Hellbender, Haarp, and Black Tusk at the End

What a night this night was. There were shows galore this night, from The Darkness playing somewhere nearby, to The Body and Sky Burial, to Ascent of Everest at the High Watt. And then of course, there was the show I went to: Hellbender, Haarp, and Black Tusk at the End. I think I chose right, what a fantastic star-studded evening of zazz this turned out to be! I arrived on the scene at what I thought was a few minutes late for the beginning of the show, only to find that not only was it not for another hour, but Hank III, his son C4, Jimmy Bower of Eyehategod, Kirk from Crowbar and a few others were hanging out on the curb. Hanging out with these guys, drinking beers, smoking cigs, and hearing stories about how Wino of Saint Vitus/The Obsessed was a crazy speedfreak motherfucker with a different girl every night felt like a privilege. But these guys were so cool that they'd probably scoff at such notions. After a good bit of shit was shot, the first band began to play, and everybody went inside.

First up was Hellbender.

If you've known me very well over the past three months or so, then you'll know that I bitch and moan about missing Hellbender each time they come to town, despite having owned and reviewed their full-length LP "Cosmolux" (scroll down a few posts to see for yourself.). I had initially planned on seeing Sky Burial and The Body tonight, but as soon as I heard that Hellbender was filling in for Lung at this show, I knew I couldn't miss them again. Boy was I right!

These guys were unbelievable. Groovy, psychedelic, and doomsome. It was beautiful. They really know how to start from something simple, like a nice bass or guitar riff, and jam it all the way up to its fullest extent. Everyone was completely in sync with everyone else, like a giant lysergic heartbeat. And guitarist Joey's fingers, good lord! They never stopped moving! No wonder that guitar string broke, no way that thing could take so much stress! It was restrung in a heartbeat, however, and the show went on beautifully. If you can't tell already, I am overwhelmingly glad I went and saw these guys, as they may have made some of the best live music I've ever heard.
9.5/10, easily.

Check out the badass 7" I picked up!



Next up was New Orleans' bangers Haarp.

Wow. These guys make music for your guts. By that I mean if you just put on some dinky headphones and listen to them, you'll probably go "meh, these guys aren't so great". These guys aren't headphone music. This is cranked up all the way in your car, huge stereo, seven-subwoofer slamtastic shit. Fuck your head, fuck your ears, fuck your mind. This is music for your guts. These guys rumble up from the core of your being and shake you all the way back down. This shit is almost death sludge, like a dying Argentinosarus' last cries while being sucked under a tar pit swamp. These guys start and don't stop the pummeling punishment until they've had their fill.

Look who showed up to party!

Their vocalist Shaun Emmons got down into the audience and stayed there for most of the set, roaring at all of us like he wanted to make sure that each and every one of us heard him, and felt his presence. What a voice this man has! Sometimes he would scream and sometimes he would growl, and all of it was with his whole body. And who else would shout lyrics into the mic along with him? None other than Phil Anselmo! Haarp is signed to Phil's label Housecore Records, and I think I heard somebody say that Down had just played close by recently and was off that night, so he, Jimmy, Kirk, and the other guys from Down must have decided to swing by in support of Haarp. It's hard for me not to sound like a squealing schoolgirl here, but goddamn was it cool to see Phil Anselmo in person.

Anyway, the guitar/bass riffs were sick. My only real complaint is that I wish these guys would have been a bit more dynamic. They threw in a few tasty odd time signature stanzas to keep things interesting, but perhaps a quiet section here or there might have increased the heavy parts by contrast. But, that's not really my call to make.
8.5/10

I wish they had a bandcamp, but I guess reverbnation is cool...


The last band of the night was Black Tusk out of Savannah, Georgia.

Getting a good picture of these guys was ridiculously difficult.
They never stopped moving.

I need to confess something. I have a bit of a chip on my shoulder when it comes to Savannah sludge. Kylesa and Baroness, though pretty cool in their own right, really don't do too much for me. It's just really not heavy or doomy enough for me. It's plenty cool, just not... you get the picture. With that said, Black Tusk is probably the best Savannah sludge group I've heard. They play heavy, groovy stoner riffs at a midtempo pace with head-bobbing hardcore aesthetic. And did I mention everybody sings? Everyone in this band fucking sings. I haven't made up my mind fully about this facet, but I'm leaning more towards the "that's pretty cool" end of the spectrum. The best part is, each of their voices adds something a little different to the mix. Guitarist Andrew Fidler's shouts are high, bassist Jonathan Athon's are low, and drummer Jamie May's are somewhere in the middle. So when one member is playing a difficult passage, another might be on vocal duties. It keeps you on your toes in a fun way.

These guys were a whole lot fun. They might not be punchiest, the slowest, the doomiest, or the heaviest band, but boy were they fun. These guys were having a blast on stage, and it translates pretty well to the audience. You can feel their energy as they shred out a swampy punky riff in unison, or when Jamie beats the skins while yelling, or when Andrew lifts the guitar high above his head and smacks it a few times for some good feedback. I'd say go see these guys life if you can; a lot of their records can't truly capture how much fun they are live.
8.3/10

Stream their shit here:


Keep reading Nashvile! If I can ever get my shit together, I should have a review of Brother Ares', Billy Castro's, and maybe even Sky Burial's latest releases soon!

Brother Ares, Dead Channels, Nothing But Wolves, and Across Tundras at the Muse

Ah the Muse. With your subpar acoustics and stodgy sound guys, you were always one of my places to see shows with earplugs in tow. Sadly, the Muse is slated to close at the end of May, so this might have been my last show there. Sad faces all 'round.

Anyway, first up at this possibly final gig was my good friends Brother Ares.
Good show like always. It's been too long to remember too many specifics, but one glaring thing I do remember is that Gore's vocals definitely weren't high enough in the mix. I'll chalk that up to the stodgy sound guy. Otherwise, great show as usual.
8.something/10

Look for my review of their new self-titled EP soon! Til then, give it a go yourself and form your own opinion.



Next up was Dead Channels.
These guys are from New York, so I probably shouldn't be reviewing them since I review Nashville bands, but whatever. They made it all the way from NY to here, so I feel like they deserve a little feedback. These guys were pretty sweet. They're a little hard to pin down, but if I had to, I'd characterize their sound as somewhere between High on Fire and Primus, with a hefty dose of KEN Mode thrown in. The vocals were shouted, and the guitarist was excellent. The riffs were a bit staccato for my taste, but not enough to be as annoying as the breakdowns in most deathcore. They made it work. I hope these guys come back soon.
8.6/10

Oh hey, these guys have a bandcamp too!



Third up was Nothing But Wolves.
These guys are from NY as well, and the same goes for them. These guys were definitely full-on hardcore. The singer was energetic, and the bassist was lively and sang a bit. Also, I could swear that the guitarist was in Mastodon. I never got to ask him, so I guess that thought will just bug me forever. Regardless, these guys were fun. I can't say they were especially innovative, but damn they were fun. If I'd known the words to their songs, you bet your ass that I would have been up there, screaming the lyrics while forehead to forehead with the singer.
7.9/10

Like them here!

Last but certainly not least was Across Tundras.
These guys are moving up in the world! Last I heard, they were recording with Neurosis' label, Neurot Recordings. If that doesn't qualify a band as badass, then I'm not sure what does anymore. Anyway, these guys have been through a lineup change or two since I saw them in March of 2010 with Junius and a few others. Thankfully, this hasn't deterred their sound much - these guys rock as hard as ever. With a mix of Metal, Country, and everything in between, these guys are soothing, hypnotic, and invigorating all at once. Twang metal? I'm not sure how I feel about that moniker.

However, partway through their set, disaster struck: guitarist/vocalist Tanner's guitar amp went out. After a powerful and decidedly angry kick to it, the thing still didn't work, so they decided to cut their set short. Sadface. Despite the shortened set, these guys still kicked ass. I hope they play close to home once more soon!
8.6/10

I was fortunate enough to snag one of their 7" splits with Hellbender (accompanied with a sweet poster), so I may review that in the near future if I get a chance. Since I think I posted that with a different review, here's Across Tundras' latest full release, Sage:


At the time of my writing of this entry, this blog has made it to over 1000 hits! Thanks so much to all 20 of you who have visited the page 50 times, it means a lot to me. Hopefully I'm on my way to writing this thing for actual money someday!

Billy Castro, Black Tar Prophet, and Brother Ares at Cafe Coco

Another show, another review. This time, instead of going back to Cafe Coco after a killer show at the End or Exit/In, the show was right there at the Cafe! Convenient. I can't remember the last time I had dinner and a show. I had a mushroom bacon burger and vanilla stout, and split a Godiva cheesecake with none other than the lovely and talented Ms. McKenzie Royster between acts. Delicious, but expensive. I'd give them an 8/10.

Anyway, first up was Billy Castro.
First impressions are important, and aside from noting how nice and chill these guys were, I noticed that Bryan Baker's guitar's had "Love", "Evol", and "I fucked your boyfriend" stickered onto them. That alone should make you curious enough to come out and see these guys next time they play anywhere near you. Beyond intriguing guitar stickerage, these guys were weird in the most awesome way. Vocals were all over the place! Both Becca Baker and Bryan Baker (Married? Family? I guess both is possible in Tennessee...;) spoke and screamed, but never together at the same time. If Bryan was speaking or screaming, then Becca was singing. If Becca was speaking, then Bryan was probably noodling or riffing on guitar. The vocals were sometimes arrhythmic, and the combinations were fantastic. I feel like with these guys, there are just these little parts where I just want to say "oh yeah, and then they did this! Oh, and then they did that! Shit was nuts!" Drummer Patrick Gallagher was nuts, Josh Cochran's basslines were groovy, and they even brought out a conga drum and Becca and Josh each drummed on it for a little while. And Becca even busted out the maracas!

The guitar was crunchy and distorted. I'm no guitar expert, but I want to say that some of Mr. Baker's chosen chords and riffs were unorthodox at the very least. They sounded weird, but in an absolutely cool way. The bass was funky and clean; I especially enjoyed the top string goodness of the last song of the set. The drums were plethoric. That Patrick Gallagher is a beast, moving his arms all kinds of crazy ways.  And the vocals... man. I can't say enough about how the vocals worked and meshed together. They were a little reminiscent of local legend Jesse Mowery's new band Nut Collector (though I admittedly have not heard enough of them by far).

Like I mentioned above, the last song (called "We Will Not Run Out of Bricks", from their upcoming release "Make Love Like War") started out with a spotlight on the top bass string, and built and built from there, finally ending in a closed-fist-pounding on guitar freakout. It was awesome, but I almost wish someone would have just screamed, or maybe all of them screamed in unison. Such an epic build-up deserved as big of an apex as possible! With amps echoing and lights dimming, these guys left me wanting more.

These guys are heavy, loud, distorted, and definitely metal. Beyond that, your guess is as good as mine.
8.5/10

Oh, and a word of advice. Make sure you add "knoxville" and/or "band" if you decide to google these guys. These crafty motherfuckers, I found while writing this in my very christian school's library, seemed to have named themselves after a FtM transexual pornstar. 

Streaming things!


Next up was Black Tar Prophet..
Mis Amigos! These guys are fun as hell. Though it wasn't quite as destructive as the last time I saw them, it was still a good show. They toned it down a little and only brought a pair of speakers this time though, and I definitely missed the effect that their fully constructed speaker wall brings. Thankfully, their groovy, heavy, hypnotic, cannabis-inspired riff worship was as powerful as ever. Despite a few mishaps and a knocked over stand or two, these guys were great, and so relaxed! Mark sat down at one point, and even laid down on stage til close to the end. Their subterranean level of fucks given translates almost perfectly through their music, and if you can move to the groove and get into it, you'll find that all of your troubles and worries will slowly start to slide further into your periphery, and that nothing really matters. I heard talk afterwards that they'd essentially played their set backwards, much to their vexation. I personally enjoyed it. It was like seeing a whole new setlist, almost. And if Led Zeppelin and others hide Satanic lyrics recorded backwards, what happens when BTP plays their shit backwards? Do they summon Jesus?

In any case, it was a fantastic, loose, and relaxed performance, complete with Sleep and Eyehategod moments throughout.
8.3/10

Album release party June23!

Headlining this one-show tour was the always amazing Brother Ares.

I need to stop smoking, if only to stop coming in late for shows. I walked in after a puff to find Blake and Gore jamming out a new tune called "Vestiges of the Crow King". I hadn't missed very much, and thank Lucifer: this song was fantastic! Blake is... singing? I think I'd probably put it closer to "shouting with a bit of melody" than real "singing". Awesome, delayed echoey-guitar midsection. After this, they played fan favorites such as "DoomEagle of the Apocalypse", "Already Dead", and one or two others. They closed with another one, called "Serpent's Twin: [something something]". I wish I'd taken more notes about it! My memory is a bit fuzzy, but I think it was pretty fantastic. Hard to find an Ares Bros track that I don't thoroughly enjoy though. I'll definitely have to hear this one again in order to make any real judgment about it. Overall, a fantastic show, but definitely too short! Those dang Cafe Coco neo-con hatemongering hardasses must have said to cut it short. These guys deserved an encore.
8.6/10

Look for their upcoming EP "Devourer of Worlds" to be reviewed here as soon as it's released!