Hail!Hornet -- Lawrence, KS -- June 13th, 2012

It seems that the best sludge metal shows are often paired with super hot/muggy weather, small venues and/or dedicated crowds. Lawrence was a combination of all three factors, and sludge supergroup Hail!Hornet took advantage of it all.

The first band to open the night was local metallers The Melting Point Of Bronze. They are all incredibly tight musicians, but it's a little hard to pinpoint exactly what they sound like. As far as genres go, I'd call them (even though I really hate the term) "post-thrash." Kind of like is Pantera, Iced Earth and Metallica had a baby that grew up on Sci-Fi cartoons. If that intrigues you, then you'd be a fan! They had some great call and return shredding guitar solos in most of their songs. Lots of headbanging during them. Looking forward to seeing them more.

When I saw The Gates of Slumber down in Austin, I enjoyed them but I thought the sound was very thin. That wasn't a problem here. They had a commanding guitar tone and guitarist/vocalist Karl was in complete command of his instrument and its pedals. Some of the effects he put on it were just classic heavy metal staples. One word to describe their performance: "Sabbathian." They are riff-lords, as evidenced by how straight-forward and pounding "Ice Worm" is. They ended with "Coven of Cain" and it was a throwback to the glory days of good ol' fashioned heavy metal. Horns up!

Hail!Hornet loves to drink. Hail!Hornet loves to get high. Hail!Hornet loves to play loud music. That's the holy trinity of heavy metal. The band sounded just as good as they did in Texas, but the venue in Kansas was more suited to them. That dirty little bar with a handful of devoted fans in the crowd. Those are always the best shows, right? Once Hail!Hornet kicked in, they really didn't let up once during their set, unless it was to take shots and drinks that were bought for them from the crowd. Troy on vocals really sets the bar for vocalists in sludge metal. They were consistently amazing throughout the entire set. And Dixie Dave Collins is just so much fun to watch, as always. He literally turns into a madman when playing. They were really, really loud. In a good way. Totally heavy, and lightning fast compared to their contemporaries. Hail!Hornet is a must-see if they come near you in a small venue. Absolute metal goodness.

Hail!Hornet: 9/10
The Gates Of Slumber: 9/10
The Melting Point Of Bronze: 7.5/10

Weedeater -- Kansas City, MO -- April 2nd, 2010

Heaviest show of the year!

This was at the Record Bar in Kansas City. The sound was fantastic all night long. Definitely one of the best venue's I've ever been to for that size. They were even serving food! Maybe I'll get some next time...

Only disappointment of the night: Struck By Lightning didn't show. The guitarist for The Gates Of Slumber mentioned this ("They're stuck somewhere west of Cheyenne...there's a country song in there somewhere...") but it didn't hinder the show too much. Once it started, it didn't let up a bit.

First band was The Gates Of Slumber from Indianapolis. Also the only band of the night with solo's! They were pretty different from the other bands, as they were mostly straight up heavy metal. They ruled. What they lacked in overbearing heaviness of the other bands, they made up for by making everyone bang their heads. It was like Black Sabbath was on stage in front of us!

Their set included Beneath The Eyes of Mars, The Doom of Aceldama and Blood And Thunder

Next was Black Tusk. They had great stage presence and it was neat how even their drummer provided vocals. Definitely heavy, even though the sound wasn't as clear as the band before. They went from song to song so there was a steady stream of metal at all times. I hope they come back soon with another killer tour.

The real star of the night was the bassist for Weedeater, Dixie Collins. The ex-Buzzov*en mainman is extremely entertaining to watch and he's one of the best bassists I've seen live! He was all over the place and the insane actions he did on stage only mirrored what were some of the best live extreme metal vocals I've ever been privileged to hear. He even had a cup holder on the side of his amp with a bottle of cough syrup in it which he sipped from often. The demeanor only matched the music which might have been the loudest and heaviest band I've seen in years. They started off with "God Luck and Good Speed" and after that it was just a torrent of the sludgiest, dirtiest metal you'd ever hear. Other songs were Bull, Wizard Fight, For Evan's Sake, $20 Peanut, and Weed Monkey. I really hope they come back really soon.

The Gates Of Slumber: 9/10
Black Tusk: 8.5/10
Weedeater: 9/10

Heaviest night of all time?

Just found out about a pretty sick show going down. On April 2nd at the Record Bar (most likely 18+, but maybe all ages) will be Weedeater on their "Nine Toe" tour. Their myspace lists possible support bands as "Black Cobra, ASG, Black Tusk, The Gates of Slumber, US Christmas, and Struck by Lightning", but the event on last.fm here lists Black Tusk, The Gates Of Slumber, and Bison BC. We'll see as soon as The Record Bar updates its website.