Report

Voivod, Portal Headlined A Diverse Faction Of Bands On HHFF Day One

The festival was able to condense four hours down to one but the first day of HHFF started an hour late. I didn’t expect to see any of Evil United since they were suppose to have ended at 12:30, but my 1:15 arrival time allowed me to catch a couple of songs from the Austin-based band. Evil United may be local, but the group consists of veterans such as Jason McMaster—who was well known in the eighties as front man for Dangerous Toys and Watchtower. In addition to Evil United, he now sings in Ignitor and Broken Teeth. McMaster’s voice soared through the parking lot that comprised Midway’s stage, Evil U was the sole representative of classic heavy metal at the festival.

I only caught a song of Origin, which was fast and brutal, before heading towards the press area for an interview with Wizards of Gore/Warbeast singer Bruce Corbitt. I did, however, catch the entire set of funny man/metalhead Brian Posehn. He started his set making jokes about his balls—which led to a joke about six-year-old kids’ balls. Of course the delivery made him look like an old perv, but he reminded the audience he has a son of that age. Then he cracked jokes on a topic fitting for a festival featuring slasher films—serial killers. He said if anyone in the crowd was a serial killer and wanted to impress him then go kill an MMA fighter. Then he mused on the fact that Richard Ramirez was a fan of AC/DC and possibly was influenced by their song “Night Prowler.” He thought it would have been funny if Ramirez would have said “Shazboz Nano Nano” just before shooting his victims. Taboo stuff but with this crowd this subject worked well.

Metal Blade recording artist Cattle Decapitation hammered the crowd with technical-yet-brutal songs. David McGraw’s clicky drums were like a rocket blast to the face, while Josh Elmore (guitar) and Derek Engemann (bass) played tight and with technical precision. Much of the band’s set was taken from their latest recording, “Monolith of Inhumanity.” The added melody to these songs make them stand out in the band’s catalog, especially Travis Ryan’s use of clean vocals. It’s been two years since the release of that album and the band has new material which they offered in the form of “Plague Born.” Cattle Decapitation fans keep an eye out in the near future for this song and their new album.

Each day a band with a fairly large name closed down the Midway stage, then there was a discussion panel to start the indoor stage at Emo’s. There shouldn’t have been a lapse in time, but since the Midway stage was an hour behind, Unearth’s set coincided with the Texas Chainsaw Massacre discussion panel. I saw two songs from Unearth then walked over to the courtyard where members of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Part two sat ready to sign autographs or talk to fans. I spoke with Bill Moseley (Chop Top) of TCM 2 and Rob Zombie’s “House of 1000 Corpses” and “The Devil’s Rejects” (Otis Driftwood). I met his daughter and he educated me on his CDs. He and Bill Johnson (Leatherface, TCM 2) told me stories about shooting the film including working with real skeletons shipped in from India.

The TCM panel included all remaining members of the original film. This wasn’t just another horror film fest get together. This marked the 40th anniversary of the film. A moderator started the discussion by asking a few questions about making the film and what Austin was like back in the early ‘70s. The microphone was passed down the line so each panelist could speak his or her mind. Then the moderator opened the floor to fans to ask their questions. Some of the things I found fascinating were Edwin Neal’s telling of how he used his schizophrenic nephew as a model for the Hitchhiker. Also, the picture of Austin in the early ‘70s and all the grass they smoked while working on the film. One fan asked the question if Ed Gein influenced the film and Gunnar Hansen (Leatherface) said he only inspired the skin mask. They too spoke of there being real skeletons used in the film.

Every band that started the musical portion at Emo’s was a local. Skan started it off today. Featuring ex-members of Skrew, the group plays a form of metal that encompasses thrash, death and black metal. The band played a set culled from last year’s “Old King” EP (reviewed here) but also included a new track. This new song weighs in double the time of the EP tracks and weaves and winds through many sonic soundscapes. It is slow and fast, harsh and melodic. If these guys create more songs like this, expect good things on their next recording.

Subrosa constructs massive slabs of doom with two violinists. The two violinists that stood on the opposite side of the stage didn’t inject the Salt Lake City band with sorrow like My Dying Bride. The violins were used more as a layer of effects to mess you’re your mind, all made nearly transcendental by the lights and imagery on the giant screen. Their droning compositions were mesmerizing. They bring something more cerebral than what the stoner/doom crowd is used to.

Several people I spoke to in the crowd about the schedule did recognize the name Wizards of Gore. Since the death of Mike Scaccia, Rigor Mortis no longer played as Rigor Mortis. They played a benefit show for Scaccia’s family as The Scaccianators and tonight they appeared as Wizards of Gore, which was taken from a Rigor Mortis song. Mike Taylor took the place of Scaccia and the band played a set of songs from the latest Rigor Mortis album “Slaves to the Grave” and their self-tiled debut. The sound was rough at the start as Bruce Corbitt’s vocals were very low in the mix on opener “Re-Animator”, but the sound guy rectified the problem. New axe maniac Taylor perfectly played the notes created by the great Mike Scaccia including the initial picking burst and long solo on new track “Poltergeist.” Travis Ryan of Cattle Decapitation projectile vomited lyrics from “Foaming at the Mouth.” The band played its namesake track to close of their explosive set.

Phil Anselmo introduced mysterious death metallers Portal who arose from the depths of R’lyeh and came here by way of Australia. The lights went out as the band took the stage in pure darkness. Someone near me blurted out “he’s got the noose” referring to bassist Omenous Fugue who’s hooded throat was draped in a rope. Their whole set was Lovecraftian from the tentacle-protruding, veiled singer The Curator to the band’s timing. The band’s timing was Lovecraftian in the sense that it moved in strange geometric patterns, like something out of time and space. Now I know what HHFF co-founder Phil Anselmo means when he said the band embodies horror.

Minds were melted as Voivod implanted chips with sci-fi thrash songs that go back as far as 30 years. The movie screen in the back gave images to the words, showcasing drummer Away’s art work. The Canuks played a long set of songs ranging throughout the band’s career. “Ripping Headaches” stoked the Rrooarrrr!!! Snake warned of “Killing Technology” on “Order of the Blackguards,” “Forgotten in Space” and “Overeaction.” “Tribal Convictions” showed Away in full war dance mode. “Nothingface” was ripped from “Nothingface” and "Psychic Vaccum" was sucked out of “Dimension Hatröss.” It was fun watching guitarist Daniel Mongrain and Rocky Laroche launch riffs off each other. The Voivod was alive and well on this night in October.