Possessed, Orthrus, Earthling
Friday, March 2 at Kingdom
So this was my first time attending a show at the (relatively) newly reopened Alley Katz, now known as Kingdom. What’s with all this noble territory nomenclature lately? Empire, National, Republic, and now Kingdom? Can we take bets on the next spot, like a new, hip sushi bar called Prefecture? Frankly it’s getting a little unoriginal.
Lets stick with important things, like how to run a show, for instance. When you have a pretty great bill like Possessed, Earthling and Orthrus, you have already built up a decent amount of credibility for the gig. Now, seeing as this stuff is happening on a weekend, you might feel inclined to add a few bands to the bill. When you do that, it would be ill-advised to add the absolute worst bands in the area and have them play right before Possessed are to go on. You’ve put Earthling and Orthrus on too early, so now we have a few dozen metalheads (already a poor turnout) thin to just a couple dozen that actually stick around for Possessed, who flew in from Chicago, no less. And did I mention vocalist Jeff Bercrerra is paralyzed from the waist down?
In what was also a first for me, I finally get to a gig in time to see Earthling, some very talented, technical black/thrash metal out of Harrisonburg. They share a guitarist with Orthrus, and that dude is pulling double duty on a night like this. How many notes do you think he played? I think Orthrus is the more interesting of the two groups, but they both shred pretty hard. Similar in genre but better execution from the latter. Actually, Orthrus would be less black. How much less black? Some less black, but not much. How two bands like this from the same city can co-exist is beyond me.
I won’t spend any time writing about the dogshit bands that followed, but I will say they were redneck nu-metal and most of the crowd could be found outside in the alley smoking pot and pulling their hair out. I won’t do any (more) bitching at anyone, but there were plenty of vocalized complaints about how poorly this show was put together. Open letter to the sound guy at Kingdom: You know that shit band that was complaining about not being able to hear themselves? Take it with a grain of salt. If there was to be a very clear example of a terrible sound on stage, these guys were it. If their music wasn’t bad enough, their on-stage demeanor sure was, and no one is going to enjoy your mopey faces and in-between song banter with your hands up in the air like the sound guy is “fucking you over.” You fucked yourselves with the shitty “200 watt” Ibanez amplifier and ultra-scooped EQ. Get a clue, brah.
Now on to Possessed. By the time the shit bands finished their last breakdowns, the crowd had thinned to maybe 30 people and Jeff Becerra was nowhere to be found. After about 30 minutes of standing around (arms folded of course), drummer Emilio Marquez announced that Jeff was en route from the airport. Flying in a wheelchair must be a bitch. Can you imagine a long haired metalhead in a wheelchair getting through security? Yikes. But the strong stand proud and loyal stand true; we waited and waited until he arrived.
If you’ve ever been bummed out about the stupid bullshit in your life that you think sucks sooo bad, this would’ve been a good night to see Possessed, and Jeff Becerra in particular, perform to a diminutive crowd at a dried up rock club. As you can see from the pictures, the dude is all smiles. The band ripped through classics like “Holy Hell,” “Fallen Angel,” “Death Metal,” “Satan’s Curse,” and reminded us that we're all pretty much ripping them off all the time. Stuff like this can be duplicated but never outdone. The shredders shred, the rippers rip. Nothing can dethrone the old guard. Not changes to the music industry, nor bullets through the spine.
And most of you missed it. For a fan of death metal, $22 ain't an extraordinary amount. It's a little high these days for an aging (fuck it, aged) death metal band, but it certainly doesn't make the package any better to add a couple of dog shit local bands. You listening, Kingdom?
As always you can check out more mediocre photos of the gig at hardrockrva.blogspot.com. I can haz shameless plug?