Rosie Metal Night #39 Review!!

Finally, I have a review of a Roosevelt Hotel metal night after missing four months worth of them! Yes, I was at last night's 39th Roosevelt Hotel metal night (thanks to having no morning classes today), which was also the first I've seen since Stephane Vincent took over for now-Feedback owner Rich Moreland as the booker for the now-biweekly Thursday concert series (I confirmed the current schedule with Stephane last night.) As such, there was a few differences from the Dismembertainment-promoted metal nights that ended last month, such as the absence of the strip lighting on the stage (they're now at Feedback, I believe), but overall, things remain familiar to past metal nights. The attendance was fairly low too, and I don't think it ever passed 50 people last night, but it's early for the new booking crew, give it time! Now, let's talk about the bands who rocked The Rosie last night in this concert review!

Opening last night's show was local classic metal quartet Late & Loud, and I don't know if they do this at each Rosie concert they play, but the guitarist positions were set up on the floor in front of the stage. Interesting setup, and it does give them more room to rock, but it left the guitarists in poor lighting for their set. The music, however, was really good, and Late & Loud continue to show their talents well! Slightly more varied set overall than their last show that I saw, including originals like "Live For Excess" and "Love Letter Lockdown" and covers from bands like Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, and Cream! The crowd seemed to enjoy them, as did I, and it was good to see Benn Garside return to singing for a song last night! The guitars were on fire, the members made the most of their singing voices, and they had lots of energy to go around, but I think they were a bit less animated then at the Skull Fist show. Brendan Christie's singing voice in particular sounded a bit strained from last time, but the guys were on fire as usual last night! It's a shame more people couldn't enjoy their classic metal onslaught, but they gave us another solid set that makes the anticipation for their upcoming demo grow larger! Hopefully they're back on stage soon!

Following them last night were the returning Thessalon death metal quartet For All That Is Lost, who hadn't been seen in the Sault in 3 months. Myself, this was the first time I'd seen F.A.T.I.L. since guitarist Allen Piche left the band, and since frontman Tyler Sperry cut his hair shorter, so things looked a bit different from my first F.A.T.I.L. show, but how'd they sound? Honestly, I think they sounded a bit better when I saw them in May, but they still rocked the house! Tyler's stange presence is improving and his vocals remained very brutal, but his on-stage confidence level still seems like it could be boosted. Ben Deslauriers' bass work was a standout last night, he has real skill that should be recognized more, and Brook Moreau had some solid and heavy riffs throughout, but he needs to add some more guitar solos in. Their originals could use them, and he can pull them off, their cover of Lamb of God's "Ruin" was proof. Kameron Nicholson's drumming was nice and proficient too, he kept up with the brutality nicely! I think F.A.T.I.L. need a second guitarist on some songs too, Allen's absence was felt occasionally, but overall, they still delivered a brutal set of death metal, and they attracted the biggest crowds and most activity of the night, and that speaks for itself!

Headlining last night, in their Roosevelt Hotel debut, was local death metal/hardcore quartet View To A Kill! It's good to see the guys back at The Rosie after months away from metal nights with their other bands,and I'm glad to say they sounded on form from their debut earlier this month! Along with their original "Let It All Bleed Out", View To A Kill punched in a slightly shorter set of covers ranging from Pantera and Sepultura to Throwdown and Parkway Drive songs, and they sounded together and brutal throughout! I'm impressed with frontman Steve Rhodes' continued integration of clean singing into his repetoire, though I think he overdid them a bit, especially on "Venom & Tears". Still, it's a nice step up from his State of/Bring the Misery work! Andrew Angelic was predictably on fire on guitar, and both Adam Veale and Kyle Umgeher rocked out as well as you'd expect from their debut last night! I'd like to see them throw in some heavier bands, maybe a true death metal cover for a change, but overall, they seem to be improving and gaining in chemistry from their debut, and hopefully View To A Kill can continue to gain a local foothold from here!

Overall, it was a nice (if underattended) metal night, and hopefully when the 40th takes place on December 8th, an even bigger crowd will show up to take in our local metal talent! The promoter switch and after-effects haven't changed too much for the Thursday nighters, so hopefully there'll be even more metal to come! I did get photos, so click here or visit our official Facebook page to check them out, where you can also find this concert's "Tag Yourself!" photo. And I did get videos, so here's Late & Loud playing their original "Whispers of the Damned", F.A.T.I.L.'s original "The Return of Dionysus", and View To A Kill covering Throwdown's "Venom & Tears"!







That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow, including the identity of our next CD review (it IS of a brand new album) and more! Thanks everyone!