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Friday, July 30, 2010

The Apostasy Returns!

They couldn't stay away for too long.

Behemoth returns to The Granada in Lawrence on November 9th in support of their album "Evangelion" with a killer line-up including Watain, Withered and Black Anvil. Their show a few years back with Job For a Cowboy and Gojira was amazing, so this should be even better!







Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Skipping Kansas: Triptykon

This sucks. Triptykon, the band started by Tom G. Warrior after Celtic Frost dissolved once and for all, is touring the US in October with 1349 and Yakuza. Celtic Frost came here in 2006 to the Bottleneck (my first metal concert) and again the next year opening for Type O Negative at a sold-out show at The Granada. They need to come back!

10/06 – New York City, NY @ The Gramercy Theatre
10/07 – Boston, MA @ The Middle East
10/08 – Baltimore, MD @ Otto Bar
10/09 – Philadelphia, PA @ Polaris
10/10 – Montreal, QC @ Les Foufounes Electrique
10/11 – Toronto, ON @ The Opera House
10/13 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
10/14 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre
10/15 – Detroit, MI @ The Majestic Theatre
10/16 – Chicago, IL @ The Bottom Lounge
10/17 – St Paul, MN @ Station 4
10/19 – Denver, CO @ The Marquis Theatre
10/21 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
10/22 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
10/23 – San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s
10/24 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
10/25 – Tucson, AZ @ The Rock
10/27 – Tulsa, OK @ The Marquee
10/28 – Fort Worth, TX @ Ridglea Theatre
10/29 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s Outside
10/30 – Houston, TX @ The Warsaw

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Mammoth Grinder: Rescheduled!

Mammoth Grinder is coming to KC after they dropped form a Lawrence show with Lewd Acts.

Mammoth Grinder
Reignition
Roam Alone
Harsh Reality
Attention Seeker

August 5th @ Scion Lab (behind Grinder's/Crossroads in KC!)

Vektor -- Kansas City, MO -- July 26th, 2010

Every so often, there is a concert where you have an absolute blast because you recognize all the songs, sing along with them, and actively engage with the performers on stage to make a night memorable. You leave the venue and you play the songs over and over in your head for the rest of the night and you can't listen to the album versions anymore without wishing you were back at that concert, banging your head and slamming with your friends in the pit.

And then there's a Vektor show.

The thing that makes Vektor stand heads and shoulders above the rest of the playing field is that while they are perfect on album, they are above perfect on stage. They recreate each piece of art (I refuse to call them just "songs") down to its most minuscule details and makes them even better on stage. Every song they perform (tonight was all from the best thrash metal album of at least the past ten years, "Black Future") is instantly recognizable and catchy in its own way. Not once are you left wondering which song they're playing or when they're going to get to a song you recognize. "Black Future" is a masterpiece, the musicians who performed it are geniuses, and to see them perform these amazing musical achievements live is something everyone should be truly grateful for.

Each song was memorable in its own right, but each song also had moments in them that stood out. Screaming along with "Black Future", wondering in amazement how someone could make such a beautiful song during "Accelerating Universe", and opening up the pit with friends during "Hunger For Violence" just to name a few. I won't say it's just the small things that made Vektor so good, but every single movement of every single song was just absolutely mind-blowing. Without a doubt, Vektor is the absolute best live band that is touring these days, not just because of their technical ability, but because these songs sound even better live.

Talked with Blake (whom I told about how my grandparents know his family) and Erik afterwards. Apparently their next release is done being written and will be half new material, half re-recorded old material. Afterwards, they'll make the third album which may be a concept album.

I can't really do justice to the other bands tonight in this review. It wouldn't be fair:

Vanlade was really fun. Played a few songs I've never heard. "Life By The Blade" and "Blood Eagle" are still awesome to sing along with and their cover of "Breaking The Law" will always be fun.

Mitnal was kind of disappointing. The most one-dimensional guttural vocals I've ever heard and their music sounded more like a wall of noise. Had a few worthy moments.

The Tards were more clear sounding this time, but it just made me realize that they really want to emulate Kill 'Em All Metallica way too much.

Vektor:

Black Future
Oblivion
Forests Of Legend
Destroying The Cosmos
Accelerating Universe
Hunger For Violence

Vanlade included:

Blood Eagle
Life By The Blade
Breaking The Law (Judas Priest cover)

The Tards included:

Give Me The Guillotine

Vektor: 10/10 (tied with Celtic Frost for best live performance I've ever seen)
Vanlade: 9/10
Mitnal: 5/10
The Tards: 7/10

Monday, July 26, 2010

Vote for your favorite KC Metal Band!

The Pitch is doing another poll to determine KC's best bands and the metal genre looks like this:

At the Left Hand of God
Diskreet
Hammerlord
Coalesce
Troglodyte
Sharp Weapons

And you can vote for more than one! Do it!

http://polls.pitch.com/polls/kcp/musicballot10/

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Black Cobra -- Lawrence, KS -- July 21st, 2010

My streak of almost dying from heat exhaustion at shows continues. After a sweltering performance from Black Cobra, Phobia, and Howl inside the Jackpot, I was sopping wet with sweat. But it was well-earned not just from the heat, but from how fantastic the concert was.

"Someone has to live there," says Howl's frontman Vincent when he mentions that they're from Rhode Island. Apparently, over on the northeast coast, you get a free Buzzov*en album whenever you buy groceries. They were dripping with Buzzov*en/Weedeater/etc. worship that halfway through their set, I wish they would change it up a little bit. While they were certainly heavy, I was sorely aware of the absence of guitar solos. Too many songs sounded the same and, for the first time I can recall, the bass absolutely dominated in the mix. Odd, but they still pulled off a decent set. They know how to get heads banging.

I've seen some odd pairings in shows, but nothing quite like this. Phobia stood out as the more extreme/faster of the three bands, but most of the crowd came for their set. It was a blast of fresh air, but it seemed the band was going a little through the motions, although they seemed to get really into it halfway through the set. Lots of pitting and even a few stage dives let them know just how welcome their grindcore was. As they were starting to put their gear away, the crowd kept yelling for more, so they gave the grindcore faithful a well-earned encore. Phobia will always be welcome back.

I can't believe I was considering leaving before Black Cobra's set. I decided to stay and it was the best decision I've made in quite some time. Matt Pike would be proud: Black Cobra sounded just as heavy and had as many riffs as High On Fire, but they only had a guitarist and a drummer. Couldn't believe how loud two guys could get. They were heavy when the tempo's slowed and made everyone's neck sore when they decided to get fast. This fantastic two-piece didn't let up one bit and it was really one of the better performances of the year so far. After their set, I shook their guitarist's, Jason's, hand and said, "Calling you the heaviest band in the world would be an understatement." And what an understatement it is.

Black Cobra:

Five Daggers
Kay-Dur-Twenty
Red Tide
Machine
Catalyst
Omniscient
Chronosphere
Negative Reversal
Storm Shadow
Swords For Teeth

Phobia:

Bring The War
Savannah's Assault
So Full Of Hate
I Reject
Fuck What You Think
Drunken Spree of Violence
?
?
Death To False Punk
?
Cheap Life?
Ultimate Suffering
Rise Up
Get Up And Kill
?
Blood Sport
===
Let's Get Pissed

Black Cobra: 9.5/10
Phobia: 8/10
Howl: 7/10

I've got something to say!

The Misfits are returning to Kansas City! No word yet on support, but it's still a ways off.

November 24th at the Beaumont in KC.





Tuesday, July 20, 2010

BlackDiamondSkye

The huge BlackDiamondSkye tour will be hitting Kansas City at Sandstone on October 2nd. See three legendary bands in their prime!

Alice In Chains
Deftones
Mastodon





Lamb of God -- Kansas City, MO -- July 19th, 2010

Personal opinion and taste aside, I honestly believe that Lamb of God is the biggest American metal band right now. Following Slayer in the 80s and Pantera in the 90s, Lamb of God incites crazy crowds wherever they go. On one of the hottest days of the summer, they brought a huge tour to the Beaumont Club and each band brought a different genre of metal and each band performed really well.

First band up was 3 Inches Of Blood. I saw them on Ozzfest 2007, but that was in the midst of a torrential downpour, so it was good to see them without a distraction. Although I was off to the side at the Beaumont, the sound was pretty good all night long. I think they'd be better if they still had their old screamer, but Cam Pipes and company did a fine job. I haven't heard any of their new stuff, but it fit in well with their old stuff. Deadly Sinners is awesome live and The Goatrider's Horde is one of the best! I hope they come back soon, but I won't hold my breath.

I've had a chance to see Hatebreed before multiple times but I've always skipped them. Since the first time at Ozzfest 2007, I've been turned on to real metalcore and good hardcore, so I was kind of anxious to see how they'd be. First off, let me say that Jamey Jasta is lying if he doesn't take a huge influence from Biohazard, More than once, I could tell there were some hip-hop overtones. Other than that, Jasta is a great frontman and he worked the crowd throughout their entire hour-long set. At one point, he said, "When I count to three, the people on your left and right are Cardinals and Raiders fans!" which was just priceless. He also dedicated one of their songs to Peter Steele, which was the first I've seen. They played the Beaumont with Type O (and 3 Inches of Blood!) on a Jagermeister tour a couple years ago, and Jamey said it was bittersweet. But you couldn't tell that. They tore through a set that left everyone smiling.

It's no secret that Lamb of God are the biggest American metal band right now. I have no doubt in my mind that in 5 years, they will easily sell out any venue they headline, from clubs to amphitheaters. I'm not the biggest fan of their music; at times I found it just going through the motions. Almost like they wrote songs just to "sound like Lamb of God". But that might be because I'm not a fan. When they did songs that really got the crowd going, such as Set To Fail, Now You've Got Something To Die For, Laid to Rest and Redneck, they were pretty fun to watch. I don't know if they need more old or new songs in their set, but if they had more fast songs, they'd be greater live. But that's just my opinion. From the number of mosh pits and crowd surfers, it's clear that Lamb of God were on the top of their game tonight.

Lamb of God:

In Your Words(?)
Set To Fail
Walk With Me In Hell
Now You've Got Something To Die For
Ruin
Ashes Of The Fall
Dead Seeds
?
?
Contractor
Laid To Rest
Omerta
?
Vigil
Redneck
Black Label

Hatebreed included:

Betrayed By Life
You're Never Alone (maybe)
I Will Be Heard
Doomsayer
Defeatist
Destroy Everything
In Ashes They Shall Reap (maybe)

3 Inches Of Blood:

Battles And Brotherhood
?
Trial Of Champions
Wykydtron
Deadly Sinners
Goatrider's Horde

Review to come.

Lamb of God: 7/10
Hatebreed: 7.5/10
3 Inches of Blood: 8/10

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Coming Up: Nachtmystium

Psychadelic black metal band Nachtmystium will be returning to Kansas City near the end of September. With them will be Zoroaster, Dark Castle and The Atlas Moth. Personally, I wish they'd focus more on the black metal side of their sound when picking out touring bands, but it still should be a good show.

September 29th
The Riot Room

Nachtmystium
Zoroaster
Dark Castle
The Atlas Moth





Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Vektor: now FREE!



'nuff said.

Vektor
Vanlade
The Tards
Mitnal

Skipping Kansas (but coming close!): Cattle Decap./Devourment

What a line-up. Well, at least the two big bands are really awesome.

Cattle Decapitation
Devourment
Knights Of The Abyss
Burning The Masses
Son Of Aurelius

The closest dates would be:

October 5 – Tulsa, OK @ The Marquee
October 24 – Omaha, NE @ Sokol Underground
October 25 – Denver, CO @ Marquis Theatre

Brutal!

Upcoming Concert: Stupid fast tech. death

You either love Brain Drill or hate 'em, but they will be hitting the Kansas City area on August 24th. No venue is confirmed yet, but I'd bet on the Riot Room.

Brain Drill
Flesh Consumed
Arkaik
Halo Of Gunfire

Friday, July 9, 2010

Hammerween!

An announcement for another Hammerlod/Troglodyte show is a fantastic announcement indeed.

The night before Halloween, KC will be laid to waste by some of the best bands the area has to offer.

HAMMERLORD
TROGLODYTE
DISKREET
SERATED
THE CAST PATTERN
AT THE LEFT HAND OF GOD
KOKTOPUS

Look at that lineup. That's hot.

October 30th
The Beaumont Club
Kansas City
All Ages

$10/$12 for under 21
$6 if you come in costume!

Gravehill -- Kansas City, MO -- July 8th, 2010

Genre's of music I saw at last night's show:

Slam Death Metal
Brutal Death Metal
Pornogrind
Death Metal
Death/Thrash
Death/Grind
Blackened Thrash

Pretty good mix.

I arrived at the Riot Room as Syphilic was finishing up. Just one guitarist, one mic, and one drum machine. It set the tone for the next few bands. Not as brutal as, say, Devourment, but it got the job done.

Next up was Intracranial Butchery, but he had Clay from Cemetery Rapist do vocals for him. He had a bit of technical difficulties working his drum machine and guitar pedals and it carried over to his performance, but there were some bits that were great. Clay did an excellent job too.

First band I was really excited to see was Cemetery Rapist. Yeah, pornogrind is a joke genre, but the way Clay does vocals is kind of impressive, considering he doesn't use voice altering equipment at all. His sound was the best of the pornogrind/slam bands. It was just dumb fun.

First band with more than one member was Garoted. This Garoted was not the same deathcore/grind band from KC, but a straight-up death metal band from Nebraska. They said they'd be playing more in KC from now on. They sounded pretty good, even a tinge of black metal at times. The drummer is insane, too. Looking forward to lots more of them.

I've never seen Othis before and I was kind of eager because they're on a couple of good shows coming up. However, they didn't seem into at all. They looked really bored on stage and seemed like they were just going through the motions. Not a good first impression at all.

Koktopus is always good, and they've gotten better and better each time I've seen them. This was probably the best time. The guitar tone and volume were just perfect. Throwing in a sick cover of Witching Hour only helped. Really awesome stuff.

Cardiac Arrest from Chicago was co-headlining and they slayed. Mixing death and thrash, they had an infectious sound and got everyone headbanging. Finally had a band with more than just guttural death growls.

Last but certainly not least was Gravehill from California. They dressed up like the kvltest of Norwegian black metal bands, but their brand of blackened thrash metal had enough punk in it as well to incite the only moshing of the night, as well as insane amounts of headbanging. I really, really hope I get to see Gravehill again. One of the best bands of the year.

---
Syphilic: 7/10
Intracranial Butchery (feat. Clay from Cemetery Rapist on vox): 7/10
Cemetery Rapist: 8.5/10
Garoted: 8/10
Othis: 5/10
Koktopus: 8.5/10
Cardiac Arrest: 8.5/10
Gravehill: 9.5/10

Review to come. Holy shit, Gravehill was awesome.

Gravehill included:

Rites Of The Pentagram
Bloodsoaked
Decibel Ritual
Ravager
In League With Satan (Venom cover)

Cardiac Arrest setlist:

Insanity's Grip
Mind and Body Deteriorated
Make Them Die Slowly
Carnage Your Fate
Embrace The Aftermath
Affliction Of The Beast
Right On...Fuck Off!

Koktopus included:

Drink The Fuck Up
The Wrath Of Koktopus
Witching Hour (Venom cover)

Garoted included:

Matricide
Blackest Blood
With The Hammer
Heretic Fire

Cemetery Rapist included:

New Song
Preteen Bitch With The Itch For Dick
Slant Eyed Sex Slave
63 Fag Body Bag
Death by Ruru

Monday, July 5, 2010

Halloween Thrash

The thrash continues all through the year. Early Man will return to KC once again to the Riot Room with British vets Evile and California's Bonded By Blood. KC's own Serated will be opening the show. Will be incredible!







Sunday, July 4, 2010

Happy Independence Day!




A desperate situation
Forced to retaliation
The task ahead, a burden
Men will suffer, that's for certain
We'll charge into the fire
The cause, we must inspire
We raise our fist to tyranny
A high price, Freedom is not free

The odds are stacked against us
But with our resolve relentless
And arrogance their Weakness
Our cause is just, we won't be beaten
Upon this declaration
Will come a brand new nation
Where men are seen as equal
Governed by and for the people

So we make our stand and pray
On this declaration day
For independence I will fight
With liberty I will defy

So we make our stand and pray
On this declaration day
Give me liberty or give me death
I'll fight 'till my last breath

With virtue as our beacon
Our cause is charged as treason
Battle worn and starving
Through the hell of war we'll keep marching
The birth of our new nation
An act of desperation
We'll force king George down to his knees
Capitulation

The Offspring -- Bonner Springs, KS -- July 3rd, 2010

The Offspring:

You're Gonna Go Far, Kid
Bad Habit
New Song
Come Out And Play (Keep 'Em Separated)
Gone Away
All I Want (Crazy Taxi song!)
Hammerhead
Gone Away (piano version)
Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?
Gotta Get Away
The Guns of Brixton (The Clash cover)
Why Don't You Get A Job?
Staring At The Sun
Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)
(Can't Get My Head) Around You
The Kids Aren't Alright
Self Esteem

311:

*
1. Down
2. Sick Tight
3. Prisoner
4. Mix It Up
5. Come Original
6. Taiyed
7. All Mixed Up
8. Something Out of Nothing
9. Beyond the Gray Sky
10. Applied Science
11. Flowing Play
12. Speak Easy
13. From Chaos
14. You Wouldn't Believe
15. Nix Hex
16. Beautiful Disaster
18. What Was I Thinking
19. Amber
20. Creatures (For a While)
21. Encore:
21. Jackpot
22. Feels So Good

Pepper included:

Stormtrooper

--

Every show I've been to at Sandstone the past couple of years have pretty much been nostalgia trips. From Warped tour to Weezer, most of these trips have been to hear songs that I knew by heart even though I'm not a huge fan of the bands. I got a full dose of nostalgia tonight at Sandstone.

First up was Pepper. I was less than excited to see them, but they surprised me. Not so much that I'm a fan or anything now, but they were kind of fun to listen to. During their set, it just became all too painfully obvious how out of place I was at this show in my Motorhead shirt. But it was good fun. When Pepper wasn't doing the reggae thing so heavily and put in some rock, it wasn't so bad. 7/10

I realized after their set that just by listening to the radio and growing up in the 90's/early 00's, I knew a lot of songs by The Offspring. I started my listening career as a pop/punk fan, and it doesn't get much better or more enjoyable than an Offspring concert. The guys on stage may look old and their voices may not be able to do exactly what is on record, but they more than make up for it with really fun, really upbeat music. 8.5/10

311 headlined, but I only stayed for about an hour of their set. My sister loves this band so I grew up listening to a lot of them. The sound wasn't fantastic from where I was, but it evened out as time went on. When they were on, they sounded great, but I didn't know most of the songs. Beautiful Disaster was really awesome, as well.

All in all, I'm glad I went. Too many stoners and frat boys, but the music was great.

Apocalyptic Crust!

The godfathers of crust punk, Hellbastard, are coming to Lawrence for a house party at The Mouth (547 Alabama St.) on Sept. 21, and it should be awesome.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Another Midwest Metal Fest!



Just found out about this. It's all the way in Overlan, MO (right outside of St. Louis), but that lineup is awesome. Devourment and Putrid Pile alone make this worth going to.

Day 1:

BLOODSOAKED
CEMETERY RAPIST
METH TOOTH
INTRACRANIAL BUTCHERY
ANIMATED DEAD
DECAPITATED SAINTS
VISCERAL THRONE

Day 2:


WACO JESUS
PUTRID PILE
DEVOURMENT
MASS MURDER MESSIAH
MELORA
WHAT THOU WILL
WRAITH
HEMORRAGING ELYSIUM

Thursday, July 1, 2010

July is Thrash Month for Kansas City

It's true!

On July 27th, Razormaze and Trasher will be hitting the Riot Room with support from Witchreign and Shred Scare. Thrash all night, party all day!