to play, but due to dropping at the last possible minute Gruesome (who were already scheduled to play the next day) took the slot.

Gruesome is a band I have mixed feelings about. I don’t dislike their music but at the same time feel no need to listen to it as it sounds so much like Death that it feels pointless when Death’s music still exists. I watched them with an open mind.  They sounded good live and were fun to see. They also did a great job with the Death covers they played.

Hemdale

After Gruesome I went back to Soundstage with Herb based on a recommendation from Herb’s friend Sam. He compared them to acts like General surgery, Exhumed and Carcass – all of which we’re both big fans of. Hemdale was very entertaining and the vocalist told hilarious jokes about the internet.

 

Paradise Lost

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I raced back to Edison Lot to catch Paradise Lost. As a fan of mainly just the first 2 albums I was curious of how many tracks from that era they would perform. They played mostly newer songs that were performed well and sounded good live. Midway through the set I did get to hear some tracks I enjoy such as “Rapture,” “Dead Emotion” and “As I Die (the latter being the only post-Gothic song I like).”

Samael

Samael was one of the bands I was curious about seeing once it was announced that they were playing all of “Ceremony of Opposites.” This is my favorite album by them as well as the last one they made that I liked.

When they started I thought they were playing one of their later songs until I realized it was on the album. The band looked like rejects from a bad 2000’s EBM band. They were playing their old songs but remixing them to sound like the later stuff. Though it sounded awful, I was wanted to see how my favorite Samael track “Baphomets Throne” would sound. Sadly, they really fucked it up with not only replacing riffs with synth but with “St.Anger” sounding drums. Once I heard this mess I went back to Soundstage.

Magrudergrind

Though Mayhem were playing at Edison Lot, I figured I’d go see Magrudergrind since I’d seen Mayhem once before. When I arrived I ran into my friends Nick and Cheyenne. All three of us were excited to see these grind greats as we missed them every chance we got. Magrudergrind sounded great and had incredible energy. This was a nice change in pace as the night just got crazier from here.

Rotten Sound

Being one of my all-time favorite (and one of my first) grind bands  I was stoked to finally see Rotten Sound. Continuing the trend of the night, Rotten Sound were even more energetic than Magrudergrind. Using Soundstage’s great sound to its full potential, they were among the best bands of the whole fest.

Repulsion

Next up on Soundstage were grindcore pioneers, Repulsion. I only watched about 20 minutes of their set as I wanted to catch Angelcorpse at 12:30. From what I was able to see, the band really killed and continued the late great shows of Friday night.

Angelcorpse

After 20 minutes of Repulsion, I went over to Rams Head for the last band of the night. Being the main reason for Rams Head Friday, Angelcorpse were the biggest must-see band of the night. From start to finish, Angelcorpse put on one of the most intense live shows I’d ever witnessed. The band’s fast and in-your-face style of blackened death metal really worked. Not a second went by that wasn’t amazing during their set. Angelcorpse was one of the best bands of the fest for sure.

After Angelcorpse, Herb, Matt and I went to our hotel (Jason had no Rams Head tickets) and went to sleep to prepare for the next day’s events.

Part 2 coming soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Experience at MDF 2015: Part 4 – Sunday

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For the final day in Baltimore we (now also joined by Josh’s friend Tom who was with us for just that day) decided to make a trip to legendary writer Edgar Allen Poe’s grave.

I decided to wear my Suspiria shirt; one to wear something that for once wasn’t a band and two because it fit the the atmosphere of the exhibit. After getting a picture with his tombstone we headed back to the Edison Lot, stopping by 7-11 for lunch before heading down to the venue. When we got there we ran into none other then Katherine Katz of Agoraphobic Nosebleed.We all got pictures with Katz and I eventually would get to interview her. For this day I would stay at the Edison Lot for the remainder of its run (just like I did last year).

Masacre

When we finally got to the venue we had already missed the first two bands, so the first one I caught was Colombian death metal band Masacre. Knowing nothing about this band I decided to watch them out of curiosity and damn was this awesome. I couldn’t believe a band I never heard of could end up being one of the best bands Sunday had to offer. After this set, I’m now a proud Masacre fan.

Goatsnake

Back in 2011, Goatsnake dropped from playing MDF and where replaced by Ghost.While Ghost were cool to see, I’m glad that this year I finally got to see this stoner/doom super group.

Goatsnake was a nice break from the extreme nature of Masacre and most of the bands from previous days. Goatsnake had a good sound which helped with their trippy atmosphere (until this show I never noticed how much the singer sounds like Alice in Chains’ Layne Stayley).

Primordial

After seeing death metal then doom we then switched to folk metal with Primordial. As mentioned in part three, I am very picky with folk metal. Primordial is a band that is not only an exception but one I find to be top notch. Primordial sounded much more epic live  – especially when they closed with “Empire falls,” their signature song.

Winter

After Primordial the shift returned to doom but with a deep-seated vengeance. I was super stoked to see these death/doom pioneers as I was always a big fan of their only album,”Into Darkness” for quite some time. As it tends to be in real life, Winter was extremely heavy and crushing – one of the heaviest bands on the fest.

Anaal Nathrakh

England’s Anaal Nathrakh were yet another one of my “must-see’s” (Sunday was on a roll). With the exception of the clean vocal sections, the band’s distinct mix of grindcore, black metal and industrial translated great live (a very minor complaint). The crowd went from being crushed by doom to intense moshing. The transition would revert to doom yet again with the next band.

Skepticism

To be honest, I was never a fan of funeral doom. During this band’s set I decided to get food from my favorite MDF vendors Pork Lord Tacos. After eating I went to the shape area. Here I met a girl named Coco who turned out to have read my interview with Teloch of Mayhem as well as friends with my areas infamous Facebook troll Olivia (small world).

Demilich

After Skepticism was over my excitement skyrocketed. One of the bands I wanted to see the most was about to start.

Finland’s tech-death masters were a band I planned on catching no matter who played at the same time. Demilich’s set was perfect: the sound, the energy, the choice of songs – EVERYTHING. This was easily my favorite set from Sunday night and one of my favorites of the whole fest.

Neurosis

Neurosis was always a band I found to be over-hyped. While I am a fan of sludge, the more post-rock infused bands just never did it for me. I was bored during their whole set and was honestly just awaiting to see Amorphis.

Amorphis

Next to Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Amorphis was the fest’s second biggest draw.

This was Amorphis’s second time playing in America (the first being at that year’s 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise). Amorphis was set to play their best album “Tales from One Thousand Lakes” in its entirety.

Unlike ANB (who more then met expectations), Amorphis was the most disappointing band of the entire fest. The main problem was the sound which I immediately noticed was way off. The mic would also tune in and out a lot – most noticeably during the clean vocal sections of “Black Winter Day.”

I didn’t stay for the whole set as I wanted to catch Melt Banana at Soundstage, but people who did told me Amorphis played no encore and would have had time for one if they did. What a bad move for a Sunday headliner.

Melt Banana

Japan’s experimental rock band was up next. I caught up with my friends Nick and Cheyenne and we watched from the rail at Soundstage.

Melt Banana more then made up for Amorphis’s disappointing set. The over-the-top energy mixed with the theatrical light show and vocalist Yasuko Onuki’s chirping vocals made it impossible to not enjoy this experience (she would also talk to the audience in her “chirp voice,” which I thought was pretty funny). As different as it was, Melt Banana was still one of the fest’s best acts.

D.R.I

I had once seen D.R.I. three years ago where they played a two hour set due to it being their anniversary show. Here I only planned to watch them for 45 minutes so it wouldn’t conflict with Portal at Rams Head. Having said that, 45 minutes of D.R.I. is still a lot of songs!

They opened with “Who Am I?” – the perfect way to start a D.R.I. set. Like last time, their energy was great but because of a larger crowd, they were more fun to watch this time around. After watching a decent amount of songs I went over to Rams Head for the final band of the 2015 Maryland Deathfest.

Portal

I got into Rams Head and watched Portal set up from one of the TV screens before finding a great spot where I could see everything.

Portal had a dark theatrical performance that went well with their odd, atmospheric music. They were going over time and their equipment’s power was eventually shut off. This didn’t stop them from finishing their last song. Overall, they were a great way to finish the fest.

After their set Josh,Tom, Matt, Nicole and I went back to the hotel (Jason had already gone back after D.R.I.) before heading home the next day. As always, MDF 2015 was a success and we all can’t wait to see what Evan and Ryan (the fest’s organizers) have in store for us this year.

My Experience at MDF 2015: Part 3 – Saturday

maryland-deathfest-2015

Saturday was going to be the roughest day of the fest. With so many good bands across the stages, I knew I’d end up moving around a lot.

Before the show we stopped at a pharmacy since some of our friends needed a few things. Here I ran into Joe Sullivan of Metal Rules TV (this was an awesome surprise as his concert reviews are a big influence on mine). Today was the only day that our group included two more people, Gwen and Joff (this was due to them only having Saturday Edison tickets).

Fulgora

As early as 12:15 P.M. (seriously MDF wtf?) Fulgora played. I went into this set knowing nothing about them except that they’re on Phil Anselmo’s of Pantera fame’s Housecore Records. The band played some kind of sludge/death metal mix with a space theme.The drums were impressive but sadly, nothing else was.

Serpentine Path

After Fulgora were done another sludge/death metal fusion took the stage. This was one I was more familiar with. Playing a sludge influenced version of 90’s death doom, Serpentine Path crushed it.

Twilight of the Gods

Twilight of the Gods is a Bathory influenced power metal band. Although power metal is normally not my thing, I will admit this band played well. I’d heard the band started out as a Bathory cover band, which would have been awesome if they played some Bathory songs.

Morpheus Descends

The first of the “must-see” bands of Saturday. Being from the area Morpheus Descends is from, I’d seen them twice before (both secret shows). Now was time to see them play to a much larger audience.

I was joined by Pearl and Andrew of Chicago death metal band Moratorium.We all watched Morpheus Descends play their classic tracks such as “Immortal Coil” and “Corpse Under Glass.” It felt both weird and awesome to see a band from my area play the main stage at a huge festival.

Einherjer

After watching some death metal from familiar ground the lot shifted to viking black metal from Norway. I tend to be pretty picky when it comes to the whole folky side of metal, but Einherjer was always one of the ones I dug. Their epic and atmospheric sounds really translated well on Edison. I could have done without the people in Turisas shirts dancing funny, but it was a fun set regardless. After these guys I would run over to Soundstage.

Full Of Hell

After getting some cheap 7-11 food I went into Soundstage for some powerviolence. Full of Hell played their brand of hyper-aggressive noise really well. I didn’t stand too close to the stage as I was going to leave right after their set.

Vulcano

I rushed back to Edison Lot and got there just in time for some Brazilian thrash. I never had the chance to check these guys out before and boy did I wish I had.They played very raw and primitive old-school thrash that quickly reminded me of Sarcofago and old Sepultura.

Bulldozer

After watching one of Brazil’s most obscure thrash bands, it was time for an Italian one.

I will admit though I’ve made fun of some of their weird ideas and lyrics in articles in the past, I don’t dislike them at all and find them fun to listen to. With that said, I actually really enjoyed their set. My friend Herb, who was standing right up front yelled at them to play their infamous “Dance Got Sick” EP -t o which the bands vocalist, A.C. Wild heard him and laughed.

Tryptikon

On the car ride here Josh and I were both discussing what Tryptikon’s set would be like. We wondered if it would be all Tryptikon songs or if there would be any Celtic Frost covers thrown in for good measure (either variation would’ve been cool). I mentioned that I doubted they would play “Proclamation of the Wicked” or any Hellhammer songs.

As soon as the set started I was wrong. They opened up with “Proclamation of the Wicked,” playing it in the slowed down Tryptikon style. I watched it with my Albany friends Filip and Craig and while we were pretty far, we heard them nice and clear where we were. They played a mix of Trypikon songs and Celtic Frost classics. Singer/guitarist Tom G. Warrior proved me wrong once again when the band played the Hellhammer track “Messiah.” Not only was it an amazing set, it one of the best performances of the whole fest.

Matyrdod 

I rushed back to the Soundstage yet again to catch these Swedish crusties in action, who played a fun energetic set. After Matyrdod I went once again back to Edison.

Arcturus

I got back to Edison right when these guys were about to set up. A very different band on the bill, Artcurus are a Norwegian metal band with avant-garde influences. The bands sound turned off a lot of people but I was excited to finally get to see them (especially after their great new album “Arcturian”). Vortex’s vocals sounded spot-on and the band’s campy theatrics were fun as hell to watch. Arcturus had a great set, playing material from most of their albums.

Razor

The last band of Edison Lot was the old-school Canadian thrash band Razor. While I still wish Sodom didn’t cancel their appearance, seeing Razor was still pretty cool. The band delivered a great thrash performance and a set that included a lot of classics. Herb and I left 15 minutes before their set ended to catch a band we both wanted to see at Rams Head.

Gnaw Their Tongues

We got into Rams Head to watch what was probably the second biggest outlier on the bill next to Mobb Deep. Gnaw Their Tongues play electronic music with black metal influences.

Instead of a full band it was a man programming beats on his laptop while another member did shrieks. I’m not a huge fan of electronic music, but this band is a pretty big. Gnaw Their Tongues had a lot of walk-outs due to being so different from many other bands on the bill, but I enjoyed the haunting atmosphere the band brought with them. Towards the end of their set I yet again went back to Soundstage.

Wolfbrigade

Wolfbrigade are the band that got me into crust punk and are still one of my favorites of the genre. They killed with their high energy and intense circle pits.Their whole set reminded me of first checking these guys out in 12th grade and learning what crust punk is all about.

Agoraphobic Nosebleed

The time had come for the main attraction of the entire fest: Agoraphobic Nosebleed’s first official live show.

The expectations where high. Just the thought of being part of the first real show from a band that never plays live was mind-blowing enough. The venue was extremely crowded. Anyone who had a pass that allowed access to Soundstage on Saturday was here.

The band more then met expectations. The energy was top notch. The sound was crystal-clear and extremely loud and their set had the most violent pit I had ever seen.

ANB would end up being my favorite performance of the entire fest. It felt as if the band had been building up to this very moment from the day they started. When ANB finished we traveled back to the hotel. Walking with us were a bunch of Josh and Nicole’s friends who were also blown away by this moment as well as a guy with a traffic cone on his head yelling that he was the singer for Portal (not making this up).

Check out the final part (Sunday) right here.