04.17.10 Oddly enough I had never heard of the band listed as Metalfest’s headliners before the week of the show. I typed in the word Emmure into Last.fm and did a bit of preconcert research to see what I was in for. From what I gathered their sound was a mishmash of heavy breakdowns and random, sometimes catchy riffs, but not enough consistant hooks for me to discern their songs apart. Vocally, it was like Hatebreed and Limp Biskit were thrown into a blender and switched on puree. Not bad, a bit too A.D.D. for my tastes but I was very curious to see how they would translate live.

4Play got really squishy and sweaty at this point. From the songs I heard online, I made the accurate assumption that there would be a whole lotta fists a’flyin. With the goal of not having to duct tape my Canon back together after the show, I decided to not jump front and center this time. Stage left, one of the awesome security guys I met at the start of the show left me his chair saying it was cool if I wanted to stand up on it and shoot. So here I was with one of the best seats in the house, still in on the action but out of harm’s way.

The frontman of the band let out a gutteral growl that shook the floor and they broke into their first song. Their audience was insane. It was a shock considering these were the same statuesque individuals that lined the walls of 4play for most the night. I must say I’m surprised the venue didn’t collapse on itself. From where I was standing the sea of people became a violent pulsating wave threatening to drown anyone who came too close.

From a music standpoint Emmure is an interesting listen. They push the boundaries of modern hardcore (which I’ve decided to call the subgenre from now on) and really got the fans moving. Again, not really my thing and I felt myself once again feeling segregated from the audience. I stood on that chair for about half their set, trying to get into the music. I admit I wasn’t feeling it all that much (just not my cup of tea). What I did start to feel was a vice slowly tightening in on my head and the pounding that ensued was louder than the music. The sheer volume and screaming was taking its toll and no doubt putting my head up against the wall of speakers for half the night trying to get “my shot” during the previous bands, didn’t help either.

I headed towards the back of the venue where my girlfriend was waiting. Within 10 minutes I witnessed at least 5 clearly aggro members of the audience forceably pulled out of the place by security. With the security guys being quite nice for once, I’m guessing they had probable cause. And with that I was done for the night. We headed out the door and down the stairs walking through the labyrinth of ejected souls who sat cursing the venue for denying them entry.

Overall it was a really solid show. I left a little bruised and beaten up (in a good way), which comes with the territory trying to capture the energy & power I witness at metal shows. Props to Jack of Corrupt Absolute/Underworld Events for shocking the life back into the local metal scene all the while giving us metalheads in Hawaii pride to raise our horns (and mystical orbs / invisible oranges) in the air.

04.17.10 It was time for our hosts for the night, Corrupt Absolute to strut their stuff. They’ve been around for a looong time. Well at least Jack, frontman of the band, has. I’ve seen him back with his old band, Machine play the Warped tour back in 98′ (99?) , then with the precursor to CA, 8mm Overdose over the years.

Jack from Corrupt Absolute

Overall Jack’s sound and songwriting (and hair length), despite the years, seems to be pretty consistent, nothing overwhelmingly spectacular about their riffing but he does get the crowd going. It was nice to see some of the old guard banging their heads up front along with Jack’s daughter who seemed to be having a blast watching her dad do his thing.

I was a bit surprised that it took so long for the crowd to really get into it. I guess we’re all way too familiar with their setlist to be surprised anymore. Or maybe if you’ve seen them play for as long as I have it probably means you’re not in any shape to be headbanging like you’re still 18 anyways.

Overall they did a pretty good job working the audience. At one point bass player, Rob Graves walked out into the pit (albeit miniscule at the time) with his instrument to show that, yes, he’s still down there as one of us.

Rob from Corrupt Absolute

With a steady set of consistent power chords and crunchy vocals, Corrupt Absolute was exactly what we expected, no frills just straight up fist pumping, horn raising action. For a band that has been so consistently promoting themselves over the years, I was hoping to hear something that would surprise me or perhaps a couple of new songs added to their arsenal. No such luck. Or is it that their songs become such a blur that I can’t tell anymore? There’s a chance. Overall, I dug their set. And it was nice to not be the village elder at the local metal show for once.

Just as my neck started to slowly heal from the insanity I just witnessed from during Before Fire’s set, I was told to stay up front and start stretchin for the next band of the night. I was also informed that “the crazy Iron Maiden shirt guy who kinda looks like me 10yrs ago” was in this next band. Enter the Irrepressible Heroes.

Seeing that I spent most of Metalfest getting bitchslapped by the headbanging guitarist’s hair (which is eerily similiar to mine, like I traveled in time and was standing behind myself headbanging) and have seen this same guy in every pit (in that same shirt) whenever there was a decent metal band on stage, I thought I’d give them a more serious listen.

This crazy thrash outfit who looks barely old enough to be let into most venues laid waste to the stage at 4play. With hair flyin all over the place and riffs aplenty, not a word need be spoken to prove their point. The kids seem to love um’ and who can hate a band that wears their influences so proudly on their sleeves. Not quite sure what was up with the frontman’s high tops, but image aside, they indeed killed and with it, they definitely gave their young audience a thorough education in thrash.

It took some time but finally the moment hath finally arrived. The metal bands were about to usurp power on the stage at 4Play. The anticipation was building around the coming of the local metal band, Amarnha. With one of my closest and last remaining friends from the previous incarnation of the local metal scene on drums, we were all very curious to see them in action with whomever was fronting the band. But sadly, due to some unforeseen circumstances our fire of anticipation was quickly put out when it was announced that they were not able to play.

But all was not lost, that meant Before Fire’s set was going to be pushed forward and there would be plenty of neck trauma to go around. They did not disappoint. From what I’ve seen in the past, musicianship has never been a problem with this band. Its the way their raucous brand of death metal translates in different venues that’s the problem. Sometimes due to a lack of volume in guitar or bass, their whole set can suffer. This was not the case at 4Play. The guys from Corrupt Absolute had the sound in that place nailed down, which resulted in one of the most epic sets I’ve ever witnessed from the death metal quintet.

Before Fire plays loud and angry. Yes, the kind of angry that’ll send you home with a headache and make you hunt for that Dave Matthews album (you know you own) just to counteract all the evil that might still be in your head when you leave. Okay, that’s enough Before Fire congratulatory high fiving. Back to the show.

They played a killer set of crowd favorites and even threw in a couple of covers from Lamb of God & Black Dahlia Murder that would be familiar to their younger audience. Lowell, frontman of the band does a fantastic job engaging the audience with his epic “invisible orange” stances & angry metal faces. Its a necessity which more than makes up for the rest of Before Fire’s lack of movement and enthusiasm on stage. Their new guitarist is starting to gain confidence, slowly getting more comfortable with his new metal digs while working the audience. As for the rest of the band, musical competency aside, if you don’t look like you’re even into your own songs, no one else will be.

Death metal is not for the faint of heart nor the shy, its a release of energy that has the power to get its fans to run headfirst into a brick wall (I’ve seen it). You just gotta push the ON button and show the audience what it does to you first. It was a solid show and if they play their cards right, Before Fire could possibly propel the standard for local metal to a whole new level. The rest of the band just needs to follow Lowell’s lead and physically show how much they love this music.

8pm was approaching and it was time for things to get a bit heavier. After doing some neck stretching, the bands I came to see were about to take the stage. Well, there was one more act I wasn’t too excited for but I thought I’d give um’ a chance.

All Heart, a local fav, hit the stage with their hardcore breakdowns, summoning up their young audience’s inner ninja. With arms flying, legs kickin in every direction, I stayed the hell away from the “pit.” I guess this is the new guard at shows. I don’t know if I’m just getting old and don’t understand what the heck these kids do for fun nowadays, but the spastic breakdowns and flailing limbs of modern hardcore audiences drive me nuts. Something about being kicked in the back of head when I’m aiming my camera just doesn’t quite do it for me.

So back to the band, interesting to say the least. Again, seen them before, knew exactly what to expect, the predictable vocal pattern of scream, sing, scream. I knew I wouldn’t get anywhere near the stage when the inevitable single note breakdowns started. Huge thanks to the guys at the Emmure merch table who kindly let me stand behind their small wooden table to spare me the onslaught of flying limbs.

Overall the band was alright. They had energy and some catchy hooks, but that singing, kinda made me scratch my head and push the earplugs in a bit deeper. Most of these newer “modern” hardcore bands on the island have a similar take on the genre. Nothing incredibly original, but its always the singers that stop me from really getting into it. Well, second to their audience who don’t think twice about landing a roundhouse kick directly into the temple of their fellow fan.

When I saw one of these hardcore guys swing a fist right to the side of the head of a young girl standing in the audience during a song while her boyfriend just stood there and of all things patted the guy in the back, I had to shake my head in disapproval. 
I don’t get it. If anything its entertaining to watch. I guess every generation has their form of release with their given genre, but this one just detracts me from even caring who’s on stage.

04.17.10 Last weekend Underworld Events threw their annual Metalfest. A noble attempt at uniting the local metal scene here in the islands. There’s metal in Hawaii, you’re asking? Yes, yes there is. I’ve seen bands come and go for the last 10 years. The consistant ringing in my ears and pain in my lower back are a testament to it.

This year Metalfest was held at a new, less urine-reeked venue called 4play in Aiea as opposed to the previous spot at Anna Bananas, which felt like a smouldering toilet at times. With a single stage instead of the usual 3, local music acts (not all metal) tore it up starting at 2pm for full day of face-melting, headbanging & horn-raising.

I got there a bit late. Don’t think I would of survived being locked in that place for that long. I’ve seen most of the earlier bands before and most of them haven’t impressed me enough to get me to show up that early. Bummed I missed Corpus Black though. They’ve got potential.

So I showed up fashionably late and got there just in time to catch local punk legends, 86 list. I know, not metal. BUT, they do have the mindset & the energy. When you can get the whole audience to toss middle fingers in the air and scream “F@CK THE POLICE!” You’ve earned my respect. They were probably the only truly seasoned musicians out of the whole festival. I’ve been watching these guys forever. Since the old punk days of yore when Josh86 used to throw those small punk shows by the airport with bands like Until September.

86 List tore it up. They got the audience (and myself) to dance around in circles completely entranced. Besides, “genre” is just a label. Hell, if the music move you, why fight it? And did I mention Otto makes a mean cheesecake! Go check out his shop on Smith St. in Chinatown.

04.16.10 Enter the Hard Rock finale. Friends of Adam VS Phoenix Rose. Both bands have a pretty strong local fan base here. Both have quite a degree of quality musicianship, stage presence & an image to go along with it.

I got there late again. No parking in site. I hiked it from McCully and sprinted across the street to get there in time. I made it with just enough time to catch Friends of Adam’s last song of the night. I was pissed. But on the bright side, I was able to give out a “WOOO!” and a “YAY, ERNIE!” to show my support. The bassist gotta have his day in the sun too.

Clay of the FOA

Next up Phoenix Rose. Again, I’ve seen them a bunch of times. I know their set in and out. The only variable is of course, which song will inevitably get them to rip off their shirts as they’ve done every time I’ve seen them play. They’ve got some energy behind their metalcore sound. And I admit, they do bring an audience. I have to give um’ props for doing quite a bit to support the local heavy music scene with Nemesis Productions (with 2/3rds of its creators in the band).

Isaac (frontman of Phoenix Rose) has come quite a long way from “slowing things down a bit” with that awkward Nothing Else Matters cover he would pull out of his arsenal at the weirdest times at venues a while back. Although not quite my style of metal I throw the horns in their direction for trying to put heavy music back in the spotlight.

Phoenix Rose

Phoenix Rose

After a valiant battle, Friends of Adam were the band chosen to continue their journey to Hard Rock stardom. Congrats to all the guys for putting on a killer show.

Clay of the FOA

Phoenix Rose

04.16.10 Part II. Bands: TTYM, Disaster Kit, Phoenix Rose & Black Prizm.
This one I knew was gonna be odd. I didn’t know anything about TTYM, which is sometimes good at these things. I knew D-Kit would bring something very entertaining to the stage with their bazillion notes and infinite instrument ensemble. Phoenix Rose would bring their polished metalcore sound and I expected at least one Killswitch song to be in there somewhere. But Black Prizm was the band I went to bang my head for. I love that band. The closest thing this islands ever gonna get to Dio or Sabbath.

So I missed TTYM while driving in circles in that hellish labyrinth of a parking lot, ended up across the street sprinting across 5 lanes of traffic. Got there in time to catch the end of D-Kit’s set. As expected, their horde of UH music majors overran the place skankin about. By the time I composed myself their set was over. I was pretty bummed.

D-Kit

The inevitable switch from happy-go-lucky UH students to the younger generation of headbangin types was quite a site to see. The one thing that always strikes me as odd with Phoenix Rose’s audience is the lack of heavy metal pride in their attire. It may sound  almost contradictory to what we metalheads stand for, but to those uninitiated in the world of heavy metal I must explain.

Our world and the extreme personalities that inhabit it have an unspoken dress code. It’s usually in the form of a black shirt of some kind (or dark shade of grey from extended usage). And on this shirt an unreadable band logo or album cover probably covers up 75% of the front of it. The more obscure the band, the stronger the bond w/ the metalhead who recognizes it. It builds community amongst your fellow metalhead & generates an almost telepathic ability to relate to one another at a show. We wear band merch like its battle armor. Its just the way it is. It confuses me that I have never seen a single band shirt in the die-hards that make up Phoenix Rose’s audience. I actually feel kinda misplaced at their shows to tell you the truth. Its hard for me to give young metal fans any credibility when the words Epicus Doomicus Metallicus and the word DOOM in gothic letters leads to blank stares.

Phoenix Rose

But anyways, I’ve seen Phoenix Rose enough times to know their set, their stage antics, that Killswitch song that used to be a fav of mine until I heard it turn into reggae. But I give um props for bringing the energy and a dedicated fanbase to every show. Not my favorite subgenre of metal by any means, metalcore is what it is and Phoenix Rose does their thing and they do it well.

And after long wait, Black Prizm finally took the stage. I love shows when all the dudes in the band have probably been rockin the long hair since I was a wee lad wishing I had a friend like Johnny 5 to help me with my homework. I love these guys. Old school rockers in every sense of the word. Their audience was awesome. Dedicated “older-than-me” metalheads who probably bribed their wives with some form of household chores for them to come along. “Honey, its family friendly we can bring the kids!” In the immortal words of the Scorpions’ swan song, “How can we ever grow old when the soundtrack of our lives is ROCK N’ ROLL!!!”

Black Prizm

Brett of Black Prizm

Black Prizm

The music was killer. But by that point my mood went south when my camera gear started to act up a bit, stopping me from shooting as much as I wanted. As if that wasn’t enough, some drunken idiots decided it was okay to mock “the metal guy” there, me, that is. Some bastard kept bumping into me doing that annoying shoulder bump thing or “mock moshing” as I call it. I’ve seen it before.

I did everything in my power to not throw this dude to the ground and ruin Black Prizm’s set. After the drunken moron raised his glass while dancing he bumped into me again, stumbled and accidently spilt a bit on my head. He gave an inebriated laugh that was clearly not pointed at me, but at some hazy half thought bouncing around in his empty head. I grabbed him by the shirt pulled him straight towards my fist, BUT, I took a long deep breath, and stopped short of plowing my knuckles through his head and just shoved him away. He’s drunk, stupid, holding a glass that’ll shatter & the guy doesn’t know what he’s doin. Self control and patience won the day as I tried to recompose myself. (I know, very un-metal of me) So I was pretty pissed off by that point, but back to the contest. In the end, Phoenix Rose ended up taking the 2nd preliminary round and was ready to take on Friends of Adam in the finals.

04.09.10
Hard Rock Cafes all around the U.S. held a nationwide Battle of the Bands over the last few weeks. Their goal, to give local bands a chance at opening for some big names up in London. Here’s the idea, at least to my best understanding. The bands would have to face each other locally, the video recording of the winner from each separate battle would be shown to a panel of judges, who then would choose the best out of those and from there it would go into an American Idol type of audience voting, then a winner would be announced.

Hosted by 105.9fm’s Michelle Shockley, some of Hawaii’s rising talent duked it out in a battle royale where only one band would be left standing by the end of the night.

So the first preliminary round drew an interesting set of bands. I’m not even going to pretend. I went to go tear some vocal chords in support of my buds, Friends of Adam. Got there late, missed all the other bands, but caught the tail end of a band called Elephant. Not bad. Polished sound, animated frontman, but very safe. I’m a big fan of bands that push boundaries or at least impress me musically. To my heavy metal hardened ears, they didn’t quite hit me as something I’d run up and bang my head to very much.

Friends of Adam

Then of course, the F.O.A. The sound in that place I’m guessing didn’t help much of the other bands any. Unless you were standing directly in front of the stage, you’re eardrums probably hurt like hell from the highs and inaudible bass. But I digress, F.O.A. kicked royal behind. They flawlessly ran through their A-list of crowd favorites with an army of friends at stage front and resulted in their preliminary win.

Justin of the FOA

Published in the 808 Scene Zine.

There is only one genre of music that genuienly speaks to the soul. With a melody that could only be born on the backs of slavery and segregation, the blues can mend the pieces of a shattered heart or send tears streaming down your face with a slight bend of a note. From “Blind” Lemon Jefferson to Muddy Waters, the blues has the power to lead you through those dark places and make them bright as day.

I remember the first time I experienced a Friends of Adam performance. Let me emphasis this. It wasn’t, “just another show”, it was a mind-altering experience and a musical education in itself. Clayton Campania, was melting faces with his effortless mastery of his guitar, Ernie Ecraela holding down the low end with his bass and Justin Inocelda not missing a single beat on drums. What I was witnessing were three of the most incredible musicians I’ve ever seen and this was nearly 2 years ago, they’ve gotten even better since then.

From day one I’ve taken it upon myself to drag my friends, co-workers and pretty much anyone who happens to be within a 20ft. radius of me, to these shows. I knew all I had to do was get them through those doors and it would be over, I’d make them a fan for life. This has been my mission whenever I see the name Friends of Adam on a flyer and a date next to it.

Yes, the music spoke to me, but it wasn’t just the music that kept me coming back. It was their audience. Wherever and whenever they play they’re surrounded by friends who I know would, without hesitation, stand up for them in a heartbeat. It feels like family whenever they’re all standing in a room together and I quickly became one of them.

I’ve seen a lot of bands over the years and I have never seen a reaction from an audience like those who see Friends of Adam for the first time. There was one show in particular that summed up who they were for me and how tight knit the local blues scene on the island is.

It was a night at Sand Island RnB. They were sharing the set with fellow blues artists, Lovechile & St. Funk. I remember sitting there as each band played their hearts out as only they knew how. 1:30am starting showing its ugly face as the waitress announced last call, most of the bar crowd began their drunken stumble out the door. BUT… the music was still playin. The ridiculously amazing John Hart and his band St. Funk were closing the night and refused to unplug. Blues artists are a fickle bunch and John Hart being the sound man for the night decided he didn’t want it to end.

To my surprise he invited Friends of Adam back on the stage to join his band for a crazy rendition of George Clinton’s “We Want the Funk”, one final song to top off the night. Of course Clay & Co. obliged. Jamm, frontman for Lovechile joined them on stage with a few from his band as well. Did I mention St. Funk also had their horn section on the stage as well? He even invited Jen, the manager of the bar to sing with them (in my opinion, she has a voice reminscent of Janis Joplin meets Aretha Franklin).

So now that the entire bar staff was on stage along with every band that played that night, they weren’t going to unplug just because it happened to be nearing 2:30am. I sat there with two friends of mine, (the last remaining of the faithful) eyes bulging out of their sockets and mouths hanging on the floor for the most epic musical experience I have ever witnessed. I was nailed to my seat by the sound. I lost my voice from screaming so loud and so long that night. There were only the three of us remaining in the audience. The musicians onstage seemed not to mind that it was nearing 3am because they seemed to be having so much fun playing together. The guitar virtuosos effortlessly traded off solos back and forth and laughing while doing it. Friends of Adam brings the same excitement and passion to every performance I’ve ever been to.

Friends of Adam have time and time again proven that music is what binds us all. Destroying all stereotypes of how traditional blues are “supposed” to be played, all the while tearing apart every stage they’ve ever stepped on. From the smallest dive bar in Waikiki to the blaring lights of Pipeline Cafe and just recently, opening for a national act at the Waikiki Shell, they have sent a strong message that they’re gonna keep going and I’m sure they’ll be making plenty of friends along the way.