Interview with Jacob Lizotte from Feign

With the release of his first full-length album, “Atlas,” due out later this month, Jacob Lizotte the mastermind behind the band, Feign, was kind enough to take the time and answer some questions I had for him. This one-man band combines atmospheric black metal and melodic death metal to create one unique and enjoyable listening experience. You can find a link to my review of, “Atlas,” at the end of this interview. 

Hi there Jacob! Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions. Also, congratulations on your first full-length release, “Atlas.” How does it feel to have a full-length album out and available for people to check out?

Jacob: It feels mighty fine.

Now I reviewed, “Into the Void” last year and have heard some of the songs from “Lost to Eternity,” and I really enjoy those recordings, especially the songs on, “Into the Void.” What did you learn from those releases that might have helped influence you when writing and recording, “Atlas?”

Jacob: I liked the demos but I hadn’t fully captured the essence of how I wanted Feign to sound until now. The sound will continue to evolve, but now I feel as if it’s really established itself.

Production quality is extremely important and it can truly make or break an album in my opinion. How you do feel about the album’s production quality? Also, can you maybe talk about where you recorded the album and briefly go through the process?

Jacob: It gives the exact vibe that I wanted it to give. I wouldn’t change any aspect of the production, I want it to sound a bit old and weathered but while conveying a certain amount of clarity and allowing all of the layers to stay audible. I recorded it in my bedroom with an SM57.

I feel there are a lot of solid tracks on this release to where I would have a hard time picking out a favorite. Is there a song on the album you feel most proud of writing, or are there maybe a few tracks you think really standout?

Jacob: I like the title track a lot, mostly because it’s like an entire beast in its own. The title track was written last summer and it took me by far the longest it’s ever taken for me to write a single song. I’m proud of it, I think it’s sort of a good “overview” of the album and ends it on a good note. Other than that, I really like “…A Visitor” and I will definitely be exploring more emotional and melodic ideas like that in future releases.

As much as I hear atmospheric black metal in your music, I also hear a variety of other unique sounding musical elements at times. I was wondering if you could talk about some of the bands who influenced you growing up and maybe inspired you to write your own music? 

Jacob: I could give you a list of super obscure black metal bands to sound musically savvy, or I could be honest and tell you what really influenced me and potentially shift the way you see or hear the music. Feign is more influenced by melodic death metal then anything. I grew up listening to a ton of In Flames, Metallica, At The Gates, Soilwork and even Killswitch Engage. You get the point, I love all forms of music and appreciate all forms of metal and music. In my mind Feign is early In Flames with blast beats, high screams and a heavier emphasis on atmosphere and progressive elements. I love Black Metal and everything but it’s not where my heart lies completely by any means.

Not only do I find the instrumental compositions to be extremely creative, but the lyrics on this album also seem to convey great imagination. I was wondering, where do you look for lyrical inspiration and maybe talk about the lyrical origins for some of these songs?

Jacob: I’m not really sure. I sort’ve just try and use imagery and metaphors to convey certain ideas about society, relationships and even my own personal thoughts. It’s not THAT well thought out, to be honest, it’s just as thought as the music itself.

Are you interested in getting other musicians to come in and play with you in Feign, or do you want to keep this a one-man band? Also, are you interested in having Feign play live shows at some point?

Jacob: I wouldn’t mind collaborating but I’m sure I’d be hard to work with at this point, after years and years of creating music on my own. Playing shows would be neat but again, I don’t know anyone that plays instruments and I don’t mind doing it solo. If you know anyone who can play drums or something have them give me a shoutout.

I know this might be a bit early since, “Atlas,” is just being released, but is there already another potential album in the works? Will there be more creative atmospheric extreme sounding music in the future listeners can except from Feign? If this is top secret classified information I understand you might not be able to give the readers the full details, but maybe subtle hints might be sufficient...

Jacob: It’s top secret. Only 3 people in the known world possess such highly volatile information, and will be shot on command if they utter any word or phrase that hints at its existence. Kidding! Yeah, I mean I’ve actually recently been working on newer stuff and it’s been super fun. I’ve enjoyed writing for Feign now more than ever, the sound is expanding and I’m drawing on new elements, as well as other cool things going on. It should be fun to see how the newer music will compare to Atlas and such. I’m thinking about bringing in some electronic elements and maybe more thrashy/death metal type stuff just lingering in there. But of course the sole sound will stay and there will be moments of “classic Feign” sprinkled all over it. It’ll be like an ice cream cone with chocolate sprinkles!

Well, congratulations once again and I truly believe your hard work has paid off, because “Atlas” is definitely an album that I highly recommend people check out. Can’t wait for what Feign has to offer up next! Cheers! \m/

Jacob: Thanks mate. Hold up them devil horns for me! I appreciate the interview!

Link to Review of "Atlas":

http://rockandmetaltemple.blogspot.com/2016/06/feign-atlas.html

Link to Feign Facebook Page: 

https://www.facebook.com/feignband/?fref=ts

Karcavul "Intersaone"

    Hailing from the unforgiving darkness somewhere in Lyon, France, Karcavul digs deep into the sludgy nightmarish depths of society and unearths a tomb of relentless extreme music. While listening to this three song release called, "Intersaone," I found myself lost in the music and overcome by this frozen feeling of terror and enjoyment. 

     Karcavul is not an easy group to categorize, which I think plays to their advantage when making music. I hear sludge metal along with some old school death metal and even black metal elements. The band’s tone and presentation at times reminded me of Noothgrush and Eyehategod where the music could serve as the theme song for the fall of humanity. Still, compared to the two groups I just mentioned, Karcavul is very diverse sounding on this release. 

     No matter how you want to describe them, the atmosphere created by the band when recording these three songs fringes on the edge of human sanity. The opening track, “Mangepierres,” is quite bizarre with these inhuman noises in the background and then some guy comes in speaking calmly in French. Once the audio clips fade out the band starts pounding away at a blackened riff that eventually slows down for a thick sludgy part. As the drums feverishly smash at the cymbals the guitar creates a haunting landscape. The vocals really capture the song’s tone by crying out in agony over the harsh noise. 

    The band displays some dynamic songwriting skills and the second track, “Illuminashichs,” definitely starts out more sludgy and creates this fear in the back of the mind as if something wicked is coming towards you in slow motion. The band sort of returns to the more quickened paced black and death metal approach, but towards the end fades out with a doom like riff section. How do you make this type of music more distributing? Add the sounds of children screaming in complete terror as the guitar pounds away creating powerful waves of distortion. I think the final song, “Crackleurres,” perfectly closed the books on this horrific musical journey. Once again the band tears through heavy sounding riffs that range from sludge to death and builds a gruesome atmosphere. 

    In the end, Karcavul is following in the footsteps of all those other extreme bands who write music that crosses over into the bleak and sinister side of the human mind. Their musicianship was rather solid and I think my only complaint is that the vocals could have been recorded louder at times. Other than that, this is an album that I strongly recommend for fans of extreme and haunting music. Actually, I want to see Karcavul’s music played at a high school dance...the looks of fear on those students’ faces would be priceless...

Karcavul "Illuminashichs" :

Warfather "The Grey Eminence"

    Last year it was confirmed that Steve Tucker would be returning to Morbid Angel and will be appearing on the band’s next album whenever that is to be released. This year his other band, Warfather, will be releasing a new album in September. One can say that Steve Tucker is keeping quite busy in the extreme music making world these days. 

    Set for release September 16th, “The Grey Eminence,” is the band’s follow up to their debut release, “Orchestrating the Apocalypse.” I think what helps Warfather stand out amongst the endless sea of similar death metal acts is the production quality on, “The Grey Eminence.” To have a strong sounding album, one needs an exceptional producer in the studio. I was not surprised to see that Erik Rutan, guitarist and singer for Hate Eternal and ex-Morbid Angel guitarist, was the album’s producer. The recording quality throughout the album definitely maintains a solid presence to where the music never loses its aggressive and sharp edge. I especially liked how the guitars were recorded which I believe listeners will notice right away. Also, the drums are recorded exceptionally well to where the intense blast beats deliver that destructive feeling as if the walls around you are crumbling to the ground. 

    Songwriting is another area on the album that I believe deserves major credit. Yes, the lyrical themes are rather similar to your usual death metal lyrical content about war and how our society is on the verge of collapsing due to the morons who run it. However, the delivery matched with the instrumental compositions adds great emphasis to the lyrics. Again, the songwriting is simply solid on the album and right from the opening track, “Orders of the Horde,” you feel drawn into this massive world of non-stop brutality and musically insanity. The riffs can be extremely quick at times and then slow down for those sinister pinch harmonic breaks like on the song, “Heedless Servant.” That is something I felt sounded similar to Tucker’s time in Morbid Angel, because those slower and dark sounding moments reminded me of certain songs on Morbid Angel’s, “Gateways to Annihilation.” Tracks like, “Headless Men Can No Longer Speak,” and “For Glory or Infamy,” are faster and feature some insane technical moments. 

    When going through each song I noticed how the band sounds really tight and the music is exciting until the final song, “Fair and Final Warning.” Probably my favorite song on the album, "Fair and Final Warning," begins with a ripping note screaming guitar solo that turns into a crushing attack of old school sounding death metal. I felt like this song had all the right elements and once again reminded me of Steve and Erik's days in Morbid Angel. I tended to prefer the songs on the album that had the more old school quality, which luckily happens to be most of them.  

    Warfather’s, “The Grey Eminence,” is full of solid death metal music that one can expect on each of the album’s nine tracks. I think the veteran death metal presence that was involved in the creation of this album, helped maintain that consistent sound. Both Erik Rutan and Steve Tucker know a thing or two about what works and what doesn’t work, so I am not surprised that this release sounds strong from start to finish. I really hope that some of the parts I liked on this album find their way onto the new Morbid Angel release. Warfather did a great job with this sophomore release and I recommend the album for fans of death metal that hits hard and leaves a trail of massive devastation behind. 

Warfather Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/WarFatherHorde/?fref=ts

Eldamar "The Force of the Ancient Land"

    Sometimes music can have such a powerful connection to where it unlocks the door to the listener’s inner imagination. There are very few albums that I have felt deeply awaken by, however, Eldamar’s, “The Force of the Ancient Land,” is a true atmospheric and ambient black metal gem.  

    Released earlier this year, Eldamar’s first full-length release is filled with captivating musical landscapes that contain massive sounding atmospheres and mesmerizing moments of ambience. Each song is composed with great attention to detail and the tracks flow as if guided by some spiritual force. I was quite surprised to find out that only one person was behind the creation of this music. The music is so majestic that you would think that multiple people were involved. 

    Overall, Eldamar presents an almost cinematic sounding release that I personally felt gave me the opportunity to create my own mental pictures to fit the music’s emotional tone. Listeners will notice that the music goes through constant tempo changes and that there are climatic moments of atmospheric grandeur. The opening song, “Spirit of the North,” is a long dynamic piece full of endless sounding wonder. There is a soothing keyboard board intro that is met by a distorted guitar riff and haunting black metal growl. Eventually the music turns towards this triumph chorus like section that coexists with the harsh growls. The balance of melodic moments and grim ambience creates a striking contrast, which only propels the music into more epic and powerful sounding atmospheres. The following track, “Winter Night,” really utilizes the keyboard’s ability to establish a solid backbone for the song. From there the black metal vocals and guitar parts seep into the music like snow falling through the trees of a forest. 

    Track number three, “Travel in Woods,” is very pleasant sounding and a brief departure from the longer songs that contain those distorted guitar riffs and echoes of growling agony. “From Life to Spirit,” once again returns to the powerful contrast of what was heard on the first two songs. I do notice the band has some similarities to groups such as Summoning and Lustre, especially in the keyboard arrangements and composition approach. Unlike Summoning though Eldamar does not use lyrics to narrate the album's themes and compared to Lustre I found Eldamar’s use of the female vocal parts to inject more triumphant emotion into the music. Still, I do hear the similarities between Eldamar and other atmospheric/ambient black metal bands, but there are without question distinct areas where this band is going in a slightly different direction. 

    The second half of the album maintains much of what the first half had to offer, but there are moments of noticeable difference in certain parts. “Valkyrjur Ancient One,” contains the sounds of wind blowing with a solemn ambient synth tone in the background. Right after track number six, “The Border of Eldamar,” commences with some vibrant sounding chords to usher in one of the album’s most enjoyable tracks. I found the cinematic vibe to be most strong on this song and the xylophone like synth and keyboard riffs are a main driving force. As the wordless female vocals soar over the guitars and keyboards, the black metal growl cries out as if wishing to drown out the more melodic sounds. At the end of the song, there is an epic build up of the contrasting elements that heightens the song’s overall tone. Track seven, “Galaðwen The Eldar,” is a very relaxing piece while the final song on the album, “New Beginning,” is yet another return to the same musical structures that were used before. I personally felt like, “The Border of Eldamar,” could have been the final song on the album since that track was extremely impactful, but, “New Beginning,” was still a decent final song. 

    Some listeners might consider Eldamar’s, “The Force of the Ancient Land,” to be repetitious, but I felt that when listening to each song there was always something that kept me engaged. For example, the changing of tempos and emotional tones along with contrasting sounds made listening to the album exciting until the very end. I do believe those who appreciate atmospheric and ambient black metal will instantly be hooked by Eldamar’s music. This is already an album I believe could be my album of the year since the release has so much replay value. Seriously, check it out now! 

Eldamar "Spirit of the North" : 

Eldamar Facebook Page: 

https://www.facebook.com/eldamarnorway/

Feign "Atlas"

    After releasing an impressive demo last year which I happened to review, the one-man black metal project known as, Feign, is back with a full-length release full of atmospheric black metal wonder. “Atlas,” is a debut full-length release that truly ascends into the cosmic extreme musical world with endless amounts of creativity. 

    Feign’s demo, “Into the Void,” really caught my attention last year and I am quite pleased to see the one-man black metal act back again with a full-length album. I felt that the demo had the potential to develop into a full-length release which was mainly due to how the songs seemed to intertwine and the music flowed in one harmonious direction. In the review for the demo I remember expressing how I wanted Feign to continue pushing the boundaries of creativity and focus on coming up with more dynamic and massive sounding atmospheric pieces. Sure enough, I feel like the band answered my expectations and each song on this new album is masterfully crafted. Also, we are talking about a well organized and thoughtfully composed release that pulls the listener into a powerful sounding atmospheric black metal world that is twisted into a variety of progressive forms at times to never sound dull or constantly repetitive. 

    The album begins with the pleasant sounding piano piece, “Starstrum.” As the piano fades and next song, “Into the Celestial Nothingness,” begins, the music takes a more aggressive turn and explodes into a fiery world of distorted guitars and rapid drum beats along with vicious black metal style vocals. Each sound seems to compliment the other and I like how the melodic moments are strategically incorporated into the music to not sound out of place. The balance between the harsh sounding black metal sounds and soothing atmospheric touches is brilliantly accomplished. Track three, “...A Visitor,” features a solid begin riff that maintains a solemn tone. The tempo eventually changes and the black metal vocals growl over the vivid sounding guitar notes that come screaming out of the speakers. 

    Switching over to a cinematic sounding instrumental piece called, “Haven in the Sky,” Feign offers listeners more musical diversity, but still follows this perfectly connected atmospheric theme. The following song, “Lunarity,” once again demonstrates that amazing balance of melodic and extreme sounding moments. The tempo is very relaxing even with the black metal vocals singing over the interstellar trance like guitar riffs. Taking a more traditional black metal approach the song, “Deathwisher,” slowly builds up into an explosive drum assault with catchy trem picking guitar parts. Still, Feign does not settle for repetitive simplicity and pushes the music in a variety of directions. There is even a moment of clean vocals, which I was a bit caught off guard by since the black metal style was used mainly for the previous tracks. 

    The final song I want to mention is the title track, “Atlas.” Without question my favorite song on the album, this long piece of atmospheric black metal is exciting and engaging from the very beginning. The recording of the instruments is top notch and the overall composition is always evolving. Take for example the transition to an acoustic guitar riff that eventually returns with great triumph to the extreme black metal sounds. 

    I know the production of Feign’s, “Atlas,” is not raw and kvlt like as if the music was recorded in the forbidden woods off of a crappy tape recorder, however, Feign goes above and beyond to show how the world of atmospheric black metal is open to endless amounts of creative and clever interpretation. For a first full-length album, I think the guy who wrote all this music deserves major respect. My only recommendation would be to keep the pedal down by finding ways to push the musical boundaries. Also,  take some of the more simple and slightly repetitive moments and see what else he can come up with. Overall though, the album is a planetary crushing release and worth listening to if you enjoy atmospheric black metal that contains a variety of other elements as well. 

Feign "Lunarity" :

Feign Facebook Page: 

https://www.facebook.com/feignband/?fref=ts

Track Review: Jeff Beck “Live in the Dark”

    Well, it looks like Jeff Beck is not slowing down anytime soon. The veteran rock guitar player just released a new single and will be putting out a new album in July. Titled, “Live in the Dark,” the song will appear on Beck’s new album, Loud Hailer. Now, I am a fan of Jeff Beck and own a few of his albums with two of those being, “Truth” and “Blow by Blow,” both of which I own on vinyl. He is definitely one of my favorite guitar players and sometimes I feel he is not given enough recognition for his innovative playing. His work with Rod Stewart on those first two Jeff Beck Group releases is simply brilliant. Unfortunately, his new material is far from those classic and iconic recordings. 

    When someone told me Jeff Beck had a new single out, I was very eager to hear it. I guess Jeff is teaming up with singer Rosie Bones and guitarist Carmen Vandenberg on this album, and this would be my first time hearing these ladies as I was not familiar with their backgrounds. Also, after reading some more information about the album, the lyrics deal with modern day issues that Jeff wants to express and that can definitely be hear on this single. However, I honestly believe Jeff’s new work is a drastic departure from the musical style that I personally enjoy. Although this new song features some clever blues licks with Jeff’s unique distorted flair, I felt like the lyrics were very simplistic and dual. Also, the singer failed to inject any emotion into the song and I personally felt like the recording of her vocals could have been a reason as to why the song sounded so lack luster. The verse sections were definitely the low points of the song, while the guitar breaks at least delivered some solid guitar riffs and fills. 

    Jeff has every right to write to work with different people and write new music that deals with more world related issues. In my opinion though, I think he should stick to what he does best which is offering up amazing instrumental guitar pieces that sound exciting, or at least engaging. Maybe he should focus more on instrumental songs. This monotonous indie blues rock inspired material is not something I would expect from such an iconic player. Then again, Jeff has always evolved over the years and take for example some of his eighties albums with all the keyboards and synths that are very different from the early Jeff Beck Group releases. I just find the new direction to not fit my musical taste, so I will just stick to playing my copy of, “Truth,” and most likely pass on the new album. 

Link to "Live in the Dark":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6dsffOrOoI

Concert Review: Amnesia, Heap of Stone, R4ID and others at the Phoenix Theater (June 11, 2016)

Amnesia

    After seeing a black metal show last weekend at the Phoenix Theater, I found myself returning to the historical Petaluma concert venue for a seven band metal and punk show. The night’s lineup was quite diverse compared to the show from last week and the bands who played all had their own unique sound. 

    When I arrived at the Phoenix Theater, I was glad to see a decent amount of people already inside waiting for the first band to set-up. Getting people out to these local metal shows can be a challenge like getting my nephew to eat his dinner. I think the people who put this show together came up with a unique lineup that at first seemed questionable in my opinion, but ended up working out. Most of the acts on this bill happened to be young groups who are just starting out. Actually, the opener Stained Humanity would be playing their first live show. Again, I think the talent that these young musicians had to offer simply took me by surprise and there are a few who have the potential to really make an impact not only in the local scene but on a larger scale with their music. 

    Starting the show off, Stained Humanity looked confident as they cranked on their amps and unleashed some brutality onto the crowd. For their first show I liked how the band sounded by mixing different elements of thrash and death metal. You could tell they have been practicing to where they did not look overwhelmingly confused on stage. There were moments where I could tell they are still working on getting the timing of certain songs down, however, that comes with playing practice and playing more. The band’s bass player and vocalist did a solid job handling the frontman position, which with time and more gigs will become stronger. Also, they had a good two guitar attack that could really lay down some wicked guitar riffs and the leads sounded not too shabby. Stained Humanity, welcome to the Sonoma County Metal community and keep it up, we need more bands like you on this planet.

Stained Humanity 

    Taking the second slot and always entertaining me with their onstage comments and cheerful metal personalities, Gangrene from Petaluma began their set on the Phoenix’s side stage. Last time I saw the band they were a five piece and this time they were acting as a four piece with their guitarist Bailey Quecke handling bass duties. I always have felt like Gangrene improved each time I saw them before, and tonight they built upon that by coming up with a skull crushing solid set. The vocals are sounding even more down right brutal, while the skillful drumming adds extra emphasis to the group’s vicious sludgy hardcore style that throws in a splash of gory death. They played a new song which I think they are still working on getting the flow and timing down, but overall their set was enjoyable and I do like how they interact with the audience. 

    Third up and on the main stage was the band Alien Riot, a three piece from Santa Rosa. I can say I had not heard any music from them before the show, but after seeing them I can honestly say that I can’t wait to see where they take their music in the future. I would describe their sound as a return to the early 90’s when a group called Nirvana decided to take a baseball bat to Hair Metal by coming up with a simple mix of punk and rock and roll. Alien Riot’s first song just struck a chord in my brain that reminded me of how a simple song with raw emotion can be the greatest form of musical expression. Forget fancy solos and playing technical compositions, Alien Riot demonstrated how catchy song structures and straight forward chord punching riffs can make for an awesome sounding live experience. The guitarist and singer to my surprise not only sounded a bit like Kurt Cobain, but even had a similar stage presence. A few of the songs I felt could have used a little more variation, however, Alien Riot for a young band sounded very impressive. To finish the set the guitarist/singer broke his guitar and handed a piece to the crowd. Now that is what rock and roll is all about! 

Alien Riot

    Next up was the extreme sludge, doom hardcore and unforgiving sounding trio know as Amnesia. I liked how Amnesia was playing the side stage, because I felt like their style of music needed to be closer to the crowd for that in your face up close and personal experience. I remember when I saw them play their very first show back in March, and sure enough in a short amount of time they found ways to improve and offer up an even better sounding live performance. Singer Alex Hernandez started the set off by sitting down on the stage as guitarist Luis Olguin hammered away on his guitar to a malevolent sounding doom riff while drummer Chris Olney Burnett pounding away on the kit. Then Alex stood up and became a wild man up on stage by feverishly yelling into the microphone. The band had great energy during their set and the crowd was digging the vicious sounding tunes. I felt like the vocals at times were not loud enough, which was due to whoever was mixing. One moment that stood out was when Chris’ cymbal fell and he was still able to play on without stopping the song. Alex seemed extremely comfortable on stage and even decided to jump off stage and run around the pit for a bit. In the end, Amnesia was getting a loud and positive response from the crowd. I think the hard work and dedication is paying off for these dudes.   

Amnesia

    Taking a moment to catch my breath from Amnesia’s exciting and intense set, I watched as the fifth band called The Leaders set-up on the main stage. This three piece group had an odd stage set-up with manikins on the stage as props. Also, as the guitarist and drummer started their set off by doing a very basic sounding instrumental jam, the bass player came out of a moveable closet with his sun glasses on. Well, the epic intro was soon cut short, because the closet started falling apart. I definitely would call that I Spinal Tap moment. To be honest The Leaders seemed to play the same song for their entire set. The group has this funky sounding metal style that could use some more dynamics. Also, I do believe the guitar soloing seemed to be very out of place and did not compliment the rhythms very well. I respect them for getting up on stage and putting on an interesting performance, but I believe there are some areas that need some fine tuning. 

    Once The Leaders finished and the band and manikins made their way off stage, everyone returned attention to the side stage for the young punk trio, R4ID. Coming from Ukiah, these dudes brought great hardcore punk energy to the Phoenix. The entire band played with such enthusiasm and always looked like they were having an enjoyable time. I mean, their entire vibe carried into the crowd and the pit was moving and the people in front of the stage were banging their heads. I think as R4ID gets older and works more on coming up with solid catchy and aggressive sounding punk songs, they will definitely be a top act Northern California act. Right now I think they are still working on crafting that distinct sounding identity, but the energy they bring and hard work on stage is unbelievably impressive for such a young act. 

R4ID

    Ending the show was yet another trio, Heap of Stone, a local act who I would be seeing for my second time. Their style of doom rock is quite enjoyable and they incorporate some other elements at times. I would say that the riffs are nothing that has not been messed around with before, however, I like how they take their compositions in a variety of unique directions. One of my favorite songs of theirs is this instrumental piece, which they played towards the end of their set. Each member seemed to be on the top of their game as they ripped through each song and crushed the minds of the audience with megalithic sounding riffs. Also, for their last song they played a cover of Diamond Head’s, “Am I Evil?”. The crowd definitely reacted well to the song and even though the guitarist was a bit late on the solo, the cover still happened to be the best way to close out the show. 

    After watching seven bands I was dog tired, yet still I was impressed by what these young local acts had to offer musically. As I said before, there is potential and all they need to do is focus on working hard and bringing that relentless energy each time when on stage. The Phoenix Theater is a great venue for these bands to work on their performance skills and hopefully we can get more shows with some of these groups. However, I am going say that any band who wants to come out of a closet while up on stage be careful...closets can attack without warning.