Another BLS show

The Berzerkus tour is also hitting the Cotillion in Wichita the day before it comes to KC at the Uptown.

Black Label Society
Children of Bodom
Clutch
2cents

Just an update.

Godhate: Setting the bar for extremity

Godhate, blasphemous death metal from Sweden, will be dominating Kansas on TWO dates! (at this time)

First date is at the Boobie Trap bar in Topeka on August 29th.

Godhate
Common Grave
Natron
Walking Corpse Syndrome
Elctrikchair
Confined In Flesh

Second date is the day after, August 30th, at the Bottleneck in Lawrence.

Godhate
Common Grave
Natron
Vanlade
Elctrikchair
Confined In Flesh

Very awesome.

New shows! New shows! New shows!

I found out recently about some good shows!

First off: Everyone's favorite Troglodyte!



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If you like Mammoth Grinder but can't see them in Lawrence next week with Lewd Acts, they'll be at the Scion Lab in KC on August 5th. Details TBA.

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Beer thrash! Cross Examination will be at Bobby's Loft in KC,MO with Shred Scare on July 9th. Insanity!

Update on Vektor show

That Vektor show, which will probably be one of the best of the year, just had Vanlade added to it. More bands + cover TBA.

KC Deathfest 2k10?

The Riot Room is hosting an insane, 2-stages show on July 8th. It starts at 8 PM and it costs $10. No reason for anyone 21 and over to not be there.

The future of thrash returns to KC!

Progressive thrash heavyhitters VEKTOR are coming back to KC on their Black Future tour. It will be hitting the Czar Bar in Kansas City on July 26th. Come see one of the best new thrash bands in the world!

Skelator -- Kansas City, MO -- June 29th, 2010

Heavy metal is alive and still killing posers, everywhere it goes!

Tonight's show just proves once again how diverse and awesome Kansas City's metal scene is and just how good they all go together. Throw in a true metal band from out of town, and you've got a good night and a sore neck tomorrow.

First band was Meatshank from KC. If thrash breaks are illegal drugs, Meatshank are Colombian druglords. They play thrash faster, heavier, and more evil than your typical "Big Four" bands. The solo's are more technical, the bass is more hard-hitting, and the drums are just off the wall. Equal parts thrash and death and everything is great. Can't wait to see them again.

Back from a big ol' tour, Vanlade tore it up next. One of my favorite local bands, this was definitely the best time I've seen them. The bass sounded especially good and heavy this time around. Brett Scott on vocals sounded better than ever before and his range is getting more and more impressive. Still salivating for more Vanlade.

All the way from Washington, Skelator is real heavy metal and they don't mess around. They draped banners over the amps, waved around a "Skelator" flag and even started the show waving a giant broadsword around. They sounded like a current version of Grave Digger or Accept or Manowar or all of them combined. Epic stuff, awesome solo's, and lots of headbanging. They also did a cover which I can't recall, but it was by Jack Starr or one of his bands. Awesome!

Surprisingly, Skelator did not close out the show. Crossover thrash dudes Shred Scare from KC ended the night on a high, and obscenely loud, note. The guitars dominated everything for the first song, but after that things started to even out pretty well. Played an obscenely short set. Shorter than usual. It's not often you get D.R.I.-esque thrash played for you at a tiny venue. Bring on more Shred Scare!

Meatshank included:

Meatshank
S.O.L.

Vanlade included:

Blood Eagle
Life By the Blade
Breaking The Law (Accept cover)

Skelator included:

Death To The False
Time Of The Sword Rulers
You Traveled Many Miles (For A Heavy Metal Show)

Shred Scare included:

World War Brew
P.C.

Meatshank: 9/10
Vanlade: 9/10
Skelator 8.5/10
Shred Scare: 8/10

I'm gone for vacation!

I'm going on vacation tomorrow and won't be updating the blog for a while. If you have any news, e-mail to me at the address above! See ya!

A good thing gets a whole lot better

See that Black Cobra/Howl show mentioned over there to the right?

Well, according to the Jackpot's website, California's own Phobia has been added to the bill.

You heard me right.

Black Cobra
Phobia
Howl

Hitting all extremes of the music spectrum that night.

July 21st at the Jackpot!

Great news, everybody!

Sick, sick, sick show I just found out about

Lewd Acts
Mammoth Grinder
Crucified
Harsh Reality

Jackpot in Lawrence
All Ages
7-11 PM
$8
$10 under 21

If you caught Lewd Acts when they came through with Coalesce (supposed to be headlined by Converge) then you know it's going to be awesome. Mammoth Grinder smokes fools as well.

The Battle Of The Century!

Friday, August 20th
Jackpot Saloon
Lawrence, KS
18+
10 PM

HAMMERLORD

VS.

TROGLODYTE

Bone-snapping thrash

vs.

Corpse-devouring death

BE THERE!

Skipping Kansas: Sleep

Legendary stoner metal band Sleep (featuring Matt Pike of High on Fire and Al Cisneros of Om and Jason Roeder of Neurosis) have a US tour lined up, but nowhere near here...or a lot of places.

Sep. 03 - All Tomorrow's Parties - Monticello, NY
Sep. 07 - Starlight Ballroom - Philadelphia, PA
Sep. 08 - Brooklyn Masonic Temple - New York, NY (w/ LICHENS)
Sep. 09 - Logan Square Auditorium - Chicago, IL (w/ LICHENS)
Sep. 10 - Mohawk - Austin, TX (w/ SUB OSLO)
Sep. 11 - Roseland Theater/Music Fest NW - Portland, OR (w/ SCOTT KELLY, YOB)
Sep. 12 - Regency Ballroom - San Francisco, CA

I hope they realize that there's enough genuine interest in the band and their music that they don't need to be a destination/nostalgic touring band and have weird routed tours.

But oh well.

Unmerciful -- Lawrence, KS -- June 18th, 2010

Sometimes bands get the short end of the straw. They can be really, really talented and make some of the catchiest death metal you'll ever hear, but get terribly promoted and end up only playing in front of a handful of people. But on Friday night, those bands played like they were in front of hundreds.

The first band of the night was Chaos Interval from Kansas City. For a grind outfit with no bassist, their sound was surprisingly really heavy. I came in late for their set so I only caught the last two songs, but I'm really excited to check them out again. I really enjoyed what I heard. 7.5/10

Next up was Independance, MO's own The Roman Holiday. It was my third time seeing them and I have to say, they really have improved with each viewing. When I first saw them, I was ready to dismiss them as another deathcore/brutal death metal band, but they actually didn't fall into that trap and now are just straight up death metal. It's not pure brilliance, but there are parts that are fantastic: the song "Trainwreck" was really fantastic. It sounded at home on the last two Cannibal Corpse albums. They have a lot of room for improvement and I hope they keep on improving: they can't go wrong. 7.5/10

Now for the band of the night. Troglodyte is my favorite local KC-area band and they just reminded me why Friday night. Whereas most death metal bands go for straight up aggression, Trog keeps that intact but also makes metal fun again with catchy music while still keeping the brutality from brutal death metal and the speed and structure from grindcore. It's something special, really. As soon as Trog ripped into "Don't Go Into The Woods" and "They Walk Among Us", they were a breath of fresh air and really sent shivers up and down my spine while they played. If there's one band you should be really excited about from here, it's Troglodyte. 9.5/10

Last but not least is the very first death metal band I ever saw live, Unmerciful. This band has huge ties with the death metal scene, including members and ex-members of Origin and Cattle Decapitation (and the tour I saw them on was with Cannibal Corpse!) and it shows. They make straight-up, in your face brutal death metal, but with enough polish and professionalism that make them stand out. They played some old stuff, played some new stuff, and played a cover of one of my Hate Eternal songs, so all in all, they did great. 8/10

Unmerciful included:

Mass Execution
Seething Darkness
Nailed To Obscurity (Hate Eternal cover)
A few new songs

Troglodyte included:

Don't Go In The Woods
Skunk Ape Rape
We Eat Our Own
Don't Go In The Woods
They Walk Among Us
Die When You Die (GG Allin cover)

Last Minute Notice: Unmerciful + Troglodyte TOMORROW!

Hot damn. How did I miss this?

Unmerciful
Troglodyte
The Roman Holiday
Chaos Interval

Tomorrow (Friday, June 18th) at the Granada in Lawrence, KS. Come see two of the biggest and best bands from these here parts tear your face off with unrelenting death metal, and two other bands who ain't half bad either! It's only $5 too!

I'll be there. Are you man enough to show up too?

Killing Kansas Metalfest Update

New bands Allaegon and The Roman Holiday have been added.

Here's the flyer:



Bands each day:

Day 1:

Confirmed bands:

Christ Hate
Serated
Sicadis
Moire
The War of 1812
Feast For Flesh

Day 2:

Confirmed bands:

Allegaeon
Unmerciful
Torn The Fuck Apart
Whoracle
The Roman Holiday

On the way: Hardcore goodness

On August 20th, Bane will return again to Lawrence at the Jackpot. Coming with them is Alpha & Omega, Cruel Hand and Trapped Under Ice. Mosh!

Hammerlord -- Lawrence, KS -- June 12th, 2010

My first legal 21+ show! At the Replay Lounge, which has a patio that had some DJ spinning all night, so there were lots of really hot girls that kept coming into the bar to use the bathroom who were probably scared to death by the bands playing. Made me chuckle.

The first band was Koktopus. It was my 2nd time seeing them, the first time leaving me a bit underwhelmed. They did much, much better this time around. Half of their set sounded like a better version of Pantera, while the other half was blistering thrash/death. A couple of covers, including Venom's "Witching Hour", went over pretty well with the crowd. They started off the show very well.

I've seen Wrath & Ruin three times now, and every time they've had a different configuration and a different sound. The first time I saw them it was a keyboard player who did vocals, a guitarist and a drummer. The second time was the same thing, except they had a bassist. Now, they had the same set-up, but no vocals. This time, however, they played a brand of crushing drone/doom that was some of the heaviest stuff I've heard. Very eerie, very awesome stuff.

Hometown heroes Hammerlord destroyed the place. Almost literally. For such a small venue, there was quite a bit of moshing going on. They played lots of cuts from their new album which stacks up right alongside their first album. In fact, I'd even say it's better. Off the walls thrash with some of the bests solo's you're guaranteed to hear anywhere. Each member of Hammerlord is hemorrhaging talent with their respective instruments. Unfortunately, the band lost track of time and they had to cut their set short, but it was just enough to leave everyone wanting more. A lot more.

Set (cut songs*):

Creating Destruction
Dead City Radio
Storm The Castle
Lordess
Hammerlord
Thunderers*
Tombstone Piledriver
The Anomaly Rue*
Demon Fever*
Metalization*
Wolves At Wars End

Listen to Hammerlord's new CD "Wolves At Wars End" here if you want to thrash your balls off: http://hammerlord.bandcamp.com/album/wolves-at-wars-end

Hammerlord: 9/10
Wrath & Ruin: 8/10
Koktopus: 7.5/10

Upcoming Concert: Black Label Society

Here's a pretty eclectic tour.

Black Label Society
Children of Bodom
Clutch

This will be hitting the Uptown Theater on November 13th.

New Iron Maiden!

Catching up!: New concerts, cancellations, and skips

New concerts:

Black Breath will be at the Riot Room on June 7th, this Monday. Gonna be awesome. 21+.

Apparently the Rockstar Energy Uproar tour is stopping at Sandstone on August 18th, a Wednesday. This features Disturbed, Avenged Sevenfold, Stone Sour, Airbourne, and more.

Canceled:

The Anal Cunt show has been canceled. No further information is available at this point.

Modified:

The Enthroned/Destroyer 666 tour might not have Shining on it, and it might have Nachtmystium now. I'll keep a close eye on that.

Skipping Kansas:

Exodus, Nevermore, Origin (for now), and Landmine Marathon.