Concert Review - A Sound of Thunder, MindMaze, Iris Divine, Metanium - 6/6/14 at The Pinch, Washington, DC

My readers and friends will probably know that A Sound Of Thunder is hands down my favorite local band (although I've done my share of whining about them, too). But somehow I hadn't seen them in quite a while. Especially since I missed their "throwback" set opening for Ashes Of Ares in May (I'm one of the complainers who wishes they would play their old songs more), I was determined to get out and see their headline show.

I wasn't sure of the starting time, since the FB event said 7pm but the poster said show at 8 (I guess set times were posted day of, but that day was too hectic at work for me to check). And the first band was Hispanic heavy metal band Metanium, whom I really hadn't seen in a long time (just about a year), so I wanted to get there in time to see them. T and I ended up getting there around 7:20, which turned out to be way early. I'm pretty sure most of the other people there at that point were in bands :p We sat down in the corner upstairs and got some food (bbq duck smothered waffle fries once again), chatted a bit with Bobbie and talked about nerdy things until Metanium started a little after 8.

If I remember correctly, they started off with "Veneno Mortal" ("Deadly Venom"), which is a catchy song with some thundering fast parts. They played mainly from last year's album Alma de Guerrero (Soul of a Warrior) - "La Marcha Vikinga" ("The Viking March"), which unfortunately sounds like "The Ants Go Marching" to me; the English version of their album's title track, which is a motivating song but I think the Spanish lyrics are better, and "Sangra el Corazon" ("Bleed the Heart") which has a fun polka-ish rhythm. As before, they played a cover of Helloween's "I Want Out" which sounded great to me, and T, who's more familiar with that band/song, said the singer nailed it. In general, Marvin Serrano's vocals were amazing, from aggressive heavy metal delivery to soaring power metal screams. The band also covered Manowar's "Warriors of the World" and Dio's "Holy Diver," both excellently done and pleasing to the crowd. Overall their sound was great - the vocals were clear, and the guitars and drums were loud and thundering without being too distorted or too loud. The only thing was that the keyboards were totally drowned out save for one intro - but this is the case on their album, too; I usually forget they have a keyboardist at all. I was really glad we got to see them, because they sounded great (surprisingly great for this venue) and got the night off to an energetic start.

Next up was Iris Divine. I saw them once before at Bobbie's Face-Melting Friday series, but there was some personal drama going on at that show which prevented me from really paying attention, and so my only impression of them was that they're rather proggy and have long, kind of wandering songs. That impression was borne out, although I had forgotten about the hard rock vibes in their guitars and the angsty vocals. That seemed to be the main thrust of their music although well sprinkled with atmospheric, churning or riffy guitar passages. They had more than a few cool moments but couldn't seem to hold my attention long, and I felt tired after their set. They played their upcoming album in its entirety, which was cool to hear, even if I probably won't seek it out again.

Luckily they were followed by the inspiring heavy/power metal group MindMaze (from Allentown, PA - I'm very glad they made the trip down). The crowd was probably biggest for Iris Divine and MindMaze, and definitely very energized by the latter. There was moshing for several songs, started by guys who I guessed were Metanium fans (and at least one member of Metanium, if I'm not mistaken). It's not surprising; the rampaging heavy metal energy made me want to push people around, too, and I got in the pit once. They may have played one slower song, but the rest of their set was irresistible power metal riffs underlaid with heavy metal energy, with Sarah Teets's vocals soaring over it and some nice melodic guitar solos from Jeff Teets. Toward the end of their set, they did a cover of Black Sabbath's "Heaven and Hell" with Nina Osegueda of A Sound of Thunder joining Sarah on vocals, which was awesome. MindMaze also played a joke on the audience by playing the signature riff from ASOT's "Time's Arrow" at one point XD I was a bit dazed from exhaustion and headbanging after their set, but much more awake.

MindMaze seemed a hard act for even A Sound Of Thunder to follow - but they did and delivered a fantastic set that was definitely worth staying up till 2 AM for. They started off thundering with "Queen of Hell," a charging heavy metal song that shakes the walls and shows off Nina's powerful voice, especially as she splits your eardrums screaming, "I am the queen of hell!" The band was so on top of their game that even a song I don't like as much, "Just Another Fool" (from their first album Metal Renaissance) got me amped with its charging energy. Given almost a two hour set, they played a variety of songs from all their albums, even reaching into their demo for "Walls." Unfortunately, although that song is one of my favorite songs to hear live and usually does shake the walls, it seemed a little weak this time; maybe they were getting tired, as it was near the end of their set. Another rare song was the epic-length, ominous "My Name is Doom." The sound quality was so excellent that during the tragic "I'll Walk With You," we could make out every word of the vocals. Being able to hear the words fully brought home the intensity of that song.

The crowd was a bit thin when A Sound Of Thunder started, but filled out a bit as they went on, and people seemed very into the set. There was a dedicated circle of excited fans at the front and there was quite a bit of moshing at first. I joined in for "Out of the Darkness" - I had forgotten how fast that song was! But by the time they played songs I really wanted to mosh to, like "Fight Until the End" and "Blood Vomit," most of the moshers had disappeared. Guitarist Josh Schwartz actually ran out into the audience to find me at the start of "Blood Vomit" (don't worry, I was paying attention, I just had to hang back cause I don't wear earplugs :P), and I tried to start a pit, but no one else seemed to be feeling it. But since the band put out a "Blood Vomit" T-shirt, I have hope that they're bringing this song back into regular rotation! They ended the set with their theme song "A Sound of Thunder," another wall-shaking heavy metal song that lives up to its and the band's name. Then they played an encore of sorts, featuring "Kill That Bitch," their cover of Black Sabbath's "Trashed" and maybe one other song. They sounded good, but I think the high point was the last three songs before that ("Walls," "Blood Vomit," "A Sound of Thunder"). I was also very tired, and wanted to go home and...sleep. ;)

I'll punch out all your blood! J/k, more likely I'll just give you a friendly shove.

But honestly, until the very end I hardly noticed the late hour, it was such an amazing show. I was so impressed and gratified that the sound quality was so excellent! It really made the experience not just good, but awesome. I just couldn't get into Iris Divine, but the other three bands were fantastic - so full of energy, and delivered killer performances that kept me moving all night.

Next show: Not sure :( Thinking about trying to make the SepticFlesh/Fleshgod Apocalypse show at Empire on 6/22, but I dunno :/ This month is complicated..

Concert Review - Mago de Oz, Metanium - 5/22/13 at Howard Theatre, Washington, DC

Step aside Alestorm - the title of best folk pit now belongs to Mago de Oz. What an amazing show, and amazing energy from the band and the crowd.

That said, there were definitely some downers at this show, the biggest one being that it started over an hour late. We got there a little early, around 7, for a start time of 8. But the opening band didn't go on till about 9:30, so for two hours we had not much to do besides stand around saving at spot at the rail between the bar and the sound booth. Drinks were so heftily priced that I didn't drink at all ($10 for a rum and coke? I don't think I could drink $10 worth of rum in one sitting without passing out) and since it was a Heineken sponsored event, the only beer they were selling - at first - was Heineken. That is, until they ran out, in spite of the ridiculous price of $7-8 for a beer.

Finally the opener, local Hispanic heavy metal band Metanium, came on around 9:30. They seemed to be well known to the sizeable crowd that had gathered by then, with a lot of people jumping during their first song, and small pits thereafter. They played fast-paced NWOBHM or early power metal style heavy metal, a little reminiscent of Iron Maiden and Helloween. Their riffs were energetic and groovy, but their strongest point was their singer, who was capable of both powerful singing and lasting screams. He pulled off Helloween's "I Want Out" as easy as breathing. Overall, they were more interesting than I expected.

After short break, Spanish folk metal band Mago de Oz emerged. In my opinion, they put on a great show. Every song was filled with catchy folk melodies, jump inspiring power metal riffs and anthemic choruses. The energy never stopped; even the ballads cast a spell on audience. Well, there was some down time before "Finisterra" which killed the energy a little, and that song itself was a bit long and wandering. Other than that, they kept things going for their whole set. The crowd was very lively - the pit even took over most of the floor on a couple songs (and we're talking about a floor about a hundred feet across). Even in its most brutal moments, though, it wasn't a very brutal pit; mainly people were jumping, jigging, skipping around in pairs, forming big circles or knots of people with their arms over each other's shoulders. It looked like so much fun, I really regretted wearing a skirt (this always happens when I wear a skirt to shows!). If it weren't for the fact that people were throwing their drinks everywhere and the floor was like a huge slip and slide, I would have gone in anyway. It would have been amusing to see how the Hispanic dudes reacted to a girl in pit, since it didn't seem like something that really happens in the Hispanic metal crowd - although a female friend who did go in the pit said we got grabbed more than at any other show :/

Afterward S. raised the question of why there wasn't any crossover between this crowd and folk metal crowd for acts like Ensiferum and Korpiklaani. I figure it has something do with the language - the crowd for Mago de Oz was almost entirely Hispanic. Also, the style of music is different - Mago de Oz has more of a power metal sound rather than Viking metal, which might explain why more of the typical folk metal crowd isn't drawn to it. I found them through a power metal playlist, and didn't immediately associate them with folk metal. A friend called them "the Spanish version of Iron Maiden" in that most every Hispanic metalhead she talked to in her travels seemed to know this band.

They certainly lived up their reputation, and I'm glad I got to see this great performance by a band outside my usual metal circle.

Next show: A Sound of Thunder's CD release party, June 8