THE EMPIRE SHALL FALL / ACARO / WESTERN MASSACRE / INFINITE DESCENT / MURDOC
1/14/12 at Great Scott, Allston, MA
Last Saturday night Slimedog and I attempted to start the new year off on the right foot (or should I say left) with a heavy dose of local metal at Great Scott in Allston. Between you and me, I think Great Scott and O’Brien’s have to be considered the crème de la crème of local metal. I can only hope that the other local clubs (and you know who you are) follow suit and jump on the metal band wagon. I have a feeling that 2012 is gonna be a great year for local metal, as exemplified by the great performances we witnessed on Saturday. It was a great line up, which included our old friends Acaro playing with: The Empire Shall Fall, Western Massacre, Infinite Descent and Murdoc.
First up was Murdoc who hails from Attleboro, MA. This was their first gig in Boston. As soon as they started playing, Slimedog and I looked at each other wide eyed and couldn’t help but give our nods of approval. They absolutely killed it! Great energy and awesome musicianship. The tune, ‘Creatures of the Night’ really bangs. I can’t wait to check these guys out again (but wait…, you actually can, since they are playing the Palladium next Saturday (1/21) along with another great metal lineup). Be sure to look for Murdoc playing at a club near you and listen to a few of their great tunes on TNB’s band profile (here).
Next up was Infinite Descent from Taunton, MA. One of the things I really enjoy about covering bands for TNB is experiencing a band I’ve never heard or seen before for the first time. You never quite know what to expect and Infinite Descent was full of surprises. First off, they had great energy and a cool sound (no surprise there). Their lead singer had an awesome death growl happenin’. From where Slimedog and I were hangin’ (which was about as far from the stage as humanly possible), I thought to myself, ‘that’s gotta be the best lookin’ front man I’ve ever seen in a metal band’. Then it occurred to us that the vocalist was a ‘she’ and not a ‘he’. Wow, what a great vocal range, Olivia Burka, lead singer for Infinite Descent, has. She bangs out the growls and death vibe like nobody’s business, blending it, at times, with cleaner vocals. Infinite Descent plays a progressive style of metal marked by nordic-like squealing guitar riffs. They have a lot of interesting stuff going on that adds a new vibe to the death metal/metalcore landscape. I look forward to checking them out again. In the meantime, be sure to listen to them at their band profile (here). ‘Swallowed by the Sea’ really bangs.
About this time, we bumped into our good friend, Duncan Wilder Johnson, the great front man for Bring The Knife. We chatted a bit about what his band was up to and how their new drummer was doin’. By all accounts, Bring The Knife are rarein’ and ready to unleash yet another great season of metal on the fans of Boston (be sure to check them out when you can). OK, back to the show ….
Next up were Western Massacre from, well…, western Mass. (Springfield to be exact). A raucous bunch of lads that play it loud and proud with a propensity for high energy death mixed with a shot of whiskey and beer chaser. If you ain’t moshin’ and grovin’ to these guys, you better check your pulse. They play death with a hardcore feel and, from the post show rumors, if your looking for the after party, these guys are it. Definitely a talented and fun bunch that enhance any metal show’s lineup. I had to pull Slimedog down off the bar top twice for attempting to mosh with his pants down (lucky we didn’t get thrown out…). Be sure to check out our band profile for Western Massacre (here).
And just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, who should come up next, but our good friends from Acaro. These guys have gone through a bit of a change lately and earlier in the evening we chatted briefly with Chris Harrell, Acaro’s very fine lead singer, who filled us in on their new guitarist, Chris Robinson and the prognosis for the future. Well, as they say, the proof is really in the pudding and based on how he jumped into the fray and laid down the tracks with very short notice, it looks like Chris R. will be a welcome addition to the Acaro clan. As per their usual exciting selves, Acaro certainly didn’t disappoint their fans. They put on a great show and included all their well known tunes. Chris is very excited for Acaro in 2012 and says the best is yet to come. We always look forward to hearing Acaro, but you can check them out now at their TNB band profile (here).
And last, but certainly not least, was The Empire Shall Fall from Providence, RI. A band formed by some very talented well seasoned musicians. The Empire Shall Fall puts an experimental spin on the metal/hardcore moniker with tunes tending towards the more melodic side and including an interesting blend of several different elements (punk, jazz, metal …). A bit of experimentation is never a bad thing for a genre. And with respect to The Empire Shall Fall, the end product certainly yields high energy excitement to be sure. You can find our band profile for The Empire Shall Fall (here).
And so, in closing, let me just reiterate what a great night of metal music it was. Hopefully you were able to get off the couch and put the bag of chips down for one night and join us. Five great local bands played and provided unparalleled entertainment to the patrons of Great Scott. Also hat’s off to Great Scott for keepin’ the Metal flag flying. Until next time …
Later,
(Andy Bang)
