LIVE IN VIETNAM: SUFFOCATION, GATECREEPER, BLOOD SERPENT, THANH DUC, DIARSIA, DISTRICT 105 — 27 MARCH 2024

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May 202024
 

(Our Hanoi-based correspondent Vizzah Harri prepared the following report of a hell of a show that took place in Ho Chi Minh City, aka Saigon, on March 27, 2024. Uncaptioned images in the article were made by him.)

The late eighties and early nineties must have been suffocating times – there were 6 bands formed around the same period with the name Suffocation. Though the band that formed in the same year that Soviet troops finally withdrew out of Afghanistan was the one that prevailed.

Suffocation needs no introduction for being groundbreakers in the genre of death regarding brutality and technicality. If anyone didn’t know, they’re from Long Island, home to the NYC boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, the former of which has some of the coolest metal bars any side of the Atlantic. I for one am really lucky to have not been born too late to witness Saint Vitus perform in the eponymous bar named after them.

Jesuit, if translated phonically, will sound like dễ sử in Vietnamese, which means ‘easy to use’ and the line followed unto the Latin of ‘lesous’ leads us to the catch 33 of salvation. These missionaries were extremely successful and had a massive influence on the eventual subjugation of the ‘J’ or ear-shaped French Indochina. An area that according to Wikipedia covered less ground than the three sovereign nations of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam of today.

Vietnam and Cambodia together are about 9 Long Islands smaller than France at 512,247 square kilometers (km2), which is about 20 Long Islands (3,629 km2) bigger than Arizona and the State of New York as one (436,554 km2). If you follow my bulletproof logic here… it’s been almost 20 years since Suffocation from Long Island visited this humid ‘little’ corner of the world. Continue reading »

CANCER CULTURE OVER NORTH AMERICA TOUR

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Apr 242024
 

(Our friend Ben Manzella made sure not to miss one of the California dates of the ongoing Cancer Culture Over North America Tour, featuring Decapitated, Septicflesh, Kataklysm, and Allegaeon, and he brought us the following report on the show and lots of his photos.)

After going to shows consistently for close to twenty years, I find some venues hold a nostalgic place in my memory. The Observatory in Santa Ana, formerly known as the Galaxy Theater, is one such place. I rarely attend shows there due to the distance from where I live in southern California; but when I heard Decapitated’s tour would be starting there and I knew I’d be out of town for their other date in the area, I knew I had to figure out a way to be there.

As other US/North American fans of Decapitated will be well aware, the band has not been back to this region of the world since an incident that happened 7 years ago. It was pretty well documented and I don’t think it needs to be further mentioned out of respect for the band in moving forward. If anything, it felt sort of celebratory that their tour started at The Observatory because it was also the last venue they played 7 years ago.

So, with a new album released in 2022 and a strong/eclectic lineup featuring Septicflesh, Kataklysm, and Allegaeon, the Cancer Culture Over North America tour started on a high note. Continue reading »

SLAM CITY METAL FEST II 2024 MARCH 15-16

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Apr 122024
 

(Our Hanoi-based contributor Vizzah Harri prepared the following extensive report on the Slam City II Metal Fest, which took place last month over two days in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, Cambodia.)

SLAM CITY II METAL FEST 2024 officially featured 11 bands from three South East Asian countries. Sadly, Lilith from the Philippines were unable to make it this time due to what the author can confirm as exorbitant flight prices this year. My Chemical Bromance, a metallic-dubstep act stood in for the Siem Reap leg. It was set and executed to occur over two days in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. And again, this scribe can verify that it was a weekend that will go down in the history of Asian metal as what the underground is all about. Grit, grunge, punk-values, inclusion, and mighty riffage. Continue reading »

CONCERT REVIEW: WAYFARER PRESENTS “AMERICAN GOTHIC,” BLUEBIRD THEATER, MARCH 29, 2024

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Apr 092024
 

(Below we present our Denver-based contributor Gonzo‘s wonderful review of a unique show in March by Wayfarer performing the entirety of their American Gothic album, with support from Paul Riedl, Munly and the Lupercalians, and some special guests.)

I’m not sure when it happened, but at some point in my lifetime, metal music turned into the audial equivalent of Sriracha: You can add it to anything.

And few bands really understand this in the way Denver’s Wayfarer does. Their fusing of black metal’s raw underbelly with Old West lyrical themes and imagery is one of the best musical marriages happening in metal right now. They’re a huge part of what makes the Denver metal scene the unending adventure that it is. Any chance to see them perform live is a momentous occasion.

So when the quartet announced they’d be riding out to the Bluebird Theater for a one-night-only performance of their 2023 opus American Gothic, featuring some special guests that I’d never see coming, you could be damn sure yours truly would be present for it. Continue reading »

SHOW REVIEW: MUNICIPAL WASTE, GHOUL, NECROT, AND DEAD HEAT IN L.A., MAR. 5, 2024

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Mar 212024
 

(Our friend Ben Manzella caught the March 5 Los Angeles stop of the recently concluded Brainsqueeze Tour 2024, featuring performances by Municipal Waste, Ghoul, Necrot, and Dead Heat, and brought us the following report and his own photos of the event.)

While I can’t claim I’ve been to every venue in Los Angeles, it is still rare I get to attend a show at a venue that has recently opened for business. After the ticket demand proved beyond the capacity of the original venue, The Tankcrimes Records Brainsqueeze tour headlined by Municipal Waste managed to find a more fitting space in the Bellwether.

Along with being the Brainsqueeze tour, this tour is also a celebration of 20 years since the release of Municipal Waste’s record Waste Em’ All. Along with Municipal Waste on the tour are Ghoul, Necrot, and Dead Heat. While every band is heavy in their own right, each band is as similar as they are different; whether that was considered or not, this lineup sold out the Bellwether, which is just over double the capacity of the originally scheduled venue on a Tuesday night. Continue reading »

SHOW REVIEW: AGALLOCH AND DAWNBRINGER IN SAN FRANCISCO, FEB. 17, 2024

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Mar 062024
 

(Our friend Ben Manzella returns to NCS with his reflections about and photos of the performances by John Haughm, Dawnbringer, and Agalloch in San Francisco CA on February 17th of this year.)

I’m not sure of the origin of the saying, “When it rains, it pours.” However, it seemed rather fitting for the night I thankfully made it in to see Agalloch in San Francisco. I had decided to take a brief trip up from Los Angeles for an art event at a gallery called Studio Fallout that was the same day as Agalloch’s concert and wanted to finally see them live after thinking I’d never have a chance when they broke up a few years ago.

Adding to the rarity/uniqueness of the event, Dawnbringer was announced as the opener in their first Bay Area show in close to a decade, and John Haughm of Agalloch started the evening by playing solo material, which is also a rare treat. Continue reading »

BEER & LOATHING IN THE ROCKIES: DECIBEL METAL AND BEER FEST DENVER, 2023, DAY 2

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Dec 142023
 

(Denver-based NCS writer Gonzo didn’t miss the Decibel Metal & Beer Fest in Denver on December 1st and 2nd. We’ve already published his report on the fest’s first day (here), and today we present his report on Day 2.)

Festivals are always full of surprises. Most of the time, these surprises are new bands I discover or friends I meet for the first time, but when I woke up in the morning after day 1 of Decibel Metal & Beer Fest, the true surprise was that I didn’t have a crippling fucking hangover.

Ah, but there was still time. Tonight would be a glorious second installment of the festivities orchestrated by the Philly-based Decibel crew. And if last night was any indicator of what I could expect this evening, there was much reason for excitement. Continue reading »

SHOW REVIEW: KATATONIA, GOST, THROWN INTO EXILE — LOS ANGELES, NOV. 30, 2023

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Dec 132023
 

(Erstwhile NCS contributor Ben Manzella attended the performances of Katatonia, Gost, and Thrown into Exile at the Echoplex in Los Angeles on November 30, 2023, and he has given us the following concert review along with lots of the photos he made during the show.)

Until last night, it had been six years since my last opportunity to see Katatonia live. I wasn’t sure what to expect with what I saw as a confusing three-band lineup on a Thursday night. Even Jonas of Katatonia mentioned as he greeted the audience that he doesn’t often go to gigs on Thursday nights but he and the band greatly appreciated all of us making time to see them. The collective cheer at the Echoplex made it clear the appreciation was mutual. Continue reading »

BEER & LOATHING IN THE ROCKIES: DECIBEL METAL AND BEER FEST DENVER, 2023, DAY 1

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Dec 072023
 

(Denver-based NCS writer Gonzo didn’t miss the Decibel Metal & Beer Fest in Denver on December 1st and 2nd, and somehow he recovered quickly enough to turn in the following report on the fest’s first day — and he’ll be sending us a report on the second day as well.)

We all know the story with sequels – they rarely live up to the expectations set by their predecessor. The trend is so common that it makes one wonder why it’s seemingly always the case. Heavy lies the crown of precedent, I suppose.

Music festivals are not immune to this trend. The first go-round of any festival could easily be a trial-and-error situation resulting in way more “error” for most people’s liking. The logistics, planning, promotion, marketing, and everything that goes in between is a waking nightmare to comprehend, and it’s a hell of a lot easier for me to sit here and write about it than it is to organize and execute. When it’s done right, though, people will come back for Year 2, and they’ll bring their high expectations with them.

All that being said, after spending this past weekend at Summit Music Hall here in Denver for the second incarnation of Decibel’s now-annual Metal & Beer Fest, I can happily say that the curse of sequel mediocrity does not fucking apply here.

If anything, the bar has been thoroughly raised for this glorious weekend of revelry and ear-splitting savagery, even though my liver is scowling in disapproval as I type this. (Sit this one out, you whiny little mass of meat. You’ve suffered enough.) Continue reading »

CONCERT REVIEW: VOLA, BENT KNEE, AND WHEEL – Denver CO, Sept. 15, 2023

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Sep 282023
 


VOLA – photo by Heli Andrea

(Denver-based NCS writer Gonzo had himself a hell of a good time at a show about two weeks ago, and made time to show his appreciation in the following review.)

Denmark’s VOLA has always been a fascinating band to me. On one hand, their sound is an angular, merciless assortment of riffs that pay homage to the likes of Meshuggah, while on the other hand, one could be forgiven for comparing their vocals to that of Radiohead.

It sounds like a confusing juxtaposition on paper. But the way these Danes (and one Swede) in VOLA have cultivated their sound into its final form is no less remarkable. Their 2022 album Witness was a favorite of mine from that year and continues to get much of my attention now.

When they announced their biggest North American run yet, I circled the date on my calendar and let the excitement build. My hopes were already high, but the addition of Finland’s Wheel and Boston’s Bent Knee as supporting acts only bolstered the anticipation levels.

The result, as it turned out, would be a night I would not soon forget. Continue reading »

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