MARDUK, NACHTMYSTIUM, MANTIC RITUAL, BLACK ANVIL, MERRIMACK

This show was great because it had a nice range of really impressive metal bands. Though all the bands played really well, unfortunately the venue had horrible acoustics which resulted in muffled, unclear music. But metal bands are resilient and can usually ride through any sound conditions.

MERRIMACK opened and they were fantastic. They get a lot of attention at European shows and I think they were bummed at the cavalier audience presence of San Franciscans. Their modern black metal sound, which incorporates bleak, layered guitar work and rhythm was somewhat lost in the muffled sound setting. Though when listening closely, that layered complexity was still detectable and notably accomplished with guitars instead of synthesizers. If you see them during their tour, Terrorizt would be really stoked if you didn’t just stand there. Their newest album, Grey Rigorism is worth checking out, by the way.

BLACK ANVIL came on next. I had never seen them and was pleasantly surprised. The New York based trio was crisp and complex. They sounded like a combo of metalcore and black metal. They did a really good job of straddling that median. Their playing displayed flawless, fast and clean metalcore with black metal styled vocals and embellishments. Gary Bennet, the guitarist presented guitar virtuosity. He was a really fast, melodic shredder. I think this band would be of interest to a lot of different metal fans because their music is really digestible, though this doesn’t detract from their complexity and originality.

MANTIC RITUAL of Pittsburg, PA was a huge shift from the first two bands. These guys were one hundred percent nostalgic thrash ala Slayer. They were all great musicians and seemed to be apart of a growing movement to resurrect old thrash metal style and demeanor. In the first two songs I didn’t even know they weren’t a Slayer cover band. Either way, they did an awesome job. They were a nice break between four other really bleak, dark bands. These kids looked young and rosy cheeked, which was just different from the typical guys you see on stage. Though they provided party band relief, MANTIC RITUAL are a seriously talented thrash metal band with plenty of time to keep developing their sound.

To me, NACHTMYSTIUM was the highlight of the night. They were fucking awesome. I actually had to leave my post from the front row because I was getting my ass kicked by the audience. They displayed ideal elements of black metal. They were really fast, but then had some slower, doomy breakdowns. The fact that they even had obvious breakdowns was cool because the songs had definitive components. Lead guitarist, Jeff Wilson stole the show with ample shredding that was a bit thrashy. But more than that he was versatile in that he, and the rest of the band, would shift between traditional black metal style, to slow breakdowns to really chaotic, fast discordance. I think NACHTMYSTIUM is a tremendously capable and talented band. In their versatility, they seem to be exploring, which can be clearly noted in their last two releases, Doomsday Derilicts and Assassins: Black Meddle Part I which have gotten mixed reviews. This is mostly because they incorporate saxophones and other music genres. Fortunately, there were no saxophones during their set. I like this band because they feel and sound so black metal, yet they simultaneously embrace the unique and push beyond the often strict boundaries of black metal. There was even some brotherly love, because at their final song, Terroizt of MERRIMACK came on stage and sang with vocalist Blake Judd, arm and arm. Who wouldn’t want to see that?

Though I have never been a huge MARDUK fan, they sounded great. Well, not literally because the sound quality and equipment at the venue got really screwed up by the time they came on, which was pretty bad considering how huge MARDUK is. Vocalist Mortuus appeared dismayed at the sound issues too and several times tried to have them corrected. At one point he even left the stage for a while out of frustration. But once it was clear that they just had to deal with it, as usual, he displayed all the power and skill that one would expect of him. His singing and stage presence relay pure black metal sentiment. Marduk was exactly what I would have expected from a veteran Scandinavian band. They delivered really traditional, blast-beat black metal with long, haunting intros. Though MERRIMACK and NACHTMYSTIUM impressed me the most due to some new elements and styles, MARDUK finished off the show perfectly, even in imperfect conditions.