Any day that starts with jiu jitsu and ends with death metal is a good
day in my book. But fill that day with old friends, new friends (hi,
Josh from Limbs Bin!), and vegan pizza, and you have a contender for the
best day I've had in the last three years.
Iron Force
do the kind of old school death/black/thrash that rarely clicks with
me, but I can appreciate them for their sheer velocity and the fact that
their singer has a dedicated beer can holder attached to his mic stand.
A little bit of personality never hurts - something more bands could
apply to their music.
Inverted Trifixion play the kind of raw black metal that's easy
to love - no frills but filled with enough hooks to be memorable. In
that way, they're strongly reminiscent of DoC faves
Narbeleth.
Corpse paint is all well and good, but when the drummer started
stumbling during a cover of "Transyvanian Hunger", I found myself
wishing they spent more time rehearsing and less time on their make up.
So glad "slutty death metal girls" are still a thing. Local guys
Natur
probably are too - there were quite a few of them crowding the stage
when the band started. If they have a weak spot, it's the vocals, which
never quite hit the right note and detract from the band's decent
NWOBHM-style heshing.
Audience appreciation is a funny thing. Some fans offer their heroes
drugs (as I witnessed for myself that night), but the many in attendance
for
Deathhammer seemed
to think that throwing crushed beer cans at the stage counted as
applause. I was expecting a full hour of Apocalyptic Raids karaoke, but
skeevy Tom Warrior moustache aside, Deathhammer don't really recall
Hellhammer all that much. [I also didn't think
Vektor sounded that much like Voivod
- it's a wonder I have any readers at all.] Their thrash acted like a
dog whistle for those drunk enough to start colliding into each other.
When their set ran long, the band either didn't know or didn't care that
the sound guy was trying to signal them. I guess they don't have
quality of life laws in Grimstad.
Despite fawning over all things "old school", more than half the crowd cleared out after Deathhammer, even though headliners
Sadistic Intent
have been playing old school death metal since it was simply called
"death metal". The band never really blipped on my radar before
(possibly because I continually mixed them up with Sadist and Sadus; it
doesn't help that they've yet to release an actual album). They may
dress like they stopped off at
David "Sunny D" Vincent's
yard sale, but play the kind of thrash-rooted death metal that I can't
say no to (see also: old Sepultura, Vader, Grotesque). When guitarist
Rick Cortez breaks a string, changes his guitar, and is back on his side
of the stage in time to nail a solo spot without the rest of the band
missing a beat, you begin to understand why these guys were chosen to be
the new Possessed. I continue to find the old school revival incredibly
tiresome and insincere, but if it means that bands like Sadistic Intent
are given a second lease on life, I'm willing to put my cynicism
aside... at least for the duration of "Ancient Black Evil".
