Zack Olander - Five Dollar Death Metal
Recently I went to a concert at Riffhouse Pub in Chesapeake. Maybe 30 people showed up at this little dive bar to see 3 bands; Tomb Mold, Taphos Nomos, and Night Hag. I showed up to the venue, gave the security guard my 5 dollars to get in. When I walked in, I was immediately greeted by the smell of cigarettes and Pabst Blue Ribbon. The people inside the venue were the type of people that look scary - tattoos, leather jackets, missing teeth, crazy hairstyles - but all were nice people (with only 30 people at the show, if you don't already know anyone, you will by the end of the night).
Up first was Taphos Nomos. Right before their set, I wandered over to the merch table to check out their merchandise. One of the t-shirts had a drawing of a man being struck by lightning printed on the front of the shirt, and I was sold. It was so brutal and horrific, my sick and twisted aesthetic tastes kicked in and I eagerly awaited their set. The first thing I noticed wasn't even the music, it was their frontman. Just a singer, he was taller and larger than me, and his stage presence was unlike any other death metal vocalist I've ever seen. Most death metal frontmen spend the entire show trying to be, visually speaking, "in your face." His attitude was more relaxed, yet his guttural growls complimented the crushing music which was a mixture of the slow rhythms of doom metal with the ultra-low brutality of death metal.
The second band to play was called Tomb Mold. They are from Toronto, but they sounded like they were from Finland. (For those reading who aren't familiar with the history of metal music, Finnish death metal has a very distinct rawness to the sound of the guitars. Imagine plugging an overdriven electric guitar into a flaming amplifier that's being cut in half by a chainsaw.) They obviously had been heavily influenced by the legendary 90's Finnish bands like Demilich and Demigod, yet they had their own primitive way of playing riffs and it was the filthiest music I had ever seen live. I loved it. I bought their shirt and LP from them as soon as they were off the stage.
The third and final band that night is called Night Hag. I'm friends with these guys, so it was great seeing them up on stage and having fun. My friend John, the drummer/vocalist for the band, who is normally the nicest and most relaxed person I know, looked like a completely different person on stage; you could see the change in his eyes. He had this psychopathic look on his face and was wearing a black shirt that read "MANIAC" in big block letters. He stood up, pointed at the crowd with his drum sticks and screamed at us, calling for moshing, "IF YOU DON'T MOVE, I'LL COME DOWN THERE AND RIP YOUR HEART OUT!" (expletive removed)
John sat down and the band immediately started playing loud and fast. It was mayhem. Everyone at the show (except for me; injured foot) was moshing and smiling and having a great time as the band played their set. It reminded me of Halloween (which I've also blogged about).
Overall, it was a great show.
Up first was Taphos Nomos. Right before their set, I wandered over to the merch table to check out their merchandise. One of the t-shirts had a drawing of a man being struck by lightning printed on the front of the shirt, and I was sold. It was so brutal and horrific, my sick and twisted aesthetic tastes kicked in and I eagerly awaited their set. The first thing I noticed wasn't even the music, it was their frontman. Just a singer, he was taller and larger than me, and his stage presence was unlike any other death metal vocalist I've ever seen. Most death metal frontmen spend the entire show trying to be, visually speaking, "in your face." His attitude was more relaxed, yet his guttural growls complimented the crushing music which was a mixture of the slow rhythms of doom metal with the ultra-low brutality of death metal.
The second band to play was called Tomb Mold. They are from Toronto, but they sounded like they were from Finland. (For those reading who aren't familiar with the history of metal music, Finnish death metal has a very distinct rawness to the sound of the guitars. Imagine plugging an overdriven electric guitar into a flaming amplifier that's being cut in half by a chainsaw.) They obviously had been heavily influenced by the legendary 90's Finnish bands like Demilich and Demigod, yet they had their own primitive way of playing riffs and it was the filthiest music I had ever seen live. I loved it. I bought their shirt and LP from them as soon as they were off the stage.
The third and final band that night is called Night Hag. I'm friends with these guys, so it was great seeing them up on stage and having fun. My friend John, the drummer/vocalist for the band, who is normally the nicest and most relaxed person I know, looked like a completely different person on stage; you could see the change in his eyes. He had this psychopathic look on his face and was wearing a black shirt that read "MANIAC" in big block letters. He stood up, pointed at the crowd with his drum sticks and screamed at us, calling for moshing, "IF YOU DON'T MOVE, I'LL COME DOWN THERE AND RIP YOUR HEART OUT!" (expletive removed)
John sat down and the band immediately started playing loud and fast. It was mayhem. Everyone at the show (except for me; injured foot) was moshing and smiling and having a great time as the band played their set. It reminded me of Halloween (which I've also blogged about).
Overall, it was a great show.
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