Friday March 29th 2024

Krieg / Panzer Bastard / Lunglust / Wormwood

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Krieg / Panzer Bastard / Lunglust / Wormwood
Middle East (Up), Cambridge, MA 4/18/15

 

Well, this is a little different Saturday afternoon for me. Instead of being at a punk matinee at the Midway or a puppet jam in Portland, Maine- I’m at a metal matinee at the Middle East. But I’m intrigued by the challenge of not compromising my credentials or voiding my bowels, either one, at an impromptu moment.

I saunter in casually in my metal disguise. My long jet black curly wig, my Poison t-shirt, my skin tight spandex pants and my four inch high platform leopard skin boots. Now, no one will be the wiser that a punk has invaded the enemy camp.

Wormwood is already playing. It’s a heavy, metal doom song and as I will come to know, all their songs fit that description. It has the words, “I’d rather die, than live your lie.”

All the songs are slow moving slabs of sound that makes me think of Franz Kline’s abstract paintings, which are more like sculptures than paintings. They have a very thought out, arty approach to their sound. They have some great songs and I make a note to check out their songs on-line. (A review went on-line the same time as this live review). And though I don’t know it now, they turn in my favorite set of the day.

Lunglust is next and they describe themselves as “dirty hardcore” though I think their sound is definitely metal and the rhythm maybe thrash verging onto hardcore.

This band plays loud, crashing, energetic music that darts and dashes here and there and doesn’t mind bashing in a few eardrums along the way. The only problem is, during the set, the vocals get buried in the mix. I think they were of the death variety but I honestly couldn’t hear them.

They turn in a powerful and passionate set and hopefully, the vocal issue is just a passing problem.

Panzer Bastard is next, one of my favorite local metal bands mainly because they have so much punk and hardcore in their style and have as one of their major influences, one of the best bands of all time- Motorhead!

And I don’t think there are many people reading this unfamiliar with their lead singer/bassist Keith Bennett, whose jovial and brash stage presence is always a treat.

Though very amiable toward the crowd he dedicates “Traitor” to the guy who ran off with the money from the Boston Marathon bombing benefit a year or so ago.

The turn in an excellent set and he prefaces the last song by, “If you don’t know this last song than you’re an asshole.”

I know it’s a Motorhead song but I can’t remember the name of it. I have to ask the guitarist after their set and it’s “Iron Fist.”

Then I run into Keith coming out of the bathroom and he offers me his hand. “Wait, did you wash that?” I ask. He proceeds to lick his fingers clean so I take that as a “yes”. We shake and he abolishes my sin of not knowing the song because, as least, I did know the band.

Krieg is the last band. This is a fairly young looking band, though I guess they’ve been around for a while. They’re from New Jersey and play black metal and their name in German means “War.”

The music is more atmospheric, non-thrashy and the vocalist keeps taking a deep breathe and looking to the skies each time before his shredding vocals arise.

This music is more arty and less brutal than the death metal inspired bands I’m used to seeing.

What I most enjoy about them is they have a member playing what appears to be a small keyboard but is probably something like a “sound generator” or small synth.

He uses it almost like how rap bands use a turntable. Sometimes it starts a song with recorded music (playing in a pop R&B style) or sometimes it just emits a high, shrieking sound.

When the band, occasionally, plays a song that has a more garage rock groove I imagine myself listening to a modern day “The Cars.” A band I’m sure they’ve never got compared to and a comparison that I’m sure they’d be thrilled by!

Anyways, I did enjoy them as I did all the bands I heard today.

Metal’s like visiting a new world for me in a way. I’ve always respected it, just didn’t think it fit me exactly. And, of course, in the early days- metal and punk did not mix.

But I find a lot of the new local bands that are metal, or at least have a lot of metal influence, very exciting and I’m getting more used to it every day.

You could say I’ve groan (uhh) to love it!

 

(Slimedog)

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