Another Round Bar and Grill – Richmond, VA

Free Metal Friday!! After a Bacon Swiss Chicken sandwich and fries, I headed to the other room for the show. It was a pretty good crowd. There was room for the hardcore peeps to do their thing without me getting in the way or getting hit. Some of the regulars were there and it was good to see familiar faces. Scissorfist was originally supposed to headline this show, but an illness prevented them from coming down from Baltimore. Fortunately, Sacrificial Betrayal was able to step in last minute. The sound was good and the crowd was, while fairly laid back, still in a groove with the bands. Considering the night was rainy and cold, I’d say there was a pretty nice turnout.

Sacrificial Betrayal

Band Members:

  • Tom Fuller – Vocals
  • Aaron Setliff – Guitars
  • Morgan Murphy – Guitars
  • Nate Murphy – Bass
  • Brian Fisher – Drums

Setlist:

  1. Killer
  2. Violence Captivates
  3. Gorilla
  4. Pathbreaker
  5. Slaughterhouse
  6. Coffin Confessor
  7. In Death We Unite
  8. Internal Decapitation

As a last-minute addition to the show, Sacrificial Betrayal hit the stage first with little notice. The good thing, is they already had a show planned at the same venue for the following night as the headliner, so I won’t go into tremendous depth for this one but will hit the highlights.

This became a warmup show for Saturday. It was also a great chance to look at some of what was done and plan for the next night. See, they told the crowd there was going to be a video shot the following night for their next single, “In Death We Unite” off their forthcoming album. This gave us, the fans, a chance to see where we wanted to give them some killer support to make sure they got good footage for the live parts of the video.

It was also just a good chance to tighten up the set live since they were going to be doing the same songs in the same order the next night. They spent about 40 minutes on stage and “played it safe” as much as a Hardcore/Thrash Crossover band can. Both the guitarists and the vocalist went into the crowd and had some fun, getting the audience warmed up for the rest of the show. They did their job and did it well, leaving everyone ready for what was to come next, both on this night and in preparation for the next show.

Lost Without

Band Members:

  • Jakey – Vocals
  • James – Lead Guitars
  • Jake – Rhythm Guitars
  • Mike – Bass
  • Damian – Drums

Setlist:

  1. Reflections
  2. Slow
  3. Devoid Of Color
  4. Versions
  5. Cloud Breaker

Lost Without is more of a Melodic Metalcore band. They do bring in elements of Groove and Thrash Metal along with some Hardcore. With both clean and harsh vocals, they used a lot of synchronized rhythm guitar and bass to set some excellent tempos. The lead guitar played a lot of cool fills and leads to enlarging the overall soundscape.

One of the main issues with this band is that this was only their second show live. They are very new and are still working the kinks out. Every band that plays live goes through this. They handled the little awkward parts well and powered through, giving the show everything they had. It was seriously impressive to see them learning in real-time. After the first couple of songs, you saw them improve right there on the stage.

I’d love to catch this band somewhere in the future just to see how much they’ve gotten. Give them a little more time and practice and they will be a force to be reckoned with.

Letcher

Band Members:

  • Ben Butler – Guitars/Vocals
  • Justin Goleman – Bass/Vocals
  • Parker Simmons – Drums

Setlist:

  1. Gomorrah
  2. Red Ocean
  3. High Tension
  4. Paths
  5. Shine

Letcher brought the Stoner/Doom Metal to the stage. The wild thing is, the first song actually had a “Southern-Fried” style to it, bringing out some memories of bands like The Outlaws and Lynyrd Skynyrd for some reason. Other songs brought a Black Sabbath vibe and still others had a Desert Rock influence.

Letcher brought a distinct groove to the stage, offering a variety of tones and speeds, interesting breakdowns and ramp-ups, and different song structures from any of the other bands on the bill this specific night. Again, only playing five songs limits the impression they have time to make. They made a good impression and it was a lot of fun seeing them play, but they are also quite new and still working on getting their setlist extended and ready for live shows.

With two bands this new, it was pretty cool to see what is happening with the East Coast scene. There is a burgeoning scene springing up around the state with pockets forming all over. Once all of this grows, it will be exciting to see where it goes. Letcher is one of the up-and-coming bands to watch for over the next few years.

The Eylis

Band Members:

  • Charles Clark – Vocals
  • Kenny Daniels – Guitars/Vocals
  • Mark Lina – Guitars
  • John Bernotas – Bass
  • Matt Leblanc – Drums

Setlist:

  1. The Crow
  2. Trapped
  3. This Means War
  4. Calm Before The Storm
  5. Interlude (Dream/Nightmare)
  6. Vendetta
  7. Grim the Gathering
  8. Outro (Softly)

Finishing off the show was The Eylis (pronounced Eyeless in honor of Slipknot). These guys brought a very wide variety of styles to the stage. Speaking with the band before the show, you could tell they have a bunch of different influences. The individual members like different things and it is reflected in the music they play. Think Hardcore meets Thrash and decides to have an orgy with Nu Metal, NWOBHM, Death, Melodic, and Technical Metal. Yeah, you know this turns you on.

The vocals were both clean and harsh, depending on what the song needed. The guitar work was intricate and showed a lot of NWOBHM and Nu metal influences on the leads and solos while being more Hardcore and Thrash oriented for the rhythms and riffing. The bass and drum combination was on point, carrying the rhythm to new heights as they powered the machine. The Eylis use programmed tracks to beef up the songs, adding depth to the overall sound they can achieve.

These guys got the crowd going big time. There was Hardcore dancing, moshing, headbanging, and plenty of fists raised in the air. The band was fun to chat with off-stage, but they took the on-stage time very seriously. During the fun of the off-stage time, getting to know them, they love to use puns based around the theme of eyes because of their name. The key thing to know about this is that, in honor of their love of this, “Beauty is in the Beholder of The Eylis.” Once you see them live, you’ll want to see them over and over again. They are a sight to behold.