Opening last night was local death metal standouts The Bear Hunters... well most of them, as guitarist Josh Stephney had work commitments, so they played as a quartet. Even still, the audio quality was better than their last show, as I could actually hear Mitch Sirie's guitar, so things still sounded good! Their set was chock full of their brutal originals like "Overthrown", "Succumb To Eternity", and "Dominate", and the guys played them with their trademark intensity! Though Mitch traded his hair for Hello Kitty sunglasses, his solos were blistering and his shredding guitar work led the way, while Justin Lam's bass work continues to impress, and Nik sounded as brutal as ever on vocals! It was also nice to see them bring back their cover of Trivium's "Down From The Sky" last night, though like the song it replaced in their setlist ("Condemned"), I would like to see Nik do clean chorus vocals again. Even shorthanded, The Bear Hunters delivered a great set of brutal death metal last night, and hopefully I'll be seeing them again soon!
Second last night was fellow local death metal outfit Shit Liver, and their grimy and crusty take on the genre was in full force last night! Their set was full of fast and brutal death metal originals like "Hateroleum", "Shit Liver", and "Sewer Livin'" along with some surprising covers (including GG Allin's "Bite It You Scum"), and though not a lot has changed for their sound or on stage presence since the Fuck The Facts show, they delivered a solid set! The three guys unleashed some heavy and assaulting growls and screams, and Josh Penno's guitar work is definitely improving, but it would be nice to have seen more people at their set last night. Their brand of death metal may not be everyone's cup of tea, but they've put in a lot of time and work, and it's showing musically for both their live shows and original material, and I enjoyed their set last night as much as I have from their other recent gigs!
Last up for bands last night was local hardcore quintet As It Stands in their first show in over a month, and they haven't lost a step musically since their razor thin finish at the Humane Society Battle of the Bands! They knocked out a set full of originals like "Embay The Terrible", "Rise Above", and "Big Problem, Little Lock City" along with their cover of Blink 182's "Stay Together For The Kids", and luckily, the crowd numbers were at their peak to witness their set! Justin Pregent's singing was on form from other 2012 gigs, Angelo Huckson's bass playing also sounded really good, and John Mignacca also impressed a lot on drums, from what I saw! If anything, the band's collective energy seemed to be lower than I'm used to (Angelo wasn't nearly as active and lively from the last few times I've seen them), but as long as they deliver the same quality music we've come to expect from them, it'll all work out! It was good to see A.I.S. back, and hopefully they've got lots more in the pipeline for their next gigs!
Overall, this was a great concert in more ways than one, and a nice return for the Rosie metal night series, and of course, what better way to celebrate your 23rd birthday than with 3 talented and hard working local metal bands? I didn't overly promote my birthday on here as, honestly, the blog's not about me, and I'm not a bragger, but I appreciate all the birthday wishes and shoutouts! Special kudos to J.D. Pearce from Frightlight & T. Rex Manning for making me this wicked birthday cake as a surprise last night! The SMS logo has never been tastier, and I can't thank J.D. enough for what he did last night (and yes, I did kiss the moose!) I did get photos and videos last night too, so click here or visit our Facebook page to check out my pictures! As for videos, they're embedded below, so here's 4/5ths of The Bear Hunters playing "Casualties of War", Shit Liver playing "Shift Liver", and As It Stands playing their new song (possibly "David & Goliath" from the battle of the bands?)That's all for today, but stay tuned for our next "Where Are The New Albums?" post and more news tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
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