On the day after Independence Day in the US, the fireworks were still being launched at the Brighton Music Hall in Alston, MA. Of course, the only explosions seen here were from heavy metal acts, Theories, Black Breath, Ringworm, and Goatwhore. Fans of all sorts came out early on a Sunday night to catch their favorite band on this stacked bill and left happy at the end of the night.

First band of the evening was grindcore outfit, Theories. Having never listened to this band, I moved up to ensure I was in the best spot to see and hear them. Overall I was pretty impressed with what time they had and the selection of songs they were able to perform. Theories will certainly be researched and added into my daily playlist.

Next up were my most anticipated act of the night in Black Breath. Crust, hardcore, and thrash fans all shared the pit for these guys which proved to be one of the highlights of the night. Black Breath set consisted of staples from both albums such as ‘Feast of the Damned’ and ‘Home of the Grave’ off of ‘Sentenced to Life’ as well as ‘Escape from Death’ and ‘Black Sin (Spit on the Cross)’ from Heavy Breathing. The Alston crowd also got two brand new, unreleased songs that will be on Black Breath’s next release due out later this year. If these two tracks are a tale of things to come, then I am looking forward to what lies ahead.

Ringworm hit the stage next which saw the most active pits of the night. Ringworm has been one of those bands that always seemed to play other shows I would go to but could not get to on time to actually catch them. This time around, I was not going to miss out. For the most part I was into what the band had to offer and was glad I finally caught them live.

Finally, Goatwhore was due up to close the night. In the headlining spot, these Louisiana blackened thrashers played songs across their entire discography, which was a pleasant surprise. The early material got big pops from the fans which in turn brought about some fun pits to be a part of. The biggest pops for Goatwhore came from songs ‘FBS’ (Fucked By Satan) off of the latest masterpiece, Constricting Rage of the Merciless (Metal Blade) as well as closer, ‘Apocalyptic Havoc’ from the 2009 release Carving Out the Eyes of God. A fun fact for this Goatwhore tour was that typical bassist, James Harvey was not with the band. However, fill in for the tour on bass is bassist Trans Am from Ancient VVIsdom which was a treat to say the least.

This tour has certainly earned its place towards the top of my list of favorite shows thus far this year. There was truly something for everyone on this night which is hard to come by nowadays with some tour packages being put together.

 

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WORDS BY TIM LEDIN

PHOTOS BY EVIL ROBB PHOTOGRAPHY