Victims (SW) / Morne / Furnace / Blood of the Gods
Great Scott, Allston, MA 8/16
At the last minute, I decided I’d be better off headin’ over to Great Scott to partake in a fun filled night of metal music (…hopefully). So I quickly finished my dinner at the local pizza joint, jumped into my car and zipped down the Mass pike towards Allston (….unfortunately I don’t live in Boston anymore).
Halfway there, I realize I probably should have gone home first to put on a more suitable outfit. When I go to shows (especially ones I’m going to write about), I like to relax and hang out at the back of the club and appear as inconspicuous as possible. I sit at the bar and take in the music while jotting down notes in my phone (…just dawned on one of the readers, “Oh Yah, I’ve seen that moron at the bar before, so that’s what he’s doin’…”).
At most clubs I frequent, I usually get comfortable quickly and enter my own little world. The bartenders know me pretty well and are very nice to slide a beer over when they see me running low. But for some strange reason, and I don’t know why, I always get strange vibes at GS (….like, people think I’m a Narc or something…).
Anyway, tonight, I definitely didn’t help the situation. If there’s one genre of music that folks like to turn into a fashion statement, it’s definitely an 18+ metal music show. And these days, that usually consists of lots of black, lots of leather and lots of hair (…or no hair). And even though I’ve never been one to conform to fashion, I usually try to at least wear something dark to blend in a bit. But, for tonight, that choice has long since past.
So I look down and notice I’m wearing a very conspicuous turquoise collared shirt with a pair of blue jeans (…very preppy for sure). Definitely not metal show material. If I had only remembered to bring the straw hat, I surely would have been mistaken for Jethro from the Beverly Hillbilly’s going to a country jamboree (…hee haw).
So much for blending. As I momentarily pondered my dilemma, I recalled a conversation I once had with an old friend. He asked, “Why do folks try so hard to look the same as everyone else and hide what makes them unique?” I replied, “I don’t think anyone is trying to hide their uniqueness … it’s uniqueness through conformity, …deep down we all want to be rock stars and looking the part is half the battle. That, … and also the fact that no one wants to look like a geek…”
The headliner is a band called, Victims, all the way from Stockholm, Sweden, and they’re playing with three local bands; Blood of the Gods, Morne and Furnace. The only band I’ve seen and heard before is Furnace (who also have a profile on this site here). But with respect to the other 3 bands, I have no clue what to expect (which is really what makes doing live shows so fun).
The first band up is Blood of the Gods. They’re a Death Metal band hailing from Lowell, MA. They begin the night right with a thunderously hellish black death metal vibe. They almost sound viking-esque at times (…Bathory would surely be proud). They mix it up with lots of fast and slow dramatics. Quite mournful at times. The lead singer does a good job. Cool band. I really enjoyed their set. Here’s one of their songs to give you a feel…
[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/Earthborne.mp3|titles=Earthborne]Next up is Furnace, who, as I mentioned, I’ve seen before. These 3 guys are a metal/hardcore outfit out of New Hampshire. I find them to be very unique in their approach to metal music. I think they fall more towards the avant garde crazy/cookoo side of things. They begin with some kind of weird poetry thing, then some tuning … coughing … some burping … a fart or two, … and yee haa, were off to crazy metal-ville with a cool instrumental. Still sounds like they’re tuning, … which is the beauty of it. These guys are definitely on a different wavelength. Cool beards. Now they’re doin’ a bit of trash talkin’ (or should I say, ‘thrash’ talkin’…) … lots a feedback intermingled with the madness and mayhem. The two front guys like to switch off on the vocals. Very loud and incoherent. While the first band brought us to hell, Furnace has annihilated everyone in hell. A very interesting band. Good set. Check them out. Here’s a song ….
[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/Giles Corey.mp3|titles=Giles Corey]OK now its time for Morne. Morne is a metal/other band hailing from Boston, MA. Hmm, … and now for something completely different. Very moody stuff. Kinda reminds me of what might happen if the Psychedelic Furs were run through a blender by a marauding horde of mad vikings. They link lots of long drawn out chords and melodies (…mournful for sure) with occasional black metal screaming. A very interesting band with a very unusual sound. I really enjoyed the set. Here’s an idea of what they sound like.
[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/Untold Wait.mp3|titles=Untold Wait]So, Blood of the Gods brought us to hell, Furnace killed everyone in hell, and Morne mourned for all the dead souls in hell. I wonder what the hell Victims is gonna do. Alright … I see…. hang on, … their almost,… finally, …ready, and …. just a few more adjustments …. and, yaaaaaaah, …. it’s hardcore time. Hey WTF, its a good old fashion punk band (…who let them in here). They kick into the set with a Motorhead-like tune with Dead Kennedy’s guitar riffs. The lead singer sounds a lot like Lemmy. Definitely hardcore. Every now and then they have a cool Motorhead-ish go of it. Always very fast, sometimes with screaming vocals and sometimes without. They just keep gettin’ better as the set goes on. Awesome band. Great set. I guess the purpose of Victims was to resurrect us from hell. Check them out. Here’s two of their cool tunes…
[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/Lies Lies Lies.mp3,https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/We Are Fucked.mp3|titles=Lies Lies Lies,We Are Fucked]And that’s all I have to say (…short and sweet). Cool show. I’m glad I ventured out on this tuesday night. Gotta start leaving a change of clothes in my car, though….
Later
(Andy Bang)
