Girl at the Rock Shows

My Monday night was split between two different worlds. Upstairs in the First Avenue mainroom was an indie-pop show full of people who had clearly spent some time getting ready for the night and were ready to be seen. Downstairs in the 7th Street Entry was a metal show that came complete with the stench of body odor and people who didn’t care who saw them– they just wanted some good music. Sure, I didn’t mind the concert up in the mainroom but I felt more at home down in the Entry as I spent part of my night going back to my roots– the local metal scene.

Getting the four-band bill started off right was Nekrotisk. Celebrating the release of their brand new EP, ‘Apraxia II: The Forlorn Continuum”, Nekrotisk is a new band to me and a fairly new band to the scene but they definitely left an impression on me. The thing that stuck out the most about Nekrotisk’s sound was the vocals. Although just a trio, two of the three members contributed to the vocals and both of them had a very different style. I wouldn’t call one of them clean as both vocals were intense and aggressive but you had one that was a bit “cleaner” and one that was a bit more guttural. The way those two vocals came together was absolutely flawless. Overall I felt that their sound could have been cleaned up a wee bit but also started to think that maybe some of the fuzziness and sludge that I was getting throughout their performance was supposed to be there. Regardless, Nekrotisk killed it and absolutely set the tone for the rest of the night.

Following Nekrotisk was BLOODGEON. Unfortunately, the timing between working two shows in one night wasn’t working out the way I wanted it to so BLOODGEON only got about ten minutes of my attention before I had to hop shows but they had me hooked within those ten minutes. Much like all of the other acts of the night, this band brought an undeniable sense of brutality and energy to the stage while also bring a sense of technical talent to the speakers. BLOODGEON has been around for some time and you got that feeling as they powered through their set. Although it came with a sense of passion and fun with the interactions with the modest crowd, I got something that felt a bit more like seasoned professionals than local band from this three-piece powerhouse.

I truly loved everyone that played at The 7th Street Entry on Monday night but there was one act that stood out the most to me. That was Defiled Sacrament. My dad and I will sometimes joke about the names of bands that I see and always try to come up with the most outrageous name ever and I’m pretty sure I’ve said something along the lines of Defiled Sacrament in those conversations as a joke but this band is far from a joke. They had me so hooked into their set and music that I almost missed my opportunity to get back up into the mainroom to do photos for the headliner. All of the bands on Monday brought a sense of brutal energy to the stage but there was just something a bit more intense about the energy from Defiled Sacrament. I’m chalking it up to the way vocalist Chase Roe didn’t hold back but it could be any number of things.

Musically I felt like Defiled Sacrament had a bit more of a deathcore influence to them which was another huge selling point for me. Sure, I love my death and black metal but there’s something about a good ol’ fashioned deathcore song that just really gets my blood pumping. Regardless of why the set stood out to me, I thought that Defiled Sacrament absolutely killed it and they are definitely on my radar now.

Closing out the absolutely amazing showcase of local metal talent was the one and only Graveslave. This band has been around for years and continue to get better with time. Their set on Monday night was proof of this. Although I have seen Graveslave perform numerous times, I felt like Monday night’s show was the tightest I’ve ever heard them perform and that gave me a sense of razzle dazzle that I hadn’t really gotten from them in the past. There’s no funny business with this band and the banter with the audience was mostly non-existent but their music got the crowd going in a perfect way and made for a flawless ending to an already flawless night.

I was split between two worlds but knew where my heart belonged throughout the night and that was in the Entry with my fellow metalheads. Sure, working all of these indie-pop shows is fine and it typically leads to an easy-going night but I got a thrill out of all four metal bands I saw on Monday night that I have been craving.

I think my favorite part of the night was when there was an ambulance on the street in front of both venues. I can only assume that people thought it was for the show at the Entry due to the extreme noise coming out of the room and just the kinds of people that were down there but it was actually for someone up in the mainroom where people were drinking too much and passing out from being overheated and dehydrated. There was no drama at the Entry throughout the four-band bill and I honestly don’t think there was a point during the show when security had to deal with anything other than just keeping an eye on the doors where as security was running all over the place upstairs. What I’m trying to say is I felt more comfortable and more loved in the dark and smelly 7th Street Entry than the sold out and proper mainroom on Monday night. It’s been awhile since I’ve spent time at a local metal show like this but I was beyond glad to know that not much has changed.

Line Up:

Nekrotisk

BLOODGEON

Defiled Sacrament

Graveslave

Venue:  7th Street Entry

Smell-O-Meter: BO

Average Age of the Crowd: 36

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 9 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- $0

Broken Bones- None Noticed

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Nothing

Fights- None Witnessed

Pukers- 0

Passed Out Kids- 0

Idiots Taken Out By Security – 0

How Irritated I Was With The Audience – 0 out of 10

How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-

Nekrotisk – 0

BLOODGEON – 0

Defiled Sacrament – 0

Graveslave – 5

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score – 8 out of 10

Show on Deck — ‘Legalized It’ at First Avenue feat. Too Many Acts To List

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