I arrived at 8:30pm, walking into the middle of Skeletonwitch’s set. I was very impressed by the all evil incarnate sound that came from vocalist Chance Garnette vocal chords. As each song ended he would speak to the crowd and lead in to the introduction of the next song, which I thought was done very well. However, every song seemed to sound the same and they were all about “looking out among the remains of the defeated.” The band was solid but the songs were a little notey at times (like the band just wanted to see how many notes they could throw into each riff). The highlight of their set was the last song, an epic piece that ascended in chord progression and showed off the band’s musicianship. Guitarists Scott Hedrick and Nate Garnette showed off their chops, both soloing and not losing the momentum of the song. With this said, I do not plan on going out and buying anything Skeletonwitch has to offer. The problem for me is that bands like Skeletonwitch have nothing good to say except for spreading the word of evil and “look how evil we are.” Is that really helping anyone?

Up next was Early Man who pissed me off right from the get go. For one, and I am not sure this is a valid reason, but the singer had bad hair. I just wanted to go give him a haircut right then and the fact that he looked like he was well over forty and still playing in a heavy metal band no one has heard of. This band was so full of themselves that they did a sound check and walked off the stage making the crowd wait another 10 or 15 minutes. Once they came out, I knew if they did not impress me in the first five seconds I might leave. To my shock, they did amaze me. I did not want to admit it at first but I was impressed by the solidity of the band’s sound. Although the riffs were good, they were not great. I thought that these songs could possibly be made up of riffs that Dave Mustaine threw out during the recording of “Killing is My Business… and Business is Good.” Early Man would have had a better chance if they had been around in 1985 playing alongside Metallica and Megadeth. I will give it to them and say they are obviously playing what they love and that is what’s important.

Valient Thorr started their set 10 minutes early and wasted no time belting out hard rock jams that even James Brown would have gotten up and danced to. Vocalist, Valient himself, had vocal stylings that were somewhere between hardcore, rap, and James Brown the godfather of soul himself. I had never heard anyone belt out songs like this before and I was amazed. Something inside me wanted to get up and jump around. Valient had great repertoire with the crowd and made them feel like the most important part of the show. He spoke to them in between songs giving an insight into the message that he was about to deliver. He spoke with eagerness, urgency, humbleness, love, and a feeling of community. “YOU KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING BOUT!” was his quote for everything and it really got the crowd into the show. Every song was just as intense as the next and the musicianship spectacular. The guitar solos weren’t just heavy metal, they were bluesy. Like a true master showmen, there was never a dull moment from the band or anytime where the crowd felt isolated. Valient Thorr finished their set only to come back and deliver an encore. After the set, Valient sat at the edge of the stage and shook hands and spoke to everyone who came by until the Troubador was empty. “YOU KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING BOUT!”

Written by SCOOB