Skeletal Remains and More in Omaha: Oct. 15, 2024

It has been quite awhile since I have been to a concert.  I have missed a couple that I wanted to attend for various reasons (mostly work-related).  I only found out about this one after seeing a poster in a record store I just happened to venture into randomly in the middle of last week.  After resolving a potential trial scheduled for next week, I decided fuck it, I'm going.  The venue was the Reverb Lounge, a place I had never been before, but which appears to share some space with The Waiting Room (maybe?).  

Up first was a Des Moines, IA-based band called Traffic Death.  This was my first experience with this band.  They are definitely raw, but there is some undeniable talent there.  They kind of overdid it with the audio samples prior to songs, which kind of came off sounding clumsy, but there were some damn good riffs and they were pretty decent.

Witch Vomit was next and I have to say, they were probably the highlight of the night for me.  I have enjoyed the three releases I have picked up from them, but they really killed it live.  They were exactly as filthy and disgusting as one would hope from a death metal band.  I grabbed their newest album at the show because they were seriously impressive.  

North Dakota Lovecraftian death metal monsters Phobophilic hit the stage next.  I was not terribly familiar with them previously and they really only have one album out, which came out a couple years ago.  They were decent, but did not make a real strong impression on me.  I felt they were maybe trying too hard to be like Demilich.  I think they are well worth watching what they do in the future though.

Bewitcher was next and they probably stood out the most among the bands with their blackened speed metal attack that sounds lifted out of the early 1980's.  They seem to be enjoying something of a moment (as much as an underground metal band can) as the bar was completely packed during their set.  They absolutely shredded live and really livened things up.  They really got the small crowd moving throughout their set and did not let up on the throttle until they finished.

A lot of people left after Bewitcher, but those that stayed got quite the treat, because Skeletal Remains was fantastic.  Their sound is more rooted in the early days of death metal, back when there was not as much distinction between death metal and very heavy thrash metal.  So speed and precision in the riffs is the name of the game.  They performed a blistering set for about 40 minutes or so.  I was damn glad I stuck around, despite how late it was getting (I had an hour-and-a-half drive home).  All told, I was glad I decided to go.  I don't get to too many concerts anymore and I might have skipped this one had I not gotten that trial resolved.  

T-SHIRT WEARING: Molder

Bewitcher: Under the Witching Cross (2019)

Bewitcher is yet another great metal band from the Pacific Northwest, and in particular, the recent metal hotbed of Portland, Oregon.  But unlike a lot of the other bands from the region, Bewitcher blends their black metal with speed and thrash metal.  The band's debut was a very good, if somewhat unoriginal, release.  But the infectiousness of it stood out far more than the lack of innovation.  And so, I was interested in how the follow-up would turn out.

The band has gotten more melodic on this release, honing their NWOBHM chops and oftentimes sounding more like a more blackened version of Venom.  Throw in some Riot and Iron Maiden riffs and you basically have Bewitcher.  Nowhere is this more evident than in second track "Hexenkrieg" which features a number of moments that could almost be mistaken for Venom references.  And tracks like "Heathen Women" are almost anthemic with a fist-pumping chorus and pedal-to-the-metal riffs.  And the thrash break toward the end is definitely going to snap some necks.

Far from being one-note and boring, Bewitcher is able to switch things up as needed.  "In the Sign of the Goat" is a far more deliberate song, slowing things down just enough to truly stand out from the rest of the songs.  It also features the catchiest chorus of all of the catchy choruses on this release.  That is saying something.  And the solo toward the end is face-melting.

This is a terrific album from yet another terrific Portland-based band.  There is definitely something in the water up there because the city continues to churn out amazing metal bands all the time.