There were about 80 people there overall. Not great, but it was a Thursday, and there was at least one other show (with the extremely rare Obliteration performing in Baltimore, and Mindless Self Indulgence also in Baltimore) which sapped some of the potential audience. Another interesting note was that all bands this evening (that I saw) were 3 pieces- that was very unusual.
There was an opening band but I didn't see them. I heard they were some sort of 'core. Widow had 2 CDs ($15), a few shirts ($25 I think), and some other merch piece. Krisiun I can't recall what they had, shirts at least. Destruction had several shirts... I should have looked at their merch a bit more.
NWOBHM influenced Widow from north Carolina was amazing! These guys channeled classic metal with maybe more technical guitar work- They were like a better, less drama full White Wizzard (hey I like the John Leon Project, but come ON)! The vox (John Wooten) were a bit low in the mix, but you could hear him more clearly on a few songs as the set went on. The guitar player (Chris Bennett) was fantastic- I couldn't see how he was laying down enough sound with one guitar, when most classic/true/NWOBHM bands benefit from 2 guitar players. There were a lot of start/stop parts in the solos and songs. Jason Wheeler (drums) was also pretty solid- looking very 80s, and no complaints musically- apparently he'd only been with the group for about 4 dates (!). Besides the vocals being too low for most of the set, there were a few dead parts (I think people were still arriving), so the in between song transitions were a little... awkward. However, the straight ahead, no nonsense songs were full of solos and some wailing vocals- just how I like it. If you like this sort of music, these guys were diamonds in the rough. I grabbed a CD from these guys and recommend anyone who like White Wizzard, Saxon, Holy Grail, olllld Def Leppard, etc. to do so...NOW.
The brothers Krisiun were on next, and a sizable crowd had gathered on the floor for them. This trio from Brasil I had heard raving about from my friend Miss Lindsey, so I was curious as to how they would be. The guitarist (Moyses Kolesne) laid down some heavy riffs on his Dimebag custom, while Alex Camargo handled bass and vox, with Max Kolesne pounding the skins. They were so damn heavy, I couldn't believe it- only 2 other bands come to mind with similar heaviness that shook my ribcage- Loudness and Motorhead. I had to reposition myself near the bar to enjoy it a bit better while my internal organs settled down. That being said, I was surprised that no one started a pit during their whole set. There was a lot of headbanging to the heavy slab of death metal (reminded me of a mix of Kataklysm with some parts reminding me of Sepultura... but heavier). I was unfamiliar with their songs, so I need to do some research on what they hell their whole deal is. Whatever the case, it sounded nice and heavy to me. After their set there was a max exodus to the merch table where I think they came out. I should have snagged a CD or something. oops.
The German three-piece thrash titans Destruction finally rolled out to what looked like a more sparse crowd a little bit after 9:30. They rolled out with some pure German Thrash, and really didn't let up too much beyond the couple of breaks they had. Their sound was very Kreator-esque w/ some Slayerisms (Tom-like shrill screams and some of the repetitive riffs). So if you are into that sort of thing, this would be a fun performance. I think that despite my complaints about too short sets, this nearly 1.5 hr set did seem to drag a little bit (too much thrash??).
The band itself was very tight, (and I couldn't figure out how every band tonight was pretty much great with only 3 members) and were showing their lengthy experience (probably older than me!). Mike Sifringer's guitar did seem a little low in the mix, so I think that could have been improved a bit. But when Schmier (vox/bass) shrieked, you could def make that out. I just kept hearing Kreator-like sounds, but I enjoy Kreator a bit more. Whatever the case, they were pretty professional, and showed no signs of their age, like other acts (oh the list could be so long) AND they didn't go thru the motions either. My favourite lines from Schmier was about 'back when metal was just metal,' when there was no black, not thrash, no power, no whatever- this song is.... YEAAAARRRGH!!! No fussing with labels, just playing music!
Finally, during the last half of their set, people finally started a pit (hey it's a thrash show, you dummies!) and it felt more comfortable. The crowd was headbanging a lot throughout the night, and I guess someone finally got amped enough to mosh. I think the best songs were the 3rd and 4th ("...Cross" and something about a "...Butcher..."), that really got me into the set- just really aggressive and energetic. The rest ranged from 'ok this is thrash' to this is a killer riff \m/. I don't
Overall, it was a good mix (NWOBHM, death, thrash) for the night, fun people, and at an intimate venue. I think all my expectations for all bands I saw were def exceeded! Pretty nice long sets from each of the bands, I felt my money was well spent! I def enjoyed Widow the best of the lot.
Next show: CHILDREN OF BODOM/ Death Angel/Tyr !
Photos:
Widow
Widow II
Me with Widow
Krisiun!
Destruction setlist
Destruction!
Destruction II
Setlists:
Widow (7:20- 7:55)
- Take hold of the night
- ?
- Lady Twilight
- American Werewolf in Raleigh
- Beward the Night
- Judgement Day
- Angel Sin
Krisiun (8:22- 9:08 ) (combined my notes with this recent setlist that matches up with the last 3/4)
- Kings of Killing (?)
- Combustion Inferno (?)
- The Will To Potency (?)
- Vicious Wrath
- Vengeance's Revelation
- Descending Abomination
- Drum solo
- Blood of Lions
- Onimous
- Thrash Til Death
- Spiritual Genocide
- Nailed to the Cross
- Mad Butcher
- ? Armageddonizer
- ? Eternal Ban
- ? Life without Sense
- ? Release From Agony (pit)
- Carnivore
- Hate is My Fuel (pit)
- Death Trap
- Total Desaster
- Bestial Invasion
- Invincible Force (choice of that or Tears of Blood)
- ? The Butcher Strikes Back
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