Suffocation, As the Kingdom Falls, Artifice, Dethorned, Brain Invasion
Saturday, November 12 at Kingdom
I’m gonna be honest here: as tempting as it was to go see Suffocation live at Kingdom, a mere mile from my house, I almost stayed home (and probably would have if it wasn’t for my journalistic duties), simply because I am a little bit tired of shows with just one good band and a ton of thrown-together opening acts. Still, I have to give Kingdom credit where credit is due. Tour packages are expensive, and for all I know, getting the whole Suffocation caravan down here before they played Jaxx wasn’t even an option schedule-wise. And don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against up-and-coming bands trying to break into the scene; nothing warms my heart more then a bunch of pubescent kids in too-large Deeds of Flesh t-shirts banging their side-parted heads onstage. It’s just that sometimes, I wish these bands would stray from the overly-blazed cookie-cutter death metal trail and put their annoying amount of talent for their ages to better use. Still, I shall attempt to focus on the skill and promise I saw in these bands, and not just give in and bitch about the amount of breakdowns I had to hear. And of, course, Suffocation totally killed, making it all worthwhile in the end.
Suffocation, As the Kingdom Falls, Artifice, Dethorned, Brain Invasion
Saturday, November 12 at Kingdom
I’m gonna be honest here: as tempting as it was to go see Suffocation live at Kingdom, a mere mile from my house, I almost stayed home (and probably would have if it wasn’t for my journalistic duties), simply because I am a little bit tired of shows with just one good band and a ton of thrown-together opening acts. Still, I have to give Kingdom credit where credit is due. Tour packages are expensive, and for all I know, getting the whole Suffocation caravan down here before they played Jaxx wasn’t even an option schedule-wise. And don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against up-and-coming bands trying to break into the scene; nothing warms my heart more then a bunch of pubescent kids in too-large Deeds of Flesh t-shirts banging their side-parted heads onstage. It’s just that sometimes, I wish these bands would stray from the overly-blazed cookie-cutter death metal trail and put their annoying amount of talent for their ages to better use. Still, I shall attempt to focus on the skill and promise I saw in these bands, and not just give in and bitch about the amount of breakdowns I had to hear. And of, course, Suffocation totally killed, making it all worthwhile in the end.
I arrived just in time to catch Brain Invasion’s set. These local dudes hail from Midlothian and play a slightly muddled style of death metal. The lo-fi, growling vocals and crunchy, thrash-influenced guitar sound point the band in a somewhat crusty, old-school direction, but they kind of obliterate this effect by down-tuning too low and trying to throw breakdowns in whenever possible, making their songs sound sloppy and disjointed. If they ditched the typical metalcore-reminiscent breakdown in favor of the slower, chugging riffs characteristic of straightforward death metal bands like Gorguts and Inquisition, they would be a solid live act, but as it is, the polished, new-school elements clash somewhat noticeably with what they are trying to play.
Next up was Henrico band Dethorned, who play the death metal subgenre known as slam–basically, standard brutal death metal plus frequent off-time breakdowns. There is nothing out-of-place or awkward about their sound; they actually seem pretty comfortable with their style, and every single member of the band is a solid musician. However, I am not the biggest fan of slam. I’m also not the biggest fan of their name, which I can’t help thinking is annoyingly ambiguous, and always makes me think they are called Dethroned. Sill, personal biases aside, this band was talented, and fans of slam undoubtedly went home satisfied.
Petersburg’s Artifice played next. The description on their Reverb Nation page states that “everyone came together with different influences that helped shape the sound of the band” and “the goal is to play music that doesn’t limit itself to one genre.” While this is a great philosophy in theory, it seemed to me like Artifice could use a little more cohesive structuring. Their singer seemed to be into tough-guy hardcore and aggressive vocals, the guitarist was clearly all about technical music and soloing, their bassist was more of a classic rock guy and couldn’t keep up with the guitarist, and the drummer came across more like a brutal death metal/blast beats kind of guy. There is definitely something to be said for having so many different types in one band, but most of their songs sounded very unstructured, following a straight-forward metal riff with an out-of-place solo, then a blast part, then a thrash riff, and then an infamous one-chord breakdown for good measure.
As the Kingdom Falls, who seemed to get a huge kick out of the fact that they were playing at Kingdom, were by far the most promising up-and-coming act of the night. Hailing from Frederick, Maryland, these guys, although they look fresh out of high school and were flanked by a crew of aggressively-making-out teenage couples, actually put on a pretty good show. They all seemed to have a pretty good handle on their sound, their stage presence, and their instruments. Although their style is most akin to straight-forward death metal, the melodic, technical, classic, and brutal elements that creep into their songs show that not only do they know what they are doing, they have a frame of reference outside of popular modern death metal bands like Suicide Silence and the Faceless. The slightly generic, familiar twinge throughout their set, as well as the obligatory chugging breakdowns, cheapened the experience a little. Nevertheless, it seems completely plausible that, if these guys stick it out, they will find a way to separate themselves from the crowd and play some truly unique music.
Last, but certainly not least, was Suffocation, the band of the hour. Although the boys certainly don’t seem to be getting any younger, and played a pretty typical set, they never disappoint live, and this show was no exception. Playing such classics as “Infecting the Crypts” and “Bind Torture Kill,” drummer Mike Smith was as hilarious as ever, and they seemed just as excited to be playing live as they were when I saw them five years ago. Although it is always a personal disappointment for me that they never play anything off of Souls to Deny, my favorite album of theirs, I was definitely satisfied, and despite the hit-and-miss quality of much of the night, I think the same can be said for most of the die-hard Suffocation fans in attendance.
