Girl at the Rock Shows

I’m still trying to find my footing after an oddly “off” week. I was talking about it with my co-host on the radio show I do on Saturdays, and she confirmed that she had also had a bit of a weird one. Although this brought me a slight sense of peace, I was still determined to shake off any remnants of the week. Friday night with some amazing and angsty bands definitely helped, but I knew that one metal show would blow any of the bad vibes I had left over right off of me, so after the radio show, I rushed to Zhora Darling in Northeast Minneapolis and prepared to get blown away.

I was absolutely blown away by local metalheads Caustic Abyss when I saw them in January, so I knew what to prepare for as they took the stage, yet, for some reason, I wasn’t fully ready for it. When their music hit my soul, I jumped in a way. Their power was as deafening as their talent was mesmerizing. With a more classic take on a death metal sound but with many intricacies thrown into the mix, Caustic Abyss definitely sets the vibe of the venue perfectly. I heard some familiar songs from their album ‘Eternal Winter Crypt,’ which came out in January, but I feel like I also heard some new-to-me tracks scattered in their quick set. Regardless of whether it was a familiar song or not, Caustic Abyss had me stuck right where I was, watching their every move and trying to take in every moment of their time on stage.

I’ve covered Den of Thieves, the next band to take the stage, a couple of times, and, full disclosure, I have a couple of buddies in this band (including the artist who did my amazing logo), but that’s not why I keep going back to see this band time and time again. Den Of Thieves’ sound is flawless. That’s not to say that the other bands weren’t also perfect, but there’s something about the cleanliness of this band that has already left me a bit shook. Everything the members of this band do during their songs is complicated, yet when there’s a moment of silence in a song or a break, it’s crisp. Add in the personalities of this band that shined throughout the set (including a couple of boxes of DENGAY (A Den of Thieves product that offers “relief from a major bangover, backache, muscle & joint pain– with six hundred sixty-six relieving ingredients- more than any other DENGAY product) being thrown out into the audience), and you were left with a stellar showing of just how much talent there is in the local metal scene but also how, at the end of the day, these musicians are just all a bunch of jokesters who are there to have a good time.

Just a friendly reminder- I’m not originally from the Twin Cities, so I definitely don’t know all of the ins and outs of the local scene. I feel like I missed an entire world of historic local bands, and one of those is With Dead Hands Rising. From everything I can see, and from what I witnessed during their set on Saturday night, this band is legendary but they took a break and are just now coming back to life after the re-release of their 2003 album ‘behind inquisition’ on Tarnished Records. As the band powered through their more deathcore-leaning set, I instantly understood why this record sold out and why people were so excited for the comeback of this band. They are insane. They are brutal and intense, but like the other bands of the night, they bring a very crisp and polished sound to the stage. Plenty of people were ready to sing (or scream, I suppose, would be a better fitting word) along to every word. Although the energy had been high throughout the night, this really brought it to a peak, and there was no coming down after that.

Headlining the Saturday night show was the one and only Reaping Asmodeia. Love them or hate them, this band just got home after a West Coast spring tour where they surely spread the word of “Metalsota” in a shining light. I’ve seen this band a couple of times at this point, and although I thought their typical smoke and light routine was a bit much for the intimacy of Zhora Darling, I loved the fact that they were unwilling to sacrifice a single ounce of their powerful stage performance. Donning black hoods and coming off as nothing but shadows many times throughout the set due to the mixture of lighting and fog added a sense of drama to an already over-the-top set. Part of me wanted to hate them for this. I mean, come on, it’s a local show, and, honestly, the crowd wasn’t big enough to warrant such a production. On top of that, it made getting photos a task and a half but, again, I loved that they wouldn’t settle for anything less.

We could debate all day about all of the influences that make Reaping Asmodeia’s sound so unique, but at the end of the day, I think we can all agree that, due to the sheer musicianship and talent on stage, they are a band that does whatever sound they do so well. Much like the other three bands of the night, the sound of Reaping Asmodeia is loud and aggressive. Their style lies a bit more in the technical death metal realm of things, which sets them apart from the other acts for me, but if you’re not super into the metal scene or haven’t spent years seeing it live, I get where you wouldn’t hear the difference. Their power and intensity was everything I needed to dust off the remnants of my crappy week and, at the end of the day, that’s all that really matters.

I always write about the joy I feel re-visiting the local metal scene whenever I go to a show like this. It’s a scene that I really grit my teeth in. It’s where Girl at the Rock Shows was born, and although I hopped out of the local metal pool years ago, it always feels a bit like coming home when I go to a show like this. From the familiar sounds to the friendly faces, Saturday night was truly what I needed to form a complete mental re-set.

Line Up:

Caustic Abyss

Den of Thieves

With Dead Hands Rising

Reaping Asmodeia

Venue: Zhora Darling

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 39

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 1

Mosh-ability- 8 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- $4.65

Broken Bones- None Noticed

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Nothing

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)-

Caustic Abyss – 1

Den of Thieves – 2

With Dead Hands Rising – 0

Reaping Asmodeia -4

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score – 8.7 out of 10

Show on Deck — Obituary / Nails / Terror / Spirit World / Pest Control

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