Here we are again, it's blog time. This installment occurred at the always wonderful despite sketchily located Owl Farm. Seriously, once you get past the gunshots (just like with lightning, count the seconds between when you see muzzle flash and when you hear the bang to see how far away it is!) and the stray dogs (the pair I saw both appeared gravid), it's a great venue usually filled with good people.
I hope this b&w filter hides my crap photography skills
This night was no different. First up was local trio Tower Defense. First and foremost: I have no idea if they're named after the flash game genre or not. Regardless, husband-and-wife pair Mike and Sarah Shepherd both handle bass duties while drummer Jereme Frey pounds away. According to their facebook page, Tower Defense was started by Mike and Jereme, who have been in a number of other bands including Gentlemen Divers, Bad Feeler, and the venerable Apollo Up!, and Mike's wife Sarah (herself having played in Take The Power Back, an all-female Rage Against the Machine cover band, and Short Ropes) joined to help play covers at a benefit show. "Suddenly," the 'About' section reads, "the music starting being good." I can't help but agree. These three old friends play a style of post-punk that has pop punk sensibilities without being overly saturated with sweetness, and doesn't go as dark as Joy Division. These three each sing at one point or another. The Shepherds ring out some infectious grooves, with Sarah usually on the bottom part and Mike playing the higher strings. Jereme's strong and energetic drums give a dose of power to this band that really adds some punch to the sound. The vocals are sung in a straightforward and melodic manner, with tasty harmonies throughout. The vocals could be considered synecdochic for the entire sound in that they seem to be going for a rather straightforward style without a lot of adornments, and really, they don't need them. These three have a hooky, expressive style without a lot of fuss.
Since they don't seem to have any streams up and running, have a video of a past performance instead:
so far so good
Next up was noise-doom duo Brother Ares. What can I say about these two that has not already been said (by me)? They play a mixture of doom and sludge with screechy dysmelodic, atonal interludes, intros, and outros. Nick Gore pounds the drums and yells full-bodiedly while Blake Conley strums and shreds guitar and yells in a higher and less rough manner. Their riffs are mammoth in weight and pace - you'll find you can take more than one breath during some sustains. Blake's amp, responsible for his gorgeous tone, doesn't have a top because it was found in the trash. Their love for The Body is noticeable in their sound and also because they started out not using microphones. Their preoccupation with warring birds and remaining a two-some is reminiscent of Eagle Twin, whose influence can also be felt in their sound. A few tracks can even get a bit Isis-y (a la "Weight" from Oceanic). This show was great example of Blake and Gore at their best. They even looked like they were having fun. At one point, [a guy from] the audience came up and started screaming into the microphone. I heard from Gore later that he'd talked to [the guy] about doing it before (turns out he did vocals for some other local bands); at the time it kinda looked like he just decided to grab it out of the blue. Regardless of intent it was pretty jarring. Otherwise it was a pretty exemplary set with lots of good strong positive energy flowing. They rounded it out by bringing back one of their favorite covers, Black Flag's "My War." Look for an upcoming split cassette from them as a part of a series by Across Tundras' Tanner Olson, as well as their full-length LP The Aviary as soon as it gets finished mixing and mastering. Til then, stream this:
Third up were the local gentlemen of Debonair. Blake from Brother Ares had talked these guys up to me for a while now, so I was excited to see them. Maybe everyone was; it might have just been my imagination, but the air seemed full of anticipation while these men who appeared stylish, good-natured, and perhaps actually debonair set up. At least two of the members sported well-groomed mustaches after all. Sadly neither of the two bass players had a fuzzy caterpillar-esque upper lip, but I won't hold that against them, as their playing more than compensated. Like, way more. These guys rocked the house and sent all kinds of great vibes through the audience. I have in my notes that these guys have elements of post-hardcore and math rock in their sound with a touch of post-rock, but really these guys have a sound that's all their own.
Still, there's a few influences I think I hear; at some points they remind me of a deranged Slint. I even heard some Filter in there, before they got all unbelievable and wanted you to take their picture and shit (not like they'll remember anyway.). No, Debonair play their own brand of space math rock with two bassists, a guitarist whose vocals remind me a touch of Knoxville's Billy Castro, and an absolutely manic drummer. These guys get to a level of interesting that my notes say is approaching Mike Patton levels. With lyrical content pertaining to safe words and space camp, this disquiescent quartet may seem disingenuous, but their musicality is anything but a joke. Between tremolo-picked segments and at least one incredibly satisfying sludgy bit, I was not disappointed. Until I wrote this review that is: these guys have way too little material on record. Best I can find is some live-recorded audio tracks set to single-picture videos. Until they do me, gentlemen everywhere, and really everyone in the world a favor by recording, sate your Debonairish hunger with this:
Finally, last up was Laser Flames on the Great Big News. Here's a rundown of what I imagine to be the average thought process of a person hearing this band for the first time: "Laser Flames on the... dang these guys have a long name. I heard that one guy is in Rwake though, so I bet they're good. That Stevie chick is pretty cute. This first riff is pretty nice, and now they're... singing country style. Huh. Wasn't expecting that. Not bad though, fits the riff I spose. Nice vocal harmonies. Huh. Country metal? I guess I can dig iHOLY SHIT did that girl just scream? Shit, I just spat a mouthful of PBR all over this guy's patch vest in front of me. Better edge away. But jesus, that was one helluva scream that came out of that woman. And now with shredding and blastbeats to match. What an about-face. And now... damn, those are some tasty doom riffs. I'm gonna need another beer for this."
LFotGBN play a variety of styles from country metal to stoner metal to black metal to jesus how much else do you need to read to know that these guys kick ass? They have no respect for what's kosher in a genre and play what they want. Both guitarists John Judkins (who also plays bass in lovely sludge outfit Rwake, formerly of Today is the Day and Christine) and Stevie Bailey sing and scream in turn or together, all while strumming and shredding and god knows what else to those poor guitars. The rhythm section was just as dynamic, with drummer James Turk (bassist for local black metal outfit Enfold Darkness) and bassist Brian Myers are just as dynamic as Judkins and Bailey, shifting styles and tempos with apparent ease. They make each style and mix of styles their own, tweaking formulas when necessary. Even if you're too ADD to take your adderol properly, these guys keep things fresh and full of enough curveballs to not just hold my attention, but keep me on the edge of my seat in anticipation of what they're going to play next. If you like ever wondered "hey I wonder what black metal and country sounds like" then I think you'll enjoy Laser Flames on the Great Big News. Stream their ep right here, and look for a new record in the near future!
And that's a wrap. Thank you dear readers for bearing with me and being patient as I churn out yet another late blog. With classes coming to a close at the end of this month, hopefully I will soon have more time to spend reviewing come May. Going to try do some new and long overdue album reviews soon in addition to shows. Until then, enjoy this biology fact I learned recently!
"Eagles and boobies exhibit "obligate siblicide," in which the larger chick invariably kills its smaller sibling. For example, of more than 200 records of two-egg clutches followed in the Black Eagle of southern Africa, only one record exists of both chicks surviving to fledging. Obligate siblicide also occurs among pelicans, owls, and cranes. In obligate siblicide, which occurs even when food supplies are abundant, the second egg serves as insurance against loss of the first egg from infertility, predation, or damage, rather than as a means of rearing two chicks."
If you think that's a lot of bands, then you're absolutely right. 7 bands on a Monday night. No way I was going to miss it though, I'd been looking forward to seeing Cerce since one of my best friends/worst roommates showed them to me a year before. I wanted to see them so bad that I offered to pay the booking fee to bring them to Cafe Coco, but Chase Wilson of the Owl Farm crew beat me to the punch. Thank goodness, since I have absolutely zero experience in putting together or promoting shows, and would probably just ruin everything. So thanks Chase and everybody else at the Owl Farm, even if it was a lot of bands for one night it was still a hell of a show.
Anyway, let's get to the bands. First up was In Fidelity. These guys are local metallic hardcore heavy hitters who played either with no breaks and great transitions or one long song. Personally I hope it's the latter, but only because I adore extra long songs a la Dopesmoker and Absolutego. These guys had put on a really high energy show, with a lot of movement from every member. Vocalist Cooper Pemelton seemed especially restless, exploring the stage space in a manic pace back and forth, never really finding a spot to settle down in. This was possibly due to nausea, as he vomited more than once after the performance. Other members of the band assured me that this was an occurrence that happened somewhat regularly, and that I shouldn't be alarmed. His actual vocals were passionate and earnest, as though he was verbalizing his own personal tales of hardships and outrages, and how fed up he was about them. The rest of the band sonically supports this attitude very well, pondering the grievances during more subdued portions and lashing out during more aggressive passages. To me they have a varied hardcore sound, with bits of metallic hardcore somewhat similar to earlier Converge, D-beat, and even a touch of sludge here and there. They even have some tasty post-metal moments, with soft parts building and crescendoing into heavier phrases. Overall, really infectious stuff that'll get your blood pumping. Check out their split with Chained on local label Spaghetti Spaghetti Records here, and look for their EP These Things I Can't Forget on the same label soon.
Next us was Murfreesboro shredders Pissbath. These guys are fucking rough! Screaming and distortion galore. This shit is not for pussies. These Avalon House kids play their punk/hardcore music as distorted as they can (almost to the point of harsh noise at some points), and screamer Melissa Hurley holds nothing back. Some might be turned off by it, but my absolute favorite part of these guys is when they play so furiously that they start to come apart ever so slightly, as if their desire to be fucking raw and agressive takes precedence over the need to be bolt-tight. Their sound is tearing at the seams, and that's the way they like it. Talking to the band afterwards, they said that they were supposed to play the show with a bass player, but he ended up going to Florida, and despite saying that he'd make it back in time he was absent for the show. Bassist or no, these guys rocked. Check out their demo on guitarist and Avalon House aficionado's label/distro Primitive Prison:
Third up was what's quickly becoming one of my favorite local groups Choking on Ash. Featuring members of local crushers Yautja, Sacaea, Sky Burial, and a plethora of other Little Hamilton/Owl Farm-related bands, this group punishes in way that makes you beg for more. Ever since I heard their demo (below), I've been impressed with their work. It would be easy to just label this group stoner metal/sludge with screamed vocals, but to do so would miss some of the nuances that make this group great. Kayhan's guitars are sludgy enough, but the breakneck fast parts show that he's not resting on his laurels one bit. And what great tone! Like wearing a sharkskin condom with the rough side on the inside. I'm not sure it's represented enough in their demo recording, but the bass was really driving and even intricate at some parts at this show. I was impressed, I hope it comes through clearly whenever they put out an official release. Story's vocals - just, goddamn. Could they be considered black metal? I'd say they're pretty close. They definitely add another layer and texture which just fleshes out the band that much more. Drummer Ivan is a scene veteran and a beast at drums. Whether it's a beat every other second or frantic blasts, seems like he runs the gamut in this band. Check out their demo right here:
Fourth up was the first touring group, Good Luck Varsity, all the way from Detroit. If you're scratching your head and thinking "well that doesn't sound like a very hardcore name" then you're absolutely right. These guys are a pop-punk/post-hardcore group from Detroit. Seeing as they were the middlemost band of the night, I can't help but wonder if they were meant to be an intermission of sorts, seeing as most people went outside to imbibe their drink or drug of choice when they started playing. Sonically they're outside of my area of expertise, but once I got past the fact that they weren't heavy I didn't mind them. They were certainly competent, and had some pretty good vocal harmonies. Guitars were rather noodly and the bass was groovy. I relished the occasional scream. Someone lamented the fact that one guitarist was also using a laptop and the bass play was using a wireless pickup system, but I don't give enough of a fuck to be bothered by shit like that. I'm more bothered by the fact that these guys were playing this show at all. I wouldn't say that I wish I hadn't seen them, I just wish it wasn't at an overbooked show. Regardless, they still deserve a listen. Check them out:
Band number five was Pray for Teeth from Pittsburgh, PA. Their facebook page genre is listed as "No genres no masters", so I'm going to attempt to describe without using genre labels for as long as I can. It can be like charades! I give you clues, and you can call out the genre while you read. THREE WORDS. RHYMES WITH: Claymore Sheath. SOUNDS LIKE: Lumberjacks lamenting fallen forests. Echoes of unrest clamoring off of canyon walls. Feedback; ambient yet crunchy guitars and throaty yells. Pulsing bass and pounding drums. But enough with the poetry and shit. Sorry guys, I held off for this long, but I gotta throw around some genres. Still, these guys really don't fall into one specific group, so none of these monikers goes all the way in describing them, but here goes: I heard elements of post-metal (ambient sludge, if you're a purist) a la Isis and Rosetta, doom metal and sludge, hardcore, and even black metal, both atmospheric and regular flavors. I was especially impressed with Neal Dudash's vocals, whose hardcore shouts were almost powerful enough to be considered black metal screams. Watch this video about hot sauce of them recording material for their 7", streamable below the video and look for the vinyl copy coming out on It's A Trap! and Moshtache Records, as well as Root of All Evil Collective.
Band six was the moment we'd all been waiting for, the heavyweight championship fight we'd all come to see. In this corner, all the way from Boston/Philadelphia, weighing in at a gaunt 650 pounds collectively (that's an average of 130 lbs per band member for those of you who preprogrammed the answers into your TI-83 before tests), coming off of a 12-show winning streak, CERCE!! As I mentioned in the beginning, a friend of mine showed me these guys' bandcamp page, and I was intrigued. So much pink, but yet these guys had a wicked sound. Not much in the way of releases though... until they put up their self-titled 7". Lordy, this thing was a monster, and I wasn't the only one who thought so. On even the most contrary music forums, I saw a pretty strong positive response to this release, some even citing it as one of the best releases of last year. You can imagine my excitement at getting to see them play. And I was not disappointed. Raucous and explosive, they fuse an abrasive mass of sludge, hardcore, and powerviolence into an earthquake of musical transgression. The place was electric when they played, everyone in the crowd receiving the energy which the band put out with every pugilistic riff. Once they began playing it was like going over the top of the first mountain of the biggest roller coaster at the park: all you could do was hold on to this ride hurtling around tight corners at breakneck speeds, and you knew that any signs of softening or slowing would only lead to bigger hills and more violent lurches. These guys shifted and accelerated like a hawk battling a falcon in midair, and deceptively pink-haired Becca Cadalzo had screams match. Her vocals, which are something of a focal point for this band, something that makes them stand out, were just as enthralling live as on record, screeching and crying out while guitars writhed and pounced beneath. As a total package, these guys succeed in earnestly expressing some pretty powerful emotion without sounding histrionic or patronizing. I can't tell you how excited I am that I got a hold of one of the last original pressings of their 7".
All together now: LET ME PUT THIS BODY TO REST
Before I link to their music and tell you to buy it, there's one issue that plagued this show that I think bears mentioning. Throughout the show, there was one girl who seemed way more animated than anyone else in the crowd. Hardcore dancing around, singing along with lyrics she may or may not have known, throwing her arms about. I'm not here to hate on any of that, hardcore shows are a great time to do whatever the fuck you want to music, including moshing and whatever else you feel. What's not okay is when you get so fucked up and out of control that you fucking PUNCH BECCA FROM CERCE IN THE FACE DURING THEIR SET. I apologized to Becca after the show for it, after she said she felt like an asshole for pointing the girl out for punching her in the face. Hardcore shows are rough, violent expressions are okay, but not if you're interfering with the band that you and everyone else paid to see.
In any case, Cerce put on a killer show despite encroachment, and you should buy their stuff.
Their 7" first pressing is pretty scarce, but a few of the 2nd pressing with Solidarity Recordings might be left. Look for their split with Stresscase coming soon on Mayfly Records soon! Till then, stream:
Last band of the night! I'm getting tired just typing this up. Band #7 was, ironically, Out of Time. Fighting out of St Louis, MO, these bruisers played meaty hardcore with a sludgy punch that hits you right in the gut. Vocals are shouted in the vein of oldschool hardcore punk, and fit the style perfectly. The drums were especially punchy live, and complemented the overall sound very well. A lot of people probably left after Cerce, but I'm glad I decided to stick around. These guys exemplify what solid, no-bullshit-all-pit hardcore should sound like. But don't take my word for it, find out for yourself:
Whew! Another review under my belt. If you see any mistakes or things I left out, please contact me or leave a comment. In the meantime, I'm going back to studying biology like this:
On Thursday, October 18th, I went and saw Alraune, Thetan, Dawn, 16, and Tombs at the Owl Farm. The Owl Farm is a new venue that opened up this summer out in northeast Nashville. It's meant on some level to be a successor to the Little Hamilton, which shut down not too long ago. I was never fortunate enough to make it out to Little Hamilton, so I was excited to see some of the bands associated with that scene, since they tended not to play too many other places around town.
On a metascriptive note, I've decided to change how I review live shows by deleting one element: the number out of 10 at the end. They just feel too slapped on there, too arbitrary, and too extraneous. I'd like to give 9s to every local band I ever see, because so many of them are so talented, but if everybody gets a 9, what's the point? Too often people look to the numbers to glean how I feel about a band, and that's not representative at all. So no more numbers, unless any of you feel strongly about them.
Anyway, first up at this show was Alraune. These guys feature members of Sky Burial, Yautja, Gnarwhal, Vesicus, etc., and they kick ass. These guys played fast heavy black metal. Really great, interesting stuff, with the bassist and both guitar players each contributing on vocals. I thought that the bassist (Jesse from Sky Burial, I think) had the strongest vocals out of all three. They had some cleaner and softer parts to break up the mountains of metal; the best quieter moment came at the end, when it really had an impact. My only complaint is the same one I'm starting to have with most local bands is the fact that they're vocals were often lost in the mix, and though I could see their mouths grimacing, I could barely hear their darkened cries. Also, I'm not sure if this was the venue or what, but the guitars sounded a little murky. This is a smaller complaint though; aside from these two minor issues, these guys were great. I'd put up a streaming thing right here, but these guys must be too kvlt for any of that nonsense. I can't find a single thing. So get your ass to a show of theirs, because these guys are good.
Update: streaming things!
Next up was Thetan. Despite being a two-piece that consists of a drummer and a bass, these guys sound nothing like Om. If Alraune was murky in a detracting way, then Thetan was murky in just the right way. Bassist/screamer Dan Emery's wall of amps rumbled your guts at high speed. It's almost like these two tried the full band experience, got sick of it, and said "FUCK IT we can do this just the two of us!" And they absolutely can. The energy put forth by Dan was incredible. He wailed on that bass like it was a dog that had just chewed up his favorite slippers. Drummer Chad L'Plattenier is no slouch either; he kept up with Dan the whole way. Together, these two make you want to raise your fist and bang your head as fast as you can. Until the slow parts, that is. The heavy, sludgey bits were absolutely satisfying. These guys played through with zero banter, zero talking to the crowd, as if their sole focus was on playing and absolutely nothing else. There was no jokes, no bullshit, just fucking awesome fast and heavy music. And they don't give a shit about money. Their merch sign said "7" for $3, shirts for $I don't care." These guys are all badass and no bullshit. If you like Tusk or Trap Them, you'll love Thetan.
Next up was Dawn. When I did the interviews at the Hymen house in February Jesse Mowery talked about his band Dawn (albeit after my phone had stopped recording the interview), and the guys and girls from Fenris said they were an amazing supergroup of some of the best players in Nashville, so you'll imagine my excitement at getting to see them play. They feature Jesse on guitar/vocals, Jordan House (of Sky Burial and also played guitar earlier in Alraune) on bass, and Ivan Doerschuk (also of Sky Burial... christ, is this the supergroup or is Sky Burial?) on drums. Their sound is definitely hardcore, but it's not always straightforward. They'll be rocking along at a quick tempo, then throw an interesting time signature into the mix. Something to interrupt your headbangery and make you listen closer. The vocals were great, nice and intense. These guys are relentless, barely giving you time to think or breathe while they erupt dynamic, hard-hitting riffs. When they do slow down for a brief bit, your body will move with it whether you want to or not. Sludge interludes like theirs make me cream my pants. If you like Converge, High on Fire, or any metallic hardcore band, you will adore Dawn. I know I do.
Now it was time for the "big name" bands. 16 was up first. I'd heard about these guys a few years ago and I enjoyed what I heard, so I was looking forward to seeing them. They put one a pretty damn good show. Their vocalist was fairly animated, though I had trouble hearing him very well. The guitarist had a sweet setup, with a stack of amps behind him, and a big Orange cab off to left that he send a drier output to. He would often send a signal to only the far amp, and then send it to both to make big hits even bigger and meatier. Their riffs were slow, fuzzed out, and heavy. Really good stuff, apart from my douche-o-meter going off for a split second when Tyler from Alraune (and also Gnarwhal) came to help the vocalist with the PA system, and said vocalist backed away and said "Guess it's his PA guys..." to which Tyler gave a pretty good "What the fuck?" face. Still, a little blemish isn't enough to discolor this review. These guys have been sludging it up for many years, and they know what they're doing at this point. Crunchy, heavy stuff.
The last band of the night was Tombs. I'd heard a little bit of their stuff before, and everyone was pretty gaga over their album last year, but when I went to check them out I was pretty turned off by their 'Gossamer' video. Still, I thought I'd give them another chance, and even if they suck, all the other bands would be sweet. Man, what a difference a show can make! These guys were absolutely stunning. They were just so heavy and fast and just everything I could've hoped for. Much more black metal than that awful Gossamer video, and I loved every minute of it. The vocals were sick, and the tremolo-picked guitars lined up with the drums more precisely than maybe any band I have seen live. Now that I think about it, this was my first black metal show! I hope they're all this awesome, and fine-tuned. I had to borrow money from friends to get it, but there was no way I was going home without their Path of Totality LP. Stream it for yourself right here, and see what all this fuss is about. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Feels good to be writing again. Sorry for the lack of pictures; the ones I took before my phone died didn't come out at all. Look for my reviews of Bobbaroo (7 bands!!), and Loss/Bell Witch/Clorange/Brother Ares at the End coming soon!
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