Rolling Metal Thread 2010

Ended up leaving during High On Fire's set tonight. HoF bring out the meatheads, and Pike was encouraging them to behave like morons. Not fun. The band aren't really my thing and this show didn't change that, though "Blessed Black Wings" was epic in all the right ways.

However, Torche were quite good and much heavier and rougher live. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would based on the new record.

The show stealer was definitely the opener, Kylesa. I didn't know what to expect (I haven't warmed to their records in the past) but they are a tight, powerful live band. I have no idea whether they played mainly new stuff or not but it made me a fan and converted a few of my friends who were there as well.

So if you're catching this tour later make sure you get there in time for the opener!

Thanks, Adrien, for mentioning that Weapon have a new one coming out.
What a powerful album!

Pike was encouraging them to behave like morons

^like what

he asked to see their tits and then snort coke off of them?

did i mention that jerseyband are awesome math-metal with trumpet and saxophone, and that the horns are used in a way that is not lame at all

ooh now you're talkin
why do they have such a crummy name?

element of surprise

also they appear to have a sense of humor: http://www.myspace.com/jerseyband

Pike was encouraging them to behave like morons

^like what

by saying things like "that's not a pit! You got to throw yourself around!" and going "fuck yeah!" when people who were headbanging but not moshing get knocked to the ground. One of my friends was right in front rocking out and got pushed up and over the barricade by some meathead during the second song. He was fine and joined me in the back for the rest of it until we left 30 or so minutes in. The "security" didn't help; a couple of the big guys wearing earpieces and staff shirts were right in the middle of the mosh being asshats themselves.

I'm happy he wanted the crowd to be into it but don't encourage people to be assholes. Ended up being forty people up front and 2 or 300 people fifteen feet back from them.

This is where Nate calls you "square" EZ.

Yep.

I was never a mosh dude. "I'm here for the music, man!" Luckily, I'm a good sized guy and in general can hold my own if I get stuck in one. My friend who went ass over tit is a little shaver and didn't stand a chance.

when i saw high on fire several years ago i was on the periphery and still got knocked around pretty good. still thinking about bailing after torche.

I'd never seen them so wanted to give their live show a shot. They were super tight and Pike can play the shit out of the guitar, but there was no conversion from appreciation to fandom like there was for Kylesa, or for Ludicra when I saw them last spring.

xpost

wait, I'm going to get injured just standing there, even if I'm in the back of the room?

nah the pit gravitates towards the front; it's easy to avoid

yes
xp

xpost

ok good

get in the pit, man. you won't get injured.

yeah no, there's no way I wouldn't get destroyed

i'm relatively little and i got bumped around at the eyehategod show i went to earlier this year. it sucked.

Just over an hour until Necro Deathmort kick off Supersonic.

Mosh pits suck and are totally false metal.

I do miss the days when metal shows were all fist-pumping and headbanging. That was a lifetime ago.

I used to love the pit from about ages 16-21. Once I got married, though, I eased back. Now I'm the arms-folded guy at the back of the crowd.

last metal show I went to was Metallica/Godsmack in 2004. I'm curious to see what kinda crowd there'll be at the Torche/Kylesa/High On Fire show tomorrow night

I do miss the days when metal shows were all fist-pumping and headbanging. That was a lifetime ago.

One of the things I love about where I live is all the smaller metal shows are still like that. I was actually surprised to see a pit. Obviously, I should only go to shows with less than 100 people.

I've been to shows with circle pits, etc but there's always been a certain level of pit etiquette that I appreciated (ie if you're on the edge and not moshing, no one touches you or invades your space, and so on). I'm all for letting people have their fun provided it doesn't get impede on mine.

Quite honestly the worst show I was ever at was a Pearl Jam arena gig at the old Point in Dublin; there was nowhere safe to stand as the crowd kept surging backwards and forwards and side to side like we were in a fucking wave pool. Not for me, thanks.

I loved the pit when I was a kid. There was a sense of camaraderie in the somewhat small scene I was in at the time; a lot of people knew each others faces from other shows and most of the shows were 18+ so alcohol wasn't a big worry. It was never about hurting other people and in fact, people were more about keeping each other on their feet. When people fell down, they were picked up. People on the outsides of the pit acted as a cushion/barrier and mostly pushed people back in. I had a friend who was pretty small and got tossed around a lot, but he was even more into it than I was. I never saw any serious injuries.

These days when I go to shows I get a lot more out of watching the performers do their thing, but I still see the pit as a pretty fundamental aspect of death/thrash metal. All that said, I would steer way clear of a mosh pit at a rock show like Torche.

I've been listening to a lot of new stuff at random today,
and this black/death band from Belfast really grabbed my attention.

http://www.myspace.com/altusastrum

Their debut full-length just came out this month.
All four tracks on their myspace are pretty impressive.

I hate pits but they do have their place. What I hate more is when there's no pit, but there's 1-3 guys trying to make one and just generally upsetting the vibe for the rest of us geezers.

Saw Triptykon play a crushing set to less than 100 people in Portland last night. Despite the dismal turnout, they played a set that made me feel utterly purified. I can see how this band could easily bore a lot of folks, but the minimalism and heaviness is EXACTLY what I want from this band. Tom is in great form, the band look and sound excellent, and they do so much musically with so little. Also the entire set was Frost/Triptykon/Frost/Triptykon the whole time. A very nice crowd-pleasing balance.

Then I crossed town to see a late set from Ancestors who made full use of their organist and modular synth players. Super epic jams. Great night all round.

Helluva a double last night Nate! Jealous as I'd love to see them both.

posting from the high on fire/torche/kylesa show. hof still to play; got to hang out with markers for a bit before he had to catch a train. fun night!

^ cosign!

Fuck yes - Monarch are touring the U.S.

Yup. West coast dates with Trees. I'll see them in PDX 11/3. Hopefully right after I get out of the Gordon Lightfoot show.

Home after Supersonic and fighting the urge to go and see Zeni Geva again in a couple of hours. Review of sorts to come later, but for now think of it this way: AWESOME.

Still undecided whether I'm going to Zeni Geva tomorrow... got Swans on Thursday already

Seriously, Zeni Geva were on fucking fire. I am just feeling it after a whole weekend.

Also, two disc "My Father..." being listed on the merch table as tour only, so might be your last chance to get it.

I saw Blake Judd walking down Milwaukee once and I tried to give him a nod/smile thing that was supposed to read "I know who you are and really like you and your band, but I don't want to be all fanboyish about it". He kind of scowled at me in return. Probably because I was wearing my work dress clothes and looked about as un-metal as possible.

been away from this thread for a little while but I just read this and am crackin' up.

also, screwed ride the lightning is awesome.

I am not the tr00 metal. :(

take a look at that poll right before you're banned
it's the last time you will!

just kicked off my first spin through the new enslaved lp. this shit kills!!

So first we had Dimmu Borgir dragging Enslaved around the country as their opening act, and now Cradle of Filth have announced that Nachtmystium will be opening their U.S. tour in February. What's going on here? Is there some kind of alliance between pomptastic ex-black-metal bands and arty post-black-metal bands?

is the new Dimmu Borgir worth a shit?

Someone should take a shit on dimmu borgir. Awful band.

The Dimmu album is okay in parts, but it's totally on autopilot. The orchestral arranger actually does all the work, the actual band just phones it in.

Oh, and the first week numbers of the Dimmu album are really mediocre. The last album sold 15,000+ first week in 2007, and Abrahadabra is way down, 9,400. "Gateways" was a disastrous choice for a single, based on that song I don't blame the consumers for staying away.

"consumers" says it all about those buying dimmu borgir and cradle of filth et al

I've never heard anything by them, but I guess I'll be passing on their new one