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Friday, May 10, 2013

Oz/ Deceased/ October 31 @ Empire 5/7/2013

I went to see Oz/ Deceased/ October 31 at Empire w/ Lindsey. This was a cheap show ($15), but kind of odd in that I really only had heard of Deceased. I looked up Oz and thought they sounded pretty fun- classic metal.  I saw Ruby, Michelle n Neil, Scott n his lady, and maybe someone else there.



There were about 80 or so people there at the high point, which is more than I expected for a bill where I only had heard of one band (Deceased) for a dreary Tuesday night . Not to mention not very much promotion by Empire...

Merch: was pretty thin, they had a couple Oz shirts (meh), patches ($5), and the vocalist from Deceased/October 31 (more on that later) was selling random obscure ass metal CDs ($10 each).

As we got there, the unfortunately* named October 31 was already on, (8:10) I am not sure if they had any other songs that we missed (setlist.fm shows a couple missed). I thought they sounded a lot more clear than the samples I heard online. They were rather energetic and had a classic metal (early 80s) sound to them. The singer was a larger, balding man with some ungodly energy, running around stage, gesturing to the crowd, jumping, and even picking up the guitarist at one point. For the entire 45+ minute set. Very entertaining. They also played a couple killer covers- 'Red Hot' and 'Power and the Glory.' I really enjoyed their set and will def pick up some records by them.

*(I dunno about you but searching for a bands called Oz or October 31 turn up some pretty miserable results. I think a band really should have a distinctive, unique name that makes them.... EASY TO FIND. Not to mention these bands aren't the most...prolific to begin with.)

I ventured over to the merch table to peruse the various CDs again, and the singer from October 31 was apparently selling them... and seemed to be in a hurry, so I threw him my cash and got a Blind Guardian CD. I then turn to see him change his shirt and take the stage with Deceased. His shirt said 'I fucking Hate Jay Nedry's Guts' in a show of his opinion of the former Jaxx/Empire owner. Apparently they had...disagreement to say the least and this was the first time they played here since whenever that was.

I found it rather impressive that this old timer had a completely different band, and a different vocal style (harsh vox) for this band- but the guitar parts and melodies were rather classic metal sounding, which really drew me in (Looking back I think that those elements of their sound were brought out in their live show much more dramatically than on their recordings). I thought they were really good, and was kind of surprised we didn't see any pits break out. However, the crowd was not...really the pit type of crowd (which was good for this night IMO). As their set went on, I was either getting tired, or not expecting them to play almost an hour also!

My ears were ringing a lil bit after Deceased, and in what must be one of the shortest set changes ever Oz suddenly took the stage. I immediately noticed the rhythm guitarist looked like Markus from Helloween, with the...poofy hair, the bassist like a 2nd class Tuomas from Nightwish, the singer looked like if Ralph Scheepers was a shorter strongman. The drummer looked like an older Guy Fiere, according to one of my friends~ So take that as you will, because they sounded solid. I think that the frontman fro Deceased/October 31 was saying it was the first time that Oz has played in the US- this tour. For a band that formed originally in 1977, broke up around 1991, and reformed like 2010 (than you Wikipedia) I thought this was a really odd headline show.

Oz did sound good, overall NHOBHM sound, with the singer channeling his best Bif Byford of Saxon. So as some one who likes Saxon, this was a fun set. They had kind of a short headline set (1 hr), but as the other bands played almost an hour also, I can't really complain at being exposed to some new good metal. Some songs were better than others, but all had the feel of true steel. Their best song (IMO)- 'Turn the Cross Upside Down' was basically black metal lyrics... but with a poppier or NWOBHM sound. It was really interesting clash. Their last song really paled in comparison to it, and kinda ended the show on a flat note. The Swedish Sing along part was also ill advised. But apart from that, they were solid and really enjoyable, classic metal for a band that I had only heard a handful of songs (thank you work meetings) the week before. Totally worth it to come out and stay out late.

For a show that I viewed as a possible hit or miss, I was pleasantly surprised and really had a TRUE METAL time. It was also fun hanging out with the people too :3

And yes there were  a few mullets.

Photos:
Deceased
OZ

Setlists:

October 31 (8:10-8:52 (were playing when we came in))
  • Visions of the End
  • The Warlock (I think we came in on this song)
  • Salem's Curse
  • The Chosen One
  • Meet Thy Maker
  • Just an Illusion (I don't know if they played this, according to my notes, but the setlist.fm guy had it)
  • A Million Goodbyes
  • Commit to Sin
  • Powerhouse
  • Red Hot (Mötley Crüe cover)
  • Power and the Glory (Saxon cover)

Deceased (9:10- 10:07)







  • Elly's Dementia (intro)
  • Night of the Deceased
  • A Witness to Suspiria
  • Fading Survival
  • Haunted Cerebellum
  • Craving Illness
  • The Premonition
  • The Triangle
  • Robotic Village
  • Cloned (Day of the Robot)
  • The Silent Creature
  • Fearless Undead Machines

Oz (10:16-11:15)
  • Search Lights
  • Gambler
  • Dominator
  • Total Metal
  • Burning Leather
  • Third Warning
  • Megalomaniac
  • Seasons In The Darkness
  • Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
  • Turn the Cross Upside Down
  • Fire in the Brain

  • Stop Believin' 

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