Show Overview: MACABRE in Halifax! w/ Soviet Crowbeak , Select And Dismember & Hellacaust
Overview by Ian Kean
Photos/video by Tiffany Naugler
Things kicked off early (10pm sharp) with local instrumental math metal band Soviet Crowbeak. I've seen these guys play a number of times and am always impressed with the structure of their quick and abrasive songs. They seem to jump from wacky guitar sections to all out thundering assaults of heavy as hell low end and off the wall time signatures ,which in my mind does a lot to compensate for the void left by the absence of a singer. Not once during their under twenty minute set did the embrace or even acknowledge the audience , they only stopped to drink beer and tune guitars before plowing back into another minute and a half sonic assault. If I had to compare Soviet Crowbeak to something I'd call it the sound track to a 17 car pile up , Loud and destructive with each song happening quickly and with unexpected force, as by-standers look on with amazement and/or horror ...
Up next was Local Metal Band Select and Dismember and they were the only band of the night that i was not previously familiar with. By the time they hit the stage The bar was starting to fill up with those brave enough to forget about work,embrace the Tuesday morning hangover and prove that Halifax has a great metal scene regardless of the day of the week. Select and Dismember came on strong with song after song of intense and tight metal which had everything from good solid blast beats and low guttural screams, to mind melting guitar solos and perfectly precise low end attack. They played a wicked set of hard hitting metal with brute force and enthusiastic crowd response. Although its impossible to deny that Select and Dismember are a fantastically tight and talented metal band, I felt as if there wasn't much that made them stand apart from their many peers/bands trying to achieve the same effect in song writing approach and stage performance. My suggestion to the band would be for the guitar players to move around more and head bang a lot more (you both have the hair) and the singer could work on his between song banter. If your band misses a section of a song but don't totally train wreck, don't repeatedly point it out to the crowd after the song is over,just move on to the next song and hope no one else noticed.
Next on the bill was Halifax metal herons Hellacaust, who are currently touring with Macabre across eastern Canada. By the time their amps got turned on Gus' was starting to resemble a packed Saturday night, A REALLY packed Saturday. Anyone who would disagree that Hellacaust are the kings of Halifax metal has no idea what they are talking about, and anyone who has never heard Hellacaust has no idea what they are missing - these guys are AWESOME! I've seen them preform probably about 20 - 30 times in the 8 years I've been going to shows in Halifax and I have never been anything short of completely blows away by their energy and execution of some of the toughest and most intense metal imaginable, and on this particular night they did not disappoint at all. Playing a blistering set of old stuff from their first few albums, splashed with some new material that raises the bar so to speak for any up and coming metal bands on the scene. The crowd thrashed around banging their heads and pumping their fists in appreciation of the onslaught of what could be describe as controlled chaos blasting from these four guys and the instruments, truly proving their worth as an opener for Macabre by working the crowd into a frenzy and leaving them ready for Macabre to move in for the kill.
The headliner of this already kick ass show was Murder Metal Legands MACABRE, who have been releasing hard as fuck albums for upwards of twenty five years and by the time they had sound checked and launched into their first song the crowd at Gus' Pub was damn near ready to tear the roof off the place. With ultra tough guitar riffs, six string bass craziness and probably the tightest drumming I've ever stood six feet away from, MACABRE put out a wall of sound and heaviness that is rarely achieved by a three piece band (or a five piece for that matter). Besides being floored by the sonic assault put forth, I also learned a few fun facts on the history of murder and tyranny as the singer started off each new song with a little story or insight to the context of the song involving of course Jeffery Dahmer , Emperor Nero of the Roman Empire and other grim tales of torture and death. The majority of the crowd seemed to know the songs just from the stories being told which I think proved to MACABRE that they have a very loyal fan base on the east coast of Canada. After MACABRE stopped playing the crowd spoke up demanding an encore and the band delivered a few more tunes before calling it a night, sending everyone home sweaty , tired, drunk and smiling.
Photos/video by Tiffany Naugler
Monday June 6th at Gus' Pub
MACABRE - http://www.murdermetal.com/
Soviet Crowbeak - http://www.myspace.com/sovietcrowbeak
Select And Dismember - http://www.selectanddismember.com/
Hellacaust - http://www.myspace.com/hellacaust
Things kicked off early (10pm sharp) with local instrumental math metal band Soviet Crowbeak. I've seen these guys play a number of times and am always impressed with the structure of their quick and abrasive songs. They seem to jump from wacky guitar sections to all out thundering assaults of heavy as hell low end and off the wall time signatures ,which in my mind does a lot to compensate for the void left by the absence of a singer. Not once during their under twenty minute set did the embrace or even acknowledge the audience , they only stopped to drink beer and tune guitars before plowing back into another minute and a half sonic assault. If I had to compare Soviet Crowbeak to something I'd call it the sound track to a 17 car pile up , Loud and destructive with each song happening quickly and with unexpected force, as by-standers look on with amazement and/or horror ...
Up next was Local Metal Band Select and Dismember and they were the only band of the night that i was not previously familiar with. By the time they hit the stage The bar was starting to fill up with those brave enough to forget about work,embrace the Tuesday morning hangover and prove that Halifax has a great metal scene regardless of the day of the week. Select and Dismember came on strong with song after song of intense and tight metal which had everything from good solid blast beats and low guttural screams, to mind melting guitar solos and perfectly precise low end attack. They played a wicked set of hard hitting metal with brute force and enthusiastic crowd response. Although its impossible to deny that Select and Dismember are a fantastically tight and talented metal band, I felt as if there wasn't much that made them stand apart from their many peers/bands trying to achieve the same effect in song writing approach and stage performance. My suggestion to the band would be for the guitar players to move around more and head bang a lot more (you both have the hair) and the singer could work on his between song banter. If your band misses a section of a song but don't totally train wreck, don't repeatedly point it out to the crowd after the song is over,just move on to the next song and hope no one else noticed.
Next on the bill was Halifax metal herons Hellacaust, who are currently touring with Macabre across eastern Canada. By the time their amps got turned on Gus' was starting to resemble a packed Saturday night, A REALLY packed Saturday. Anyone who would disagree that Hellacaust are the kings of Halifax metal has no idea what they are talking about, and anyone who has never heard Hellacaust has no idea what they are missing - these guys are AWESOME! I've seen them preform probably about 20 - 30 times in the 8 years I've been going to shows in Halifax and I have never been anything short of completely blows away by their energy and execution of some of the toughest and most intense metal imaginable, and on this particular night they did not disappoint at all. Playing a blistering set of old stuff from their first few albums, splashed with some new material that raises the bar so to speak for any up and coming metal bands on the scene. The crowd thrashed around banging their heads and pumping their fists in appreciation of the onslaught of what could be describe as controlled chaos blasting from these four guys and the instruments, truly proving their worth as an opener for Macabre by working the crowd into a frenzy and leaving them ready for Macabre to move in for the kill.
The headliner of this already kick ass show was Murder Metal Legands MACABRE, who have been releasing hard as fuck albums for upwards of twenty five years and by the time they had sound checked and launched into their first song the crowd at Gus' Pub was damn near ready to tear the roof off the place. With ultra tough guitar riffs, six string bass craziness and probably the tightest drumming I've ever stood six feet away from, MACABRE put out a wall of sound and heaviness that is rarely achieved by a three piece band (or a five piece for that matter). Besides being floored by the sonic assault put forth, I also learned a few fun facts on the history of murder and tyranny as the singer started off each new song with a little story or insight to the context of the song involving of course Jeffery Dahmer , Emperor Nero of the Roman Empire and other grim tales of torture and death. The majority of the crowd seemed to know the songs just from the stories being told which I think proved to MACABRE that they have a very loyal fan base on the east coast of Canada. After MACABRE stopped playing the crowd spoke up demanding an encore and the band delivered a few more tunes before calling it a night, sending everyone home sweaty , tired, drunk and smiling.
________________________
See all the photos from this show HERE.
See all our videos HERE.
Comments