Concert Review - Midnight Eye, Exar Kun, Thrain - 8/8/13 at The Pinch, Washington, DC

Although I'd already been to two concerts in the past seven days (and I was only supposed to go to two per month), I wanted to get out to support Midnight Eye, so I waited till my kid was in bed and headed out. By that time, I thought I'd be lucky to get to The Pinch before Midnight Eye started - certainly not in time to have some of the restaurant's insane duck bacon BBQ cheese loaded waffle fries. Well, the intent was to go for the music anyway, right?

After the quest for parking (we passed several good spots, but got greedy and went on thinking we could get closer to the venue, but no such luck, we had to turn around and go back up 14th Street almost to where we were before) we got to the venue right around 10pm. It turned out that only the first band, experimental/black metal band Thrain, had played so far. I was thrilled, cause that meant we could get the awesome fries; I didn't really think about the implications for timing. I do want to see Thrain sometime - their demo is quite heavy and technically proficient for a local band, and combines some plodding doomy segments, cleaner vocals and melancholy melodic moments with the base black metal sound.

A few minutes after we got to the venue Exar Kun started up in the basement, so we headed down. They are, as a friend put it, two bassists and a computer. They provided some heavy background music, but did not really catch my interest. The two high points were when they did start to play something almost riffy; and when they sampled Lordi's "Would You Love a Monsterman."

After they finished, I went to look at Midnight Eye's merch and acquired a turquoise shirt (first ever turquoise metal shirt?), and then our amazing fries arrived.

 Yes, we ate all that between the two of us. Someone was hungry.

It was after 11pm when Midnight Eye finally came on, and they were immediately plagued by sound problems, for at least the first two songs of their set. They played (not necessarily in this order) the three songs from their new EP, Nightmonger (which you can still stream here); a cover of something I didn't recognize, but which they said was by a DC band; "Virtuous" and maybe one other song from their first album, Sign; and a new song with the working title "Weed Helmet." Their guitars were excellent as I expected. The thrashy and black metal parts sounded best on the spartan sound system, but the heavy metal riffs and solos sounded good, too. The vocals were very rough, though; scratchy and little off compared to the albums. I tried to start a pit for the frenzied thrash part near the end of the first song, "Alarm," but no one seemed interested in moshing except for Grimy Grant. The black metal segments of "Outsider" were amazing, so thick and heavy, although the melody was a little lost in the low noise. The new song also sounded very promising, starting off with energetic heavy metal riffs, just thrashy enough to mosh to - I pushed Grant and this time three or four other people joined in, yes! - with another thick, atmospheric black metal segment in the middle of the song, followed by some very heavy noodling that slowed down into a droning segment at the end. It was cool, but would have been more impressive on a better sound system where the low distorted notes would have made the building and everyone in it tremble. Needless to say, hoping to see these guys again soon and looking forward to more releases from them.

Next show: Not sure. There a couple local metal shows in Baltimore on Saturday, but I don't think I will be able to go so far from home. So the next thing might be Face Melting Friday at the end of August. In the meantime, there will be some book reviews!

Wintersun, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Arsis, Starkill, Fallen Martyr, March to Victory - 8/6/2013 at Soundstage, Baltimore, MD

This was probably my most anticipated show of the summer. As a fan of all sorts of melodic metal, Wintersun is of course one of my top bands - Jari Mäenpää is the king of epic, sweeping guitar riffs. Their tour in support of Eluveitie last winter - their first North American tour - skipped the DC area. We did go see them in Pittsburgh, but it was still exciting to see them come back and headline. And what a line-up they brought! Fleshgod Apocalypse, with their classical piano woven into fast and brutal death metal, is one of my favorite melodic/symphonic acts, and Arsis, another speedy and melodic band, are also highly enjoyable. And I was super stoked to see Starkill on the bill. When I first heard them, I could not believe something so epic and melodic was made in the USA (although, I guess we do have Dethklok). I figured they would tour sooner or later. My hopes were raised and then dashed when they toured with Krisiun - but not in my area. And then I heard that they were going to tour with no less than Wintersun. It was like a dream come true.

We got to Soundstage early - on time, rather - to catch the first opener, but it turned out the show was running about 15 minutes late - unfortunate for such a long line-up, but not the worst delay we've experienced. So we had time to check out the merch. There were plenty of Wintersun shirts and other items such as shorts, underwear, cap, koozie, patch, button...Fleshgod Apocalypse had shirts and their new album Labyrinth which doesn't come out till August 20 in the US (!!), Starkill was selling shirts and CD's, and Arsis had...donuts. Their merch was delayed, again.

Lancaster, PA death metal band March to Victory started the night with a solid set. Most of their songs were full of nice headbangable grooves, also the second song, "Soulless," had some pounding jackhammer moments, and the unusually named song "Funeral of the Lizard Beast" (did I hear that right?) was rather complex. Like last time we saw them, they covered Death's "Crystal Mountain," quite well - Danielle does high-pitched Chuck Schuldiner well. She mostly sings in a high rasp, but can produce some nice low growls, too. They were going to play a cover of "The Philosopher" as well, but got cut off. Danielle did not talk to crowd much besides to tell us what each song was - she's new to the band, so perhaps she's still finding her feet onstage. I wish she had called for a mosh pit, though, cause I would have loved to push people around to the thundering fast parts, but was too shy to start a pit in such a large venue.
Setlist: Deadly Venom. Soulless. Funeral of the Lizard Beast. Crystal Mountain (Death cover). Consumption. The Philosopher (Death cover, cut off before they played it).

The next local opener was Fallen Martyr, a sort of melodic fusion of different things. We've seen them a couple times before, but this was the first time I saw them with a good sound system. (Cafe 611 does have a decent system, but it's usually tuned to rumble, which means some of the higher tones get drowned out.) So this was the first time I really got to appreciate their guitar work in a live setting. The guitars are really good - some groovy death metal moments, some blasting black metal moments, some nice solos. The vocals..well, during the first song, I thought I might finally be getting used to them. There were moments when the singer's vocals meshed nicely with the music, and altogether they painted an image of desperate yearning - I imagined a drowning person struggling for air. But as the set went on, the whininess started to get to me again. They're not overly whiny - they're kind of like Muse's vocals, just whiny enough to be a little irritating. And his screams took it right out of the ballpark for me. Some people may like screamo, but it's not for me. Frankly, the singer ranting, "You will all bow" at the end of the set was kind of ridiculous. I've seen him do that before, and it always sounds and looks like a petulant teenager. So, I've given them several tries and still can't get into the vocals. But hey, I did really enjoy listening to their guitars.

An then it was time for Starkill. They take melodic death metal to a new level epic power metal solos and film score-based symphonics, besides throwing in some black metal or other influences at times. I was really looking forward to these guys, so I was disappointed that they started out weak. At first, they were too quiet - then the vocals were too loud and lead guitar so low that I could hardly hear it - not all whenever Parker was singing. It was frustrating to the point that I thought of shouting, "Turn up the lead guitar!" but I didn't, for fear it might throw the band off. Fortunately, the sound was corrected during the solo of their second song, "Immortal Hunt." After that, they sounded much better, although still a bit quiet compared retrospectively to the acts that followed. Their sound has a strong resemblance to Dethklok at times, especially the song "Below the Darkest Depths." There was a decent pit for most songs - if there wasn't, I might have felt compelled to help out, but as it was I decided to just headbang to their epic grooves. They played a good selection of songs from their new album, Fires of Life, although I didn't think "Wash Away the Blood with Rain" was a good choice to end on, not being one of their stronger songs. I would have preferred to hear "Sword, Spear, Blood, Fire" or "This is Our Battle, This is Our Day." But oh well - that leaves something to look forward to when they come around again.
Setlist: New Infernal Rebirth. Immortal Hunt. Fires of Life. Below the Darkest Depths. Wash Away the Blood with Rain.

Starkill used be known as Massakren and released a self-titled EP under that name, so after the show I screwed my courage to the sticking plate and asked one of the band members about their name change. He said they changed the name, as well as cleaned off their corpse paint, in order to better represent their sound. Apparently Massakren kept getting labeled as a black metal band, even though there is so much to their sound than that, so they wanted to get away from that - to have a fresh start, I suppose.

Their image is a bit mixed, though. Their clean-cut looks fits with the epic, melodic metal vibe, but the skinny jeans they wear make me think of the throwback thrash scene - and thrash is one thing that doesn't appear in their sound at all. (I dunno, maybe that's just the way people dress these days, though.) Their album cover with its warrior on a mountaintop and lightning or lasers flying everywhere, makes me think of Manowar, while their T-shirt designs are rather dark and ghoulish, in the vein of death metal or deathcore bands. But hey, it's their band. They can do pretty much anything, as long as they keep making that sweet epic melodic metal goodness.

After Starkill were Virginia natives Arsis. While not one of my top bands, I can get behind their very fast and melodic style of technical death metal. Their songs all sound rather similar to me; I can't really tell them apart (aside from a few singles like "Forced to Rock" or "We Are The Nightmare"), but there's enough variation within the songs that I don't get bored. We were very near the front for their set, perhaps in the fifth row, but off to the left of the stage. Yet the sound level was bearable without earplugs, so perhaps they weren't very loud either. They sounded great even way off to the side, a barrage of furious riffs punctuated by the James Malone's raspy vocals. I was trying to headbang with a drink in my hand and wondering whether or not I'd be too drunk to go in the pit for Fleshgod Apocalypse. They played a short set, but a fun one.
Setlist: Handbook for the Recently Deceased. A Diamond For Disease (first few minutes). Seven Whispers Fell Silent. Unwelcome. Carve My Cross. Face of My Innocence. (Thanks to XcKyle93 on M-A for filling in my gaps :) )

Fleshgod Apocalypse had the second slot, of which I was glad, since after Wintersun and Starkill, I most wanted to see more of them and go crazy to their fast, brutal sound with its tidbits of classical piano. Actually, it seems the piano plays a larger role than I thought, because they had an actual piano on stage during this show, with a guy playing constantly - I don't remember if they had that last time. I still couldn't hear it much of the time, though, and I feel like their symphonic backing track was pretty low, too. Their sound was much bigger this time; I don't know whether that has to do with the difference between Soundstage and Empire's sound equipment, or their own gear/sound guy. They played a couple songs from their new album: "Minotaur (The Wrath of Poseidon)" and "The Elegy," both of which had a good death metal groove going on and utilized more operatic backing vocals, compared to the sporadic line or two of agonized cries on most songs on the previous album, Agony. They had a female singer in a feathered mask standing at the back right, doing the operatic vocals. Besides the new songs, they only played songs from Agony. That was all right with me since that's the album of theirs I know best, and I got to hear some of my favorite songs. I wanted to go in the pit for "The Violation," the pit was too fast and brutal; I thought I'd better stay out. They were good - solid, headbangable guitars and crushing vocals - but when am I going to get to hear the symphonics and piano live, hm?
Setlist: The Temptation (intro). The Hypocrisy. Minotaur (The Wrath of Poseidon). The Deceit. The Violation. The Egoism. Elegy. The Forsaking. (Thanks to Dave_o_rama on M-A for id'ing the first song.)

And then, it didn't seem long at all before the ethereal strains of "Time Fades Away" wafted over the audience, and we grabbed a spot and waited for Wintersun to come out. They emerged at the climax of the intro, Jari second after the drummer, and launched right into "Sons of Winter and Stars." There is nothing quite like belting out that chorus along with a hundred odd other metalheads while the epic strains of Jari and co surround you. It was an awesome experience all the way through. The sound seemed fuller than when we saw them supporting Eluveitie, but that's probably because this was a bigger venue than the "metal church" where we saw them before. Fantastically epic riffs contrasted with heartwrenching sorrowful moments - I actually teared up at end of "Land of Snow and Sorrow" and "Time" (although maybe just because I associate them with the sad moments of a certain novel). I was stoked to hear "Beautiful Death," a charging fast song that made up for the lack of a certain other fast song. There was an enormous pit for "Beyond the Dark Sun" - I've only seen pits that large at thrash shows. Their "new" song, "The Way of the Fire," was another fast one, though with slower choruses. At some point there was a solo from Teemu, showing that he's a great guitarist in his own right (I mean, he was in Imperanon after all). They finished the set with the epic "Starchild."

There was all sorts of talk beforehand about what they were and weren't going to play - well, they played all of Time I (though in separate chunks), the new song, and all but three songs from Wintersun. I know several people were upset that they dropped "Battle Against Time," but I was pretty happy with their set. They played a solid set - an hour and a half - and didn't take up much time talking (come to think of it, none of the bands did).
Setlist: When Time Fades Away. Sons of Winter and Stars. Land of Snow and Sorrow. Beautiful Death. Darkness and Frost (Time intro). Time. Death and the Healing. Winter Madness. Beyond the Dark Sun. The Way of the Fire. Starchild.

All in all, it was an epic night, well worth being up till nearly 2 in the morning.

Next show: Midnight Eye's release party - tonight! Check out my review of their new EP, and stream all 3 songs from it, here. :)

Concert Review - Black Sabbath - 8/2/13 at Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow, VA

I was a little hesitant about going to see Black Sabbath, since the clips I'd seen of Ozzy's performances in recent years were kind of sad. Up till the week of the show, I was undecided whether to go, and when I finally did decide to go, it was more because I wanted to spend a relaxing evening with S rather than because of Sabbath.

We were a little late to the show because we took a detour to pick up some chicken on the way. We parked around 8:30, just as Sabbath was starting. We missed Andrew W.K.'s DJ set entirely. It might have been nice to be there a little earlier to find a seat and start eating our dinner before the show started, but I didn't mind too much. We still got a decent spot on the lawn, about halfway down. I sat for most of the show, and except for a couple songs where people were standing right in front of us, I could see the giant onstage screen just fine, and could make out the real people on the stage as well.

Sabbath and Ozzy actually sounded pretty good, to my surprise. The musicianship was top notch, and the overall sound was much louder and heavier than I had expected from what I considered a low-key, slow-tempo 70's band. Ozzy sounded fairly strong for most songs, although he did falter a bit on the last song before the drum solo/break for everyone besides the drummer. He was more lively and mobile than in the videos I'd seen, but his movements were still kind of flacid, and he looked rather silly limply waving his arms about. Tony Iommi seemed to be in good form, with sharp movements and a strong, clear voice when he said a few words to the crowd. The cameras didn't focus too much on Geezer Butler, but in the few shots they showed, he looked like he was in good shape, too. Tommy Clufetos (of Ozzy's solo band) on drums was very into it, banging on the drums with big dramatic motions - befitting the grand scope of this show, I suppose.

It was pretty amazing to see Black Sabbath perform "Black Sabbath." The thunder and tolling bell in the intro were chilling, and the whole song was very heavy and spooky. Ozzy screamed, "No, no, please no" in a stronger voice than I'd ever have thought him capable of in his current condition. After that, I most enjoyed "Fairies Wear Boots," which is my favorite Sabbath-with-Ozzy song anyway. The visuals for this song were pretty modern, with an industrial/horror feel - an industrial-looking fairy in leather and clunky boots (I didn't know the song was about that kind of boots), women in tiny cages, people hanging from meathooks. (The screen on the stage mostly showed shots of the band, but a couple songs, like "Fairies" and "Dirty Women," had a video to go with them. Also, there were a few neat shots where the cameras would line up a performer with their image on the screen, creating an infinite series of receding images.) The songs from the new album ("Methademic" and "The End of the Beginning" are the titles I can remember) sounded pretty good. Most had that slow, doomy feel of Sabbath songs, but Methademic was a little faster and groovier, so I think I liked that one best of the new songs.

We left as the encore ("Paranoid," which I would have liked to hear) started, because since we arrived so late, we were parked at the ass end of the parking lot. In spite of taking the wrong stairs and walking a little extra way, we got to the car and out of the lot before the mass exodus started. In total, Sabbath probably played for about an hour and a half, although it didn't seem that long. I was glad I got to see them. Obviously I could not have seen the original line-up in their prime, and while this was probably a longshot from what the seeing the band was like in the 1970's, it was a pretty good retrospective.

Next show: Wintersun, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Arsis and Starkill on Tuesday! Gonna be a long night cause we're getting there early to see local death metal band March to Victory start the show \m/

Concert Review - MAYHEM FEST 2013 - 7/24/13 at Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow, VA

Prepare for a long review! We saw (or at least heard) almost every band at Mayhem Fest, and I have something to say about all of them, even if just that we took a food and beverage break ;)

We got to Jiffy Lube Live around 12:15 or 12:30, after about an hour's drive from Maryland. It was a little slow getting into the parking lot but not terribly so. We got a spot right up by the gate, and then proceeded to eat some sandwiches and drink some beverages while watching the line form past the car. Uh, why didn't we get in line five minutes ago, when the line was 50 people shorter? I wondered. I went to the portapotty, and when I got back, S and K had gotten into a shorter line that had just started near another gate. Good.We (by that I mean mainly S, social butterfly and 80s metal expert that he is) chatted with an old timer and slightly less old timer in line in front of us. The gates opened just after 1 pm, and we got in very quickly, then headed straight for the side stages as Thrown Into Exile was scheduled to go on at 1:10! I don't know whose brilliant idea that was - certainly not Thrown Into Exile's PR people, I'm sure. After passing through a second gate to the side stage area (where alcoholic drinks were not allowed - so, um, people have to choose between the music and drinking? That's not a good way to sell your overpriced drinks, JLL) we dawdled by the merch booths, and found out Amon Amarth and Children of Bodom's signing times were the same. Rage? Or good fortune? Finally, we walked out onto the baked desert of rocks and dust in front of the two side stages, which were conveniently placed, side by side.

I can't remember for sure how much of Thrown Into Exile's set we actually saw/heard - I think it was most of it. I had wanted to see them, because when I heard them on the radio, they reminded me of Killswitch Engage, with their melodic guitar riffs and not atrociously emo clean vocals. I thought they sounded good live - they were very groovy and headbangable for a metalcore band. There was even a ten second guitar solo in one song!

As Thrown Into Exile was finishing up, S started herding us toward the Jager stage, where a few people were waiting for Huntress to come on. I'm not a huge fan of them, partly because they have a little of that slow 70's occult metal vibe, partly because I don't enjoy Jill Janus's high pitched shrieks. I thought it might be fun to see her up close, though, so I went along. I don't wear earplugs, because I find they dull the sound too much, so I don't usually go up to the front even for bands I do like (unless I get pushed there from the pit, or get overexcited and run to the front heedless of what might happen to my ears - has happened at Sabaton shows..). It was the worst sonic experience of my life. The air was throbbing with the bass, distorting all the other sounds. I could barely hear Jill's screams or lows. Her high clean vocals were the only thing that cut through the distortion (and the dang earplugs) clearly. The only thing that made it worth it was the entertainment of watching her creepy expressions and poses up close.

Attika 7 came on next. We glanced at them, and then went to take a bathroom and beverage break. That meant leaving the side stage area, which was also where all the band merch tents were, and heading to the vendor and concessions area right around the JLL amphitheater. There we discovered the Sumerian stage, conveniently placed where the pit (full of ridiculous arm swinging) mostly blocked the path to the bathrooms.

Having traversed that dangerous area twice, we returned to the side stage area to stand in line for Amon Amarth's signing and listen to Battlecross. They possess the kind of energetic and aggressively melodic guitar style that usually appeals to me, but for whatever reason their riffs don't quite pull me in. I suppose it didn't help that they were on the stage further from us. So they were kind of bland background music until they played "Force Fed Lies". They finally hit on some epic grooves and melodies in that song.

When we got in line for Amon Amarth's signing, there were about 30 people in line ahead of us; COB's line was way longer. Johan Hegg is one of my metal idols, though, so I wasn't about to miss the chance to meet him and get his autograph. Even meeting Alexi Laiho took second to that.

While we were standing in line, Motionless in White played on the stage nearer us. This is another non-metal band that I was curious to see. This spring, they made their whole album available on youtube, so I listened to it after hearing "America" on the radio. The radio single has a very industrial vibe to it - Zombie-like guitars perfect for stomping about the floor, creepy swirling synth melody, Manson-like vocal inflections and stylings. The new album is a mix of that type of stuff and metalcore, with one honest-to-god blazing-riff metal song thrown in, too. Their first album, though, as far as I know, is just plain old metalcore. So needless to say, I was hoping they'd be playing more of the industrial material from their new album. But unfortunately, they played mainly their metalcore songs, and even more saddening, they metalcore is rather bland - boring guitars and emo screams. They did play one industrial-ish song early in the set and "America" at the end of the set. Their appearance was sort of industrial, with white and black make-up, and their keyboard/synth player was prominently placed on the stage, which was cool. I'm awaiting their next album to see what they do next - whether they keep going in the industrial/Manson direction, return to their metalcore origins or do something else entirely. I'm hoping for industrial, although if they pursued the blazing-riff metal direction I wouldn't be unhappy.

We were still in line, and Butcher Babies came on on the far stage. I only glanced at them once or twice, and hardly noticed their music. I can't seem to get past my suspicion that they are the Britney Spears of metal - half naked bodies fronting for meaningless, carefully marketed music. I can handle all sorts of over the top publicity ploys and efforts to create a certain "image" for a band, but lack of authenticity is something that just doesn't have a place in metal. Of course, I don't really know that much about Butcher Babies - this is just a gut feeling I have about them. In any case, from what we could see it looked like the frontwomen were actually pretty well covered up for this show. Dunno if that has to do with some sort of legal risk for public indecency, or whether they're parting with the electric tape and tattered clothing image.

Sometime during their set we made it up to meet Amon Amarth, and then walked away from their signing table to discover the line for COB had dwindled to about ten people! So we jumped in that line as well, and thus were able to leave the show with autographs from the two bands we most wanted to see :D I'm rather shy at best, so confronted with these metal superstars I couldn't do much more than mumble, "Hi" and "thanks," but Johan Hegg did look at me and chuckle when I told him he was my idol XD

After accomplishing our signing missions, K and I sort of stood around uncertainly half listening to Born of Osiris while S went somewhere. Born of Osiris were actually more interesting than I expected, with a sort of progressive sound - some technical guitar bits, some synthy bits. One of their songs had a synth part that sounded quite a lot like the Game of Thrones theme. :P

After that we tromped over to the Jager stage with a few more friends to see Job For a Cowboy. I'm not familiar enough with their discography to comment on what they actually played (except that the last song was "Constitutional Masturbation," because afterward JS remarked that damn, that would be a painful song to masturbate to). But I'm a fan of their fast and brutal sound, and they sounded good.

Then Emmure came on, and we took a dinner break. Breakdowns are fun every now and then, but I like riffs too.

We got distracted socializing, and so I was still eating during the first two songs of Machine Head's set (while sitting by some sort of decorated car near the band merch tents). We headed toward the stage at the start of "Locust," which is probably my favorite Machine Head song. I got into them when Unto the Locust came out, because the songs on that album seem to have a lot more complexity and also some great vocal hooks compared to their earlier songs. I think "Locust" was the only song they played from that album, though. During their set, S kept wanting to go save a spot in front of the other stage for COB, but I wanted to see Machine Head so I made him wait.

We still got a place in the middle left of the crowd for Children of Bodom, but I was perfectly placed behind several tall people so I couldn't see Alexi most of the time (karma, perhaps?). But at least I could clearly hear his fast and furious guitar riffs. They played a wide range of songs, from "Bodom After Midnight" to "Halo of Blood." I thought "Blooddrunk" was the least interesting song they played - the riffs are not as catchy as the others - but even that sounded decent. They were not as crushing as when we saw them in an indoor venue, but still fast and fun. A second pit appeared right near us (the main one was somewhere in the middle of the crowd). There was also almost a fight, one guy actually bringing over a metal trash drum which he tried to ram into another guy before security dragged him away.

As soon as COB stopped playing, we started booking it toward the amphitheater, because for some reason there was only a five minute break between their set and Amon Amarth on the main stage. We actually ran straight up the hill which forms the back of the amphitheater, and claimed a spot about halfway down the lawn just before AA came out. They started off awesome with "Destroyer of the Universe" (which is my favorite song from Surtur Rising). They had the front half of a Viking ship on stage, with the drum kit on the ship and a ramp on either side that Johan Hegg and the guitarists occasionally went up. Every now and then smoke would come out of the dragonhead's nostrils. It looked pretty cool. Amon Amarth is the only band of the main stage line-up I would have wanted to be in the pit to see, but we didn't think it was worth it for six songs. It was a still a good show - the sound was plenty loud and heavy even out on the lawn. They played a good mix of songs - I was worried their new album would dominate the setlist, but they only played "Deceiver of the Gods" from that album. Surtur Rising actually dominated with two songs (the second was "War of the Gods," which sounded great this time, compared to last time I saw them live). For an oldie, they played "Death by Fire," and ended with "Twilight of the Thunder God," which unfortunately sounded weak compared to the rest of their set - dunno what happened there. After they finished, I had no voice for a few minutes due to growling along with too many choruses.

Amon Amarth's awesome, giant prop. Photos contributed by a mysterious gentleman.

S and I talked about how Amon Amarth seems to be getting more mainstream attention - being included on Mayhem Fest's main stage line-up, for instance - and how that has both positive and negative aspects - more publicity and revenue, but also the danger of shifting to a more mainstream sound and image. However, I think the fact that Amon Amarth brought out a lifesize Viking ship with them is a pretty good indication that their Viking image is, if anything, stronger than ever, and I hope the same remains true of their sound. I haven't actually listened to their new album enough times yet to say for sure.

We took a break during Mastodon's set - sat on the lawn, chatted with J and K, ate funnel cake. Mastodon sounded good, clear and sometimes heavy, but I couldn't get into them. Their older songs such as "Blood and Thunder" (which they started out with) are heavier and more energetic, but most of what they played was kind of light and wandering, more like prog rock than metal. Somebody liked it though, because there was actually a pit on the lawn, at the end opposite where we were.

Five Finger Death Punch was more rousing, with their charging riffs and aggressive vocals. Although I enjoy their sound, I can't quite get on board with their alternating aggression and whininess, since I'm not quite sure that they don't mean it all literally. They have some nice groovy riffs and catchy choruses, though. The singer kept saying that this was the best crowd of tour. Yeah, ya think? This is Virginia after all. They had tons of props on stage made of what looked like aluminum - two giant brass knuckle logos, gargoyles, a skeleton mic stand. The glittery metal and some of their color schemes for the lights - magenta and greenish yellow, for instance - gave it a Bollywood feel at times O.o There was an enormous circle pit on the lawn for one song.

Finally, at the end of the night, Rob Zombie put on a great show. He and his band came out in costumes - just ghoul face paint and a coat for Zombie, but one guitarist had a cape and a goblin mask, and the other had some sort of techy armor suit type thing on. There was fire, screens with videos (or more fire), costume changes, a giant robot that Zombie rode around the stage, a giant radio he performed on for "Dead City Radio", a giant vampire that tottered about the stage. The giant vampire appeared while Zombie was running through the crowd - he even climbed the barrier between the seating area and the path at the bottom of the lawn area. I was pretty tired by time Zombie came on, so the entertainment helped me stay awake. I haven't listened to Zombie too much, so the only songs I recognized were "Living Dead Girl," "Sick Bubblegum," "House of 1,000 Corpses" and "Dragula," but the rest of the set had a similar sound - heavy and industrial. The set seemed a little short, but perhaps it was, about an hour, with the cut-off at 11pm. As soon as they finished playing "Dragula," we high tailed it out of the amphitheater, down the steps at the back. We got to the car and out of the parking lot within a couple minutes and got home before midnight.

I had an awesome time at the festival overall. It was unfortunate that Behemoth dropped off, since of the line-up that was originally announced, that was the band I was looking forward to most. Still, it was a strong line-up of bands that I wanted to see or was curious about, and the bands that I had most wanted to see - Amon Amarth, Children of Bodom, Machine Head, Rob Zombie - didn't disappoint. And I got a glimpse of some new bands like Thrown Into Exile and Motionless in White, and learned that Born Of Osiris might actually be ok. With water bottles and tons of snacks, I got away without spending too much on concessions (although next year I might want to bring a string backpack for that gallon ziplock bag of snacks (and sunscreen, and my sunglasses after sundown, and the new T shirts, and, and)). Amon Amarth had a cool shirt with their band name spelled out correctly in runes, not just written with runes that look like Roman letters like a lot of Viking metal bands do. By the time we decided to get shirts, though, the band merch tents had already been taken down and we had to make do with the Mayhem Fest merch stand, which didn't have as wide a selection. So if you want that cool AA rune shirt, make sure you grab it before the main stage bands start. If you send me a picture, I'll post it on here :)

I hope next year's Mayhem Fest is just as much fun, but I think it might be hard to outdo this year's.

Next show: Still contemplating Black Sabbath on Friday. But after that, definitely Wintersun, Arsis, Fleshgod Apocalypse and Starkill on 8/6!

Note: I had to untag a lot of bands cause blogger won't let me have so many tags, so if your favorite band isn't tagged, it isn't cause I hate them, just that blogger is mean.

Concert Review - The Agonist, Fallen Martyr, Demiz, March to Victory, Area 52, Iris Divine - 7/19/13 at Cafe 611, Frederick, MD

This show was the day after we trekked up to PA to see Amaranthe, but we decided to go anyway since it was so close by. I also felt like I was getting a cold, but thought I could power through the evening. I'm not a huge fan of The Agonist - I feel like their music lacks intensity somehow - but I was interested in seeing the long line-up of local bands opening for them.

We wanted to see Iris Divine, but left too late and missed them. We got there just before Area 52 started. They sounded like they might have some promise, but it was hard to tell. The mix was off, so they sounded like a lot of bass noise punctuated by way too loud (and slow and repetitive) drums. The guitar player did (mostly) clean vocals, and the bass player harsh vocals, but I could hardly hear them (from my seat at the bar). They had some promising moments, like when the bass and drums were obviously doing something thrashy, but I couldn't hear the guitar. They called for a mosh pit and the crowd actually obliged, which doesn't always happen with the local acts at Cafe 611.

Gettysburg, PA death metal band March to Victory was on next, and they sounded really good. They had a different vocalist than the last time we saw them - they had a male vocalist previously, but this time the vocalist was a woman (with fake(?) blood smeared on her face and neck). I liked her vocals more than the previous guy - I still couldn't make out what she was saying, but it sounded more like words than the former vocalist's unintelligible growls. Overall their sound was much clearer and groovier than last time. I headbanged a lot and would have pushed people around if I wasn't sick and wanting to save my seat for later.

Next was Demiz (pronounced like "demise"), who also sounded good. They played mainly fast, fierce black metal in the vein of Marduk, very loud and energetic. They had a song about Vikings, which sounded rather Viking-y. I think they need to work on their image though - the guy in a red Subway shirt and the singer's plug earlobe piercings really threw things off. They would look much more like a professional black metal band if they had a more unified image. The guitarist (who looked rather more black metal with his dark hair and clothing and crosses painted on his face) jumped on the speakers a couple times. I did enjoy their sound.

After that was Fallen Martyr, who also sounded better than last time we saw a whole set of theirs (opening for Blackguard). They collected a good crowd and had a very professional demeanor and sound. The guitars and drums were nice and heavy, and pretty well mixed, although I couldn't hear much of the guitar melodies. Still, they are not quite to my taste, mainly because of the vocals. The singer sang with a lot of gusto this time (lack of which was one of my gripes before) but I was not digging the anguished sound of most of his vocals. There were some moments where he sang with more aggressive punch to his voice, kind of like Halford's vocals, which I thought were good, but overall things tended a little too much toward emo for me.

By the time The Agonist came on, I was feeling rather weak. They sounded pretty good, loud and riffy (this is another venue whose sound system seems generally tuned to rumble), and I headbanged a bit when I was able to pay attention. There seemed to be something lacking, though; they didn't inspire me as much as March to Victory and Demiz. It may also have been that I was sick and tired, because I literally passed out on S's shoulder by the end of the set.

Next show - Mayhem Fest on Wednesday!

Concert Review - Amaranthe, Kobra and the Lotus, Shattered Sanctity - 7/18/13 at The Note, West Chester, PA

When we saw that the power metal/metalcore/synthpop fusion act Amaranthe were embarking on a headline US tour, and the closest date, while out of state, was right during our summer vacation, we knew we had to go see them. So, after a short vacation on the beach, we trekked up (through four states) to West Chester, PA to see their show, not sure whether we should be more prepared to mosh or to dance.

The Note turned out to be a tiny venue, with a stage at the far end of a long rectangular room, and a bar on the right near the door. There were a good number of a people on the floor when we got there, and the whole place filled up by the time Amaranthe came on.

We were curious to see the local opener, Shattered Sanctity, after reading that they might appeal to fans of Sonata Arctica and Stratovarius. But the show started early, so even though we got there right on the advertised show time (8pm), we only caught the last song or so. We were stuck at the bar socializing and drinking, so I only caught snatches of some shredding and a couple wails, but not enough for a distinct impression. From the bar, they did not sound as fabulous as we hoped.

Touring with Amaranthe was Canadian band Kobra and the Lotus. I hadn't really heard of them before; a friend said they are pretty much straight ahead heavy metal, with a deep-voiced female singer. I was in the bathroom when they started, and if I hadn't known singer was a woman, I would have sworn it was a man, she had such a deep voice. Even then I doubted it for a moment. They were very good - solid NWOBHM metal riffs, verging on thrashy in one song, and the singer's rich, powerful vocals were a feast to the ears. They were quite thunderous for such a small place - it seemed the sound system was tuned to rumble.

After a rather longer wait than the first set change, Amaranthe emerged. You may know them for their single "Hunger" or the fact that their female singer has done backing vocals for Kamelot - up till a month ago that was pretty much what I knew of them. Once we decided we were going to this show, I listened to them more, and got pumped to see them. Their sound defies genres - clean power metal vocals from the female and male singers, Gothenburg-esque death growls from a third singer, riffs that range from pounding metalcore to In Flames like melodeath, and danceable synth melodies. It seemed like it should be one of the funnest shows I've been to. Unfortunately, they started out weak - the vocals were all right, but the instruments were off, even out of tune, and the synth inaudible for the first couple of songs. Guess they should have sound checked! (I didn't notice them doing so during that long break between sets.) Then they got it together, and sounded pretty good for the rest of the show. The synth was still a little low, but the vocals were very clear, and the guitar sounded good. The venue was full, and full of super-fans to boot. People I would never have pegged for knowing the lyrics to Amaranthe's "Amaranthine" were singing along to every word (here's a video). There was even a small pit for a few songs. Throughout the show, Elize, the female vocalist, profusely expressed the band's gratitude for everyone coming out to support them. So far, their first US tour seems to be a success, and I look forward to seeing them again sometime!

Next show - we went to The Agonist and co the following night.

Concert Review - "Kalmyk and Tuvan Music from Russia" and Heveder Band - 7/5/13 at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, National Mall, Washington, DC

What first drew my interest to the evening concerts at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival was the fact that pretty much every night there was a "social dance party," which I figured was something like line dancing where everyone dances as a group while someone tells you what to do, meaning you don't actually have to know how to dance and it's a ton of fun.

And then I realized that there was a concert of Tuvan and Kalmyk music on July 5, and I was hardly going to miss that.

The title of the concert is a little misleading, since even though Tuva and Kalmykia are both within the borders of the Russian Federation now, the Tuvan and Kalmyk people are actually part of the Mongol family of languages/cultures. Actually, my idea of what "Mongolian" folk music sounds like was formed (several years ago) by the Tuvan group Huun-Huur-Tu. So this wasn't what one would think of as Russian music - instead it featured a lot of the two-stringed string instruments, gallop-like rhythms and unique vocals one would associate with Mongolian music.

I met my friend M at the Tavern, and we headed to the Voices of the World stage around 6:15, getting there just as the 16-year-old boy from the Tuvan ensemble was leaving the stage after a solo performance. In contrast to the earlier Kalmyk and Tuvan concert I saw, this time, the two ensembles alternated every few songs. I don't think I would have been bored anyway, but the movement and variety helped to hold interest during the soporifically hot and humid DC summer evening. (The performers must have been dying in their costumes, which seemed more suited to a colder climate.)

We saw:

The elderly members of the Kalmyk ensemble. The MC didn't specify how old they are, but implied that they are very old, and that they can still be so energetic and make music is quite impressive.

The Tuvan ensemble (which is known as Alash) played a song in praise of the Bai Mountain, or Bai Taiga, or something like that. It was a rather slow, mournful-sounding song.

The Kalmyk gents played/sang several songs, including a piece of an epic known as Jangar, which was much more low key than I would have expected for an epic story; a song about mother, or mother and father, I don't remember which, which was, by contrast, quite energetic and got the crowd clapping; and another whose theme I don't remember. There was some throat singing involved, done by the guy in white, I think.

Throat-singing demonstration by a member of the Tuvan group. He demonstrated three different styles: xöömei, which has a medium-pitched, wavering sound; sygyt, which is predominantly a high whistling sound (the Tuvan word for it is actually related to the Tuvan word "to whistle); and kargyraa, which is the lowest style, is made using the false vocal folds, and which the MC compared to the mountains - they're all connected at the bottom, but their upper contour goes up and down. This style was dominated by a low undertone, with a medium-pitched, oboe- or jew's-harp-like sound undulating in the middle, and sometimes very faint high notes. I've greatly admired throat-singing for some time now, so it was great to see the different styles demonstrated and explained. (Note: For the styles of throat-singing, I've used the spellings that are used on Alash's website, but there are several alternate spellings for these words in English. That page also has a wealth of information about throat-singing and its connections to nature.)

Performance by one of the Orgaeva Sisters, part of the Kalmyk group. The MC explained the themes of the songs as "a boy who likes a certain girl" and "a girl singing about all the nice things her man does for her." I kind of snickered at that, but perhaps it's unfair to judge a traditional culture by modern standards. These were energetic songs that got the crowd clapping. Overall the crowd was very involved and appreciative.

Then other members of the Kalmyk ensemble joined her, and they performed a song about "a prince and a princess falling in love in the moonlight," and about a Kalmyk national hero of the early twentieth century. During the second song, the Orgaeva sisters danced a bit while singing - taking small quick steps with their feet and making flowing motions with their arms - and the older woman musician came out and a couple other women from the audience, who looked like they might be Kalmykian, started to dance as well.

The Tuvan ensemble came out one last time. They played a song of the Tuvan camel caravan herders, which the MC compared to songs of the American cowboys - a song that could go on for weeks and weeks but never repeat a verse, mostly about how much the camel herder/cowboy misses home and "just wants to leave the camels on a mountain and go back to his wife." After that, they encouraged the audience to sing along as they played "Aa-Shuu Dekei-Oo." This song is on one of the Huun-Huur-Tu cd's I have and is probably my favorite Tuvan song, so I was stoked to hear it live. Alash's version was a little thinner and more hollow-sounding than Huun-Huur-Tu's recording, which may have to do with the instruments used. The vocals, being done by a woman in this case, were also a little cleaner and less throaty than Huun-Huur-Tu's male vocals. It was still great to hear and sing along though. And I found out that in Tuvan, "Aa-shuu dekei-oo" means... "Aa-shuu dekei-oo" XD It doesn't mean anything, actually, it's just scat singing. As for the rest of the song, the MC said it was about "pretty women and fast horses." :P

To finish the concert, the Kalmyk group came out and invited the audience to dance while they played a song that "no Kalmyk person can hear without getting up and dancing." The song was about the wedding of a famous woman - the MC noted that in Kalmyk culture, every event gets recorded in song. I think this song was also sung by the Orgaeva sisters the first time I saw them, and is the one where I complained of the poor explanation by the translator (different guy than this one). Actually, I thought I ought to snap a picture of "Mr. Explaining Guy" as well, so there he is in the shot as the Kalmyk group prepares for their last song. Research reveals that he is Sean Quirk, the only foreign member of the Tuvan National Orchestra, and interpreter for Alash. He is actually capable of throat-singing himself, but didn't perform at this event.

The wedding song did indeed get people up and dancing. Near us, a woman who looked Indian got up and danced in a way that looked pretty similar to what the Kalmyk women were doing, and a man came out of the backstage area and started dancing with her, his hands at his belt and his feet doing little kicks and hops. I was so entertained watching that I didn't really want to get up and dance myself.

Overall, I found this concert a lot more enjoyable than the last Kalmyk and Tuvan performance I went to at the Folklife Festival. It flowed much more smoothly, and the introductions of the performers and songs were more informative and engrossing. Having more context made the songs more enjoyable, although there were still places, such as the spoken parts of the Jangar piece, where I thought I really was missing a lot by not understanding the language. (Not much that could be done to remedy that with this set-up on the Mall, though; they hardly have the budget or support to set up sub- or supertitles, I think.) The music itself was superb, showcasing the variety of musical styles in the Mongolian family. This time, much of the focus was on vocals, so I didn't spend a lot of time imagining riding horseback across the steppe to the tune of galloping strings - the impression was more of epic tales and human connections, of the vast power of nature and the emotions of people journeying across it.

After that highly enjoyable performance, M and I wandered a bit and got frozen yogurt, and then returned to the mall in time for that night's dance concert, which featured the Transylvanian band Heveder. At the beginning I listened to the music enough to notice the rough, scratchy sound of the strings - a lot of pressure on the bow! - but I spent most of the performance trying to master the dance steps, so I have little further impression of the music other than the rhythm - da, da, dit-dit-da. (This seems to be basic dance rhythm across that region, because the other dance tutorial I took part in with my daughter several days before used the same rhythm.) There was lots of spinning and twirling, and we only halfway got the steps by the end of the concert, but it was a fun time. I wish I had listened to the music a little more, but what can you do; I went to dance, and mostly accomplished that goal.

Overall, it was a fun night. In particular, I feel like I would really have been missing out on experiencing Hungarian culture if I hadn't gotten to go to one of the dance nights. After language, music (and the dance that goes with it) is a pretty integral part of culture, and it was really neat not just to see this part of Hungarian culture, but to actually bodily experience it.