HEAVY TUNES: WHO I'VE SEEN IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS
 

Near the end of 2016 I made it a personal goal to make it out to more shows. Music is one of my greatest passions, yet I hadn't been to a show I thoroughly enjoyed in quite some time. So I hit Instagram, checked the dates of bands I wanted to see and started filling in the calendar. Surprisingly, I was able to see most of them within Minneapolis. Huge shoutout to The Cabooze for consistently booking heavy music. 

Listed below are some of the bands I made it out to see in the past 6 months. Not a bad lineup if I do say so myself. A true hodgepodge of new favorites, old favorites and all-time favorites. 

When a band you enjoy comes to town, go see them. Buy some merch or support them any way you can. Unless you're seeing a giant, mainstream artist, chances are they're surviving off a little bit of savings and the money they make at each show. If they're touring, then they're living out of a van for the time being. Help them out. 

If you enjoy any of the bands, please explore them further. 

**I shot live footage of each of these bands, but unfortunately shot all of it in portrait format for Instagram. When imported into Youtube, the videos are microscopic. Click on the Instagram link in the upper corner to check those videos out.


HARMS WAY @harmsway13
The Waiting Room - Omaha, NE

I've been waiting to see Harms Way for over 4 years. Their music is relentlessly brutal; driven by anger and disgust towards human greed and selfishness. It's the type of music that gets your body firing on all levels. The kind that makes you clench your fists and grit your teeth without being aware you're doing so. This combined with vocalist James Pligge's massive, intimidating appearance makes Harms Way the best gym soundtrack you'll ever encounter. Skip over the CT Fletcher videos, this is all the inspiration you need. 

 

KNOCKED LOOSE @knockedloosehc
The Waiting Room - Omaha, NE

I discovered Knocked Loose a little over a year ago. They were a breath of fresh air as they were developing a sound nobody else had. Their higher-pitch vocals pierce through the heavy riffs giving everything a sharp yet heavy feeling. Their intricate drumming provides a strong backbone of character, which a lot of bands don't possess. It helps keep each song different and stray away form becoming boring. One of my favorite characteristics of Knocked Loose are their powerful (stanzas?) of lyrics that are shouted with more force than when King Kong tore the jaw out of that T-Rex. 

I ALWAYS WATCH THE MOUNTAINS, AS THEY LOOK DOWN ON STORMS. 
DEADRINGER.
WATCH ME MOTHERFUCKER.

 

NORMA JEAN @normajeanband
The Cabooze - Minneapolis, MN

Norma Jean, alongside bands such as The Chariot, A Plea For Purging and Maylene & The Sons of Disaster will forever hold a place in my heart. These bands were the forefathers of my heavy/hardcore music upbringing. Norma Jean captures passion; their music is organized chaos. To an outsider, it may sound like a car crash (it posses the intensity) but if you break everything apart you can hear true musicianship and heart. The vocals are not some Of-Mice-&-Men-Screamo bullshit but a message saturated with pain, passion and heed. I've learned a lot of life lessons not from reading scripture, but from reading lyrics inside Norma Jean's album sleeves. All the while these dudes are some Lynyrd Skynyrd-esque, Southern rock, down-to-earth fellas. Sort of reminds me of home. It was a pleasure to finally see them live.

**Peep the Hank III shirt in the video!

 

EXPIRE @expirehardcore
Triple Rock Social Club - Minneapolis, MN

Expire is (unfortunately now, was) a hardcore band from Milwaukee, WI. I've listened to them for a couple of years but hadn't seen them live until the Minneapolis show of their farewell tour this past February. The intensity of the show was impressive. In true Midwestern form, all bands and show-goers were there to represent their scene - Midwest Hardcore. The local pride was contagious as was the passion, aggression and overall atmosphere of the venue. Expire is a band that has a real-life, no bullshit message; that's what really draws me to them. In a world saturated with "YouTube Sensation" musicians and fished-from-the-garbage lyrics (I seriously can't believe half the shit I hear is even real) I have a lot of appreciation for hardcore music, knowing there are still legit musicians making legit music out there. 

I'M AT A CROSSROADS WHERE YOU CHOOSE, 
YOU EITHER FIGHT OR YOU LOSE.
REFUSE TO LET MY LIFE BE REDUCED TO RUBBLE,
WHEN THE SHIT KEEPS PILING UP GET A SHOVEL. 

**To quickly touch on the venue, the Triple Rock is perfect for heavy/hardcore shows. The stage is literally in a pit, where the floor recedes lower than that of the rest of the venue. The remaining open area of the floor the stage is set on turns into a designated fist-swinging, round-house kicking, aggression-releasing arena. If you don't want to be in the (literal) pit, just stay on the main floor of the venue to watch the show. It's lined with counters and railings to lean on and the view of the stage is perfect. It's essentially stadium seating, you're just not sitting. 

 

TRAITORS @traitorsband
The Cabooze - Minneapolis, MN

Traitors is another breath-of-fresh-air band I discovered in the last year. Unfortunately, they also fall into the recently-deceased category as they announced their departure early this year. I first came across their The Hate Campaign album and was immediately sucked in by their down-tuned guitars, Acacia Strain-influenced vocal style and integrated audio samples. Their most recent album, Mental State, shows the progression the band has made showcasing more intricate riffs and switching back and forth between vocal styles. Traitors is (was) definitely a banger; I highly recommend checking them out.

 

SPITE @spiteofficial
The Cabooze - Minneapolis, MN

Spite is the shit that keeps you awake at night; it's the soundtrack to your nightmares. The riffs set the cadence of that hooded figure walking towards you under the street light as you feel the vocalist's hands grasp around your neck. Shrieking guitars laid behind chugging riffs and a hammering drum tempo carry the dark, eerie feeling that is Spite. The vocalist's deep guttural, torture chamber, pan-fry shrieking vocal style ups the ante. You are no longer your happy-go-lucky self, you're now sitting behind the steering wheel of Jack Torrance. Eyes clouded over, smirking. You know the look

 

ETERNAL SLEEP @eternalsleep
The Waiting Room - Omaha, NE

I came across Eternal Sleep late last summer while bouncing around Expire's Spotify page (the Related Artists tab can be legit as hell sometimes). I was drawn to the frontman's unique vocal style; a style I hadn't quite heard before. It rumbles deep like a V8 engine and draws out in a roar. King of the jungle hardcore. 

Backed by sludging guitars and with just the right amount of clean vocals integrated, Eternal Sleep changes paces while continuing to keep it heavy.