Funeral Rain Press Corps

Where: Edmonton Event Centre
When: November 4, 2011

When I found out that GWAR were coming back to Edmonton for the second time in (barely) less than a year I was stoked. Blood was going to flow once more. And this time around they were bringing Every Time I Die and Ghoul! ETID have been a band I’ve only heard bits and pieces of, and liked what I’ve heard. And I’ve only heard Ghoul through the other band of two of its members, Impaled. So it was exciting.
Ghoul came onto the stage to lots of people shouting for them, which is pretty rare. An opener getting cheered by name from the crowd? Must be an Edmonton show. The band themselves were really good, high energy punk/thrash hybrid full of pit-inducing gory lyrics. They even brought up a stage show, spraying blood onto the crowd with a decapitated chicken as well as Killbot and Goreboar’s battle. Fucking awesome, and I hope they make it back to Canada again.
Every Time I Die were great, full of the acrobatics that many of their members have been known for. The crowd really got into them, moshing like crazy for breakdowns and crowdsurfing all over the place. I honestly didn’t know these guys were that big. I’ve seen them in tons of magazines and the like, but never figured they have this strong of a following. The music was loud, fast, and punk as fuck, with tons of hardcore breakdowns. If you get the chance to see these guys, do it, you won’t regret it. Even if the music isn’t for you, the show should be good.
At the end of the night though, this whole show was about one band and only one band. GWAR. Their stage was unveiled, and Corey’s guitar was brought out, placed on a stand with a light on it, and the tech that brought it took a knee before it. I can’t explain how moving that in itself was. For those that don’t know, Corey Smoot played the part of Flattus Maximus, and he had passed away in the tour bus the morning before, and GWAR still decided to finish the tour, the way Corey would want. The crowd, of course, loved it. Cheers were heard all over the EEC.
The band then came out and we let them slay as per their usual. But it wasn’t usual. A very palpable sense of sadness, mixed with anger and anticipation was coming from Oderus, Balsac, Beefcake and Jizmac, and I think it brought them to a closer level to the fans, who were also feeling the same. The set was very much emotionally charged, with Oderus frequently asking Flattus why he went to Planet Home, leaving them all behind. There was even one moment where it truly looked like Beefcake was genuinely choking down tears.
The blood and sweat and goo were all present, and Edmonton was well soaked by the end of the night, turned out into the cold November air. Everyone I saw was elated, full of the GWAR experience, but there was still some melancholy at the end of the amazing night.
Thank you GWAR for sharing your grief with us, and thank you Ghoul and Every Time I Die for joining them. Rest in Peace Corey, and have fun Flattus Maximus on Planet Home. Oderus says you’ll be killing shit and fucking it. I hope so.

Photos from the show are available for your viewing pleasure at the FRPC Facebook page.

Where: Starlite Room, Edmonton, Alberta
When: October 7, 2011

Last night I was expecting only to see one band, Alcest, but as it turns out I got to see two.

Junius opened up the show with their brand of American post metal. Isis, Pelican, and Deftones all smashed up together into a gorgeous, heavy blend. These guys are phenomenal live, and even Mrs. Blaspheme is a certified fan now. I hope they feel their reception was good enough for them to come back to Edmonton soon, because I know I’ll be there, at the front. We definitely grabbed one of their CDs on out way out, The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist, as well as a pair of patches.

After Junius awed the crowd, Alcest took the stage with a very warm reception. There were quite of people there for Alcest, rather than the headliner. Neige and his full band (I wondered if he would have a band as the albums are pretty much just him and drummer Winterhalter) were quite the atypical stereotypes of Frenchmen: quiet and polite, rather than loud and polite. And not a cigarette was lit once the whole set! I wish I could have filmed Neige say “We are Alcest from France”, it was the perfect introduction to them.

This is another band that Mrs. Blaspheme has come to love, just as I told her she would. Shoegaze and black metal combine to create a mesmerizing effect on the listener, and the viewer too. I wondered how Alcest would translate live, and they translate just fine. Deep fog shrouded them most of the time, with blue backlighting outlining their obscured forms, but on occasions where the fog dissipated, the whole band was smiling, really feeling the music and the crowd. Along with the Junius CD we left with Le Secret on vinyl and Écailles De Lune Digipak CD.

After Alcest Enslaved were going to play, but we had to leave before then. Which, I must say, is not to slight Enslaved. Rather it’s because we work too much and had been up at four in the morning and had to get up again at five. So a late night was not going to be possible, as my eyes were heavy before Junius even. Also, to be honest, we’ve seen Enslaved before, opening for Dimmu Borgir on their last trip through town, and it was awesome. So hopefully they come back again soon because I would love to see them again. Sorry guys. Next time.

In all, it was a near perfect night. The only blemish on the proceedings was the “7 o’clock” doors (7:45ish) and the 9:15 start time. If only Starlite actually opened their doors when they said they would. Also, if only they weren’t still purporting that Ghost were to be playing the show. Junius were their replacements.

9/13/11 – Peter’s Room at The Roseland Theater in Portland, Oregon

An Apology From Typhon… Kinda: I know. I know, I’m about three weeks late with this one. But if you had a screaming baby boy on one shoulder and averaging about three hours of sleep a morning, I think you’d shuffle around your priorities too.

On that note: I have the best fucking mate EVER!!! She squeezed out our son on September 12th and demanded that I attend this concert while she was still in the hospital. You see, she and I have been unable to attend every show that Alestorm played in the U.S. and she would be damned if we’d make it a hat trick. So even though I had a blast at this show, my mind was elsewhere most of the time.

Anyway, I arrived late so I missed the opening act…

The Agonist - Aside from the vocalist making a pass at me at the merch booth after their set, I don’t have anything to report about these guys. My friend assured me that they were awesome though.

Blackgaurd - I’d like to start a petition that would make these guys officially change their name from Blackguard to Children Of Dimmu.  I admired their energy level and their ability to easily sway the crowd who was obviously there for the two headliners. But overall, I was more interested in what was in those bottles behind the bar. They weren’t for me, but they had three quarters of the crowd in the palm of their hand. Kudos to you CoD.

It was around this time that I made my way from the bar to the floor. While wadding through the sea of pirate cosplayers and Kamelot t-shirts, I noticed something that kind of put me on edge: there were an awful lot of full blooded nerds there. You know the ones I’m talking about; acne, greasy hair, socially awkward, haunted by perpetual virginity, etc… I’m not sure whether or not I should of been surprised, really. Pirate Metal: Kinda nerdy. Christopher Bowes: Severally nerdy. Kamelot: Fuck! The gauge broke!

I managed to secure a spot about three rows of nerds back from the stage. Where I waited. And waited… and waited… and just as I needed to piss…

Alestorm - Scotland’s purveyors of plunderous pirate metal took the stage, but no prisoners as they played favorites from all three of their albums. They started off strong with Back Through Time and Shipwrecked, even though you could barely Dani Evans’s playful leads thanks to the primate that was tinkering with the sound board (a problem that continued throughout Alestorm’s set). After a bit, they slowed things down with Nancy The Tavern Wench which was accompanied by Blackguard’s Terry Deschenes on acoustic guitar. Not quite a ballad, but it had a few lighters/cell phones out and waving. There set wasn’t exactly a long one, but it sure make an impact on the newbies in the crowd.

I should add there there was a shit-ton of mosh pits,stage diving and crowd surfing during Alestorm’s set… um, yeah. Because when it comes to something that you should save for a D.R.I. concert, Wenches And Mead is the time to do it.

But, I digress since the point of any concert it to just have fun. Alestrom saw to that 100%.

Kamelot - I have got to be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from Kamelot since just about anyone who like Kamelot even the slightest, more than likely likes them for Roy Khan perfect pipes. But, since Roy departed the band right before this tour, a lot of us seemed to be skeptical about this no name guy taking over vocal duties.

Thanks to those of you who stuck it out through the sarcasm. Fabio Lione (of Rhapsody) grabbed the mic and nailed every note that Roy had laid down before him. I was relieved. I was also overjoyed since they managed to sneak every single one of my favorite Kamelot tracks into their set! When The Lights Are Down, The Haunting, March Of Mephisto, Nights Of Arabia, Forever, etc… And yes, Simone Simons was there to lend her haunting voice to ratchet up the Epic(a)ness! My night couldn’t of ended better!

When: September 3, 2011
Where: Pawn Shop, Edmonton, Alberta

When presented with the opportunity to go to see the Black Path of America Tour with Vreid, Kampfar, and Necronomicon, I was honestly at first not really excited. I’ve been burnt out on live shows to some extent, but I decided to go anyway because I hadn’t heard either Vreid or Kampfar, despite getting the opportunity to get promos for review. Mrs. Blaspheme was also a little on the pensive side, mostly because it was going to be an early show (5 PM) and that meant she had to get off work early and screw around that way.

But we do our thing, go to the venue, wait a little with tanks for both of us, and the show begins with Civil Savage, a local black/death group I’d never heard. But they looked familiar. Most of the members I’ve seen attending shows before, with their bassist very familiar: he’s also the bassist for Sonorous Odium. These guys were pretty fucking good, too! A good mix of black and death, with an original sound (meaning not hypersymphonic or Behemoth clones). Definitely one of my favorite metal bands from Edmonton, I hope to see them again soon.

After a nice and short wait after Civil Savage, Necronomicon hit the stage. Quebec’s blackened death old schoolers are finally back in Edmonton to show us what they’ve got. And for those that are not true believers, see these guys live. And yes, I mostly mean Typhon and anyone else who think Necronomicon are Behemoth wannabes. Fuck do these guys kick ass, and they were much loved by Mrs. Blaspheme as well. For whatever reason they all reminded her of cats, with Rob the Witch and Rick reminding her of lions while Armaros seemed to be more like an ocelot. So black metal dudes that seem to be cats that are from Quebec and beyond happy to be in Edmonton again make my wife happy. The same goes for me. Playing tracks from their entire catalog, Necronomicon really amped up the crowd, playing like they were the headliner rather than an opener. They better be back soon!

Again, a wonderfully short wait later and Kampfar take the stage, using Necronomicon’s drum kit. And holy fuck was this the kind of black metal I needed to hear. True fucking Norwegian black metal with a hell of a lot of folk leanings. Blasting their way through a ton of songs, after their set I bought two of their CDs (Mare, the newest album, and Heimganng, the last one) and Vreid’s V and Necronomicon’s The Return of the Witch. The set itself was full of old and new songs apparently, and many people were screaming along with Dolk the entire time. Dolk himself was on fire, and a very gracious man, constantly thanking us for being the fans we are, as well as the rest of the band. Quite frankly, between their performance and the way the crowd responded, this could have been the end of the night. They played like absolute headliners, it was pure enjoyment for everyone involved.

After the set, when grabbing the CDs, Kampfar’s guitarist (who’s name eludes me, I feel horrible!) was hanging out. I got him to sign my copy of Mare, and he warned me he was not on the album. I asked if he minded signing anyway, if it bothered him to sign CDs he’s not on, and he said he’d be happy to sign. So he did!

Between Kampfar and Vreid there was about ten minutes, at the max. These people are so fucking professional, it’s insane.

Vreid, who I hadn’t heard before remember, got up and ready and turned the night up from ten to eleven. Norwegian black ‘n’ roll FOR THE WIN! You’d think this was the first night of the tour, not the tenth, they performed so hard so fast so awesome, it was unreal. Wicked riffs, killer solos, and a vice-tight rhythm section were paired with performers who were putting everything they had into the show, and at the end of it they were sweaty and smiling. Mrs. Blaspheme and I, up front and stage right, were right in the heart of the storm that Vreid were throwing around; a storm that the crowd responded to with a hunger for more, and Vreid responded by providing more.

I can honestly say I haven’t had that much pure FUN at a metal show before. All of the bands on the bill were awesome, and all of them said they can’t wait to get back to Canada. I know I’ll be at the front when that happens.

In all, it was a perfect night. Not only was it an early show, but and early end on a massively high point. Thanks to Civil Savage, Necronomicon, Kampfar and Vreid for coming. See you all again soon hopefully. You’ve made me love live music again!

EXHUMED!!! The undisputed kings of gore-obsessed, Carcass-inspired death metal! And supported by none other than the legendary Macabre! A show like this doesn’t roll through town often, and I was fucking excited!

Cephalic Carnage and Withered were also on this tour, but I arrived late, missing withered entirely and entering the venue as Cephalic began their set. I watched them play for about 30 seconds, then turned around and walked back outside to socialize in the smoking area. I’ve seen Cephalic before, and I can’t say I’m a fan. They’re typically labeled grindcore, but to me their music sounds like mediocre tech-death played at an awkward tempo. However, I do know that General Blaspheme is a fan, so perhaps I’m missing something. In any case I don’t regret sitting that one out.

I headed back inside when I heard soundchecking, knowing Macabre were about to take the stage. The three piece took the stage, and blasted through most of their more well known numbers from their 4 older albums, including “Ice Man”, “Albert Was Worse Than Any Fish In The Sea”, and “Zodiac”, as well as “Nero’s Inferno” off of this year’s “Grim Scary Tales”. In between songs, frontman Corporate Death shared anecdotes about the various serial killers around whom Macabre base their music (most fascinatingly his own account of the trial of Jeffrey Dahmer). Their set was further energized by the parade of costumed serial killer characters across the stage, Albert Fish thrusting a pipe into the crowd and the Zodiac killer firing a capgun to collect slaves for the afterlife (google it). Overall a fairly solid set, though it was blemished by horrible sound problems for a couple songs (Corporate Death’s guitar was cutting in out and giving annoying feedback).

As Macabre closed with “Zodiac”, it was time for the climax of the night. After a brief sound check, the lights dimmed and a ghoulish voice over the P.A. introduced Exhumed. They immediately burst into violence, opening with “As Hammer To Anvil” from the new album, and the classic “Casket Krusher”. The sound quality was fantastic, and every note of Exhumed’s squealing, shredding solos was easily distinguishable through the PA. I was at the center front, and guitarist/vocalist Matt Harvey finger’s were hypnotic as he nimbly swept and dove up and down his fretboard. At the end of the first song, both guitarists and the bass player lifted their guitars into the light, revealing a bloody one word stencil on the back of each, spelling out “GORE FUCKIN’ METAL” across the stage.

The set continued, and they gave surprisingly little attention to their new album, “All Guts No Glory”, the only two tracks I recognized being “As Hammer To Anvil” and “Through Cadaver Eyes”. This suited me just fine, because it allowed them to whip out the classics Necromaniac, Slaughtercult, Forged In Fire, In My Human Slaughterhouse, and my absolute favorite, LIMB FROM LIMB! As the latter commenced, a chainsaw was brought on stage and revved above the audience. I could smell the gasoline. The band chewed through 2/3 of the song, and then Matt Harvey led the audience in a chant of “LIMB! FROM LIMB! FROM LIMB! FROM LIMB! FROM FUCKING LIMB! FROM LIMB! FROM LIMB! FROM LIMB!, before finishing the song. After this song it was about midnight, and as a slave to public transport, I had to leave or risk being stranded in the industrial district of downtown Seattle until morning. Nevertheless, Exhumed completely blew me away, and I will definitely be attending the next time they land in the Pacific Northwest.