Pentagram / A Sound of Thunder/ Despite Charm/ Sons of Eddie @ Empire 8/3/2013

I wanted to catch A Sound of Thunder again, Sons of Eddie, and wanted to check out Pentagram (again, after dropping the ball when they opened for Down). I saw a bunch of people there- Neil n Michelle, Dorothy n Thereze, Brian B, the Sound of Thunder gang, Mr Nina, Bobbie, Dave, Metal Chris, and I think maybe a couple more people.

I got there just after one opener got off, and noticed that there were a good number of people there (about 100 I think). Not bad.


I def wanted to see Sons of Eddie- the '(previously) D'ianno era' Iron Maiden cover band. They must have altered the deal, cause they played a couple BRUCE era tracks. I thought they had several rough parts, but overall put on a decent set. one of the guitarists (with the black and yellow Stryper esque guitar) seemed like he was down too low in the mix and may have missed a cue or 2. The other guitarist, an older bearded guy, was spot on. The vocalist's style was better suited to the D'ianno era songs, and he did a frantic job on them. He was fine on the Bruce songs, but IMO not as well. They were about to do 'Iron Maiden,' the song I partially caught the last time, but the Empire employee pointed out they were out of time.

Then, they proceeded to take down the A Sound of Thunder (ASOT) drum set, and set up one for the next band 'Despite Charm.' I never heard of these guys, but for some reason they were on next. A metalcore looking singer, metal looking guitarists (w/ kuttes), a black girl bassist, and I can't recall the drummer. These guys actually pleasantly surprised me- they had some pretty solid riffs and were pretty tight. The one skinny guitarist was very active, and the other, shorter guitarist seemed more technically able. Some of their songs were kind of meh, but they were pretty solid. I'll have to check out their bandcamp. I think their name is rubbish tho. 

And then the ASOT drum set was set up AGAIN for ...ASOT's set. I was chatting with Dorothy and co and we migrated outside for a minute, then I returned just in time to hear the chant for "Queen of Hell." ASOT sounded about as good as usual, with the addition of the drums being a bit more thunderous (probably cause they were up a bit higher). I noticed they played mostly new stuff, so there kicks off the eternal setlist debate. I woulda swapped out "The Day I Die" for something else. Despite that, I thought it was a good set, and I was left wanting more.

The floor really filled up as Pentagram's time neared. They lumbered onto stage and sounded hella loud and a little fuzzy. I think Bobby Liebling and co's performance was a bit better than at the Down show. However, it seemed that Bobby was flying a little high. His expressions, slurred speech, a little stumbling, and confrontational attitude made me think so anyways. His statements to the sound guy were a bit unnecessarily harsh, I thought.  He's had a bit of a battle with substance abuse (check out the striking documentary Last Days Here), so it was a bit disheartening to see him like that (but also amazing to see him put on a decent show). The band was that retro heavy, with Bobby's energetic  (tho sometimes sloppy) vocals providing a rumbling soundscape of the doomy past. A great follow up to Doom masters Black Sabbath the day before. I was not very familiar with their material, but it all sounded pretty good to me. I'm not a bit doom fan, kinda of picky when it comes to that, but I really enjoyed their set and was kind of kicking myself for basically opting out of their set when seeing Down. The songs near the end,  "Relentless" and "Be Forewarned" in particular, were my top picks. I think the old timers and fans there were diggin' them, too, based on the reactions and cheering. 

Next Show: Havok!

Photos:
Despite Charm
A Sound of Thunder
Pentagram
Blurry Bobby Leibling


Setlists:

Sons of Eddie (8:00-8:30 )

• Prowler
• Wrathchild
• The Trooper
• Purgatory
• Murders in the Rue Morgue
• Hallowed Be Thy Name

Despite Charm (8:45- 9:18)

• ?
• Don't Make Me Do it
• ?
• ?
• Fate
• ?

A Sound of Thunder (9:35- 10:14)

• Queen of Hell
• Time's Arrow
• I Will not Break
• The Day I Die
• Out of the Darkness
• A Sound of Thunder

Pentagram (10:45- 11:59) 

• Sign of the Wolf (Pentagram)
• The Ghoul
• Wheel of Fortune
• Forever My Queen
• Treat Me Right
• Review Your Choices
• Everything's Turning to Night
• When the Screams Come
• 8
• All Your Sins
• Petrified
• Relentless
• Be Forewarned
• 20 Buck Spin