Concert Review: Slaughter Survivor Battle Of The Bands

I feel like I was just hit by a semi-truck. I have a ringing in my ears, some new battle-scars, and incredible whiplash. At the risk of of sounding like a hyper teenager, this show was EPIC. Behold:

Defleshment, hailing from Laguna, NM, are a force to be reckoned with. They kickstarted the entire concert with intensely brutal riffs and machine-gun drumming. It was fucking awesome. Thier performance was a taste of New Mexico Death Metal, and pretty much set the tone for the badassery of the whole show.

Next up was Eulogies Of The Forgotten. They have neither CD's (that I know of) nor online music, save for some youtube videos which don't quite do them justice. Hell, that's just more reason to to see them live. These guys are truly badass, coming all the way from Taos to perform, and supporting al the other bands as well. The fact that they could play such an energetic set and then mosh the rest of the night is freaking impressive. They're pretty cool guys, too. Meeting them offstage,you would never guess that they were the crazy bastards who just fucked your shit up in the limelight.

Eat A Helicopter is straight up scary. The name is deceptively goofy, but the music basically delivers a pre-emptive strike on all five (six?) of your senses. It was during their setlist that the mosh pit grew massive. Rowdy doesn't even begin to describe it. If you want a taste of their awesome insanity, check out this video. If you like what you see, CD's and other merch is available. Contact the band on their facebook, I already gave you the link. Fuck yeah.

Futilitarian, in their own words, incorporate "an offensive amount of guitar." Yeah, that sounds about right. The music is painfully loud, so awesomely unholy that it's almost ambient. Their style is so melodic that it borders on symphonic. Their sound is atmospheric and poignant. The murcery icing on the Metal cake is that they gave out free CD's. (EP To Earth  is available on Bandcamp, by the way.) I'm going to be honest: One of my favorite things about Metal is the unique vocal styles, which obviously differentiate it from other genres. As such, I'm usually pretty sketched out by Instru-Metal. However, Futilitarian holds thier own, and they are one of my favorite bands despite (or even due to) the lack of vocals.

Weslandia were the winners of the Battle Of The Bands, and I hope they realize that they competed with worthy opponents. Apparently they are also a Christian Metal band, which is great. Christian Metal has a reputation for being kind of lame, but musicians like this prove these negative opinions wrong. They're almost as brutal as The Old Testament itself.

Of All Forms was a band I had anticipated all night, for they were the only musicians representing my hometown: Santa Fe. And holy faith, can those guys represent. They seem to be the quintessential modern Metal band, almost Dethklokian in their style. Think caustic drumming, with melodic strings juxtaposed against relatively monotone growls. I don't mean to be insulting when I say the vocals are monotonous... as this Interview with Brendon Small demonstrates, the deeper growls are too brutal to be melodic. I'm psyched that I had such a beastly band to show Albuqurque what Santa Fe is made of. I also appreciate their lack of gimmicks. In a local scene that prides itself on novelty, it's refreshing to see a New Mexico band that can just play Metal, heavy as fuck.

A Malicious Plague is amazing. Everything about them is apocalyptic. Their sound, their stage presence, all of it rocks. It's the next best thing to actually festering in your own squalid pestilence. I swear, I'm sure that if The Black Death makes an unexpected comeback, humanity's dying words will sound something like this. They came all the way from Gallup to perform, which increases my already immense respect for them.

Atypical Night is aptly named, because every concert with them is guaranteed to be extraordinary. They certainly ended the night with a bang. Their musical style is a seamless blend of melody and ruthlessness. The resulting chaos is something like Death Metal with amped-up virtuosity. They describe themselves as Melodic Deathcore, which seems pretty accurate, so let's just go with that. They were a sublime conclusion to a concert such as this. As most Joe Angel Productions go, this one also gets five stars outta five.

The Battle Of The Bands

      The Albuqurque Battle Of The Bands was promoted by Gorilla Music, hosted by the infamous Launchpad, and featured many promising musicians with the potential to go far in the industry. Gorilla, although a sleazy behemoth of a company, gives something back to the artists of whom it takes advantage. The contest featured no cash award, but instead boasted the “Opportunity” to do further collaborations with Gorilla. Despite this disappointing, self-proclaimed  prize, the Battle Of The Bands brought quality local music to a wide audience. Some audience members, such as myself, have the ability to give such bands better (and paid!) opportunities to perform. I would have never met these artists if a corporate scam didn’t organize the Battle. I owe them some begrudging, yet well-deserved, gratitude. Thanks, guys!

Glad that's over. The artists who performed at the Battle Of The Bands are as follows:

Skarva Av Glas opened up the night with some gnarly Black Metal from hell. The sexy female guitarist was the crown jewel in this otherwise mediocre band. This is a Black Metal group easily forgotten among the rest that try to offend rather than entertain. They have potential, but their performance was overall underwhelming.

Embelisk was a band bouncing with energy. Funky beats juxtaposed over a hard-rock backdrop created a cool atmosphere of chill, crowd pleasing music. Their stage presence was playful, the intent was mischievous. Embelisk was a measured, healthy dose of radio-friendly Rock.

The Elected Officials take righteous indignation, set it to the melody of playground ditties, and amplify it to high heaven. They embody hardcore, Punk-as-fuck, “Oi Oi Oi” music with a message. They hit the stage like a Molotov cocktail hits a skyscraper, conquering the venue with their wicked charisma. Rebels with a cause have never sounded so good.

Terror Race combines elements of modern music with inspiration from rock classics. The result is Metal that appeals even to people who don’t like the genre. On the other hand, true Metalheads may end up feeling slighted. They are certainly gifted with profound musical ability, yet they are trapped in a Local scene with a surplus of high-school Metal bands. With some practice, they will never again get lost in the mix.

Gnarly Slur is comprised of two musicians (A bassist and a guitarist/singer), and a synthesizer.  The style oscillates from clean vocals to death growls, always tastefully and usually seamlessly. However, as stage presence is an integral aspect of live music, the synthetic drum-beats are distracting and somewhat clumsy. Other than the lack of a proper musician on drums, Gnarly slur was an enjoyable taste of modern Metal in one of its many incarnations.

Night of Revenge is a band of high-schoolers writing about video-game zombies, hot girls, and mosh pits. They do so tactfully, with surprisingly phenomenal results. The instruments are distorted, heavy, and catchy. The vocals are usually screams or growls, with occasional clean singing. It’s great head-banging Metal in the vein of Bullet for my Valentine. The clean vocals could use some practice, but otherwise the band is extremely talented.

Parachute Picnic was fodder to please the unwashed masses. A large crowd of aforementioned unwashed masses gathered to flail to their Pop-Punk serenades, music far too sissy to warrant a proper, dignified pit. It was catchy and danceable, yet little more than formula music for mall-rats who admire cuteness instead of talent.

Severkill is a bunch of middle-aged men playing slow, bluesy, Heavy Metal their own way. The instruments sound very old school , Black Sabbath-esque, yet the vocals are modernized with growls and screams. Spooky stage presence and cool lyrics are the mercury icing on the Metal cake. It’s pretty cool to see guys their age rocking out with the best of them.

Cathartic Dissent was Hardcore Punk hailing from Santa Fe, bringing high-octane mosh music to the stage. This being their first show, they performed magnificently. They were raw enough to be Punk-as-fuck, refined enough to draw a significant audience. Cathartic Dissent is a refreshing bite of plain ol’ Punk Rock in a local scene that prides itself on gimmicks.

True Joint Featuring Relik One emulates the kind of Rap/Hip-Hop that dominates modern airwaves. They are enjoyable enough, despite the predictable “Fuck bitches/Smoke weed” type lyrics that were peppered throughout their set list. Many teenage girls expressed their high-pitched approval toward these artists, further obscuring what aesthetic value there was to be enjoyed. Not bad, they were worth seeing in live concert.

     Such was the experience of the Battle of the Bands. However, in the selfsame concert, two acts were featured who were not competing in the battle. They were “Headlining” (if it is proper to call it that, in the context of a Battle) because they have already been established as worthy artists. These bands have risen to prominence because they have proved their great talent and dedication to Metal, music, and artistic worth in general.

Defleshment is dirty, thrashy Death Metal to rival the best in the industry. Their music instigates only the rowdiest of mosh pits. Even those who don’t jump in the slam-dance have to headbang, and everyone raises their Devil-horns high. The music is contagious, and determined to bang its way into the heads of the audience. This is essentially old school rocker Metal tempered for modern taste. No-one escapes a Defleshment performance unscathed.

Rose Beneath is a streamlined, contemporary gem of Melodic Metal. Screams and growls mesh with the operatic clean vocals, echoing the likes of Killswitch Engage. The lyrics are intriguing, the breakdowns are pristine. Rose Beneath dominates the stage with style and charisma. They know how to be theatrical without being melodramatic. An immaculate conclusion to a concert such as this.