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 - Maryland Deathfest XII, Edison Lot, Friday, May 23, 2014 - Baltimore, MD

I've waffled about going to Maryland Deathfest for a couple years now - I mean, it's right here in my home state, yet somehow I've never been interested enough in enough of the bands to justify the ticket price. But this year, the stars aligned and almost all the MDF bands I would have wanted to see ended up playing the same venue on the same day. How could I not go??

One of the bands I most wanted to see, Mgła, was fairly early in the running order (3:45) so I headed up right after lunch, aiming to get there with an hour to wait in line, if necessary. I probably got there in about that timeframe. For someone reasonably familiar with Baltimore, finding the Edison Lot was not difficult - but finding the gate to the parking lot was a pain >.< At the entrance to the venue, the street to the lot was closed, and knowing Baltimore, trying to go around meant making a bunch of weird turns, but finally I found the parking lot by sheer luck. Only to discover they had increased the price from $10 to $15 (perhaps because there were ball games in town that day, too, but still that was irritating, since I thought I was going to have to come back the next day and drop another $15 into parking >.<)

The line was actually not that bad. It had only just started to wrap around the venue when I got in it, and it also started moving (slowly, but steadily) almost as soon as I got in line. Besides, there was an entertaining European guy nearby complaining about various things, like not being able to drink beer on the street ("It's the land of the free! Liberate the beer!") And New York math metal or black metal band Castevet started up as well ("This is good for the soul," someone near me commented), and they sounded pretty good. Their live sound had more of an intense black metal sound than I expected from their kind of light, atmospheric/prog rock type songs I'd heard ahead of time.

I'd say it was about 3:30 when I actually got into the venue. I really needed to find the portapotties, but not seeing them, I decided to go pick up my pre-ordered MDF shirt first, since I did see the tent for that. There was barely a line and it took just a couple minutes for me to obtain my shirt (maybe a photo tomorrow, cause I'm gonna wear it to tomorrow's show :) ) Then since there were a bunch of merch tents, I wandered on looking at the stuff - lots of CDs, shirts, patches and some books. Didn't find anything I wanted on first glance, but then again I was going kind of quickly since I knew Mgła would be on soon.

The merch tents formed a sort of aisle immediately to the left when one came into the venue, dead-ending inside a tent, which was where the books were. Past that corridor of merch was a big open blacktop with a stage facing the entrance (Stage A) and another stage at the far left by the highway overpass (Stage B). The lot extended under the overpass and there were a few tables in the shade there; I guess that was the shady area for any overheated metalheads to recover. Although I hadn't been following any debate that may have happened, I did notice that MDF announced there was supposed to be a "shaded" stage where the black metal bands that had to perform in daytime (oh, the horror) would play, but neither of the stages was actually in the shade. However, there was a difference, as the photos will show. (I brought my crappy digital camera which is literally ten years old and snapped some pictures, just because I could..)

At this point I was a little flummoxed as to where the portapotties could be, so I headed back toward the entrance, and there I finally found them, tucked away in a nook to the right of the entrance (when coming in) where it had been pretty much impossible to see them on the way in. I suppose it was an ok spot for them, but they could have had a sign or something making the location more obvious.

That quest completed, it was time for the fun to begin, starting with the second band of the day, Mgła.

Polish black band Mgła was the band that convinced me to attend MDF - when I reviewed them for DC Heavy Metal, I knew I had to hear this band if I had a chance. That was what led me to look at the MDF running order at all, and to realize that Friday in the Edison Lot was absolutely perfect. As soon as I'd gotten the day off work, I bought my ticket. It was a great decision. Unfortunately Mgła's performance wasn't the shining highlight I'd hoped. They're heavy on atmospheric guitar work that tends toward groovy or even climbs to soaring, but at MDF, the guitars were somewhat drowned by reverberating bass and hollow-sounding drums. (Mind, I was standing kind of toward the back of the crowd, since I feared my earplug-less ears couldn't handle the sound closer - but perhaps I should have tried.) Fortunately, the vocals were nice and clear at least, and the groovy melodic guitars were so headbangable, if a bit hard to hear when the drums and bass were going. My favorites were "With Hearts Towards None III" ("And you shall know perdition / And it will set you free... With hearts towards none"), with its long waves of atmospheric and mostly audible guitar riffs, and "With Hearts Towards None VII" ("Always downwards - and towards / the farthest sides of the north"), with its furious, relentless tremolo riffs.

Mgła. This is pretty much all they did during their whole set. They must have been roasting - in hoodies and leather jackets. Also, I never noticed before that they also perform with their faces covered. Every now and then a fog machine would waft a cloud of fog across the stage but unfortunately I could never get my camera out quick enough to capture it..

They were followed up by another atmospheric black metal band, Germany's The Ruins of Beverast. I'm not terribly familiar with this band - they're a little weird for my tastes - but I find them intriguing all the same. When they're not freaking me out (or even when they are), they can be very good at building an eerie atmosphere, with churning, slightly discordant guitars, usually laced with some creepy whispers or anguished cries along with the snarls and demonic rumblings of the vocalist. Unfortunately, they started out with same problems as Mgła, the drums and bass drowning out the guitars. At several points, the guitarists must have been doing something awesome cause they were headbanging wildly, but I couldn't hear the guitar part at all (so it was even worse than Mgła). As their set went on, the sound got a little better and I started being able to hear the guitars, although I still felt that perhaps both this band and Mgła might have sounded better indoors. A dark, enclosed space would have been more atmospheric, too. But then, that wouldn't have been much different from a regular concert; being outside in a festival environment was somehow more exciting.

The Ruins of Beverast. It is noticeably lighter on Stage A.

Germany's Necros Christos was up next, and they sounded pretty good, but I wanted to look at the merch again, so I went and pored over patches and CDs while they thundered on the other side of the tents. I mostly got stupid stuff that I didn't really need, so I'm not going to talk about it (oops), and a present for someone.

After that was another of the bands that I really wanted to see, Sólstafir from Iceland. Considering how Mgła and Ruins of Beverast sounded, I was bit worried how Sólstafir's subtle and dreamy guitar work was going to come across in the festival setting. But to my great joy, their sound was perfect - you could hear every note of their delicately layered sound. They only played 4 songs (not counting the intro), but I guess that's what happens when your songs are all 10+ minutes long. After the intro ("Náttfari"), they started off with the opening track of Svartir Sandar, "Ljós í Stormi." Hearing the haunting guitar passages live quite literally gave me chills. They followed that up with the title track "Svartir Sandar," which has the same dreamy atmosphere but a little more momentum in the guitars, and a pretty melodious segment toward the end, and then the song I was dying to hear, "Fjara." I was afraid I might weep during this song, but honestly it wasn't quite as intense live as it is listening to it on the album - although it was still intense. They finished with "Goddess of the Ages," a song I was not familiar with, but it fit with the feel of the songs from Svartir Sandar in terms of atmosphere and emotion. Their set was over far too soon, although I was satisfied to have heard "Ljós í Stormi" and "Fjara." Seeing as their headline show in this area was cancelled, I can only hope they'll make it over here on another headline tour sometime soon!

Sólstafir. I got pretty close for these guys and somehow it didn't hurt my ears.

Showin off his boots?

As soon as they finished, everyone headed over to Stage B for Norwegian black metal band Taake; I hung back for a bit but eventually joined the crowd in front of the stage, since someone told me this band was good. They sounded like Mgła should have sounded, their first song anyway - the atmospheric guitars nice and clear, the drums crisp but not overwhelming. The next song was thundering, and the one after that had quite a rock vibe. They seemed to play for a long time, much longer than Sólstafir. Overall they were very groovy and headbangable, and I enjoyed them more than I expected.

Taake. Wish I'd gotten better pictures, but you can kind of see the band's corpsepaint and the singer's cloak.

After that it was time for a dinner break during Cancer's set. I honestly didn't pay much attention to Cancer at all; I was busy chowing down on delicious barbeque and texting people about a big interview, Drudkh albums, and the fact that someone gave me passes to a strip club XD And then I went and grabbed a Drudkh CD just before Agalloch came on.

Oregon's atmospheric, blackish post-metal act Agalloch was every bit as amazing as I hoped, but I had trouble getting into them at first, because I was standing at the back waiting for someone and people around me were talking, which made it hard to get into the atmosphere of the music. Gradually I moved up closer and managed to sink into the lovely and melancholy cascades of guitar a bit more. It was also starting to get cold, which was a little distracting.

Agalloch. This was the least blurry photo I had. My camera just sucks for night photos. I didn't even try for At The Gates. Agalloch's lighting was very nice though - a lot of this bluish green stuff, very fitting for their chill music.

After Agalloch finished there was a bit of a break before the headliner, Sweden's melodic death metal legends At The Gates, took the stage. They started off just decent - heavy, agressive, but not very melodic. I was standing next to expert metalhead Metal Chris (of DC Heavy Metal) and he commented the lead guitar was just about inaudible. "There's supposed to be a solo here, but you can't hear it." The band noticed, too, because they paused after the first song to correct the technical difficulties - Metal Chris was of the opinion that the lead and rhythm guitar were switched somewhere. It probably took them a good ten minutes to fix that, but it paid off as the rest of the set sounded great. The largest proportion of songs seemed to be from their last album, Slaughter of the Soul, and these, along with songs from the previous album Terminal Spirit Disease, were full of raging melodies that made me want to push people around (but I was hardly going to go in the pit at MDF; I'd get squished like a bug!). Older songs like "Windows" and "All Life Ends" were face-smashingly brutal, but I preferred the more melodic ones. For being pretty new to actually listening to At The Gates (they're one of those bands that I just always assumed had to be good, since they're so legendary) I enjoyed the set a lot more than I thought I would. I'm sure there was a pit somewhere, but from my place near the back I couldn't really see people moving that much - but me, I was throwing my hair around like crazy to their furious melodic riffs. I didn't come to a metal festival to not headbang!

After they finished, I hung back away from the gates (I know, I am the worst) letting most of the mass exodus get out of the way. Getting lost leaving the parking lot, lane closures on 95 and needing to stop for coffee meant it was nearly 1am when I got home, even though ATG finished playing before 11 (this in spite of the time spent on technical problems, but they didn't play an encore, so maybe part of their set got cut off due to curfew or something..) I didn't mind too much though. For my first Maryland Deathfest, and my second ever metal festival experience, I thought it was just awesome. Being surrounded by metal people and metal music and metal things was just amazing, the atmosphere was so charged and full of energy. Although going with people would have been nice, in a way I'm also glad I got to go alone, because I experience things so much more profoundly that way, and this was an experience worth soaking up without missing a second. I can only hope next year's MDF features a similarly awesome line-up so I can go again!

Next show: A Sound of Thunder, Iris Divine, MindMaze and Metanium at The Pinch - tomorrow! (Or is it today by now? :P The show is Friday, June 6.)

Concert Review - The Ocean, Scale the Summit, The Atlas Moth, Silver Snakes - 3/27/14 at DC9, Washington, DC

I was looking forward to this show all month. The Ocean is one of my favorite bands; no one matches them in mixing together heavy and beautiful to explore the transcendental aspects of the universe. A month or two ago I also fell in love with Scale the Summit (and with their album artwork). I checked out The Atlas Moth a few days before the show and was looking forward to them, too. Silver Snakes didn't really do it for me, though - I couldn't take the metalcore vocals.

I headed out a bit late, driving through DC was slow, and it took a while to find parking (and to walk the 5 blocks from where I parked to the venue), so by the time I got there it was after The Atlas Moth's originally slated set time and I thought I had missed them. A few sort of metal looking people were hanging out in the downstairs bar. I headed upstairs to find that The Atlas Moth was actually just about to go on - everything had been pushed back about 40 minutes.

It was already very crowded (the show was sold out) so I ended up standing way in the back, by the merch table in the corridor from the stairs to the floor, and with lots of tall people in front of me, I couldn't see much. As awesome as it was that a band like The Ocean was playing this little venue, the sucky thing about the little stage in the corner set-up is that when it's crowded, you can't see anything unless you're right at the front. There was a TV screen right by where I was standing, so at least I was able to see the band in miniature.

The Atlas Moth launched into their churning, atmospheric riffs, and I found them surprisingly loud and clear for such a small venue. The guitar melodies and vocals were clearly discernible (even if the screamed vocals were indecipherable anyway). The loveliest atmospheric parts had a trance-inducing effect similar to Alcest's music, although much of the music was just layers of slow and heavy - a sludge band that took it into their heads to make music of beauty and whimsy. They didn't blow me away but were certainly as enjoyable as I expected.

After The Atlas Moth finished, I gave The Ocean a bunch of money (they were selling CD's at 2 for $20, which seemed like a pretty good deal). I had intended to give into the hipster vibe and get a shirt from Scale the Summit if they had one with (last year's album) The Migration artwork - but the ones they had didn't use the green and blue colors that I love so much on that album cover.

It was definitely a very hipster evening, with plenty of bearded dudes and barely a 5% score on the Long Haired Dudes Scale of Metalness (inspired by my friend S, who was not there - he wouldn't have been able to handle the hipsters). The short-haired headbanging for The Ocean was an interesting sight - it made it look a lot more like some kind of cult religious experience. I'm not even sure any members of any of the bands had long hair; a bit disappointing, as I love to stare at guys with long hair holding guitars.

I claimed a spot in the center of the floor, and eventually the instrumental band Scale the Summit came on. They started out a bit thin and quiet, and also the lights were still turned on above the stage, making them look rather sterile. But as soon as they launched into the faster section of the song - I think it was "Dark Horse" - they got much heavier, and the lights went out. Considering their very melodic sound, I was surprised by the way they thundered. There were actually relatively few slow, quiet segments, and quite a bit of fast, furious playing. I also hadn't realized that they were apparently co-headlining with The Ocean, because they must have played for about an hour. I felt like they played a lot from The Migration, but I'm not great at naming their songs, so it may just be that I listened to that album too much :P

Finally Germany's massive progressive metal project The Ocean took the stage, under blue lighting that did give them a rather underwater look. They played (their 2013 album) Pelagial in its entirety, which was a pretty epic experience. I knew (thanks to their comments last summer about the Summer Slaughter tour) that The Ocean considers themselves a very extreme extreme metal band, but considering how profound and often beautiful their music is, I couldn't really see them as extreme - until this show. When the crowd suddenly got going at the start of "Bathyalpelagic II: The Wish in Dreams" and the whole front half of the floor turned into a furious pit, I was like, oh shit - they were right, this is ****king extreme! It was pretty amazing, and the bouncy pit for the fast part of "Bathyalpelagic III: Disequilibrated" looked like so much fun, I wished I didn't have so much stuff with me so I could join in, even though I'd probably get broken in half. The crowd kind of calmed down after that and there wasn't much moshing for the rest of the show, but still, it set the tone. The other highlight was probably the singer crowd-surfing - while singing - during the encore. As far as sound, it was also amazing. The quieter parts, which evoke the ocean with sounds of bubbles, flowing melodies or long floating tones, sounded even more watery due to the resonance of the live playing, and the heavy parts were crushing. There was something odd about the screamed vocals at times - they seemed perhaps higher and rawer than on the album - and there was one segment where the drums seemed out of sync with the guitars and it was very jarring, but now I can't remember which song it was in. Overall, it was a phenomenal experience. I only regret I was so tired by the end I was practically passing out, awesome music notwithstanding :/

So the show was about as awesome as I expected. I am so glad that not only did I get to see The Ocean, but got to see them up close and personal, and got to see them really tear the place up, at a venue that small. Wow.

Next show: Combichrist on Apr 4.

Face-Melting Friday Melodic Metal Edition - Cassandra Syndrome, Iris Divine, Dogs and Day Drinkers, Fair Skies - 2/28/14 at Sidebar, Baltimore, MD

I'm on a quest to make my kid into a little metalhead :) As part of that, I took her to a show organized by my friend Bobbie at the Sidebar in Baltimore: Face-Melting Friday, Melodic Metal Edition. The lineup changed a couple times before the show, but I was still excited to see the bands. I'd heard good things about Iris Divine and Cassandra Syndrome, and heard that Dogs And Day Drinkers were folk metal, so I figured they'd be fun.

We got there before they were even ready to start selling tickets, although there were already people milling about inside. Shortly we were asked to form a line, inside. We met up with S and some other friends, and staked out a spot near the front, since besides being rather short and needing to be close up to see, Iz also just plain likes to rock out at the front of the crowd :D Unfortunately, this meant I had to wear earplugs, which I felt seriously dulled the sound. (I never wear earplugs. Why bother going to live shows if you can't hear the thunder of it being played live?) Partly for this reason, I don't feel like I got a very in-depth impression of any of the bands.

Not too long after we got in, the first band, Fair Skies, took the stage. I didn't know much about them besides a friend's comment that they were "power metal but not really." They did have soaring power metal vocals; I got some serious Stratovarius vibes from the vocalist during their second to last song, "More Than a Memory." The music had a bit of an oompah beat in the beginning (something that seems to happen occasionally in power metal) but settled into more of a NWOBHM sound as the set went on.

Next up were Dogs And Day Drinkers, all the way from Chestertown, MD (home of the schooner Sultana :D ). They were supposed to be folk metal, but they didn't actually seem to have much in the way of folk melodies. They perhaps had more of a Viking metal sound, with songs about drinking and war and science fiction. The vocals were average, rather like I think I'd sound if I tried to sing. Their take on Priest's "Breaking the Law" was decent. The crowd was pretty excited for them and there was a bit of moshing.

After that was Iris Divine. They were very proggy, but not in annoying way. The guitarist seemed to have a bunch of pedals that gave his guitar a synth-like sound, and they might have had some synth piped in, too, I couldn't tell. Unfortunately some drama happened during their set so I zoned out a bit and even had to go outside to deal with things :(

Finally, Cassandra Syndrome ended the night. I don't know how I never got into these guys earlier! I think I heard a song or two several years ago but somehow didn't get interested. I definitely should have seen them earlier. They featured lovely soprano vocals - I didn't know we even had a band around here with vocals like that! Their music was pretty straightforward heavy metal, with nice solos, but it was the vocals that really made it for me. So beautiful.

I enjoyed all the bands, although I would have preferred to hear them without earplugs. But Iz had a great time up at the front, dancing for Fair Skies and Dogs And Day Drinkers (and also taking some photos with her Leapster, which I should try to retrieve before she draws all over them :) ). Even though she got pretty tired and cranky by the end, it was still a great night, and everyone was telling her what an awesome little kid she is :D I'm not sure if I'll be able to make the next Face-Melting Friday since it's the day after The Ocean, but I can definitely see these face melting shows becoming a regular social fixture for me and Iz :D

Next show: Hoping to go to a locals show on March 8. After that, Children of Bodom, Death Angel and Týr on March 21. (The Fillmore's website seems to have the wrong date for this show, saying it was Feb. 28 O.o)

Between The Buried And Me, Deafheaven, Intronaut, Kindred - 2/20/14 at Empire, Springfield, VA

A little while ago I discovered Deafheaven, crazily enough, through hearing their song "Dream House" on XM radio. Wtf? I thought. No way are they playing something this atmospheric and lovely! But they were, and when I got to work I had to check out Deafheaven more, and fell even more in love. They're up there with Alcest for harshly beautiful, trance-inducing music. So when I found they were touring, I had to go. Even if it meant buying a ticket to Between The Buried And Me.

Deafheaven was the only band I really cared to see, so I didn't bother taking time off work, which meant I got to Empire around 8. Somehow, there was still a line to get in (doors were at 6:30, I think). The show was sold out. By the time I got in, Intronaut had started, and I had my dinner of black bean burger with them as background music. They made good background music - not very distracting, as they were far too slow to hold my interest. I woulda just preferred eating my dinner somewhere with less people. The place was packed.

I met a fellow Alcest fan and we talked for a bit before Deafheaven. Then, the San Francisco-based black metal band took the stage with "Dream House." (It's the only song I can recognize, since they play it on the radio; the rest of the songs blend together into one long cascade of loveliness.) They sounded amazing, and transfixed the crowd. Being near the back, I decided I should kneel on a stool in order to see, and I was a bit distracted trying to keep my balance, so I couldn't quite go into a trance like when I saw Alcest, but there were still parts that carried me away. I had just gone through a rather difficult personal episode, but hearing Deafheaven live purged all the negativity and made me feel so uplifted and alive. I could even forgive their, erm, not very metal appearance with short hair and random shirts (not even black..what sort of black metal is this) by how into it they were. Headbanging (sans hair), the singer and one guitarist dancing around to one melodic part, and the singer getting up close and personal with the crowd. At one point it looked like he was hugging people in the crowd, and he definitely threw himself onto the crowd briefly near the end of the set. It was intense. I only wish I had been able to get a better spot so I could have gotten more into the feel of it, but at least I got to see the band clearly from my precarious perch.

I stayed for a few songs of Between The Buried And Me. I owed it to a friend who really likes them. For her sake, I had tried a couple times to listen to them, but just could not get into them because of the chaotic segments in their music. They'd be doing something lovely or heandbangable with the guitars, and then suddenly go crazy and sound like a mess. Unfortunately, it was even worse live. During the discordant segments, I was almost in physical pain; it was like my soul was being destroyed. It quite possibly wiped away all the good vibes I got from Deafheaven. The ending of the second song was decent and I decided, that's it, gonna leave on a good note. Walked back to the car wishing I had brought my Deafheaven cd so I could get the good vibes back.

I was still glad I went, though. Seeing Deafheaven was worth it.

Next concert: Face-Melting Friday Melodic Metal Edition at the Sidebar, 2/28

Amon Amarth, Enslaved, Skeletonwitch - 1/31/14 at Fillmore, Silver Spring, MD

First show of the year, and I don't even get to it until a week later. That's just my life.

Well, so we went to see Amon Amarth. They were one of the first metal bands I got into, so I think they'll always be one of my top bands :) Besides, Johan Hegg is one of my idols as far as vocals go. I wish I could growl like him. (But since I'm a girl, I don't think my voice will ever be able to go that low.) I was actually looking forward to Enslaved more, though, because they were amazing last time we saw them. I didn't care much about Skeletonwitch; they're better than decent, but I wondered why they couldn't find another Viking-themed band for this tour.

When we got to the venue, they were screening the video for "Father of the Wolf." We were with S's brother and niece, and I tried to convince them to go in and watch the video, but they were hesitant for a while, so the video was almost over by the time we actually went into the stage area.

Not soon after, Ohio's blackened thrash outfit Skeletonwitch took the stage. The Fillmore's stellar sound system did them justice - they sounded better and clearer than I've ever heard them. I got a sort of death metal vibe from them this time, although that may have just been the thundering sound. They definitely did have an Amon Amarthy vibe to some of the leads though, with an epic or rolling sound. I noticed some thrashy and black metal moments, too, but my overall impression was much more groovy and melodic than I remembered them being. So it was a pretty entertaining set.

The experience of seeing Norway's progressive black band Enslaved was also different from the last time we saw them. Then, we saw them at the rather small Ottobar in Baltimore. We were probably less than twenty feet away from them, and they clearly towered over everyone in the venue (they're all incredibly tall, either that or they wear tall shoes). This time they were just distant figures, dwarfed by a large stage. They got off to a slow start with newer songs from Riitiir, but things intensified with "Ethica Odini." And two songs after that, I was very glad to find that they're still playing one of their oldest songs, "Allfáðr Oðinn," which is one of their best - it's my favorite, anyway. "Riitiir" also sounded surprisingly good. With the bigger venue and shorter set, their performance was not as intense as when we saw them at Ottobar, but I still enjoyed it.

We wondered what props Amon Amarth, Sweden's death metal Vikings, would have, considering that last time we saw them, they brought along a whole Viking ship. They turned out not to have much, just some banners of Viking warriors in front of their huge banner of the cover of Deceiver of the Gods. They also started out a little weak with two new songs. But as they thundered into the third song, "Death by Fire," I felt like the show really got started, and the intensity didn't let up till the end. Johan Hegg complained of a cold, but it didn't seem to affect his vocals, just making his speaking voice rough like his vocals. I felt like "Destroyer of the Universe" and a couple songs right after it were a little off, as though they were trying to play faster and not everyone could keep up. They finished up with "War of the Gods," which sounded much more epic than when they played it at Jaxx a couple years ago. But they weren't done - soon, thunder rumbled through the hall, introducing "Twilight of the Thunder God." The crowd was invited to sing along for the chorus. Then the band launched into "Pursuit of Vikings" and everyone went crazy - the whole floor seemed to be jumping, and I hear the middle of the floor was wild (we were at the very back).

Before leaving the stage, Johan Hegg invited everyone to stay and watch the video for "Father of the Wolf" (perhaps not knowing it had already been shown) but it didn't actually play and pretty soon the staff began encouraging us to leave.

Considering I was rather, um, unamped for this show, I had a great time. We got solid performances from all three bands, but Amon Amarth obviously ruled the night.

Concert Review - Death to All, Exhumed, Anciients - 4/26/13 at Fillmore, Silver Spring, MD

Death is one of those groundbreaking bands I thought I'd never get to see live, on account of coming to the metal scene so late. So I was pretty stoked to hear that original members of Death were doing this charity benefit tour as Death to All. Funny though, before hearing about Death to All, I actually hadn't listened to Death that much, for whatever reason. I may or may not have streamed some full albums on youtube the week before the show, and then got really, really stoked about seeing them, cause I realized that they were absolutely amazing. When you think about the fact that at the time, nobody else was really doing what they were doing, it's even more amazing.

I was so busy listening to Death that I didn't look into the openers. The first band to come on was Anciients, from Vancouver, Canada, a band whose sound varies from meandering stoner guitars to much more energetic and headbangable riffs with a black metal feel. They started out a bit soft and slow - most of their songs began with stoner-ish intros - but then quickly got loud and heavy, once the jackhammer bass and drums kicked in. They used mostly clean mellow vocals, some growled harsh vocals. Their style of mixing clean and harsh vocals in songs such as "Overthrone" reminds me of Enslaved, right down to the vocal tone. This song features some of the their fastest and most prominent guitar work; usually the guitars stayed pretty mellow and were drowned out by the pounding bass and drums when things got heavy. This meant that although they were nice and heavy, the heavy parts were a little repetitive. I still enjoyed their set much more than I might have predicted from the first five seconds, though, and even discovered that I liked listening to "Overthrone" again later.

I didn't know what to expect from Exhumed, either, except that based on the name, I figured they would be a typical death metal band. They were fast, a whirlwind of sound with machine gun fast drums, and surprisingly technical guitar solos. There was just a small pit for most of their songs, which was surprising considering the intensity of the music, but perhaps the "Absolutely no moshing or crowd surfing" signs of the venue were having some effect (ironically, the pillars where the signs were posted had been covered in padding, as though we were fully expected to break the rule in a violent way). Their screamed vocals and intricate guitar work gave their music a bit of a black metal flavor, especially in their newest songs (they played a couple of brand new songs that had only been played on their concurrent tour with Suffocation), while a really old song they played (the singer said it was old and crusty like his mom) had a more thrashy sound. S. saw them the night before with Suffocation and said they sounded much better here at the Fillmore, probably due to their superior sound system.

Exhumed had some interesting stage antics - an "evil doctor" in a blood spattered apron came out with a chainsaw (S. said it was a real chainsaw, because at Empire one could smell the gas), which he waved over the crowd and even jumped down into the crowd with; then later during a guitar solo, he used a defibrillator to try to the revive the guitarist, who I guess had been overcome by his own awesomeness, to no success, heaving finally to resort to beer; he also stage-dived and crowd-surfed, and finally brought out a severed head and squirted green goo onto some hapless fan in the pit.

When Death to All finally came out, I was feeling pretty tired, and so got a bit distracted during their set. They seemed to put on a solid performance, although not being terribly familiar with their songs or having ever seen them live with Chuck Shuldiner, I can't say how true to the original they sounded. The line-up was guitarist Paul Masvidal, bassist Steve DiGiorgio, and drummer Sean Reinert who were once members of Death, and vocalist Max Phelps, the touring vocalist for Cynic; at least that's the line-up according to Metal Injection, I can't say if they were the ones who actually appeared. Halfway through the set, they switched drummers, so I'm not sure who that was.

As would be expected, they had a thundering thrashy sound, with vocals that seemed a bit more growled than what I remembered hearing on my youtube spree. They were also masters, in the way of Sabbath and Celtic Frost, of using the guitars to make haunting sounds that created a sort of weird, creepy atmosphere in the intros of some songs.

In the middle of the set, there was a photo and video tribute to Chuck Shuldiner, which was cool to see. The crowd was very appreciative. The venue was not filled - the upstairs and side areas were closed, but there seemed to be several hundred people there at least.

As a tribute to a pioneering musician and a chance to see a band from another era, I thought this was a great show, definitely a worthwhile evening for any fan of death metal.

S. also wrote a review with setlists and posted photos.

Next show: Arsis, 4/30. Not sure what happened to my two concerts a month pledge :/ Gonna work on that in May, really.

Enslaved, Pallbearer, Royal Thunder, Ancient VVisdom - 1/31/2013 at Ottobar, Baltimore, MD

I'm very glad I went to this show. I had some doubts, but I wound up enjoying it, most especially Enslaved's set.

This was my first visit to Ottobar, and so far it's the most underground (or at least underground-seeming) music venue I've been to in this area. I liked the posters and stickers plastered all over the walls, even if the only band I had heard of was Fallen Martyr. The bathroom was very tiny, though, and there was no quiet place to hang out and talk during an "off" set (not much seating at all in the bar area).

We got there during the local opener's set; honestly, I didn't pay much attention to them, other than noting that it was so loud, I couldn't talk to Enslaved's merch person until they finished playing. I was very tired, so I was kind of out it for much of this show :P

The first of the touring bands to come on was Ancient VVisdom (note that's spelled with two V's; Ancient Wisdom is a different band). Their sound is difficult to define. I've seen it called "occult rock" and "dark rock"; it's pretty heavy and kind of doomy, but not quite powerful enough to be metal. They were pretty intense, though - the drummer pounded on the drums and cymbals with mallets and the two electric guitars provided some background heaviness. At the same time, they had an acoustic (acoustic electric?) guitar, whose clean sound drifted over the pounding drums and churning guitars. The vocals were unremarkable, but being clean and little bit high, provided more contrast with the drums and heavy guitars. During one song, the singer brought out an actual chain and banged it on what looked like a wrought iron table; I found this DIY sound effect pretty entertaining. Overall, their sound was interesting and moving, although not really heavy or fast enough for headbanging. I liked them; it's always good to be exposed to something new and little different.

Ancient VVisdom

Royal Thunder was a little too different, though. To me, they seemed to be a bit all over the place; their guitars sounded messy and without direction, and the vocals had an irritating edge to them. I was also getting even more tired and having trouble paying attention.

Unfortunately, my sleepiness worsened during Pallbearer's set. I had listened to them a bit beforehand and was not terribly interested - their brand of doom metal is extremely slow without a lot of melody or development. But seeing them live was actually enjoyable (maybe partly because one of the guitarists was rather handsome!). They were slow, but extremely heavy. The guitars almost drowned out the vocals, which receded to just some vague harsh noises. I especially enjoyed them when I closed my eyes and let the slow, heavy riffs wash over me - which is usually the best way to listen to doom metal anyway XD Surprisingly (since I don't usually think of doom metal being something that appeals to a wide sector of metalheads) the crowd seemed really into them too - we were standing on a raised step or bench thing to the side and could see the whole crowd, and the floor was pretty full and most people were slowly bobbing their heads in time to the guitars.

Pallbearer

I took a nap on S's shoulder after Pallbearer finished, which turned out to be a great idea, as it left me feeling much revived when Enslaved came on. All the guys in this band of Norwegian Vikings are very tall, which made them seem to tower over the audience, especially when we went down to the floor near the end of the set. I was excited to see Enslaved, because they put on a great show when I saw them two years ago at Tuska Fest, but I wasn't initially thrilled with their latest album Riitiir, although it began to grow on me the more I listened to it. It turned out that what I observed about Enslaved two years ago after Tuska is still true now - their recordings don't come close to capturing the power they put out performing live.

Blurry photo of Enslaved where you totally can't see the shirtless lead guitarist's cool leather pants

Their riffs straddle the continuum between black metal melancholy and melodeath epicness, and filled the venue with energy whether the song was fast or slower, accompanied by death growls or clean vocals (clean vocals provided by the keyboardist, I learned). I was surprised not to see the crowd moving much in the first half of the set, but during "Ethica Odini" a pit finally broke out. I was happy to stand on the side and headbang. Although "Ethica Odini" and "Allfadr Odinn" have some of the greatest riffs ever, my favorite song of the night was "The Watcher," because it was so unexpectedly, intensely fast. They played a good mix of songs old and new, with only about one quarter of the setlist being from the latest album.

There were some technical difficulties partway through the set - something with the second guitar's amps, I think - and the lead vocalist and second guitarist tried to play it off by telling some truly terrible jokes (ok, well the one about festivals was decent).

After this show, Enslaved has now firmly established themselves in my mind as The Best Viking Metal Band - right up there with Amon Amarth, which isn't really a Viking metal band. Although the openers may not appeal to everyone, it's worth going just to see Enslaved, who should satisfy anyone that likes the most vital component of metal - heavy, powerful guitars!

Photos by Steve Wass (though the super blurry photo of Enslaved is courtesy of my phone!)

Next show: Turisas and Firewind - TOMORROW!

Sonata Arctica, Arsis, Yesterday's Saints, Fallen Martyr, Trihexyn, Radamanthys - 12/9/12 at Empire, Springfield, VA

We missed all the local bands at this show, which was too bad, because some of them were decent, one had a cool name and one used to be my friend's brother's band (I'll leave it up to you all to figure out which one's which :P) We actually got there right around the time Yesterday's Saints was supposed to go on, but one of their guitars got stolen and they didn't play.

Eventually, Arsis came out instead. They were much faster and heavier-hitting than I expected. The only song of theirs that I had any previous impression of was "Forced to Rock," and the impression I got from that was an old school medium paced heavy metal band, not this whirlwind of pummeling guitars and undecipherable lyrics. Some pits formed, especially later in the set, but I was kinda tipsy and not wearing very secure shoes, so I didn't go in :( I just stood there and headbanged instead. I enjoyed their set; the music was energetic and the rolling sound of the guitars was great for headbanging. (S. said they were better the last time he saw them, so they must have been fantastic.) I talked to one of the guitarists later (the one with amazing long curly hair :D ) and he said that they play everything faster live. A great plan, in my opinion.

I didn't enjoy Sonata Arctica's set as much. They used to be one of my favorite bands, but I don't particularly like their new stuff. It's not horrible, it's just not the melodic epicness that they used to put out. (I know, I just trolled In Flames fans in my last review for similar attitudes, but I guess I'm more open-minded about In Flames since I only recently started listening to them.) Sonata still sounded good, and the few old songs they played (ex. "Black Sheep," "Full Moon," "Don't Say a Word") were awesome, every bit as fast and melodic as ten years ago.  I spent most of the set in suspense to see which (if any) song from Winterheart's Guild they would play; I won't spoil it, but I will say that sadly, I was disappointed with their choice from that album (so many other epic songs!). There was a clump of people in the middle who pretty much only moved when they played the old songs, and a bunch of people on the right who were jumping and waving the horns for every song - somehow the old and new fans self-segregated :P I guess Sonata did play a decent mix of old and new, and the new songs sounded all right, with some catchy choruses - with the exception of "Cinderblox," which sounded messy and terrible. I liked that they ended with one of their best old songs, "Don't Say a Word." There was an honest to god pit for this song, with 6 or 8 people in it. I hoped the band wouldn't ruin the vibe with an encore of newer songs, and they didn't.

Whee. Hope he's singing something good. (Photo by Steve Wass)

I had a pretty good time at the show, but mainly because Arsis was good, and I got to hang out with some friends and family. Old Sonata fans will have to weigh whether you can stand through half a set of new songs for a few of the oldies. If you really need to hear "Don't Say a Word" live one last time, then go - the rest of the set won't be (too) terrible. If you would rather stay home and listen to all the epic songs on Winterheart's Guild that they won't play, I can't really argue with you.

Next show: Heading up to Pittsburgh to see WINTERSUN with Eluveitie and Varg (not in that order) on 12/19!!!

Primordial, While Heaven Wept, Cormorant - 9/12/12 at Empire, Springfield, VA

I saw Primordial last summer in Finland, and thought they were great. They're one of the longest running pagan metal bands, and while they do have some Celtic influence in their music, they have a slower and darker sound overall than some of the more upbeat, folk-heavy pagan bands. It's an intense experience, but rewarding if you like heavy music.

They did a short US tour before heading to ProgPower USA this weekend (a bit odd destination for them, but if it brought them to the US, who am I to complain?), accompanied by While Heaven Wept and Cormorant, two US bands that are rather outside the genre box.

Cormorant, a band from California, has a dark, churning black metal sound in their heavier moments, combined or interspersed with melodies that sound synth or even pop-like. One of their songs, "Blood on the Cornfields," literally sounded like a pop song speeded up and blasted full of metal riffs. The vocals were mostly harsh, with an intonation and rasp that I associate with pirate voices. (Perhaps this is purposeful, as the band apparently takes their name from the Latin corvus marinus, sea raven.) In spite of sudden changes in tempo and mood, there were only a few instances where I found the shifts jarring, such as the several sudden tempo changes in quick succession in the second song.

While Heaven Wept, originally from Virginia, has a background in doom, but their current sound is far too uplifting for me to comfortably put them in that box. Their vocalist, who joined the band in 2008, sings to the heavens in an unabashed clear and high power metal style, and the chord progressions on their newer songs have a very hymnal sound. They did play an older song, "Soul Sadness," which sounded darker and more textured. Overall, they had a much more polished and unified sound than Cormorant, with melodies that flowed seamlessly into and over the heavy segments. They ended with their best song, "Vessel"; during the chorus I noticed some "super-fans" rocking out near the front, and then realized that it was the members of Cormorant, swaying and singing along.

Primordial's performance was quite a change in tone - a pagan metal band from Ireland, they have a strong black metal vibe in their slowish, dark sound and their choice of themes - the persecution of their people, the fall of civilizations, the evil nature of man. Not to mention the singer's corpse paint and Irish miner outfit that looked like it was stained with grave dirt, and the way he gazed at the crowd with demonic intensity and pointed and gestured as though commanding a swarm of ghouls. They gave a solid performance, very heavy, with some Celtic influences in the guitars and drums. The instruments often struck a faster pace while the vocalist used a slower tempo, an angry lament if you will. I thought they sounded as good, if not better than when I saw them last summer in Finland.

Metal Chris from DCHeavyMetal.com posted some videos from the show:
Cormorant - "Two Brothers" (This was one of their most consistently heavy songs)
While Heaven Wept - "Saturn and Sacrifice"
Primordial - "Bloodied Yet Unbowed"

So, if you're headed to ProgPower and wondering what the heck this Primordial band is all about, now you know. They probably won't sound a bit like anyone else there, but isn't that the whole point?

Next concert: Korpiklaani, Moonsorrow, Tyr and Metsätoll, 9/21. FOLK PIT!!!!

M3 Fest (Day 2) - May 12, 2012 at Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD

Wait, what happened? I went to M3 Fest, a big hair band festival, because S. was going. It was actually pretty fun. I didn't really know any of the bands well, and some not at all. The two bands that I wanted to see most were the ones that were least - perhaps not at all - hair band-like: Loudness and Queensryche. It might have been more fun if I knew the bands better, but I would also have gotten more hot and tired from jumping around if that were the case. For a relaxed day off when I didn't want to do much, it was a good choice.

When we got there, L.A. Guns were on. They were all right; they didn't especially stand out in my mind. After they finished we commenced a constant running back and forth between the main stage and the second stage, since the bands went on one right after the other, even overlapping sometimes. Bang Tango, on the second stage, was a little more energetic, loud and heavy enough to get me bobbing my head. Then it was back to the main stage for Dokken. The songs sounded decent but the singer was not into it at all. After that, Loudness was great - loud, fast and heavy. I didn't know any of the songs but they were heavy enough that I took my hair down to headbang. Warrant, back on the main stage, sounded really good too. In sharp contrast to Dokken, the singer was very into it, delivering the lyrics emphatically and waving the mic stand around. He wasn't the original singer of the band, though, as apparently that guy is no longer with us. During their set, S's pal T. kept telling me to sing along, but I didn't know the words. S. did manage to teach me the chorus to "Heaven." Last band I heard before having to leave to do work was Lynch Mob who were also pretty good. I can't remember if it was their singer who jumped down into the crowd or if that was Bang Tango. 

After I left, I later heard a bit of Queensryche and Skid Row while making copies at a place across the street. thought to myself, dangit they must be having so much fun. Indeed they were - when I picked up S and T later, S was completely hoarse from singing along to Skid Row.

Next concert - Sabaton and A Sound of Thunder!!! 5/21/12

S. wrote a more detailed review and setlists.

Blackguard, Powerglove, Symphony X - 5/22/11 at Jaxx, Springfield, VA

Ok, well, I thought I would post a review of Asche, a German industrial artist that played at a friend's goth night near the start of May...but then somehow I never had time :( So. jumping ahead to the present time - on Sunday last, I went to see Symphony X, Powerglove and Blackguard. Well, really I went to see Blackguard and Symphony X since I had never heard of Powerglove before.

Let me just wax eloquent about Blackguard for a moment because they deserve a little more spotlight :) They're a band from Montreal that tours like crazy - they were just down here in November with Epica, they were here this week, they'll be back again in June with Otep (weird combo, that). Notice I didn't say what genre of metal they play, I'm about to get to that. So I just got their new CD this weekend - my brother and I bought it together a while ago but he didn't give it to me till the day before the concert. The sticker on the front of the CD recommends it to fans of "Dragonforce, Amon Amarth and Children of Bodom." Three completely different bands! And yet magically, Blackguard IS like all of them - Dragonforce style speed and technical prowess, Amon Amarth style growly singing and epic riffs and Children of Bodom style rollicking good tunes. The Dragonforce comparison is most obvious in a couple parts, and there was also a moment in one song where I swear they sounded like Ensiferum. But really, they're nothing like any of these bands because the combination they've made gives them an amazing unique sound. There are a lot of symphonic bits on this CD, too, something I haven't heard before from Blackguard. So, I'd say they've created their own new genre which we should call.. power-death symphony, or something like that. I think Paul Ablaze (their singer) would agree based on what he says in this interview. "Blackguard has a very symphonic feel to it. I like to say we're a bastardized..the bastard child of power metal, death metal, black metal, symphonic metal kind of all smushed into one in a way..We do have a strong folk element in the music, so we tend to appeal to a lot of fans of Ensiferum and Children of Bodom and a lot of power metal fans, even Dragonforce and Sonata Arctica..." So yeah. They're like all my favorite genres/bands rolled into one, that is to say, PURE AWESOME!

Anyway :P So when I went down to Jaxx on Sunday night, I was actually looking forward most to hearing Blackguard :) And they didn't disappoint, even though they had two substitute singers, since Paul couldn't make it for some reason. The singer from Powerglove did the first few songs with them, and then the guitarist from a local band called Cab Ride Home did the second half. There was definitely a clear difference between their new stuff, which has more of a power metal sound, and their old stuff, which had more of a folk metal sound. They sounded louder and more energetic than they did in November, and it seemed like the crowd was more into it too.

Powerglove was a fun band to see. Metal versions of video game music is their schtick, and they came out with this huge spiky armor on, the drummer had these battle flag things on his back...they threw inflatable hammers and swords, beach balls and Starbursts into the audience, and at the end of their set exhorted the crowd to form a "triangle pit." It was very silly and a lot of fun. Their music was mostly instrumental, which is not really my thing, but the video game music basis ensured that the tunes were catchy (although since I don't play video games, none were familiar to me) and it was upbeat and decently headbang-able. Random video.

Lastly, Symphony X. They're a progressive metal band in the vein of Dream Theater ie. more melodic and symphonic then the more extreme progressive bands. They turned out to be one of those bands that sounds sooo much heavier live than on their recordings. The sound just came blasting out with nonstop heaviness. I don't know them very well, so I didn't recognize any of the first few songs they played, but I enjoyed it anyway because of the power of their sound. I had to leave after the first four or five songs because I still had schoolwork to do, so I didn't get to hear my favorite Symphony X song, "Set the World on Fire" (of course, I couldn't have picked a more obvious one, right?) which they apparently played near the end of their set.

Overall, an excellent, fun concert. I know I'll be seeing Blackguard and Powerglove again - Blackguard next month with Otep - and I hope to see Symphony X again too so I can see their full set.

Next concert - Noise in the Basement (local bands) - My Enemy Complete, Descent to Daylight, Cyberstrike, Chris Beatty - May 30

Don't know when I'll have a book review. Sorry :( Just don't have much time for reading these days.