Artillery 40th Anniversary Tour
Another Round Bar and Grill – Richmond, VA
Sunday night and a killer tour made its’ way through Richmond, stopping at my favorite venue. Once again, the sound was on point and the bands were beyond excellent. I had the chance to wander around and talk to many of the artists and found them all to be quite nice despite them looking like a hodge podge of miscreants and outcasts, just how I like my Metal brethren to look. People were shooting pool, eating, drinking, and just generally having a good time.
Edolus
Band Members:
- Jay Cavallaro – Vocals
- Alex Scruggs – Guitars/Backing Vocals
- Richard Ito – Guitars
- Connor Burch – Bass/Backing Vocals
- Alex Wejtowicz – Drums/Backing Vocals
Setlist:
- The Time For Kings Is Now
- Becoming The Ally
- Dark Memory
- Endless Journey To Our Home
- I Survived
Edolus is a band I knew nothing about coming into the night. Now, I can’t get enough of them. With five people on stage and four of them providing vocals (one lead and three backing), they created a huge sound. The wall of sonic goodness was perfect for moshing to, though I tend to leave that for the youth. They describe themselves as Melodic/Power/Death Metal, but if you listen carefully, you will also hear Thrash, Progressive, and NWOBHM. They have a classic sound with modern styles mixed in.
One thing that was a bit odd is that I heard a random bit of Metalcore in one transition through a bridge, showing their influences range even farther than I originally thought. The vocalist has distinct Power Metal influences and the guitars represent more styles than I could count. All it would take is a little more keyboard with some underlying strings or wind instruments to edge into Symphonic Metal. They have a brilliant sound that can expand beyond what it is now with no major change to their overall sound.
Their energy and vibe were a great way to kick of the night. They had great tone selection and one thing I saw that really impressed me was the intro to “I Survived.” The guitar work was perfect, catching my ear and holding my interest through the rest of the song. They blended clean and harsh vocals in cool ways, keeping the whole set entertaining. I would 100% see these guys again.
Spiral Fracture
Band Members:
- Javier Ramos – Vocals
- David Givens – Guitars
- Brian Tanner – Bass
- Brian Fisher – Drums
Setlist:
- Derelicts Of Delusion
- Soul Allegiance
- Defiance
- Scars
- Decapitated Lies
- Chasm
- Burning
- Ctr Alt Del
- Doldrums
- Relentless Dissonance
I have wanted to catch this band for a while now. I’ve seen Brian Fisher’s other band a number of times and finally got to see the Heavy Metal band he’s in. They brought Thrash and Melodic Metal to bear in the sound and the vocals are almost exclusively clean, the bass is mostly slap and hits hard. The guitars wandered through lots of Melodic segments, bordering Progressive Metal and giving the band an even broader sound.
Javier has a unique vocal tone, bringing something new and fresh to the voice of the band. There was a bit of nasal to the tone, though not nearly as much as someone like a Vince Neal. Javier’s is more controlled and fits the music quite well. David’s riffing was deeply embedded in the Heavy Metal realm, though a lot of his leads and fills ranged through Groove, Melodic, and Thrash Metal. The bass accentuated the Groove segment of the music and the drums kept everything on time while the others mixed it up in their sub-genre playground.
Spiral Fracture has an older sound, bringing a Classic Heavy Metal feel to the show. The next three bands had a deeper root in Thrash, possibly making Spiral sound less Thrashy is that makes sense. There was a good mix of different styles in this band that made the whole show that much better.
Potential Threat SF
Band Members:
- Mike Noble – Vocals/Guitars
- Dan Sheridan – Guitars
- Jack Carlson – Bass
- Kenny Noble – Drums
Setlist:
- Root Of All Evil
- Spitfire
- Path Of The War Machine
- Preemptive Strike
- Raise Your Fist
- Just One Fix (Ministry cover)
San Francisco-Based Potential Threat SF is one of those bands that will impress you in many different ways. First, all four members sing. Even though three are backing vocals, it adds a lot of great tones to the vocal mix. On top of their Thrash roots, they have some Doom/Sludge influences that you hear on a couple of their intros. Doing a Ministry cover adds in the Industrial/Punk elements, giving Potential Threat SF a broad range of styles to play with. Then, they bring in shades of Power/Speed/NWOBHM to spice it up even more.
Jack was the highlight of the show. On a stage only about 25 feet wide, he covered about five miles just running back and forth. His bass is hot pink and the strings match, showing up in even the dimmest of light. His playing style is basically just ADHD, though perfectly in time with the drums. While most of the songs are Old-School Thrash, the dual guitar assault they give is reminiscent of both NWOBHM and Power Metal, depending on the needs of the song.
There is a lot of depth to their sound and there was a lot to love about the show. You could hear the love for Bay Area Thrash in their music. Having seen The Bay Strikes Back tour with Testament, Exodus, and Death Angel a couple of years ago, this was a pleasant throwback to that show and that time. There’s a reason Thrash is one of my favorite genres.
Vapor
Band Members:
- Nate Klug – Vocals/Guitars
- Tom Barrett – Lead Guitars
- Nick Altenburg – Bass
- Edgar Canaan – Drums
Setlist:
- Fire And Death
- Executioner
- Satan’s Fury
- Blood War
- Nightmare
- Looking Through The Eyes Of A Deadman
- Times in Turmoil
Vapor leans to the heavier side of Thrash Metal, giving a more Slayer vibe than any of the other Big 4 as the base of their style. They did have a Diamondhead style intro to one song, crossing into the more Melodic Thrash with NWOBHM undertones. The vocals were mostly heavily distorted cleans with some harsh vocals added in for effect. Melodic Metal made more than a few appearances in the compositions with little bits of Doom mixed in.
Not to be left out, the Hardcore/Death Metal came peeking in with some fantastic breakdowns. Steering the breakdowns was the drummer, an absolute beast of a musician. Fun side note, when he saw the notes, I took and saw that I referred to him as a beast, he took a picture of the notes to send to friends and family, especially his mom. Part of what I love about going to smaller venue shows is getting to know the musicians. I’m not going to say that he and I became friends, but we definitely bonded over a love and music and his skill on the skins.
This was one of the tightest shows I’ve seen in months. Each member of the band brought something to the stage and they laid it all on the line. Being fourth on a five-band bill, especially when the three before set the bar so high, they had to step up and bring their A game, which they did. Vapor freaking rocks!
Artillery
Band Members:
- Martin Steene – Vocals
- Rene Loua – Guitars
- Michael Stutzer – Guitars
- Peter Thorslund – Bass
- Frederik Kjelstrup– Drums
Setlist:
- The Devil’s Symphony
- The Almighty
- Turn Up The Rage
- By Inheritance
- The Face Of Fear
- Bomb Food
- Legions
- Khomaniac
- Deeds Of Darkness
- Terror Squad
Artillery is now 40 years old and is one of the best exports Denmark has put out in the long and storied history of that nation. Artillery is more of a Melodic Thrash with European Power Metal influences. They emerged not long after the NWOBHM and right around the time of the German Power Metal surge, and you can hear exactly where they fit in the timeline of Heavy Metal. They came to the US to show that European Metal is alive and kicking.
The rapid-fire drum/bass combination had a distinct Melodic Thrash Metal sound, but often skated over toward Power Metal. Peter and Frederik are one solid unit that is capable of powering a major city as well a nuclear facility could. They were dun to watch and hard to take your eyes off of if you like spectacular rhythms. The guitar work was stunning. Rene and Michael can shred with the best of them, then shift through a Melodic phrase before dropping into a heavy riff. Martin is one of those Thrash vocalists who can handle the higher notes, more like an Erik AK from Flotsam And Jetsam or Mike Howe (RIP) from Metal Church.
Combined, the five of them make beautiful Thrash Metal. They are seasoned musicians who know how to work a stage and a crowd. The audience was on their feet and interacted with the band at every opportunity. They were the perfect band to close out this night, bringing their own style of Thrash Metal to a night that had multiple brands of Thrash offered. It was a great end to a great night.
