The Future of Heavy Metal

Just another prediction post from yours truly.

This is just an abbreviated history to lead into my main point, a great resource is the documentary Metal Evolution: The Definitive History of Heavy Metal & Hard Rock

I often ponder, to the point of obsession, about the evolution Heavy Metal has taken. From the Proto-Metal roots in the Psychedelic/Acid/Progressive rock scenes, with bands like Iron Butterfly, Cream, The Kinks and guitarists like Hendrix and Robin Trower, even Surf guitar god Dick Dale. Then came the Unholy Trinity, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Led Zepplin. These bands being, arguably, the first "Metal" bands, some other early Metallers being Blue Cheer, Uriah Heep, Nazareth, Rainbow, and the mighty Judas Priest.

Metal transformed through the following decade into the NWOBHM, which in turn brought forth Thrash Metal, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, Black Metal, and even influenced Hair Metal.

Now I'm going to narrow down a bit. Thrash and Speed Metal brought about Death Metal. Death Metal combined with Hardcore Punk, becoming Deathcore. The sound seemed to always become more extreme with each successive generation of bands in the Black and Death subgenres. I kept thinking, "How much more extreme can this sound go? Are we topped out?" Then I heard a band open for Static-X (RIP Wayne Static), that band was The Browning. Their name is ridiculous, but I realized that they were the future of Metal. They were pioneering what was coming next. They combined the sounds of Deathcore/Metalcore with Dubstep. It only made sense that the deep bass laden sounds of Dubstep would eventually merge with Metal. Synthesizers are going to make a big comeback in Extreme Metal. Another band, PAIN, a side project of Melodic-Death Metal band Hypocrisy frontman Peter Tägtgren, has been fusing Metal and Techno/Electronic for almost 2 decades. But the Electronic music scene became heavier and weirder in the form of Dubstep, and it actually sounds really cool with the heavy and weird sound that Deathcore/Metalcore has become. I am a big fan of both PAIN and now The Browning.

Like I said before, this is just another prediction, but I'm willing to bet I'm right.

YouTube playlist contains PAIN and The Browning. Check out both bands!

Concerts 2014

Here's the shows for 2014 so far:

1. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
2. Amon Amarth / Enslaved / Skeletonwitch
3. Dark Tranquility / Omnium Gatherum
4. Children of Bodom / TYR / Death Angel
5. Hottest Chicks In Hard Rock Tour: Lacuna Coil / Sick Puppies / Cilver / Eyes Set To Kill
6. Faster Pussycat
7. Slayer
8. Cage The Elephant / Foals
9. Powerman 5000 / Knee High Fox
10. KISS / Def Leppard
11. Mushroomhead
12. Jack Russell's Great White
13. Mötley Crüe / Alice Cooper
14. Boston / The Doobie Brothers

15. Deep Purple
16. Faster Pussycat
17. The Pretty Reckless
18. Combichrist / William Control / Davey Suicide

Lifetime total: 173

Concerts 2013

Better late on posting this than never I suppose. Here is the list of shows I saw in 2013:

1. The Who
2. Sabaton
3. Testament / Flotsam & Jetsam
4. Black Veil Brides / William Control
5. GWAR
6. Bon Jovi (in SLC)
7. Bon Jovi (in Las Vegas)
8. Alice Cooper / Marilyn Manson
9. Green Jellö
10. Dick Dale
11. Ted Nugent
12. Rush
13. Gigantour: Megadeth, Black Label Society, Hellyeah
14. Whitesnake
15. Danzig / Doyle
16. Havok
17. Andrew WK
18. Kamelot / Delain
19. Dokken / Firehouse
20. Helloween
21. Watain
22. Living Colour
23. Rob Zombie / Korn
24. Overkill / Kreator
25. Faster Pussycat
26. Mike Tramp

Lifetime total at the end of 2013: 155

Goatwhore album review

One of the last posts I did in 2012, before my two year hiatus, was about a Goatwhore show I went to here in SLC. At that time the tour was in support of their album "Blood For The Master." Well that was 2012, but today (7/8/14) their new album "Constricting Rage Of The Merciless" was released and let me tell ya, its pretty great.

This New Orleans based Blackened Death Metal band has given a steady stream of brutal, yet strangely melodic, albums. The song structure this band has really makes them stand out to me in the heavily saturated genre (other Death Metal based standouts include Whitechapel and The Black Dahlia Murder). And this album keeps me wanting more new tunes from Goatwhore. If you are into Extreme Metal and have not heard of them then 1) you've been under a rock, and 2) check them out.

Top Albums of 2012 (So Far)

I've been really impressed by some of the albums that have come out so far this year. So here's a quick list of my favorites so far. 

1. The Cult - Choice Of Weapon. Hands down the best album I've heard so far this year! The rest of these albums are interchangeable, but The Cult is tops...for now.

2. Overkill - The Electric Age

3. Marilyn Manson - Born Villain. A definite step back in my opinion after the huge albums Eat Me, Drink Me and The High End Of Low. But still a very strong and sharp album from this Goth Metal Diva.

 4. Van Halen - A Different Kind Of Truth. I wasn't expecting much from this after I heard the single "Tattoo" (as previously posted), but I was extremely blown away by how strong this album actually was!

5. Goatwhore - Blood For The Master

6. Epica - Requiem For The Indifferent

7. Job For A Cowboy - Demonocracy

Decibel Magazine Tour

The first (hopefully of many) Decibel Magazine Tour came to the City of Salt on April 18th. I had to beg coworkers to trade me shifts so that I could be there for that monumental show! With a bill boasting Neo-Occult Metal band In Solitude, witch fronted Classic Metallers The Devil's Blood, Black Metal demons Watain, and the behemoths of Black/Death Metal... Behemoth; I was not going to miss this show!

Front men and woman of In Solitude (top), Watain (left), The Devil's Blood (center), and Behemoth (right).

In Solitude

First on the stage were Sweden's In Solitude. The band seems to be mostly influenced by Mercyful Fate, and that is fine by me because they take the themes started by King Diamond and make a sound that is familiar yet completely original. For this show I was able to get right up against the stage. Since most the shows I go to are at The Complex, I've made friends with a bouncer at the venue. So much so that when people are waiting in line to get into the venue he will give me my 21+ wristband before anything is even open. One clue about The Complex is that (in my opinion) the best place to stand is in the bar area. So into the venue I march, past the huge line of people buying admission (I had pre-purchased my ticket), my friend gives me my wristband on the way in, I'm the first one to arrive at the merch booth, get my mandatory concert shirt, first one to get access to the bar area, and get an amazing spot right up against the stage (the right half of the stage was 21+, the left side was all ages). And there I stood the entire show. In Solitude came out and started playing as most the crowd were still out buying admission to the show. I always feel so bad about the terrible representation of the Metal scene in our state. These guys have come all the way from Sweden to Utah and play to a small group of one or two hundred people tops. Sometimes the amount of people that turn out to shows is amazing, like at Symphony X and Iced Earth. Then there are these times when barely anyone shows. Consistency people, please! Anyway, while the band is playing the singer keeps pointing to the ceiling and telling a roadie to turn off a big light over the stage. The roadie shrugs and shakes his head. This happens about 3 times before the singer goes to the side of the stage and tells the roadie to "Turn off that f*$#ing light!" To which the roadie yells back "That's the Sun..." you see, the light was a skylight in the ceiling and it was still 7 in the evening. It made me laugh, a real life Spinal Tap moment right in front of me. In Solitude - The World. The Flesh. The Devil.

The Devil's Blood

Up next were The Devil's Blood. Playing in the late 60's / early 70's Classic Metal style (more of a Ritchie Blackmore feel than Tony Iommi), it was a very refreshing change and showed how Decibel Magazine wanted different styles to be represented on the tour. Granted the lyrics and themes of all the bands were on the same page, but the genres of Metal they played were very different. I'm convinced that the singer was a witch ("She turned me into a newt!...I got betta"), she seemed to be putting a spell on us in the front row. While the band would be playing the instrumental parts of the songs, she would kneel in front of the drums and seem to be chanting to herself. It was a good addition of creepiness to the night. Maybe it was a spell to make people fans, 'cause it worked on me! The band was exceptionally good live, and I'd love to see them again! The Devil's Blood - The Madness Of Serpents

Watain

Watain

Third act to mount an assault on the crowd was, one of my favorite Black Metal bands, Watain. I had seen Watain in 2010 at Club Vegas. At that show the stage and venue were very small and I was right against the stage. I remember when the roadies brought out these weird spikes and placed them on the front of the stage. Shortly after that the spikes were adorned with real skinless sheep's heads... a total of six sheep's heads sat on spikes before me. Their dead eyes (still intact) gazed at me from two feet away. Having been on hunting trips and seen lifestock harvested, the imagery of the dead sheep did not bother me in the least bit. The unholy rotting flesh smell made me squirm and almost hurl. Who knows how long these heads had been on tour, most likely not refrigerated. I had heard that Club Vegas got in trouble for Watain using animal heads as part of their stage show. Whether or not this is fact I don't know. But after the first quarter of the show I could not handle the smell anymore and had to move back. So this is what was burned in my mind, two years later, as I am once again standing against the stage to see this band. The same set is being put up. Torches? Check. Gigantic metal inverted crosses (a must for any Black Metal band)? Check. Incense burning everywhere? Check. Fog machine on high? Check. Sheep's heads on spikes? Negatory. Oh good, no unbearable smell (other than the crowd). Once the band took the stage is when the craziness of the crowd took place. Everyone tried rushing the stage, leaving me and the two dudes I'd been talking to between bands to elbow and shove the people off of us as we tried desperately to keep our territory. It was a crazy battle, I got some bruises, but I prevailed in the end at retaining my spot. Black Metal shows are just so gosh darned fun! Watain - The Light That Burns The Sun

Behemoth

Nergal

Setlist, splattered with fake blood

Phoenix Rising Tour. That is what Behemoth called their first US tour since I had seen them in Denver on the Mayhem Fest tour in 2009. Why Phoenix Rising? Because shortly before they were scheduled to return to the US in 2010 their singer, Nergal, was rushed to the hospital with a terrible illness. He was diagnosed in August 2010 with advanced leukemia, initial reports stated that although chemotherapy would be tried, it seemed unlikely that he would recover. After a massive influx of Behemoth fans around the world entered the bone marrow registry, a suitable donor was found for Nergal. He underwent bone marrow replacement surgery in late December 2010. Shortly after being released he was readmitted to the hospital with an infection that seemed to point to rejection of the donated bone marrow.Behemoth - Ov Fire And The Void Luckily the tough Polish dude lived, and after making a full recovery the band released a new album and are once again touring the world. I think its cool that I saw him on his last US tour and again on his triumphant return. By the time Behemoth took the stage the crowd had grown to a huge number, a true welcome back reception to this Metal God. I suppose the crowd is better late than never, they did make me proud in the end. Standing in front of the band I was sprayed by water and fake blood that they would spit out of their mouths all the time... so gross! I left the show feeling so disgusting but it was completely worth it to see them perform such an amazing set. I was able to get a set list from the stage, and I'm currently wearing my Behemoth t-shirt proudly as I write this. Behemoth - At The Left Hand Ov God

Short hair after chemo, check out how long it was in the music videos.

Behemoth bassist Orion. Who kept spraying water out of his mouth and it always landed on us in the front row.

Goatwhore

Yes, I listen to a band called Goatwhore...

They are a Blackened Death Metal band from New Orleans. (I love that phrase Blackened to describe a band that aren't primarily a Black Metal band but do have some influences from it. Usually I make up dumb phrases like that to describe bands, but that one is actually used by magazines and such. It reminds me of something charred.) I first saw them open for Watain two years ago and have been a big fan ever since.

Early this month I pre-ordered their new album from Metal Blade Records, it also came with a poster, and a t-shirt with the album cover on it. I tell you that to tell you this story: I walked in to the concert venue cleverly called "In The Venue" (no joke), and walked up to the merch booth. The guy behind the counter said, "Dude, sick shirt!" I noticed that my shirt was not available to purchase from the band and that I was the only person in the place with that particular Goatwhore shirt on. That made my weird little mind very happy. As I stood watching a few bad local bands, I noticed this guy walk up and sit behind the merch booth. Was that just?.... no it couldn't... or could it? It had been two years since I'd seen them play, but I was positive that the singer of Goatwhore was sitting 5 feet away from me. A quick google search for a pic of him confirmed my suspicion. He was very gracious in taking a pic with me, and was a very cool guy. He looked at my shirt and yelled at the merch guy, "Why the hell don't we have these shirts?" The merch guy says, "The printer screwed them up." So the singer, who's name is Louis Benjamin Falgoust II, asked where I got my shirt. I told him that I pre-ordered the album (both on vinyl and CD), and that it came with it from the record company. He just smiled and said, "Right on man!" It was cool!

Louis Benjamin Falgoust II and TKA

Now the second cool part of the night: as I am standing watching the local Death Metal band Dead Vessel play, they aren't too bad by the way, the guitarist for Goatwhore comes out to ask the singer something. The singer points to me and the guitarist comes over and asked to see the shirt. So we started talking and went into the bar area of the club where it was quieter. I bought him a beer and we talked about the new album, and how I was a big fan. He was a weird guy, and was pretty awkward. But I was in awe that I had impressed to members of a band that I really enjoy.

G-G-G-Ghost!

Oh my oh my, on the 29th of January I saw the band Ghost play at The Complex. Ghost's debut album Opus Eponymous came out of nowhere and blew me away! With a Classic Metal sound reminiscent of Blue Öyster Cult, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath, but with the creepy occult lyrics of King Diamond/Mercyful Fate and the Black Metal scene; they forge their own brand of Extreme Metal. Ghost "Ritual"
Ghost "Here Comes The Sun" Beatles Cover 
If the Beatles sounded like this then they'd be a great band!

Quick Metal history lesson: The New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) that took place in the late 70's and early 80's took what the early pioneers of Metal put out and went many directions with it. One eventually led to the Pop/Glam Metal that dominated MTV and the world in the 1980's thanks to bands like Def Leppard along with American band Van Halen. Power Metal was born in the early 80's from the NWOBHM too, however other European countries like Germany and Sweden became the major homes of this genre. Yet another direction came to be known as Extreme Metal. Extreme Metal was born after bands like Motorhead, Venom, and Hellhammer started to play a raunchier, rawer, and heavier style of Metal. Extreme Metal includes many genres including Thrash Metal, Speed Metal, Death Metal, Black Metal, Viking Metal, Folk Metal and tons of other sub-genres of Heavy Metal. Back to Ghost...

Ghost are very into hiding their identities, the band members are only listed as "Nameless Ghouls." There are 6 members in the band, 5 of them where black cloaks and the singer dresses like a dead cardinal, going as far as having an old mans face mask with a large bulbous nose attached so well that when he walked out on stage I really thought to myself "Holy crap that dude is old!"

This was Ghost's first US tour, called the 13 Dates of Doom tour. Salt Lake City was chosen as one of those few 13 cities because The Complex is amazing at making SLC a new Mecca of Extreme Metal and also I believe that Ghost's label Metal Blade Records recognizes that the underground Metal scene in Utah is something serious. I've read many interviews from bands saying the most insane mosh pits and crowds they've had were in Utah. Lots of pent up angst I guess!

Ghost's "Nameless Ghouls"

I discovered two bands with Ghost that night. One being Canada's Blood Ceremony. They sound like if Black Sabbath, Jethro Tull, and Deep Purple had a baby that sang like the chick from Jefferson Airplane/Starship (to me anyway)... then that baby was taught to write lyrics by King Diamond. I was soooo impressed with them, I've never dreamed a flute could mesh so well with that kind of playing. Blood Ceremony "Hymn To Pan" I talked to their bassist after their set and made him promise they'd come back to SLC (crossing my fingers he remembers that promise).

Blood Ceremony

The other band that came with Ghost was called Ancient VVisdom. Yes that is two V's instead of a W. Dunno why but that's cool with me. They have achieved something that is very amazing: making acoustic guitars sound evil! Their songs are simple but man they are catchy. Ancient VVisdom "Lost Civilization"

Concerts 2012

Another year has begun, which means another season of concert going! 26 concerts in 2011, a personal record. I highly doubt I can beat that this year. But I am going to try my damnedest!

Concerts In 2012:

1. Queensrÿche
2. Ghost / Blood Ceremony / Ancient VVisdom 
3. Children Of Bodom / Eluveitie / Threat Signal
4. Testament
5. Iced Earth / Symphony X
6. Goatwhore / Hate Eternal 
7. The Black Dahlia Murder / Skeletonwitch / Nile
8. Sepultura / Death Angel
9. Decibel Magazine Tour: Behemoth / Watain / The Devil's Blood / In Solitude
10. Overkill / God Forbid / Suidakra 
11. Scorpions / Geoff Tate
12. Def Leppard / Poison / Lita Ford
13. Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
14. Iron Maiden
15. Abigail Williams / Dead Vessel
16. Journey / Pat Benetar / Loverboy
17. Demon Hunter
18. Mumford & Sons
19. Korpiklanni / Moonsorrow / TYR
20. Night Ranger
21. Static-X / Winds Of Plague / The Browning
22. Kreator / Accept
23. Nightwish / Kamelot
24. Rob Zombie / Marilyn Manson
25. Buckethead
26. Morbid Angel / Dark Funeral
27. Epica / Alestorm 
28. DRI
29. Trans-Siberian Orchestra
30. Dethklok
31. Alice Cooper
32. The Faceless
33. Megadeth

Lifetime Concert Total: 129

Best and Worst* Bands (To Me)

Just so you know where I stand with my musical opinions, I know when I read other people's reviews I'd like to know their personal faves to gauge where they are coming from. 

*Worst in this post means bands that I'd turn the radio off before listening to them. I am sure they are talented groups, but not in my ear's opinion.*

5 Worst Bands

1. The Beatles (I do not see the appeal... AT ALL)
2. Led Zepplin (Robert Plant's voice is like nails on a chalk board to me. Please don't start on the comparisons of other singers trying to sound like him, like Kingdom Come or Zebra or Whitesnake. I don't see a similarity, I just can't stand Plant's singing and I don't know why. The rest of the band play great, but Plant...)
3. The Rolling Stones (Again, I do not see the appeal... just die already, you've been writing the same song for 5 decades)
4. Nirvana (I don't know if I have to justify my dislike here)
5. The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus (Emo band, besides the terrible music they play some of you know my personal reasons for hating this band)

Best Bands (To Me)

1. Iron Maiden
2. Ronnie James Dio (Solo, Black Sabbath, Rainbow, and Elf)
3. Deep Purple
4. Bon Jovi
5. Bruce Dickinson (Solo)
6. Tesla
7. Helloween
8. Megadeth
9. Venom
10. Def Leppard
11. Alice Cooper
12. Edguy
13. Dream Theater
14. Overkill
15. Type O Negative

Now I realize that these bands are very mainstream, so you may think I don't have any taste in "real" Metal and Hard Rock. But there's a reason that bands get mainstream... because they are so good! These are just bands that I could listen to over and over again, all day, everyday. I listen to so many bands and although I have no job as a music columnist, I have such a passion for this music that I hope to be able to do something with this passion.

Concerts!

I started saving my concert ticket stubs in 2004 and I display them in my room.

Pre-2004 concerts: 

1. REO Speedwagon (My very first concert!)
2. Styx / REO Speedwagon / Eddie Money
3. Journey / Styx / REO Speedwagon

2004:

1. Tesla
2. Scorpions / Tesla

2005:

1. Mötley Crüe
2. Slaughter / Steven Pearcy (Ratt) / L.A. Guns
3. FireHouse / Y&T / Eric Martin (Mr. Big)
4. ZZ Top
5. Judas Priest / Anthrax

2006:

1. Tesla / Eric Martin (Mr. Big)
2. Poison / Cinderella
3. Alice Cooper
4. Vince Neil
5. Kansas
6. Megadeth
7. Trans-Siberian Orchestra

2007:

1. Dream Theater
2. Ozzy Osbourne / Rob Zombie
3. Trans-Siberian Orchestra  

2008:

1. OneRepublic (it was a date...)
2. Marilyn Manson / Ours
3. Vans Warped Tour (got a free ticket)
4. Molly Hatchet
5. Journey / Cheap Trick / Heart
6. Foghat
7. Unearth / Whitechapel (I went with a friend who like Unearth, and I discovered Whitechapel)
8. Trans-Siberian Orchestra

2009:

1. Combichrist
2. Skid Row (w/o Sebastian Bach) / L.A. Guns
3. Warrant (w/o Jani Lane RIP) / April Wine
4. Trivium / Whitechapel (I went for Whitechapel)
5. Scott Weiland
6. REO Speedwagon / Styx / 38 Special
7. Blue Öyster Cult
8. Mayhem Festival 2009: Slayer, Marilyn Manson, Cannibal Corpse, Behemoth, Whitechapel, The Black Dahlia Murder, Killswitch Engage, Job For A Cowboy
9. Mötley Crüe
10. Def Leppard / Poison / Cheap Trick
11. Marilyn Manson
12. 38 Special
13. Foreigner / Styx / Kansas
14. Trivium / Whitechapel (Again, I went for Whitechapel)
15. Dethklok (yes the cartoon band from Metalocalypse)
16. Satyricon / Chthonic
17. The Black Dahlia Murder
18. Combichrist
19. Rob Zombie
20. Trans-Siberian Orchestra

2010:

1. Tesla
2. Cinderella
3. Ratt
4. Job For A  Cowboy / Whitechapel
5. L.A. Guns
6. Iron Maiden / Dream Theater
7. Kings Of Leon
8. Bret Michaels (Poison)
9. Rush
10. Scorpions / Tesla / Jackyl
11. Asia
12. Creedence Clearwater Revisited 
13. KISS
14. Slaughter / Frank Hannon (Tesla)
15. The Cult
16. Rob Zombie / Alice Cooper
17. Slayer / Megadeth / Anthrax
18. Watain / Goatwhore
19. Marduk
20. Sacrificial Slaughter / The Pagan Dead 
21. Black Label Society / Children Of Bodom
22. Bret Michaels
23. Mushroomhead 

2011:

1. Queensrÿche
2. Blue Öyster Cult / Foghat
3. Eluveitie / 3 Inches Of Blood
4. Linkin Park
5. Whitechapel
6. Bon Jovi (in Las Vegas)
7. Bon Jovi (in SLC)
8. Frank Hannon (Tesla)
9. Bulletboys
10. Tesla
11. Death Angel
12. Danzig
13. Accept
14. Bang Tango
15. Faster Pussycat
16. Black Country Communion 
17. Mötley Crüe / Poison / New York Dolls
18. Lizzy Borden
19. Def Leppard / Heart
20. Kamelot
21. Dream Theater
22. Evergrey / Sabaton
23. Judas Priest / Black Label Society / Thin Lizzy
24. Mayhem / Keep Of Kalessin
25. Guns N' Roses / Black Label Society 
26. Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Total Concert Amount At End Of 2011: 97

Breakup and Mayhem

So this is my first blog. I suppose its more of journal than anything because I don't know who would read this... I've never read anyone else's blog, so why would they read mine?

 (Play Alice Cooper's "I Never Cry" here Alice Cooper "I Never Cry" ) My girlfriend and I broke up on November 28th, I thought she was the one. She had a daughter that was 6 months old when we started dating. I helped take care of her and was a better father than her biological father will ever be. I felt like I had a little family with a step-ish daughter that I loved and  who was fond of me too. That's what I'll miss the most is my little family unit. I wasn't treated well in the relationship, so its good for me it ended. But the fact that that little girl, who is 18 months old now, will never know who I am or what sacrifices I made for her or how much I loved her as if she were my own. And I won't get to see her grow up. But anyway, like Nikki Sixx always says CHICKS = TROUBLE!

So anyway, the title of this one is called "Breakup and Mayhem." I bitched about the breakup, now the Mayhem!

Last night, the 29th, the Black Metal band Mayhem came into SLC, and I was pretty excited for that. I love Black Metal concerts, there are way too few in Utah. I was stoked because of the band's history, they were a pioneering force in Black Metal's progression; granted I wasn't expecting anything amazing seeing as no original member is left Mayhem Wikipedia Page (link in case you don't know what I'm talking about) but I just needed a good Black Metal performance to get my mind off the breakup.

So first on the bill were Abigail Williams, I was more excited to see them than Mayhem. That new style of Black Metal that they play is amazing, along with bands like Daniel Lioneyes and Equilibrium. But unfortunately I couldn't get off of work early enough and missed their set! I hope they come back to Utah soon. 

Next was a Blackened Death Metal band called Hate. The intros and guitar solos they had were very original and sounded amazing, but the singer was very generic (and that's by Death Metal standards). I won't be buying their CD's.

Next was the band Keep Of Kalessin <-- Video. I had never heard of them prior to the show, but was blown away! They were right in that modern Black Metal genre with Abigail Williams and the others I listed. I will definitely be buying their albums!

Finally the lights came down for Mayhem to take the stage. The crowd went crazy! The band starts blasting out the evil chugging noise that is early 90's Black Metal, a huge mosh pit opens in the middle of the floor to my right. Then the singer comes out on stage... "Wow, he looks like if Danzig and Combichrist had a son," was the first thing that popped in my head. He carried a skull and had on a ridiculous black cape that he probably got at a Halloween store when they started their US tour. Then he started to whisper the lyrics... WTF?! Who whispers the lyrics at a Metal concert? I couldn't hear him over the band until the one time each song he would scream. So yes, the microphone was on, he just wasn't trying. Their set started out slow, then half way through the tempo and heaviness took an amazing turn. I look over to the pit that has once again emerged, and... whoa, are those?... couldn't be... no wait it is! There on the edge of the pit are three gorgeous preppy looking girls just going wild to this Black Metal. Am I dreaming? Holy crap they are coming this way, act Metal. They stand near me and of course I'm too shy to say anything. "If they are at the Dark Funeral concert in February I'll talk to them," I lie to myself.

So overall I was not impressed with Mayhem, who by the way, had the words "The True" printed very small above the band's name wherever it was printed. Because the problem with having no original members is that multiple people can be in multiple Mayhem's and claim to still be carrying on the legacy that was too shortly lived by the original band.