Taake -- Kansas City, MO -- June 4th, 2016

For the 2nd time in the first half of 2016, Norwegian black metal mainstays Taake unblessed Kansas City with their presence, this time bringing along blackened doom outfit Wolvhammer and locals Stonehaven for a night of Trve Norwegian Black Metal.

Just like in February, opening the show was Kansas City's own black metal horde Stonehaven. Cloaked in animal pelts and chainmail, Stonehaven's brand of viking-tinged black metal went along perfectly with the folk-ier elements of Taake and made for yet another fantastic set from the group. In particular, the final song of their set - "Sword Rape" - sounded especially vicious. Stonehaven sounds like they should be from the 90s from Norway, yet they're from Kansas City. An amazing black metal group.

Minnesota's Wolvhammer have been steadily making a name for themselves in recent times, being one of the premier blackened doom/sludge groups, a genre that has recently exploded in popularity. Although maybe not as intense as, say, Dragged Into Sunlight or Coffinworm, they incorporate much more of a doom metal sound into their songs; and it really makes them stand out. A blast of intense black metal sludginess backed by doom-riffs is one of the best dichotomies in heavy metal and Wolvhammer does it better than most everyone else.

Norway's Taake toured the US for the first time in their career back in February after their original tour, slated for June 2015, was postponed due to Visa issues. This current tour they're on is technically the makeup for those dates. Although they've now played Kansas City twice in about three months, Taake's live performance is straight out of the old (read: legendary) black metal scene that makes it truly one of a kind.

Clad in dirty shirts and corpsepaint, the band took to the stage in darkness and began the set with "Nordbundet" from 2011's breakthrough album "Noregs vaapen," while Hoest - the actual solo performer in Taake's studio output - sauntered on stage before grabbing the microphone and screeching out lyrics like a crazed lunatic. While most black metal musicians are stoic on stage and afraid to look like they're having fun, Hoest may as well be a black metal rock star, he was roaming the stage and handing the microphone to the crowd for chants and sing-alongs - something other extreme metal vocalists should take note of.

The rest of the set hit virtually the rest of Taake's discography: "Det fins en prins" and "Orm" from their latest album, 2014's "Stridens hus", and also a host of older cuts including untitled tracks from the groups second and third albums. The biggest crowd reaction came from the set closer "Vid I" from their debut album - it caused the heaviest moshing and headbanging of the night - but the highlight of the set came during their performance of "Myr" which by all means should be your typical black metal song, except it features a banjo solo. And, yes, they did switch out one of the guitars mid-song for a banjo and ripped that solo out just as good live as on album. It's truly a sight to behold and is paramount to why Taake is one of extreme metal's premier live bands right now.

It seems unfathomable that in their only 2 US tours of their career, Taake has come to the Riot Room each time. Luckily, Kansas City has given the lineup each time a raucous response, so hopefully they'll keep coming back many times over.

Taake setlist:

1. Nordbundet
2. Du ville ville Vestland
3. Det Fins En Prins
4. Orm
5. Fra vadested til vaandesmed
6. Hordaland doedskvad Part III
7. Myr
8. Hordaland doedskvad Part I
9. Umenneske
10. Over Bjoergvin Graater Himmerik IV
11. Vid I

Taake: 9/10
Wolvhammer: 8.5/10
Stonehaven: 8.5/10 

Lightning Swords Of Death!

US black metal beasts LIGHTNING SWORDS OF DEATH will be returning to Kansas City just around the corner on March 1st at the Czar Bar. Awesome local bands Stonehaven and Meatshank will be opening!

KC Metal on MetalSucks.net!

I sent an e-mail to the guys at www.metalsucks.net about how much I love the local metal scene here, and they did a piece on it!

http://www.metalsucks.net/2010/10/26/readers-choice-metal-from-the-kansas-city-area-edition

Check it out!

Havok -- Kansas City, MO -- May 14th, 2010

I guess I have a new favorite new thrash band. Havok is what all newer thrash bands should strive to sound like, at least in the live sense. Even though they were missing their lead guitarist and the rhythm guitarist had to learn all the solos that morning, they sounded great and had amazing energy and really got the crowd going. I can only imagine how good they'd sound with a full band. They did a killer cover of Slayer's Postmortem as well. The stuff from the new album was fantastic, too.

Partial/out of order set:

The Root Of All Evil
The Path To Nowhere
Morbid Symmetry
D.O.A. (new song)
Postmortem (Slayer cover)
Afterburner

But after last night, I'm convinced that Kansas City and the surrounding area has some of the best local metal bands in the country right now. We got a pretty eclectic mix of bands last night and most of them are good friends with one another, so different members from different bands teamed up for lots of covers. It was epic.

First band up was Vanlade, my new favorite local band. They play old-school power/thrash/speed metal in the vein of Accept, Judas Priest, Helloween, etc. Their twin guitar attack is unmatched right now and they really know how to control a crowd. Most of the crowd was singing along, too. I really hope these guys get really huge.

Partial/out of order set:

Blood Eagle
Black Sails Cross The Seven Seas
Life By The Blade
Wings Of Fire

Meatshank was the next band. I'd heard about them a lot, but it was my first time seeing them. As a three-piece, they made as much noise as a full band and their guitarist is one of the most talented I've ever seen live. They play a style of death/thrash that was pretty refreshing. They brought on the bassist for Stonehaven (in full corpsepaint no less) to sing their song "Meatshank" and then brought on the guitarist from Vanlade for a couple of covers. It was all fantastic.

Partial/Out of Order set:

Meatshank
The Antichrist (Slayer cover) (as MeatVanHaven)
For Whom The Bell Tolls (Metallica cover) (as MeatVanHaven)

Kansas City has an awesome black/viking band. They dress up in animal pelts, chainmail and corpsepaint. And guess what? They're really, really good. If Enslaved never went progressive. If Windir was still alive. If Nocturno Culto would get up and do something. That's what Stonehaven sounds like. Pure Kansas City Black Metal.

Partial/Out of Order set:

Black Sails
Adorned In Frost

The last local band was Shred Scare. They sound like early D.R.I./Municipal Waste. Needless to say, there was lots of moshing and lots of screaming along with the band. They brought back the vocalist for Vanlade and, as VanScare, they did a great cover of Breaking The Law. These guys are going out on a huge tour soon, so I hope lots of people get exposed to this party metal band.

Partial/Out of Order set:

Bred to Shred
Thrash N' Burn
Breaking The Law (Judas Priest cover) (as VanScare)
World War Brew

Havok: 9/10
Shred Scare: 9/10
Stonehaven: 9/10
Meatshank: 9/10
Vanlade: 9/10

Thrasho De Mayo

Looks like Havok will be returning to Kansas City. It will be at the Scion Lab on May 14th at the Scion Lab. Joining them will be Vanlade, Stonehaven, Shred Scare and Meatshank.

One of the best local shows!

Scion Lab never disappoints.



Some of the area's best bands. Five bux! Friday night! You can't miss it.

Hatchet -- Kansas City, MO -- March 17th, 2010

In terms of money spent to amazing music, this was far and away the best show I've ever been to.

The Scion Lab is tacked on to the back of Crossroads (outdoor venue where I've seen GWAR and Ben Folds before) and is pretty much a garage with a bar. There is no stage, there are no monitors. This place was made for shows like the one I just saw.

The first band was pretty much a local favorite. The Tards have been around for a while, and it's easy to see why they haven't faded into obscurity: they thrash. Pretty much your old school Metallica or Megadeth and the guys were spot on tonight. They blazed through three or four songs at a time, barely giving the audience a chance to rest their headbanging. They definitely set the tone for the night.

I think I have a new favorite local band. It astounds me that Vanlade isn't huge by now. They are one of the few bands that sound straight out of the 80's but are completely relevant now and make amazing metal. They sound like an old-school speed/heavy/power/thrash band. Think Running Wild, Grave Digger, Overkill and Helloween all rolled into one with a "KILL ALL POSERS!" attitude. Amazing. The entire crowd was headbanging and moshing and a lot of them were singing along with the vocalist as he wailed over them all. And ending a set with an Iron Maiden cover, especially "Invaders", is amazing on its own, but Vanlade nailed it. Spot on. Can't wait to see them again.

The only let-down of the night was The Sacred Have Fallen. Completely stuck out like a sore thumb. They were brutal death metal/deathcore and while at times they weren't completely unlistenable, they definitely did not bring anything to the show that no one had seen before. Definitely forgettable.

The first of the California bands was next. Unlike most of the bill last night, Witchaven was not just thrash, but also a healthy dose of black metal. And despite having a tiny hitch in the sound department which was fixed pretty quickly, the band completely shredded every single living soul in Kansas City. They played with unrelenting speed and threw down insane solos like they weren't even trying. It was truly one of the best thrash performances I've ever seen. Lots of moshing and tons of headbanging.

The thrashing didn't stop after Witchaven. Hatchet kept it going. Apparently, the guitarist and bassist were KC locals filling in for the actual band members. It didn't make a difference, though. Solo's were shredded, heads were banged, and faces were melted. Lots of dual-guitar solo's and the speed was topped out for the entire performance. They did a great job, and I really want them to come back.

Although the show was headlined by the two Bay Area bands, the last performer of the night was probably Kansas City's most unique local band. Stonehaven was the last band of the night, and they play viking/black metal. From Kansas City. And the thing is...they're good. Real good. They sound not all unlike Kampfar, Thyrfing, even early Gorgoroth. And it really showed. They wore the corpsepaint and they wore the animal pelts, and they made epic black metal. From Kansas. Now I've seen everything. Can't wait to hear them on disc.

This show cost $5. That's all. And it was one of the best and craziest shows I've ever had the pleasure of attending. I can only hope more crazy thrash shows go to the Scion Lab. It was made for thrash

Vanlade:

Partial/Out Of Order:

Awaken And Kill
Black Sails Cross The Seven Seas
Blood Eagle
Life By The Blade
Wings Of Fire
Invaders (Iron Maiden cover)

The Sacred Have Fallen:

Partial/Out Of Order:

Phantasmagoric Conceptions

Witchaven:

Partial/Out Of Order:

A.D.D.
Terrorstorm
Black Thrash Assault
Absolute Profit
Dawn Of The Unholy

Hatchet:

Partial/Out Of Order:

Frailty Of The Flesh
Frozen Hell
Attack Imminent
Morlock's Tomb
Awaiting Evil

Stonehaven:

Partial/Out Of Order:

Longship Arises
Adorned In Frost
Black Sails
Hearing the Pyre-Breath
Fury of the Seafarer


Stonehaven - 8.5/10
Hatchet - 9/10
Witchaven - 9/10
The Sacred Have Fallen - 6/10
Vanlade - 9/10
The Tards - 8/10