Girl at the Rock Shows

I’ve been feeling so far removed from the local metal scene lately, but I feel like I’ve been plunged back into it, especially after Saturday night’s show at Amsterdam Bar & Hall in Saint Paul. It was a night of familiar but fresh sounds and friendly familiar faces of a time of my past. It was the kind of night that brought back so many memories, some good and some bad, but it was the perfect way to spend my Saturday night. There were a lot of bands that performed, so let’s just jump into it.

Saint Paul post-deathcore band Glad to be Dead was first up. It didn’t matter that it was only 6 PM when this band started; they jumped right into a set full of energy and brutality, quickly bringing a sense of energy to the surprisingly large crowd that had gathered so early on a Saturday evening. Glad To Be Dead’s sound, like that of the other bands to grace the stage, was loud and intense but also clean. I’m not sure how long this group has been around, but it quickly became clear that they have been working on their craft for some time. You can’t just get up on a stage and perform such heavy music so cleanly without a lot of time spent practicing, and it truly paid off for this band.

Following Glad To Be Dead was VIN. Out of all the bands that performed, this is the one I have seen the most recently, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t excited to see them again. VIN’s sound is more prog/ math infused with the same serving of intensity as the rest of the bands that performed, but it comes in a different form. This band focuses on emotion, and that was in full supply on Saturday. Every song was played with such an undeniable sense of conviction and heart that it was the kind of set that you just could not walk away from. VIN seems to be super versatile. I’ve seen them on oddly more pop-punk and screamo-leaning bills and now on a more metal-centric bill. Regardless of the task, VIN is up for it, and their sound can easily fit into all of these scenes, making them a band to watch as we move deeper into the year. It also means that this is not the first and surely not the last time I will be praising this band, so go ahead and save yourself some time by checking them out the next time they perform.

I just saw Den Of Thieves a couple of months ago when they played at The Turf Club, but that didn’t lessen my excitement to see them on Saturday. Not only is the band a bit of a supergroup featuring members of Cymothoa, After the Burial, No Wings To Speak Of, and many more, but they are also a group that adds a subtle groove to their metal music. Sure, it’s intense and, to the untrained ear, may sound like just loud noises and screaming, but Den of Thieves has perfectly crafted their sound to the point where it’s music to a metalhead’s ears. The music was great when it came to Den Of Thieves’ short time on set, but what really made their set stand out for me was the chatter happening around me. During every break in the songs and between tracks, I would inevitably hear a comment from someone in the audience ranging from, “Holy Crap!” to “Duuuuude, this is so sick.” Beyond the fact that some of the members of this band are good friends of mine, I was just thrilled to see such a talented band turn so many heads in only a short time on stage.

Things got a little weird for the next band but in all the right ways. Before this show, I was co-hosting a radio show I do on Saturdays and was talking about how amazing the local scene is because of the lack of gate-keeping. I mentioned how I love going to shows that feature music from a wide array of styles and sounds, and that’s exactly what Chrome Coda, the next band to perform on Saturday night, did. Chrome Coda’s sound was just as dark as the previous acts, but they brought a more electronic taste to the night. Just a duo rather than a massive metal band, and with computers in place of guitars, I was instantly enamored by the way Chrome Coda filled the room with dark and spooky vibes while keeping the energy up that the previous metal bands had laid out. It was a cool twist to the night and one that gave everyone a chance to breathe while not being too boring or slow to lose their attention.

I feel like I may have seen EVERNORTH way back in the day, but I could be wrong about that. Regardless, they absolutely slaughtered the stage on Saturday night. At this point in the night, I was getting a bit tired. I mean, we had already gone through five bands, and I’m just not the spring chicken I used to be. Six-band bills are stressful for me when it comes to figuring out what to talk about, but EVERNORTH made it so easy. Sure, I could say all of the same things I’ve said for them as I have the previous bands, and they would all be true, but there was something a bit more intense about their time on stage. Maybe it was the audience really getting into it or the guest vocalists that had hopped on stage to get in on the action. Either way, I may have been tired and losing my steam, but EVERNORTH made sure the rest of the audience was just getting started.

Closing out this epic showing of local metal music was inflict. Has it really been since 2019 since I’ve seen this band? That was the last mention I could find in my archives, but I feel like that may be a bit off. Either way, they had me sold instantly. Closing out the night with just as much, if not more intensity than the previous bands had given, inflict. had the audience stomping and punching to every intense beat that they pushed into the air. Every song seemed to be louder and heavier than the next but every one was presented perfectly clear. Sure, it had been a long evening, but there was an almost steady stream of people hopping off the stage for certain songs. Although there was no epic crowd surfing or even a massive and intense pit to talk about, there was a lot of movement, and a lot of people were just living their lives at the local metal show with smiles on their faces.

I took a step away from the local metal scene for a long time, but it feels so good to be back. In case you haven’t been with me since the beginning, I seemed to only cover local metal when I started this blog. Although I’m not going to dive head-in and go back to solely covering this genre, it is truly so comforting to know that it is still alive and kicking and that there’s a whole new crop of kids ready to take the torch.

Line Up:

Glad To Be Dead

VIN

Den of Thieves

Chrome Coda

EVERNORTH

inflict.

Venue: Amsterdam Bar & Hall

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 25

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 7 ish

Mosh-ability- 8 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- 0

Broken Bones- None Noticed

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Nothing

Sausage-Fest Meter – 11 out of 10

Fights- None Witnessed

Pukers- 0

Passed Out People- 0

Idiots Taken Out By Security – 0

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

Glad To Be Dead – 0

VIN – 2

Den of Thieves – 1

Chrome Coda – 0

EVERNORTH – Maybe 1?

inflict. – maybe 3?

Celebrity Sightings – Members of By the Thousands

Overall Score – 8 out of 10

Show on Deck — Ally The Piper

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