I was looking forward to this show and it did not
disappoint. Four heavy hitters playing all manner of sludge, hardcore, noise
and pop. Gaza started off the night with a set of unrelenting angular noise
metal. Nothing about these guys is subtle. Nothing. If they tell you otherwise
then they are straight up lying. Loud as hell and violent sounding, it was
exactly like getting hit in the face over and over with a hammer. They’re like
a more pissed off Converge, if that’s possible. At times it literally sounded
like explosions were emanating from their amps, it didn’t even sound like
instruments playing music. (This is a compliment of the highest order, by the
way.) Their singer got down off the stage after the first song and performed
the rest of the set amongst the audience, getting right up close to the crowd
and screaming in our faces, letting us know that we were scum and didn’t
deserve to live. Or something. We loved it.
I’d like to thank Black Cobra for my sore neck. At one point
I was headbanging on autopilot, the riffs and drums just took over and I was
lost in a haze of distortion. They were spot on tonight, nothing was amiss.
I’ve seen these guys five or six times and this may have been the best sounding
set yet. There is no fat to Black Cobra’s songs, it’s just riff after riff
after riff with explosive drums threatening to overtake everything at any given
moment. Some parts sound, to me, like prime Ministry, when Al Jourgensen was
leading his troops into speed metal battle. Other parts are just total fucking
doom bliss. No complaints whatsoever here.
You’ve heard of the Eagles of Death Metal, right? Well,
Torche are the Wings of Sludge. They have no right to be as heavy as they are
and play catchy, poppy songs. No right at all, dammit. Husker Du + Foo Fighters
+ melodic Helmet = Torche (do the math). If they were playing what they’re
playing right now back in 1992 then Nirvana would’ve been opening for them.
It’s just disgusting how catchy some of these songs are. And yes, the Bomb
String was deployed and in full effect, leveling the audience and leaving huge
smiles on people’s faces. As one dude said to me right after they finished,
Torche live is religion, pure and simple. Jaw dropping.
Corrosion of Conformity. Legends of hardcore. What is there
to be said about them? They got up there and did what they do, which is play
their own brand of Black Sabbath infused punk rock. They looked too be big to
be on that stage. And yes, there was a pit, but it wasn’t a “I’m going to break
your neck and kill you” pit, it was more of a
“Oh my God, I fucking love this song, let’s run into each other at full
speed” pit. My only complaint is that
they would start a song and then abandon it, such as playing a verse of “Vote
With a Bullet” with Reed singing lead or two verses of Sabbath’s “Hand of Doom”
and then go into something else. They did, however, play a full version of the
song “Deliverance”, which got many a head banging. I kind of wish they would
delve more into the Pepper-era material, even if he’s not in the band at this
point, but that’s a minor complaint. COC is an institution and for good reason.
Few bands manage to blend authentic doom ala Sabbath with frenetic hardcore and
make it work. COC does it and they do it well. Excellent show from top to
bottom. A sore neck don’t lie.
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