The "Unmerciful Reign" tour, which featured three New York City death dealers, stopped by Jaxx and you know that a death metal dude like me was gonna be there to get you a report!
For a change I was actually able to arrive while the local opener was on and they weren't too shabby. Art of Destruction is a band from southern Virginia. They had great dual vox, clean rhythms, and nice chunky riffs that had nicely mixed tempos. In true Virginia redneck style, they were rocking camo pants, camo mesh on the drums, and the frontman for the band was rippin' on a kick ass, black, BC Rich Beast, with a camo bevel outline. The two most notable downsides were that when the music got fast, the drummers feet got sloppy. The other item was that they very rarely used solos and when they did pop in a solo I quickly understood why they avoid them... Blech... All in all these guys rated as a 5 out of 10, but honestly if they concentrate on building their overall precision, they would rate much higher. Way to represent the local scene AoD!
Now it was time for Skinless, which was the band I was most curious to see because they are one of the more hyped death metal bands out there today. The most notable guy in the band by far was the singer. He was a busy dude. Jumping, thrashing, punching, pacing... Have you ever gone to a zoo where they have a tiger in a small enclosure and the tiger paces back and forth endlessly due to isolation insanity? Skinless' singer apparently suffers from the same affliction. The band had the biggest following of all the bands on the bill, and also whipped up the most violent pit or the night. Now I don't know if any band had ever done a "Wall of Death" before at Jaxx (they actually called it the "Tsunami of Death"), but it's the first time I ever saw it. Toward the end of the show they had the pit do a "Zombie Wall of Death", in which it was intended to be as slow as possible. It was somewhat amusing to watch as the "corpses" milled toward each other with Michael Jackson's "Thriller" blaring over the speakers. As far as the music goes, I would have to say that not much excited me about them. I can't remember any solos being played, the music was blazing fast with no variation, and well... See? That's how much the music stuck with me. I can't think of anything else. They were a 6 out of 10, thanks to their energy.
Up next was Immolation. These dudes ended up as being my favorite of the night. I had no idea how good they were. The music had tons of time signature and tempo shifting and it was brilliantly technical. It bordered on a Necrophagist-like math metal level, but was easier to absorb. I would have to say that they sounded very much like Morbid Angel. Their two guitarists meshed incredibly and their bass playing singer knew his band was the shit. But the thing that made me gawk the most was their lead guitarist. The mild mannered looking virtuoso was a flailing maniac on the stage. Not only did he move around but he was insanely skilled. This guy wasn't a shredder. He didn't need to dazzle you with how fast he could pick, though I'm confident he could if he needed to. The pure originality and imagination of his solos floored me. I can say with conviction that I would have to say that this guy easily gets into one of the 20 best death metal guitarists ever. Maybe in the top 15! If you are nuts for original guitar work, you really do have to check this band out. 9 out of 10.
Suffocation rounded out the bill. Every axe-man in the band was slinging BC Rich Warlocks, which we all have to admit just looks damn cool. The dual soloing guitarists simply tore it up. For a change I actually got to see a band who had a bass player that was fun to watch too! This dude slung his bass at knee level and spent half of the night "crouching and attacking". He really was a sight! Suffocation easily had the best drummer of the night. He was incredibly precise... Almost machine-like. But by far, the dude who stood out the most was their singer. He talked to the crowd a lot and was pretty funny. He marched around the stage totally lookin' like a New York hardcore hellion. His death voice was smooth and annunciated. He also interacted one on one with lots of the kids in the front row. The singers signature move was thrashing about and playing air drums, followed by frantic tongue wagging, while shaking his hand to the blast beats as if he was shaking up a can of spray paint. The whole set, he also wore a grin that said, "Oh my god I have the coolest job ever!" These dudes were fun. No doubt. The fans loved 'em and the pit was non-stop. Hell even some of the Jaxx security staff would occasionally wander into the pit to take and give some whacks. Many pit-goers also got knocked on their asses and kept going at it again and again. Good clean fun. Great night. 8 out of 10.
In my next report I hope to give you the scoop on the Hanzel und Gretyl show on 11/17 ! Stay tuned.
Go to the BGR gallery (CLICK HERE) and check out my pics from last night's the show.
BE SURE to check out our friends at JAXX NIGHTCLUB! www.jaxxroxx.com
If you would like to attend a Jaxx show please let me know. I might be able to drag you along with me.
Comments Questions or Concerns? Hit me up! berube@braingell.com
And oh yeah...
Peace and Metal Grease!
berube
