Greetings Metal Maniacs! I’m back again to report to you from the frontlines of metal goings-on in our town. I haven’t been getting out as much as I’ve been wanting, but I have been to a few bangers this year. Hence I shall speak of…
RECENT CONCERTS IN METAL LFK
Carcass, Municipal Waste, Sacred Reich, Creeping Death
Live at the Granada in Lawrence, KS 4/20/23 | 8/10
Being unfamiliar with Carcass (UK) prior to this show, my puny mind was not prepared for this utter onslaught from great classic bands. While thrashers Municipal Waste (VA) and Sacred Reich (AZ) brought the heat (I unfortunately couldn’t get in to see Creeping Death (TX) in time because the line for the show stretched around the block), Carcass completely annihilated with a ferocious intensity, proving themselves an enduring uncompromising force in the realm of death metal. Bill Steer (Lead Guitar) in particular was on fire the whole night, with scorching leads and a brief but intense vocal appearance. Their note choice and dual-guitarwork is in my opinion par to none. Listen to Carcass.
The one negative thing I had to say about this show seems to be a worrying trend developing: Why the hell don’t people move more at these things? Granted, there were some crowd-killing bastards (one of which had to be subdued by Malicious Intent alumni DJ Gorn), and Municipal Waste made an attempt as always to instigate some thrashin, but good moshery seems to be experiencing a drought as of late… Perhaps a residual symptom of the pandemic? Headbangers, get out there! This music, in my opinion, demands movement, and we need to be the makers of moshing mayhem lest we all burn in heavy metal hell.
Other than that, like I said, that concert totally killed. I’d give Carcass a 8.75/10, being the best performance I’ve seen this year by far, and the other bands a solid 7/10 on the thrash scale, leaving my total brutality meter at 8/10 (would’ve been 8.5 if not for the lack of moshers). If you are a fan of old school death metal and have somehow missed the Carcass train up to this point, catch them on tour! Do it! NOW!
Check out KJHK Alumni and former Malicious Intent Host Judge Dredd’s article on this concert here!
YOB, Cave In, They Watch Us From The Moon
Live at the Bottleneck in Lawrence, KS 6/1/23 | 7.75/10
Like Carcass, YOB was another band that I was unfamiliar with headed into the show. These days, I find myself skeptical of some doom/stoner bands given that genre’s proliferation across the midwest, but YOB did not disappoint. Their sound is that of a great lumbering monstrosity, crushing all in its wake. Bursting with more energy than a lot of stoner doom I’ve seen, their set shifted grooves a few times but never let up. The other important ingredient: volume. Power-trios can have issues at times filling a space, but YOB had no such difficulty. Stoner fans were treated to a night of hairy, dirty heavy rock with unparalleled kaiju-like drummage.
LFK’s own They Watch Us From the Moon also played a stellar set of tracks from their new record, bringing their unique melodic take on the doom genre to the Bottleneck on the heels of their new full-length release Cosmic Chronicles, Act I: The Ascension. As far as openers go, they, in my opinion, totally blew away the morose metalcore of Cave In. They Watch Us From the Moon’s recent musical outings have been taking full advantage of the vocalists in their lineup, with doomy riffs providing an excellent canvas for melodic exploration. The dual vocals on TRACK were an especially high point of their set to my ears.
This concert was great, and has opened my eyes to the potential of the doom genre again after years of speed supremacy. Given the solid showing and the good crowd, I give this concert a 7.75 out of 10, knocking off a few points mostly for shitty metalcore vocals.
Check back out the KJHK website for more concert and album reviews, and listen to Malicious Intent from 9pm-12am every Sunday.
ROCK ON!!!
– Alexandros