Carnivora / Vivisepulture / Epicenter / Howling Infinite (formerly Dead Death)
Midway Cafe, Jamaica Plain, MA 7/13/13
It’s only fitting that on the 13th day of the 13th year (minus 2000, but who’s counting) the Midway Cafe hosts an afternoon of fine metal bands. Not to imply that there’s anything cursed or evil about metal music, for in truth, as I’m sure all fans will attest, it’s quite the opposite. Metal music is the cure that soothes the savage beast. Well, at least this savage beast.
I always look forward to these events, especially since afternoon metal shows are so far and few between these days. But, unfortunately, it appears that most fans have missed their wake up call today, as the Midway is quite sparsely populated. Oh well, it just leaves more room for the TNB boys to let down their sultry dreadlocks and commence with some bodacious maniacal head swirling (yeah, in our dreams).
First up is a three piece band from Boston, MA known as Howling Infinite. Formerly known as Dead Death (hard to get deader than that), they formed in the summer of 2011 with a very competent line up that features Sam Sergi on vocals and guitar, Dan Anderson on bass and Kevin Pryles of drums. Talk about head swirling, death metal excitement, these dudes exude a nice doom and gloom vibe combining effective chugging with melodic interludes. A bit like Black Sabbath meets Shadows Fall. I really enjoyed these guys as did the scant audience who participated whole heartedly.
Next up is a new day thrash band from Pelham, NH called Epicenter. A quartet featuring Zak King on drums and vocals, Jared Towne and Ryan Burke on guitars, and Scott Doe on bass. Having gained a bit of momentum in the New England area, they have been playing to enthusiastic crowds at local venues, as well as opening up for national acts. They exhibit a straight ahead thrash metal style that includes some very exciting, fairly complex tandem guitar solos. Their guitar work is simply awesome and Nile-esque. And the audience is really diggin’ them as the mosh pit is running fast and wild.
The 3rd band of the afternoon is Vivisepulture (all one word) from Braintree, MA. At first glance, one might expect some connection to the great Brazilian band Sepultura, but there is none, as their name is an Anglo-Saxonized version of the Latin word for being buried alive. They’re quite a fine quintet featuring Sid Houle on vocals, Mike Gauthier and Garrett Mallory on guitars, Diddy Delaney on bass, and Brett Sampson on drums. They start out playing the theme from Batman, before breaking into some awesome groovy death tunes. These dudes are a fun band with lots of dueling head swirls. Even the audience gets into the act. A great band with great tunes, that exudes lots of excitement.
Finally, it’s time for those meat-eating dudes from Danvers, MA called Carnivora. These guys are definitely gaining a lot of momentum as of late, what with their new CD, Eternal (you can check out my review elsewhere on TNB), and their recent rash of local shows. The band itself features, M. Scott Lentine on vocals, Cam Hunt on bass, Cody Michaud and Mike Meehan on guitars and Dan DeLucia on drums. The singer has brought his own mini stage with him where he mightily belts out cool blackish tones to accompany his wild death squeals. The music projects an almost ritualistic cro-magnon malaise over the audience who moshes and stomps in a hypnotic rage. Before long the TNB boys are also bashing their heads against the bar in wild unison. Carnivora turns in a truly awesome set to put a nice cap on an awesome show.
Thanks to all the great bands for putting on such a wonderful afternoon of metal music at the Midway Cafe. We can only hope that their will be more afternoon metal shows like this one to come in our future (hint, hint …let’s not wait for the next multiple 13’s).
(Andy Bang)
