It Came Upon One Night

I will admit that I am not your typical audience member for what used to be a progressive/power metal fest. For instance, my listening on the day I started writing this included Marnie Stern's In Advance of the Broken Arm, Pulp's This Is Hardcore, Tuatha de Danann's Trova di Danú, Morbid Saint's Spectrum of Death, :wumpscut:'s Evoke, Enochian Crescent's Omega Telocvovim and Wolf Parade's Apologies to the Queen Mary. Not that I don't have a soft spot for Maiden, Priest, Helloween, Gamma Ray, (old) Queensrÿche, (old) Fates Warning and the like, but that style has not changed much during the past decade or so, even as it has enjoyed increased visibility among the metal masses. I like variety, and unbeknownst to those who don't follow it, today metal is such a diversified and long-running genre that you could feasibly only listen to metal yet still have an amazing range of sounds coming in.

That's what Chicago Powerfest 2007 offered - a little prog/power, but also traditional doom, doom/death, prog-black, modern thrash, prog-thrash, jazz-death, even some plain old heavy metal. I liked some more than others, but none of the ten bands were absolute crap. Unfortunately, the turnout was weak, and zero mainstream appeal doesn't explain it. I think the shameful answer is that the fest was too diverse for your average metalhead - too much singing, too much growling, too much slow stuff, too much fast stuff, wah wah wah. Longtime metal people generally aren't smelly, violent, uneducated burnouts, but they often live up to other stereotypes. They can be "conservative," even ignorant when it comes to music with which they're not familiar. (I'll admit to it: I can't tell you the difference between Kenny Chesney and Brad Paisley, and I hope I never can.) To someone like that, this was an intimidating lineup. To someone who enjoys a little bit of most everything heavy metal can offer in 2007, Chicago Powerfest 2007 was a feast of musicianship, cult demi-legends and shockingly good unknowns, old school and new school in delirious harmony. Hats off to the CRJ crew for running a tight ship and putting together such a great event.

4/20/07

Shatter Messiah - With onetime Nevermore fill-in rhythm guitarist Curran Murphy leading the charge, these Ohio-based guys play aggressive thrash that's more straightforward than the Seattle gods'. This stuff was a lot closer to Annihilator, with whom Murphy also played. The result was an idiosyncratic but not atypical mix of '80s songwriting and '90s attitude, something you often hear from older musicians looking to appeal to the youth market. Sometimes, this is a great mix, but in Shatter Messiah's case, it came off a little stodgy. Instrumentally, the band was pretty tight, with sharp guitar lines and rumbling rhythms that I'll admit got my neck moving. The shrieky and occasionally off-key vocals, however, kept me from enjoying the band more. The Internet tells me the singer used to be in Archtype, a solid tech-y prog/power band, so it's curious that he sounds so off in this unit. If Shatter Messiah drafted a frontman from a death or black metal background, they could have something more agreeably powerful on their hands. As it is, they're an also-ran, which is not the worst thing in the world.

Suspyre - Now, here are some young'ns who have their shit together! I was absolutely floored by these kids, who play a traditional brand of progressive power metal and hail from the same state as that genre's superstars Symphony X (New Jersey). It's super technical stuff, as might be expected from musicians trained in classical and jazz, but Suspyre also writes engaging songs which transcend the cold muso feel that keeps me from getting into a lot of prog/power acts. Their inspired guitar work toes the line between cranking out catchy melodies and showing off, so that when they unwind one of those lengthy, tech-y instrumental sections, it's actually as transcendent as intended. The vocals are of the smooth and controlled variety, suffused with passion and bliss where required. The only downside of their set was the sound, which frequently overpowered the keyboardist - she also whipped out a flute for a couple of passages, none of which could actually be heard. As for the band, Suspyre is the first traditional prog/power act I've heard in ages that really grabbed me. Maybe I should explore the current scene some more...

Benedictum - The day's most unknown act to me, San Diego's Benedictum shared a similar sense of '80s/'90s vertigo with Shatter Messiah in that their songs were moderately simple in structure, yet more aggressive in delivery than your average old school stuff. Their roughed-up cover of Dio-era Black Sabbath chestnut "Heaven and Hell" underlined this classic/modern dichotomy, which I felt worked better for Benedictum than for SM in that they didn't try to push the "heavy" angle much further than the rhythm section. I was reminded most of Doro Pesch's solo material, probably because the band's singer is a similarly gravel-throated female, an imposing woman stuffed into an uncomfortable-looking leather get-up. She comported herself like a stage superstar, and there was something overly professional in her manner compared to the band, who just seemed to be rocking out and having a good time. Benedictum's style is closer in spirit to hard rock than metal, by which I mean it's something that could be played on mainstream rock radio - or at least could have back when the format didn't exclude all hard rock except ninth-generation grunge (see: Nickelback, Alter Bridge, Chris Fucking Daughtry). For my taste, they were too plain to enthuse me greatly, but I enjoyed watching them while they were on.

Solitude Aeturnus - Our hotel was across the street from the venue, so getting blitzed wasn't a problem. I was modestly zipped by the time the doom gods from Texas lumbered to the stage, which was my intention. Never having seen them live, they were the big draw for me on the first night of Powerfest, and I wasn't let down a bit. For the uninitiated, Solitude Aeturnus is a pure doom metal band with clear, high vocals in the lineage of Black Sabbath, Pentagram, St. Vitus, Trouble, Candlemass and the like. That means the music is slow to midpaced, with mournful, ominous guitar riffs that drone and spiral into oblivion. To a listener in the right state of mind, it can be the most powerful music in the world, and it is perhaps the source from which all heavy metal emanates. Solitude Aeturnus are by no means a household name, but among doom cultists they are elite. They lived up to that reputation with a crushing set, vocalist Robert Lowe wailing balefully in priestly vestments, looking primed to take over Candlemass' vocals (he's on their upcoming album). For an hour, the outside world disappeared, replaced by an incense-scented tomb which sealed out all light. Simply amazing... this was as good as the St. Vitus reunion gig I saw in '03, and better than any time I've ever seen Sabbath.

Lethal - Reflecting Powerfest's roots as a showcase for traditional metal styles, reunited veterans Lethal curiously took the headliner spot rather than Solitude Aeturnus, who to me seemed to have the biggest crowd of the evening. What I knew of this Kentucky-based band was that they made a single album of early-Queensrÿche-sounding metal during the early '90s which is revered by all fans of that stuff, before branching off into some sort of ill-advised "edgy" and "modern" style that ticked people off. They are nonetheless a favorite of the American prog/power scene, and despite not knowing Lethal's music and being pretty much satisfied with the show after Solitude, I ended up staying for their entire set. The Queensrÿche comparisons were very apt, as the vocalist sounds amazingly like Geoff Tate and the music had the same quirky yet anthemic quality as records like The Warning and Rage for Order. It was like hearing a lost 'rÿche record from their '80s salad days, and if I had heard Lethal when they debuted I would have loved them, as I was very into this sound circa 1990. Hearing it in 2007 was definitely a blast from the past, but a pleasant one. Theirs was a strong performance, even though the audience had dwindled and the singer was obviously wasted. Like I could fault him... I was tossed myself.

Second day coverage will appear soon-ish. I'll give you my review of the shockingly good new Skinny Puppy CD to tide you over. If you have the time and ability, I urge you to check out Twelfth Gate at 9 p.m. tomorrow night at the Penny Road Pub. This is Chicago Powerfest co-organizer Rob Such's band, also featuring guitarist Jim Stopper (the only former Oppressor member who didn't go on to the bland ranks of local favorites Soil) and - as of very recently - my good buddy Scarecrow on vocals. He's amazing, folks, and since I already liked the band, his presence on the mic only makes them cooler to me. Plus, since he introduced me to the first woman with the guts to call herself my girlfriend in more than eleven years, I owe him big big. Get out there and support quality local metal!