I’ve been hearing good things about Ghoul for a while, and even met one of the Ghouls at a BBQ at Devon’s house recently, so Ghoul was my main musical reason for attending this show. The show was also a benefit for Nikki and Jef “Leppard” Davis, who were in a motorcycle accident that killed Jef and left Nikki in the hospital with mounting medical expenses. Jef apparently worked at the Metro, as well as being in the band Voetsek. As for the other bands, I’ve been curious to witness the present incarnation of Noothgrush (I have an old Noothgrush cassette from the nineties, given to me by a then member of the band, but that was then, and this is now), I was mildly interested in seeing Autopsy (who have been around for a long time, but came on the scene just as I was getting tired of bands who sounded like them), and decided I wouldn’t mind seeing another Acephalix set (I’m still of two minds about them).
Another thing that made this a special night was that it was the first time in over two decades that I went to a gig with Sylvia. She was one of my constant companions back when a bunch of us would go to Ruthie’s Inn nearly every weekend, back in those long ago pre-internet days when local bands put the Bay Area on the global metal map. She conveniently lives between our house and the Metro, so Jeanine and I didn’t even have to make a detour to collect her. To make matters even better, my friends Devon, Brian, and Chris Scaparro were all there too, and Devon even brought snacks! I hadn’t seen Chris in years, and there were lots of other familiar faces and friends in the crowd as well.
There was a raffle to raise funds for Nikki’s hospital expenses, so I bought a raffle ticket. Lots of metal swag was given away, and even though I didn’t win anything, it made the time in between bands go by more quickly. Raffles are more interesting if you have a raffle ticket.
As for the bands…
This is my third time seeing Acephalix. I admire their heaviness and their absolutely brutal, primitive guitar tone. They play mid-tempo, grinding songs that bring to mind the early days of the more extreme end of the metal genre. I can hear elements of Venom and Hellhammer/Celtic Frost in their sound. The vocalist, who also does time in Vastum, is fun to watch as he stomps around the stage, having a good time and never seeming to take himself too seriously. I’m less of a fan of the whole “cookie monster vocals” style these days though, and his voice sounds like countless others. Still, the monstrous caveman racket of their songs made me smile.
Edited to add: Their full set is already on YouTube! That was quick. Again, it was uploaded, and presumably shot, by roseman127:
If Acephalix reminded me of Venom, Noothgrush these days brings to mind Post Mortem or Dream Death (to reference a couple of old school bands, in keeping with my above Venom comparison) – crawling sludge metal with abrasive vocals. I was surprised to see Russ “Mr. Hate” Kent on guitar (also in Alaric), but apparently he has been in the band quite awhile. Here is the setlist. Again, the vocals, while definitely heartfelt, are a bit one-dimensional. Aside from that, the band played a crushing set. Lots of pathos and grimness.
Roseman127 posted a song from the Noothgrush set too:
To put it simply, Ghoul play old school thrash metal and combine it with a Gwar-inspired theatricality. The result is stupendous fun, and this just might be the band to reinvigorate a stale (for me, at least) genre. I could definitely hear my heart rate kick it up a notch. The band members are hooded and anonymous, and the songs riled up the pit, with stage divers and crowd surfers flying everywhere. In true Gwar fashion, the first few rows were subjected to a liquid assault as various costumed characters stumbled around the stage – a large, fake chicken was torn apart by a ghoulish witch doctor, jets of red liquid were shot from various devices, and giant robots battled. Towards the end, there was even fake vomit, and afterwards, it was obvious who was near the stage – they were the moist, reddish ones covered in chunks of something or other. Definitely the band of the evening for me, and for many others too, I think.
Here's a video taken at the Metro last year, uploaded by roseman127:
I was less impressed with Autopsy that I thought I’d be. The band members are all very competent at what they do, but their set reminded me why I’d never really gotten into them. Their mid-to-fast-paced death metal doesn’t contain any elements that make them stand out from countless other similar bands. On top of this, I was tired from a long day at work and it was getting late, which admittedly may have colored my impressions. I think I would have enjoyed their set much more a quarter century ago, back when I was young and their sound was relatively fresh. Still, kudos to them and the other bands for playing the show.
I hope that the evening proved to be a financial success for Nikki. It’s nice to see the metal community come together to help out.
Posted by: |