Continuing our run-down of metal at this year’s South By Southwest festival in Austin Texas…

SXSW DAY 2 MARCH 17.

AFTERNOON

Metal starts early in Texas noon to be precise – as the opening bell rang loud for Full Metal Texas. Presented by a host of websites like Metalsucks and Metal Injection all the way up to labels including Prosthetic and Summerian, it was touted (and mostly delivered) as THE metal show for South By Southwest.  Orgainized by Inside Out label manager Marc Schapiro (also working with Century Media amongst a ton of other projects), Full Metal Texas took up both of the stages at Austin’s venerable Emo’s.  First up: Australian prog-metallers Karnivool made an early impression with their Tool-like stylings. Following them in Emo’s big room, Indiana’s Amarna Reign impressed with a set of metal moves, breakdowns and sheer passion like few others Consider them the heir to the Midwest Metalcore throne… And that’s a positive actually.

Locals Iron Age took the place with a banquet full of all things metallic from hardcore stomp to stoner grind easily stepping to the top of the SXSW metal heap with a set of songs taken from there The Sleeping Eye opus. Think old Corrosion of Conformity taken into the sludge with the mosquito-packed air of anger and problems all around them

My rental car ..

Leave it to iwrewestledabearonce to smack about your sensibilities with frontwoman Krista Crooning away whilst wearing (what the hell is that?) something that involves a large penguin emblazoned on the front. By comparison, Darkest Hour sounded remarkably conventional. A big surprise was how packed Emo’s smaller room was for Animals as Leaders, who are rapidly becoming a much-talked about quantity with their intense brand of instrumental guitar-play from ex-Reflux guitar mastermind Tobin Abasi. Whilst the smaller remained packed out for Born of Osiris, Orphaned Land continued to show the Western World just how amazing their swirl of Middle Eastern melodies and Opethian prog-moves truly is. With Texas’ Fair to Midland playing to their dedicated (and that’s a lot) fans, the small room packed itself beyond belief for “special guests” The Dillinger Escape Plan turned Emo’s Jr. into a sweatbox of the sort that only comes when you set off blasting caps in a tiny space. Ben’s guitar is a visual and sonic blur. Greg is a brick wall force of vocal and muscle.  It’s precisely what you get when Dillinger gets down to business.

British hardcore types Ghost of a Thousand blew away any expectations as they hit the stage at a club called The Wave. Front man Tom Lacey has no fear of bounding about the patio area where the band is playing. This includes singing from the soundboard, the bar and basically anywhere he can get a solid footing. For Ghost of a Thousand, the three shows they played at South By Southwest were literally their first time on American soil. Guaranteed, after doling out a short thirty minutes of brainy hardcore, it won’t be their last.

EVENING

After  an industry Metal Dinner of fine Mexican food at a spot called The Iron Cactus (appropriately named) presented by the fine folks of the Artery Foundation, it was off to see newbie LA hardcore kings Touché Amore.  Set up in a tiny space called Plush, their modern hardcore sound: equal parts Converge, equal parts Thursday inspired a non-stop pile-up of fans up-front with vocalist Jeremy occasionally visible as he climbs up throng, leading the crowd in emotive agony. From new school to the very old school of hardcore, Circle Jerks/ex-Black Flag front man Keith Morris played the second show of his new band OFF! At Emo’s. With former members of Redd Kross and Hot Snakes aboard, Morris is on his way to building a harder punk machine than the Jerks with his unmistakable So-Cal drawl leading the barrage. Off isn’t quite up to powerhouse standard just yet. However with just a handful of songs to, you can still see this one coming together..

Goatwhore

The fact that S.O.D./M.O.D.’s Billy Milano runs the local club Headhunter’s is a showcase in itself. Chomping a cigar like Sgt. D. himself, he’s the king of keeping things moving as bands get their gear off and onstage. Providence’s She Rides get their gear on per Billy’s orders  and bash through a set of stoner-riff-meets-hardcore that showcases new front man Dan. Not bad but still doing a bit of sonic soul searching from the Refused/Bronx style of their debut LP on Jamey Jasta’s Stillborn label. The surprise of the night came with Bastard Child Death Cult. Playing in front of a crowd anxiously awaiting the evening’s headliner Goatwhore, this Canadian bunch was a huge surprise. Touting a couple members of the long-forgotten Monster Voodoo Machine as well as Toronto punks Damn13, Bastard Child Death Cult came on with a short but sweet set of metal-punk that went so far as to include of cover of Discharge’s “Never Again”.  The crowd reaction literally went from “who the fuck are these guys” straight to tiny slam-pit excitement. Just the sort of thing you come to South By Southwest for. To check out a great band you’ve never heard of. In this case, one ready to blow your balls off.

TO BE CONTINUED….

This entry was posted onTuesday, March 23rd, 2010 at 11:14 am and is filed under Industry Blogs, Thirsty and Credible - Mike Gitter.
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