Early Man -- Kansas City, MO -- October 18th, 2010

Not a particularly long concert tonight, but it certainly was a good one. I'm glad I wore my Suicidal Tendencies long-sleeved shirt, it looks like every show I go to for a while will end with a cold night. Anyways:

Walked into the Riot Room with my friend and sat in the bar to make it through Serated. I just don't get this type of music; it's basically just nu-Pantera worship. Definitely not my thing, and judging from the crowd reaction, definitely an odd choice for an opener.

First of the touring bands was Bonded By Blood, and apparently the vocalist is new. New, as in I think it's someone different than the vocalist who sang on their latest release which came out in August. Not my favorite vocals for a thrash band, but the guitarists more than made up for it. Lots of crazy and long solo's. I'd like to see them again.

The main reason I went to this show was for UK's Evile. I think it was their second or third full-fledged US tour and I made sure to let them know that we wanted them back in KC as much as possible! At times, they sounded just like RIB/SOH-era Slayer. At one point in one of their newer songs, I really did think they were covering Slayer. Thrasher was menacing and amazing, just like I hoped it would be, but I think the highlight was definitely We Who Are About To Die. I thought it'd be too long, but I didn't want it to end. Definitely up there on my "to-see again" list.

Ending the night was Early Man. I didn't really care for them when I saw them open for Iced Earth a few years ago, but this show was definitely a different experience. Lots of headbanging from everyone. I think Early Man is one of few thrash bands today that invoke a feeling of the '80s while still being completely original and refreshing to listen to. They're a great fit in-between Bonded by Blood and Evile. Some great solo's during their set as well. They'll be back in KC on February 11th with Bonded By Blood too, opening for Death Angel, and I'll be there to catch their set!

I also picked up a cool Evile shirt!

Early Man included:

Death Potion
Brainwashed At Birth
Feeding Frenzy
Beware The Circling Fin

Evile:

Infected Nation
We Who Are About To Die
Now Demolition
Thrasher
Enter The Grave

Bonded By Blood included:

Immortal Life
Feed The Beast
Mind Pollution
600 A.B. (After The Bomb)
Prison Planet
Exiled To Earth

Early Man: 8.5/10
Evile: 9/10
Bonded By Blood: 8/10
Serated: 5/10

Sonic Kansas City Beatdown

Thrash legends DEATH ANGEL will be making an appearance in Kansas City in the beginning of 2011! February 11th at the Riot Room. Support comes from Lazarus AD, Early Man, Bonded By Blood and Hexen! Thrash!

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!

Iced Earth -- Kansas City, MO -- November 12th, 2008

Just gotta say: Wow.

I walked into the venue (after paying 5 bucks to park?~#$!?@#) as the first local band was playing. I forget their name unfortunately, but they were doing a pretty mean cover of Ace Of Spades. I'd say they sounded kind of like Down: Redneck Metal. Sure.

Troglodyte AKA The best local band in or around Kansas City came out next. Divine Heresy dropped from this bill, so Trog got about 40 minutes and played through what seemed like their entire demo. They also threw in a cover of GG Allin's "Bite It, You Scum" at the end to cap off another fantastic, even longer this time, set of deathgrind. I will always look forward to Trog. 8/10

Early Man was a bit disappointing at first, but they pretty much saved themselves once they kicked in the speed and forgot about the "stoner" part of their stoner/thrash. I think their sound is basically a mash-up of Overkill and Megadeth with the same solos but sometimes half the speed. One of their roadies had a shirt on of the band The Sword. That's pretty much what Early Man was, with more thrash elements. 7/10

Iced Earth. Wow. It's all I can really say. I've never really listened to them before, but I'll start now. Matt Barlow was spot on and hit notes I didn't even know existed. The sound was great and the solos were insane. More often than not, the crowd drowned out the band in most of their songs. It was such a fun crowd to be in. Every single song was just made for headbanging and singing along with. The crowd was very loud for such a small attendance, but we made sure that Iced Earth knew they were welcome. And I'm eager for them to return. 9/10

In Sacred Flames (intro)
Behold The Wicked Child
Invasion (intro)
The Motivation Of Man
Setian Massacre
Burning Times
Declaration Day
Vengeance Is Mine
Ten Thousand Strong
Stormrider
Pure Evil
Watching Over Me
Coming Curse
Dracula
High Water Mark
--
Melancholy
My Own Savior
Iced Earth

Troglodyte:

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Early Man
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Iced Earth
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Epic! Iced Earth is coming!

Pretty good news to all you power and heavy metal fans: Iced Earth is coming to the Beaumont!

Nov. 12 - Beaumont Music Hall - Kansas City, Missouri

Support is from Divine Heresy and Early Man.