(Live Review) BLADES OF STEEL METALFEST - Day 3 (Wisconsin, 8/31/24)
By
The Beard & Little Johnny
Greetings friends, fans, and followers and welcome to the final day of 2024’s Blades of Steel festival. With ten bands on tap, it will be a super Saturday indeed. For those keeping count, this will be show #53 and bands #184-193. On the docket today we have: Old Spirits, Treazon, Yotuma, Telomyras, Bray Road, Grave Ripper, Slaughter Xstroys, Exhorder, Liege Lord, & Eyehategod.
Now, we have seen four of those ten acts before, so there is an excellent opportunity to catch six new (to us) bands, but at least on paper, this initially struck the Beard as the weakest day. Losing both Bloodstar and The Killer Dwarves (from the festivals original lineup) truly was a blow for me, but sometimes out of the smoking ashes can rise a burning Phoenix, so we shall see. Little Johnny just told me if I am quite finished with my Harry Potter pretentious bullshit he is ready for a beer.
Arriving early today allowed me a rare but enjoyable opportunity to listen in on some conversation between friendly rival promoters Randy Kastner and Bob Byrne. Just hearing how much behind the scenes stuff goes into making a festival happen makes me glad I am on the fun side of things. My responsibilities are simply to watch the bands, get some photos and videos, then review what I just saw. Frankly, the only guy with an even easier job is Little Johnny who does not even have to write anything.
Truly though, the Beard appreciates the sleepless nights these men and their crews put in to not just create, produce and supply a festival to the fans, but to do it for a decent price while still featuring quality bands. We shall begin the day by cracking a cold one for Randy Kastner and his dedicated crew. Now it is time to settle in.
OLD SPIRIT
First up, a local metal act Old Spirit.
With bits of NWOBHM/ thrash/ stoner/ psych and electronic music, this band was impossible to define. The singer looked like Ryan Reynolds had put on a stoners wig, and dark glasses. He mixed some vocal range with some lyrical gibberish and all around him musicians crashed and surfed their way through stoner/psyche stuff. Now, because it was not like anything else, it was unique enough during their half-hour-long set that it was watchable.
After some time to think about it, I do think an old band called Bedemon was doing something like this back in the mid 1970’s. One detriment to Old Spirits set was a feedback issue that never quite went away. This was distracting and annoying. A second issue was that in a thirty-minute set, there really should not have been about eight minutes of dead air. There seemed to be a minute or so between each song where nothing was happening between the band and the crowd. In a thirty-minute set, they wasted 20% of their stage time. Ultimately as an opening band. I will go 70/100.
What did you think Johnny? “I think my beer is empty Beard.”
TREAZON
Second up was a new band called Treazon.
When they said they were from Glasgow, I got excited. Turns out it was Glasgow, Kentucky. Who even knew there was a Glasgow, Kentucky? Is that a place full of Scottish rednecks? Anyway, this was a clean sounding (albeit quite southern), traditional metal band. Initially nothing really stood out, but the music was fair, and the voice reminded me of 80’s era metal. A few songs in and I learned that the singer had only been with them for a week so I will bump the grade up a few points for that fact. They were like a southern Grim Reaper meets Alcatrazz kind of act 75/100.
Thoughts Johnny? “I think my glass is still empty Beard.” Okay Johnny, so maybe no commentary from you for a while.
YOTUMA
Third up today were Madisons groove/death act Yotuma (filling in for Bloodstars absence.)
I liked Yotumas description of being groove death, but was not quite sure what we were going to hear. Turned out it was death vocals, a wild haired chick on bass, a headbanging guitar player and a cross between 1971 era Bill Ward and Charlie Manson on the drums.
Their description given is apt. These guys are melodic, but also emit full-on death vocals. I am surprisingly taken with this act. This is the musical equivalent of mixing grape jelly with chili powder to make BBQ sauce. It should not work but it really does. Essentially the fevered melody of the three musicians worked well with the singers growling. Somehow I was into this act, and I am going with a score of 87/100.
So far, Yotuma was the surprise of the weekend for me.
TELOMYRAS
Fourth to the stage was Seattle’s progressive act Telomyras.
This act had a lot going on. The female lead singer (Sammie Gorham) possessed a clean voice, but only about a 6-7/10 on range & power. The pace of the band was fast, like a car going downhill and occasionally tapping the brakes, but mostly just letting it roll. There was obviously skill here (especially from the dual guitars of Ephraim Grimm & Jack Schonher), and some of the numbers did evince a more somber mood around the otherwise fast material.
The problem with this “lot of notes progressive metal style” is you need a great voice in front or else the faster more complicated portions will run over the singing. There was some of that happening here. Gorham can sing, and as the set went on did increase on her range, but it will benefit this band in the future if her clarity & power can come up another 20% to truly lead the music and not be left behind by it.
Gorham did announce that this was their first ever festival, so I will bump them up a few points as they presented well and not like first timers. Plus, Randy Kastner booked them specifically and if he hears something in them than it is probably there. 83/100.
BRAY ROAD
At the halfway point we had local Wisconsin act, Bray Road.
Randy Kastner seems to like these guys as they have been booked on several of his festivals and multi-band events. Bray Road is a three-piece mostly straightforward heavy metal band. I have seen them several times and for me they are a solid turkey and mustard on white. It’s good, I enjoy it, but I don’t consider it a fancy meal, just something to tide me over.
Bray Road are that for me. I enjoyed them while they played and then immediately looked at the sheet to see who was up next. 76/100.
GRAVERIPPER
Starting off the second half of the night, and in the sixth position, Indiana’s black/death metal act Graveripper.
Graveripper came out hot and by song two the pits were swirling. In addition to having a cool sounding name, this three-piece act had no pretense except to say, “Here comes some fast-ass metal so start moving to it.” This is a pure Little Johnny band. There is virtually no telling what their songs are about with that death lyric vocal style and truthfully what does it matter. This type of music is really only about the feel of it. It ultimately does not matter if Corey Parks was singing about rescuing a puppy or setting fire to a hospital because we cannot legibly understand it anyway.
Graveripper did kindly explain on one number, “This is a song about being ripped and torn apart. It’s called “Ripped and torn apart.” Hmmm…let me see if I can figure out the underlying exposition on this one. It might have been about opening Christmas presents, but I bet it was probably not. Now, I do not hate this style, but generally I am also not that excited by it. For me, they came, they played a hundred miles an hour, they said the word “Fuck” a whole lot. That part WAS always clear, and the crowd kind of dug them. So, 78/100 from me.
Little Johnny, however, wants their autographs, their T-shirts and for someone to buy him a beer. Sorry Little dude I forgot my credit card today.
SLAUGHTER XSTROYS
In the lucky number seven slot and filling in for the cancelling Killer Dwarves, was Chicago’s power prog act Slaughter Xstroys.
The Beard sensed the hand of star Chicago promoter Bob Byrne here in acquiring this Chicago area progressive metal act as a last-minute replacement. Although without question the Beard wanted a Killer Dwarves set, these guys do have a singer who can certainly wail out the high notes while the other three guys lay down a decent prog sound. It may not be the band I wanted, but I was satisfied with it. 78/100
EXHORDER
Eighth up were a band the Beard was impressed by the first time he saw them in Vegas at the now defunct Psychofest, New Orleans thrash masters Exhorder.
Great sound right out of the gate as original member and vocalist Kyle Thomas was still singing in fine form after almost forty years, while the rest of the band (who mostly joined in 2017 when Thomas reformed Exhorder) were right on the money.
This was quality thrash metal right here. Smooth song transitions. Minimal wasted time. Excellent stage presence. Nice mix of classic numbers from Slaughter in the Vatican (1990) as well as new numbers from Defectum Omnium (2023). The Beard may have to grab up the new CD as the song “Year of the Goat” was one of the best today. Cracking a cold one for thrash done well. 90/100 for Exhorder.
LIEGE LORD
The penultimate band of the day and ninth up were east coast power metal act Liege Lord.
Now the Beard had already seen Liege Lord a couple times at other festivals. They are a fast, power metal band originally from the 1980’s who reformed in 2012 and have enjoyed success on the medium and large festival circuits ever since. These guys have a formula that works. Their 1980’s albums have been long lasting, wide-reaching and capture a large slice of the metal audience.
They were excited about playing in Madison for the first time and deferential to the other bands, so points for the respect. From all I have heard, Liege Lord are nice guys. I have also never felt nor said that Liege Lord were not good, they are, but they have not released anything new since 1988. They always seem to play the same set the same way. Now, based on their bookings and slotting’s, they ARE successful at it, so I guess if it ain’t broken no need to fix it, but they have been reformed for a decade so one would think they would have written some new material by now.
Joe Comeau is a big man with a lot of power in his voice and vocal delivery. It is also clean, clear, and he sings without a need to overdo the histrionics, (as is too often the tendency in power metal.) Liege Lord does just enough. But for me they are a talented yet somehow still “cookie cutter” example of late 1980’s power metal. Going to call the set an 85/100.
EYEHATEGOD
Bringing the fest to a close, were the sludge monsters of the big easy Eyehategod.
Now, after three times seeing this act, I have loved them, hated them, and been ambivalent towards them. Normally a band does not do that to me, so I am interested in my reaction to this set.
Mike Williams screams indecipherably into the microphone while the band plays their down tuned, bluesy sludge with heavy feedback. That is pretty much the story of Eyehategod. If you are in the right frame of mind their stuff has appeal, but judging by the fact that once Liege Lord finished about 75% of the audience also left the venue, apparently Madison was not in the right frame of mind. It also added to the Eyehategod negative image that Williams basically said he was drunk for the set.
I do not know what to give this. It has been a long day, (10 plus hours), and Eyehategod is bleeding audience members the longer they play. Little Johnny is already curled up and asleep under the corner of a bar table. I will finish listening to the set, but as I have not heard a clear legible word in 30 minutes, I am not inclined to grade exceedingly high.
On the other hand, watching a drunk Mike Williams, one does get that Jim Morrison vibe, like at any moment he could start a fight, pee himself, or just sing the next song. There is that element of randomness. I think my grade of this final set shall be eighty-five for the band’s musical performance as they were clearly trying. Sixty for Williams and his slurred whatever the #@$+ that was singing and then add another five points for the unique mess that was/is Mike Williams. He is like watching a drunk karaoke singer who has a modicum of skill jump onstage with the band and go for it. You both want to see what happens and don’t want to see what happens at the same time. Final grade will be 78/100.
Well, this brought an end to three days, twenty-four acts and possibly the Beards final festival this year. Fear not fans as we have a LOT more individual events yet to come. Thank you to Randy Kastner and his great staff. A personal thanks for taking care of the Beard with seating this year. VERY appreciated.
Be sure to keep checking The Mighty Decibel every Wednesday for live concert reviews from the Beard and Little Johnny. Follow us on TikTok at thebeard0728 for over four hundred videos of acts we have covered this year and check out Mark McQueen on Facebook for weekly nonmetal columns, reviews and general chicanery and entertainment. Until next time, this is the Beard and Little Johnny saying ... Live Life, Stay Heavy and Horns Up.