Date: Saturday, July 24th, 2004
Location: Studio Seven - Seattle, Washington
Other Bands:
OK so this was not a 'local' show in the San Francisco bay area, hell not even in California, but we were in Seattle for a Football (soccer) match and we knew that Ceremonial Castings was playing the same day at a club in the city, so we had to go no matter what!
Although not the headliners, we went to this show to see Ceremonial Castings. We have been in contact with Ceremonial Castings band since the beginning of 2004 at which time we found their website on the internet (click on their logo above to be taken to their site) where we had a chance to listen to some of their songs and they are absolutely amazing. Unfortunately they are currently playing only within the state of Washington, and so the chance of us seeing them here in California anytime soon was not likely to happen (they do plan on traveling further in the future though). So after the Football match we went to the club that we were aware they were playing at only to find out that the venue had changed at the last minute. But we were able to find the new location and there we met the members of the band and members of the other bands as well. We hung outside of the club, as the show did not start until 9:00 pm, so we had plenty of time to kill (we were there at 8:00 pm). Lord Serpent, OldNick and Bloodhammer were a joy to meet and talk too. They were very pleased that we came all the way from California to see them. We talked about their music and other things. We met their father who supported the band 110% as Lord Serpent and OldNick are his sons. Now Ceremonial Castings was not the headliner for the night but they were the band we primarily went to see, but we have done a review on all bands that played that night in the order they came out on stage. Now with the fact that the venue was changed at the last minute the attendance was not that great, but for those of us that made it we were in for a great night of metal!
Evangelist. Death Metal band from Seattle. They put on a great show and it was the perfect way to start the night. They have been together since 2003 but they showed that they are close to being as one unit. A 5 piece band with brutal death vocals provided by Justin Brown, guitars by Chris Mannino, Dave Huston and Rob Steinway (Bass), and drums from Jason Azarpay. Since they are new they have only released a demo just this year. We liked them.
Inquinok: A Black Metal band hailing from Seattle. Everybody except one of the guitarist was wearing the necessary corpse paint. They have been together since 2001 and we hope they do well as these guys were fantastic (we love Black Metal!). Krelian provided the screams of black metal and this is what we wanted to hear. Only about 20+ people at the stage but all of them getting into this type of music. We want more BLACK METAL!!!
Ceremonial Castings: Now this is the band to listen too and see live! A 3 man band but you would never know that unless you saw them playing absolutely fantastic Black Metal. OldNick stacks up 3 keyboards on the stage and shows to everyone that Black Metal needs them and how it makes this type of metal come together. His presence on stage is not lost, like in most bands with a keyboardist, instead OldNick makes sure that you know he is there and puts everything into it and has fun at the same time. Lord Serpent provides the intense vocals and guitar work. His capability to do many variations of vocals (black metal, death etc.) during the songs is fantastic and must be appreciated. Bloodhammer is relatively new to the band as this was his 6th performance on stage for them but he did a marvelous job and fit in well with the brothers. The second song of their set was dedicated to us and that was awesome. We stayed right up front the entire time. Ceremonial Castings songs are long so they did not get a chance to play many but what they played was great. They also handed out free demo CD's which is a plus for this band as most bands do not give their demos out for free. We wanted more Black Metal and we got it.
Kettle Cadaver: Well this was a change in the nights music. These guys play punk music although they maybe considered Heavy Metal by some they are basically punk with metal overtones, oh and with shock (horror) included as the lead singer, Edwin, who likes to perform self mutilation during the performance. The band hails from Southern California but Edwin is originally from Norway (we talked to him a lot before the show to find out more about the band). They started out with this very bright stage light shining straight out into the crowd, which actually had grown a bit (I think they wanted to see what Edwin was going to do on stage this time). This light blinded anyone in it's way and was not welcome by most and then Edwin started speaking in Norwegian (I think that was the language) wearing a leather outfit and hat. OK so this band is not to my liking but I did not leave as Edwin did what he is known for although it was toned down. Nail Gun to the face, neck, chest etc. Paring knife slicing his skin. Needle forced through the side of his mouth etc. By the end of the set he was a bloody mess with blood all over the stage. This was mild compared to other performances where he actually nailed his dick (yes his penis) to the stage floor with a nail and hammer. What a sick fuck but it makes for great entertainment.
Funeral Age (headliner): The last band of the night and they play Death Metal although it was more traditional old school death metal and not really the newer stuff. They also hail from Seattle. They were OK but not really fantastic. We were getting really tired by now as it was after 1:00 am and we both had been up for over a day, so that may have affected our attentiveness to the band and their music. One of the members was leaving the band after the night so they started playing some cover songs to make their set last longer.
In closing this review; although it was a very long day/night for us we had a fantastic time. If you are ever in the Seattle area you must look-up Studio Seven as they are the place for underground metal in that city. We want to also thank Studio Seven as the people that worked there were very helpful and appreciative of us visiting them while in Seattle. As for Ceremonial Castings, you must listen to them as they are the real thing. The more people listening to this band the farther they will go.
Written by: Steven Ansell and Patrick O'Connor