Live Report! SPELL OF BLOOD tour: Sacrament Ov Impurity, Blood Etchings, Miasmic, and Vellum at the Lil Red Lion, Eureka CA

Holy shit! I'm still recovering from this show, I think. Thursday night's gig at the Lil Red Lion in Eureka, CA (Cobras' favorite town!) was friggin' awesome! And that isn't the booze talking! Yet... It is rare to see a show up here in the Arcata/Eureka area of this caliber. I mean we'll get maybe one or two of these bands but not all four! Here in Humboldt County I've witnessed a few heavyweights pass through on their way to SF or Portland while on tour, namely Embryonic Devourment, Vile, Decrepit Birth, High On Fire, WITTR, Vektor, Nachtmystium, Earth, Skeletonwitch among others. We even have a few metal bands here that are of worthy note: Locust Furnace, Miasmic, Ash Borer, Cerebrate, Unholy Crucifix, and Sadistic Hallucinations but to get a tour coming through here - or any metal band to play for that matter - is amazing to say the least! The bands that played Thursday weren't necessarily huge but they each have their own following and deserve mentioning.

So without going into a long, laborious and detailed account of the show, I will simply post some brief info on each band. You can check them out further on your own.

FYI: Currently Sacrament Ov Impurity and Blood Etchings are wrapping up their tour tomorrow at the SUB-Mission in SF. No they're not these guys... and no, they're not these guys either, but they're solid musicians and if you like going to shows at smaller venues and you happen to be in SF tomorrow evening, I would recommend checking them out.

So first things first, MIASMIC rules. Period. They spawned from the ashes of an old band I used to be in up here, morphing from an embryo of mixed ideas into a formidable juggernaut. I don't have a link to download any of their material yet but plan to do a proper review of them soon enough! In the mean time go check them out, befriend them on Facebook, and immerse yourself in the Redwood Darkness that is MIASMIC!

Facebook / Metallum

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VELLUM hail from the LA area and are good friends of Miasmic. They are an obscure band with little info out there on them but they have solid intentions. Rumor has it that they literally drove up from LA to Eureka just to support Miasmic - apparently is was their first gig even! Talk about dedication! Having recently lost their drummer, Iishtok from Miasmic filled in on the kit despite literally only having a week or two to learn their material... Despite this and time constraints, it was an epic set! Hopefully we'll be hearing more of them soon!

Facebook

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BLOOD ETCHINGS were interesting. They were menacing. A bit rough around the edges perhaps. They were engaging enough to hold my interest at least. They had a bit of an attitude that I could have done without but they had several worthy songs. They label themselves as "Black Baroque Metal". Definitely had a black/death vibe going at times but shit, at that point the last gin & tonic I had been drinking began to catch up to me so my account is a bit fuzzy.

Facebook

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SACRAMENT OV IMPURITY stole the show. Simple as that. They recently lost their bassist/vocalist. I had the opportunity to purchase and download their debut two weeks ago prior to the show so I was already familiar with their material. There were subtle differences, especially where the bass should have been and the change of vocals but they held it down. They played a solid set to a small but solid crowd. Despite not understanding a single word she was saying, Naphula was one hell of an intimidating vocalist - and that is coming from a vocalist! (she was pretty hot also but that may have been the booze talking)

Metallum / Facebook

Official Website

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As mentioned, Blood Etchings and Sacrament Ov Impurity are wrapping up their tour tomorrow in SF. If you live in or near the City, I recommend going and checking it out.

...for those curious, I am compiling a list of songs from these bands and others as a mix of sorts for y'all in which I plan to feature in a subsequent post at a later date...

Hemlock - Funeral Mask (1997)

Last week I did a post that consisted of a "mix-tape" of sorts for y'all. Actually it was more of a "digital-mix" but nonetheless the premise remains the same. The mix featured USBM bands and within it I had a song from the obscure and occult band, HEMLOCK. Not much info is out there on the band and their material isn't exactly easy to acquire, so I thought it would be appropriate to feature the band.

HEMLOCK hailed from New York, NY and surfaced in 1992 as the "second wave of Black Metal" that emerged from Norway began to make headlines. Funeral Mask was released in the year 1997. HEMLOCK split up shortly after their second full-length release in 1999 titled Lust for Fire. Supposedly, they had ties with the Norwegian scene. I'm not sure to what extent their ties were but I remember reading that one of the members in the band's earlier days was in contact with Euronymous. They subsequently landed a deal with Head Not Found Records which was owned by Metalion of Slayer Magazine fame. So the connection was significant enough apparently.

Now I'm not a usually a huge fan of noisy, incoherent, under-produced metal, especially when it comes to black metal. It took me a few listens to really get into this album. The production is rough, true, but not entirely shit. The vocals are grating and often indecipherable at times; upon introduction, they were just annoying enough to almost quit listening all together, however I found myself getting used to them. The guitar work and drumming are what kept my attention though. I can't begin to describe this album as it is all over the place in parts and where some of the songs would normally be an immediate turnoff for me due to the vocals, they throw in a riff or drum fill or change in the rhythm that kept me interested. This album carries with it all the early hallmarks of black metal but elements of punk and thrash are also heard, and even doom if I dare say (check out the title track).

All of this makes for a highly volatile, rough, misanthropic sound. Just when you have come to terms with what this band is trying to convey or conjure up and are beginning to enjoy it, they take it from you, chew it up, and spit it back in your face all the while smashing your head in.

While it took some listening to - after many, many beers of course - I came to appreciate Funeral Mask and it's raw, dirty production. I feel the reviews for this album by others are somewhat inaccurate. In my opinion, this is a highly underrated album and a worthy listen for anyone remotely into black metal that came from the United States. If anything, this is truly a worthy listen. If this caught the interest of Norway's best back in the early '90s, this surely will appeal to those interested in a sound and a time that has since passed.

Tracks that stand out: Way Of The Wolf, Necrofuck, Loyal To Evil, and Funeral Mask.

Listen first
or
Purchase here


Metallum / Last.FM

ADDENDUM: As DoomUnicorn pointed out, which I apparently forgot to mention, this band features members that are/were/have been in other more prominent bands such as Nuclear Assault, Brutal Truth, Exumer, Dim Mak, and Incantation to name a few.

BACK IN BLACK (a rebellion of sorts)

Dude! Back in Black?! Micro-brew in a can?! Hell yeah! Now that's metal! The name is obviously taken from the song of the same title and while the Aussie heavy weight rockers themselves (AC/DC) may not be considered exactly "metal", shit man this beer’s name is more than appropriate for times like these - it is the Solstice after all (the longest night of the year)!

Those who live in the City (i.e. San Francisco) will undoubtedly be familiar with this particular type of beer since its brewed by 21st Amendment Brewery which is located in SF off 2nd Street. The beer itself comes in metal not glass. Yes good aluminum cans -- not your weak, shit-lined aluminum cans that you usually get from Oly, Coors, Miller, or Pabst -- so as to withstand some heavy drinking (I've inadvertently dropped a can or two and they have survived to tell the story).
Good beer in good cans = good drinking! Right?
(In my professional opinion, all beer should come in cans but that's probably just the hippie in me talking)

According to 21^st Amendment, Back In Black is “inspired by Paul Revere's midnight ride, we rebelled against the British style IPA, embraced the more aggressive American version and then recast it in bold, brave, defiant black. Our Black IPA is a Declaration of Independence from the tyranny of the expected... Brewed like an American IPA but with the addition of rich, dark malts, this beer has all the flavor and hop character you expect with a smooth, mellow finish.”

Huh? Say what? Hold on let me get another beer...

Basically Back In Black is a "black IPA". It's an American-styled IPA that has been brewed with traditional top fermenting ale yeast and hopped with Columbus hops, brewed with Rahr Pale, Crystal, Munich, and De-bittered Black malts; it has been dry-hopped with Centennial and Simcoe hops thus resulting in 65 IBUS. Its alcohol content is 6.8% by volume, so it’s still drinkable but low enough that a six-pack of it won’t get you entirely hammed. Basically it’s black in color, tastes like a hoppy stout but with the consistency of an IPA or pale ale and is more epic than that bier stein that your grandpa gave you last Christmas, sort of like this one here:

(I have a sudden urge to put on some Sacred Steel for some odd reason)

So why am I doing a post on beer you ask? Well I did do a brief post on a couple tasty and well-known beers not too long ago but it was centered around the music namely. To me, beer and music go hand in hand. Also now that I'm officially on "winter break" laziness has settled in and I couldn't come up with anything better to write about.

No, I'm kidding of course! Well, OK. Sort of...

Seriously though, this time around I figured I’d try something new on y'all. I wanted to share with you something that I enjoy – in the holiday spirit, of course. Plus, this beer rules and I have been drinking massive amounts of it recently and I think you should too! (I’m the Devourer of Spirits after all, so I must live up to my name I guess).
See, I'm all about this can-revolution that's been sweeping the micro-brew world recently. I think glass bottles are inefficient and using recycled aluminum is much more cost-effective than recycled glass bottles. More breweries should be looking into this option in my opinion... More on this another time perhaps.
Anyways, Back In Black is a great beer! I highly recommend it. It's got the best of both worlds (Stout meets IPA) and it gets you hammered! Incredible, I must say...
I realize that this beer may not be for everyone but 21st Amendment has other ales that they can also, and many other breweries are picking up the idea as well. It's almost like a rebellion of sorts!

In the spirit of rebellion, in which this beer was supposedly made, there’s nothing like listening to some dark, grim, incoherent, rebellious American Black Metal while downing a couple of these tasty brews on the eve of the Winter Solstice. So on that note, and in the spirit of keeping things traditional music-wise here at IllCon, I’ll share with you a link to some of the music I’ve been supposedly listening to while I have been rambling on here. Yes, I put together a mix of mp3s for y'all to enjoy. Lucky you!
(I guess this is my Christmas present to all of you but whatever you do, please don't call it a "mixtape" - that would just be unforgivable):

Judas Iscariot - Heaven In Flames
Nachtmystium - My Vengeance
Leviathan - Summoning Lupine
Valdur - Wound Fires In The Afterlife
Elk - Blood Under Stone
Unholy Crucifix - Desecration Priest
Miasmic - Gravemoss
Xasthur - Keeper of Sharpened Blades (And Ominous Fates)
Ash Borer - Untitled (Fell Voices/Ash Borer split)
Fog - By This Axe We Rule
Krieg - Sick Winds Stir The Cold Dawn
Weakling - No One Can Be Called As A Man While He'll Die
Nightbringer - Upturning the Seventh Chalice
Blackgoat - The Black Goat
Hemlock - Loyal To Evil
(NOTE: All of these bands can be found on Encyclopaedia Metallum
and via their respective websites)

Cheers!

For more info on Back In Black and 21st Amendment Brewery's other ales, check out their website at:
http://21st-amendment.com/

Contact your local distributor to see if they can carry their beer
(if we can get it here in bum-fuck-egypt-Humboldt County, you'll likely be able too)
or if you're visiting SF, stop by the brewery itself!

Remember to drink responsibly!

Oh, and Happy Holidays and such!
(or Holidaze if you prefer)