‘I haven’t been this in love in a long time,’ could describe the similarly infatuating way that Kishi Bashi’s tender voice enters your ear, floods your brain with beautiful euphonious melodies, and leaves you with the feeling that you’re floating on air…

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American Cheeseburger:

The mosh pit was so intense it was literally impossible to get a good shot. But the video should give you a  good idea of the level of chaos that ensued.

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Photos:

When I arrived at the Caledonia it was relatively empty. Most people I assumed were going to see the Waaves show at the adjacent 40 Watt Club. The Caledonia was unusually quiet and peaceful – a veritable omen of what was to come.

Luckily, people started to arrive around 10:30 and the place filled to about forty people before Shark Heart started at 11.

Shark Heart’s death metal assault was enough to cause cardiac arrest in some, but to this audience it was like heaven. I got as close as I could to the stage and enjoyed the awesome riffs of guitarists Tater and Jason. Their ability to stay in time whilst experimenting with odd time changes was even more impressive now than when I had seen them at the Devilneck Fest in October.

A set highlight was “Madeline Fergussen” – a song which takes its main rhythm from the triplet riff used widely by many death metal bands. After a few repetitions, the guitarists exchanged lightning fast solos which ascent through a contorted scale high up the fret board. Then, they synchronized their playing on a tritone chord split by palm mutes. Screaming vocals punctuated the song. All that was just a precursor, however. What followed was one of the best breakdowns I have ever heard in any song. Seemingly out of nowhere, both guitarists ceased creating dissonant cacophony and began a beautiful progression through a major scale. The riff was melodious and apreggiated; simple and defined – a perfect expression of beauty within chaos.
Drummer and singer Matt Riley continued to scream frightening lyrics over these sweeping passages – only intensifying their dramatic overtones.

Before this show, I had not really noticed the dynamism that Shark Heart brings to their music. To a first time listener, it would be understandable for the more beautiful pieces to be overshadowed by the more intense portions. However, to discount these softer parts would be to discount the best part about this band: their ability to convey emotion and paint imagery through sound. Albeit, it’s a sound that is most often violent with images of deserted wastelands and psycho-apocalyptic city scapes. But it is Shark Hearts ability to disperse those images with pictures the ethereal and heavenly that makes them such adept musicians, and such a great band.

Not to be forgotten, there were still two more bands on the bill that night. The second group to play was Dierz Eve. Consisting of Matt Mottin, John Heyen, and Ronald Turner, the group plays a blend of metal which takes inspiration equally from Metallica and Motorhead. Immediately I was surprised by their first song which displayed vocalist and lead guitarist Matt Mottin’s full and inflected vocal style. His melodies were classic and the chorus’ were singable. The groups catchy metal tunes seemed quickly constructed, but true in intent. Replete with tapped solos, chuggin riffs, and d-beat rhythms, their music was classic metal with a punk rock flair

The last band to play was local three-piece punk metal band Manger. Little is known of Manger as they have no MySpace or Facebook that I could find. However, their performance on this night was strong and stood up well with the forerunners of the evening. They consisted of two guitarists wearing skin tight pants and bandannas, and an extremely hard-hitting drummer. Their songs were short and lyrically sparse. The tempos were so fast and hard hitting that the drummer cracked one of his cymbals mid way through their set. Both guitarists were great at getting the crowd going. Their mid-song banter was also very entertaining.

Later in their set the band invited some audience members up to sing. First was a guy celebrating his birthday who was mostly unintelligible, but was a good segway. Next up was Chester, the ‘Ultimate Warrior” (as his friends called him.) Wearing a vest full of spikes and a mural of the Iron Maiden mascot, Eddie, painted on his back, he was metal personified. In addition, he wore leather pants, a chain hanging from his waist, a belt made of 45 caliber rounds, leather gloves that stretched up his forearm (also studded), and a T-shirt that was printed like the suit of Darth Vader. The  shirt had blue and red lights that lit up just like the real thing. His vocals were those of a prototypical 1980s thrash worshiper – in a good way. He wailed high in his range at the intro of a song and held it for 30 seconds before ripping lyrics like an animal. His headbang was a perfect swirl and his stage presence was commanding. At one point he dismounted the stage and started a mosh within the crowd.

The theme for the night seemed to be metal is alive in Athens. Each band put on a forceful performance that seemed to beckon rejuvenation in the Athens metal scene. With the second coming of Lazer/Wulf and the annual Devilneck fest gaining popularity, I’d say that Athens is well on its way to becoming a focal point of the underground metal scene.

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Featuring members of local math rock groups We Versus The Shark and Cinemechanica, the group has existed for several years and continually impresses with their intricate and synchronized playing. Their performance as “Ninjaband” was the first of a five day stint which is taking them up the east coast through North Carolina and ending at the ninth annual Magfest in Alexandria, Va. The bands choice to start their tour on 01-11-2011 is fitting due to the binary nature of their band name (“Bit” Brigade, anybody?).

Despite the blizzard hurtling inches of snow on the city and freezing many of the roads, a crowd of thirty or so fans attended. In place of an opening act (understandable in consideration of the logistical problems caused by the weather), the gamer Noah McCarthy warmed up his fingers and the crowd with a speed run through Mega Man II which took only a mere twenty minutes.

Bit Brigade entered the stage and explosively played through the title screen before the start of the first level. On the large projection screen at the back of the stage the small Ninja character ran across a horizontal playing field and slashed at his foes. McCarthy quickly dispatched through the first boss at the end of the level who exploded as the band created a loud crashing noise with their instruments. This soon to become familiar sound would make several recurrences through-out the set, each time after the master gamer easily dispatched his digital victims.

Typically, it took around two to five minutes for McCarthy to defeat a level, or “Act,” as they were called in the game. After each of the five acts there was a cut scene which featured the animated face of the Ninja, his adversaries, and a female comrade. During the cut scenes the band would play melodic arrangements which set the tone for the next level, or emphasized certain words. Their guitars were tinny, electric, and biting-a faithful rock’n’roll recreation of the original 8-bit audio. Their performance showcased a genuine love for the classic game and a fusion of highly technical rocking with highly technical gaming.

On their website the band states of Ninjaband “Clocking in at forty-five minutes and encompassing over sixty unique cues and some of the most acrobatically challenging platform gameplay ever created, Ninjaband is indisputably the most epic game in our roster and truly showcases the meticulous attention to detail we pride ourselves on.”

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While some have cited Manray as a “math rock” group, this EP highlights a much more psychedelic sound. Many songs feature sustained feedback, pulsing hand clap rhythms, and airy chord voicings. The title track opens as such with interplaying guitar lines that create deceivingly simple, yet amusing melodies. The vocals consist of a series of distant “woaaah’s”, essentially making the song an instrumental. A tropical and light atmosphere is created by the guitars, but it becomes overpowered by crashing cymbals as the song moves between load and soft sections. Where drums do take over they tend to overshadow the rest of the sounds. Despite this, it is an interesting contrast between soft guitars and harsh drumming.

After a brief bass driven interlude, the third song, “Blue Lights: On,” takes the band to a harder, more metal-oriented sound. The riffs rely heavily on hammer-ons, pull-offs, and quickly ascending runs. The chaotic drum style of Derek Olivia fits better here than on the first song. True vocals and lyrics are introduced as Gene and Ryan alternate throaty screams and more moving clean vocals. Their vocals help fill out the texture of the sound which is a bit thin due to lack of rhythm guitar or consistent kick drum. Quick rhythm changes and slippery drum fills help to make the track a highlight of the EP.

The last song, “Burning Bridges”, begins with another hard driving riff which alludes to some metal or punk influences. Unfortunately, this time the vocals (shared by Jordan and Gene) seem to fall lackluster, especially in the verses. Their placement in the mix could be culprit, however, I believe they clash too much with the busy riffing. These sections just sound too clustered and the bizarre rhythms detract from having any sort of memorable melody. The clean vocals that follow during the bridge are more successful. They seem to float over the riffs which are less chaotic. More rhythm stops highlighted by harmonized lead guitar lines continue through the song and traditional power chord style rhythms also make an appearance adding to the diverse (at times overwhelming) variety.

The recording quality of the EP is quite primeval. Better compression, overall EQing, and attention to detail and creativity during the mixing stage could’ve brought the songs to life. While a raw, unfiltered sound may work well for a live mix, it doesn’t translate so well to a production quality CD which will be listened to in car stereos, on iPod’s, etc.

[WARNING: Editorial to follow]

As a metal enthusiast I see a need for a certain amount of groove in all music whether it be rock, jazz, or even classical. To me the math rock genre seems to say “Screw the groove. Were gonna play freaky time signatures to show that we’re incredibly competent counters.” While this may not be true of all bands labeled under the genre’s canopy, it does raise a critical question relevant to all genres featuring highly technical musicianship: Where does the line between a lot and too much end? On their first EP, Manray have packed a ton of different ideas into essentially three songs. To me, it is overwhelming and not very well conceived. Their song writing abilities simply have not caught up with their technical proficiency.

Many artists today are turning to strange, call it progressive, musical tones to set their sound apart from the rest. However, in so doing they have established weirdness as a standard. I would like to see Manray set themselves apart from Cinemechanica, Powers, and whoever else they take influence from by being less obviously mathematical. Some subtlety and restraint could help propel this band to their full potential.

Tracklist:
1. I Think I Heard Something…
2. Interlude
3. Blue Lights: On
4. Burning Bridges

Love,

william