December 4th, 2009 - EYEHATEGOD, Samothrace, Akimbo, Lesbian, Grey
I can think of only a few other bands that have spiked the hair on my arms with possibility and anticipation quite like the way legendary New Orleans sludge band EYEHATEGOD did when I found out they had announced plans to regroup and tour in 2009. Leader Mike Williams’ storied history of drug abuse, other projects from the band members, and a devastating hurricane have all played a part in keeping EYEHATEGOD a far off distance from any Seattle venue that I know of in the past decade. You could imagine my amazement and utter bewilderment when I received the press release stating they were headed to the west coast of all places.
One of the most important bands ever to come from the NOLA metal scene was finally in town and at El Corazon Friday December 4th, and a full house of metal heads young and old were more than ready to hear choice cuts from records like ‘Take Pain as Needed’ and ‘Confederacy of Ruined Lives’. EYEHATEGOD drew support from an impressive cast of local metal including all-female doom band Grey, progressive metalists Lesbian, hardcore veterans Akimbo, and another doom outfit Samothrace featuring the man with a million bands Joe Axler on drums. Each of these bands showed individually that Seattle does have a pretty damn good local heavy scene and we aren’t all just a bunch of beardos listening to the Fleet Foxes. Despite the excellent performances and priming by the openers, everyone including myself was there for one reason and one reason only.EYEHATEGOD.
Featuring founding members Mike Williams on vocals, Joey LaCaze on Drums, prominent long time guitarists Brian Patton and Jimmy ‘fucking’ Bower, and bassist Gary Mader, EHG simply rained down blow after blow upon us. The combination of Joey LaCraze and Gary Mader was equivalent to a lumbering giant, laying down a mountain sized backdrop for Jimmy Bower and Brian Patton to emphasize. Bower smiled frequently and played to the crowd all night from the edge of the stage, seemingly enjoying every second of the exhaustive bludgeoning. He and Brian Patton together laid down the second thickest riffs I have ever heard in concert. For the record and in my humble opinion EYEHATEGOD are now the heaviest band on the face of the planet right behind the Melvins, and that was proven without a shadow of any doubt on this particular night. I made the task of combing the Earth for bands who can match the Melvins in pure unadulterated heaviness my lifelong goal a long time ago and EHG came a very close but unanimous second. The search continues…
A visibly intoxicated Mike Williams staggered haphazardly around the stage but switched from a drunken stumblebum to fire breathing dragon on queue each and every time such classics as “Dixie Whiskey”, “Sister Fucker (Part 1)”, “Methamphetamine”, “Jack Ass in the Will of God” and “$30 Bag” called for vocals. His ability to snap out of his seemingly oblivious booze haze lead me to wonder if he indeed was as hammered as he appeared or was this his normal stage persona.
I had to do a double take during one particular epic breakdown after an Earth shattering scream was released by one the females in the audience beside me. This wasn’t a scream of pain or fright or anything like that. It was the knee buckling sound of pure pleasure. You know… the kind pornos are made of? It was something I’ve never witnessed at any of the million shows I’ve been too, not to mention multiple times. I thought to myself…yes… EYEHATEGOD… is that fucking amazing! Possessing the ability to summon the screams of rapture from a woman in the audience was all the convincing I needed.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment