Rosie Metal Night #45 Review!!

Finally, here's my review of Thursday's 45th Roosevelt Hotel metal night! It was delayed for two reasons: I had to get a new news post up thanks to the late notice for the Turner Up shows this weekend (I don't like combining concert reviews with unrelated stories in most cases), and the Changing Waves video had out of sync audio that I had to fix. Now that both of those are cleared out of the way, check out our review from Thursday's metal fesitivies below!

First up was local metal quartet Borderline Divine in their Rosie debut and in their second concert with their current name and lineup! Their set on Thursday was more or less unchanged from their return set last month, playing half new originals and half Stillbroke holdovers & covers, and though the crowd wasn't at it's peak for their opening slot, they delivered another very good and highly promising series of songs! If anything, the biggest difference was in the lighting, which they had noticeably darkened by request, but their own on stage effects are getting bigger and more custom! Soundwise, they sounded about as good as they did last month at the West of Hell show, and Jesse Frigault's vocals remain impressive and a nice heavier extension on his older repertoire, but I do think that some of Mitch Sirie's backing vocals were a bit overdone, especially the higher pitched backing singing he did early on "Burn The World". Still, Borderline Divine have a bright future ahead if they keep on the path they've carved out this year, and their mix of melodic and death sounds can take them places for sure! Just make sure Sam doesn't get too lost in the smoke from the machine, you need his talented drumming!

Following them were local hardcore quartet Changing Waves, and though they were the advertised headliners, it was just good to see them back after a five month break from the stage! I have no idea where they've been, but if there was any rust, it was quickly shook off with their high impact set of originals and select covers! Along with established favourites like "Jung Jung", "Lockdown", and "Tital", the guys played some newer originals like "Go", "Kiss My Ass Again", and "Distance" that showed some hardcore fury and some nice variances into other sounds and styles, and the crowd ate it up! I don't remember if I mentioned this at all last year, but Benjamin Kallonen's stage presence has improved drastically since their 2010 debut, and that goes well with his increasingly diverse singing and the other band members' talents! Mike & Alex Hagerman continue to have good chemistry (as you'd expect), and Terrence Gomes' bass work was solid as well, adding up to a successful return for Changing Waves on Thursday night! Remember to go see both them and Borderline Divine at the F.A.T.I.L. Gathering in Laird on June 22nd!

Finally on Thursday was extreme metal notables Winkstinger.... or, most of them, as for a second straight week, one of the bands at a Rosie metal night was down a member. Guitarist Jason Ladouceur was absent for unannounced reasons, reducing Winkstinger to a "fourtet" on Thursday night, but how'd they manage without him? Honestly, compared to other local bands I've seen shorthanded, the absence of a second guitarist was more noticeable than I assumed, but the guys managed well enough to entertain the crowd with brutal originals like "Stop! You Can't Interrogate Someone With Brain Damage" and much more! Nothing else was really shockingly different compared to other recent Winkstinger sets, but Alan Wells' creatively aggressive vocals melted many a face, and Jesse Cook's guitar work was as fast and blistering as you'd expect, so we ate everything up! Even shorthanded, Winkstinger delivered a brutal set on Thursday, and hopefully they're back on the local stage soon!

Overall, this was another fun night of local metal, and a welcome selection of different bands than we've tended to see at The Rosie lately! The metal nights have now reverted to a bi-weekly schedule, so the 46th installment won't be until June 21st when The Bear Hunters & two Desbarats bands bring an all death metal set to The Rosie! Stay tuned for more on that as we inch closer to the show, but for now, check out my photos from this past Thursday at this location or at our Facebook page! Apologies for the Borderline Divine photo quality, but smoke machines and my camera don't agree, despite their coolness. As for videos, so here's Borderline Divine's 10 minute long original "Burn The World", Changing Waves' newer original "Drop Smack" (with the audio now re-synced), and 4/5ths of Winkstinger playing "From Bullshit To Buzz (Lies=Weed)"!







That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news over the weekend and a pair of feature posts on Sunday: This month's Defunct Local Band Profile on Eckerman, Michigan hard rockers Bent Rollercoaster, and the second archive Woods of Ypres/David Gold interview I recently rediscovered! Thanks everyone!