News From The Pit
Hey fellow metal-heads, what's up? You might notice that my last name is different now. Anyway, it's still me, so I won't explain! Read on for the latest news from the scene!
*Metal heard during the month of April: Inhuman, Luther, and Drop played at the Flashback on March 29 for a kick butt night of metal! The show got a great turn-out and Inhuman did a good job playing both old and new material, after not playing out for about six months. By the way, the Flashback is one of the best places to go see shows. Thanks to Beth and Kirk for making everyone feel "at home."
*A couple of all-ages shows that went on – Blacklisted and Asbestos Playground played at the Sugar Doe Café. Also, Faceplant, Shapeless Matrix, and Mindstorm played at the Flashback. I didn't get to attend either of these shows, but I'm sure they were slammin'!
*April 16 brought Luther, Inhuman, and Faceplant to the Toy Tiger for an awesome show. All three bands played tight sets and the place was hoppin' for a Wednesday night. It's great to see this much support for local metal. Hope this inspires the Tiger to book more metal acts. It would even better if something such as the "Mosh Pit Sundays" got started again! Hint! Hint!
*Speaking of Inhuman, the band has a big show coming up at the Flashback on May 1, opening for Peace Sanctuary from Houston, Texas. Peace Sanctuary has a CD, Defy the System, on Mia Records. Also, Disarray will be playing on this night. This will be a killer show, so don't miss it! Also, Inhuman will be playing at Bulls Eyes on May 9 and 10.
*Caught an awesome show at Bogart's in Cincy on April 8! Grip Inc., Coal Chamber, and Bloodlet played an all-ages show that was well worth the two hour drive. Here's sort of a quickie review for ya. Got to the show a little late, so I missed Bloodlet. Coal Chamber, a band that I have never heard of, played next. This four piece band, featuring a female bass player, was really good, with a funk-metal kind of sound, but they sounded straight-up like Korn. If I would have had my eyes closed, I would have thought I was at a Korn show. Coal Chamber is a good band, but they need to get some originality in their music.
The headlining band was Grip Inc., which I'm sure you know features former Slayer Dave Lombardo on drums. If you have never heard of Grip Inc., you need to go out and pick up the two CDs that the band has put out: The Power of Inner Strength and recent Nemesis. In my opinion, Grip is metal for the nineties! The band members display excellent guitar and bass work, powerful vocals, and, of course, awesome drum work. Lombardo is the god of double bass – the man has machine gun legs, there is no doubt about that!
One thing that especially sticks in my mind from this show is a statement made by vocalist Gus Chambers. Before Grip's set was over, he pleaded with the crowd: "People, please keep this music alive." I agree with him completely and I'm sure you guys do too.
Even though metal/heavy music is not really the "in" thing in 1997 and it never really has been, I think that in Louisville we have a good metal scene going. It seems to be getting better, so let's keep up all the support for local and regional metal acts when they play in Louisville. Wouldn't it be cool if we had a metal scene here similar to that of the Seattle scene a few years ago? Anything can happen, ya know?!!...
I'm outie . . . See ya in the pit!!!!