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Byzantine And Archspire Were Among Groups That Played Metalsucks’ Showcase

Metalsucks.net's South By South Death showcase featured guitar shredders. Tech death bands Archspire and Allegaeon were in full force, but before they hammered out their first blast beats, a different kind of shredder took the stage. Myrone is a one-man guitar virtuoso hailing out of Los Angeles, California. The sole member of Myrone was similar to Buckethead in that he wore a mask. Many of the long notes he held was reminiscent of Joe Satriani. He later admitted to me that Satriani is a major influence. He played his guitar over top of ‘80s style keyboard samples, which were part of a soundtrack to a video game.

I missed Vancouver tech death outfit Archspire the last time they played in Austin, which was part of the Housecore Horror Film Festival. A friend who saw them said their performance tonight was much better due to their not playing outside, which caused noise distractions. Tonight I listened to a fan give me the scoop on their talent and I can’t refute anything he said. At the center of this talent was drummer Spencer Prewett. He played extremely fast and hard. Dean Lamb played an eight-string guitar, while the other guitarist, Tobi Morelli played a seven-string, so their guitar section achieved deep sounds. Clayton Harder, who is apparently just a touring bassist, was impressive playing his six-string bass high on the neck. Fans of Origin most likely know and love this band.

Elder served as a major change among the million-notes-a-minute bands that seemed to be the norm. While the Massachusetts band didn’t play with breakneck speed they made up for in heaviness. They had touches of doom metal but were mostly mired in stoner riffs and psychedelics. Based on the style they play, I went into the show with strong expectations, but couldn’t really get into the band. There were a few bobbing heads, but mostly the crowd seemed detached. Again, they were a nice break from the flurry of fingers, but the band seemed out of place on the night’s bill.

Tech death mavens Allegaeon experienced lineup changes over the last couple of years. These changes seem light years away as the band play a tight and cohesive set. Ezra Haynes kept stepping on the table in front of me and bending into the crowd for his red-faced screams. Both guitarists’ fingers were a blur on their fret board that it seemed effortless. Their ability to change rhythms so smoothly was also impressive.The band wasn't completely serious, though, as they brought out a guy in a crab suit.

One of the first bands to catchy my eye when SXSW released partial lineups was Byzantine. The West Virginia band plays concrete-laden riffs not at the speed of Archspire or Allegaeon but with much of the same technical prowess. The group came in to support their upcoming full-length “To Release Is To Resolve” (read the interview), which they played and also included material throughout their five albums. They were another group whose groove-based approach was a perfect fit for the Dirty Dog Bar. In addition to pounding grooves, the band also played melodically and singer Chris "OJ" Ojeda mixed up his vocals from harsh to clean.

Fallujah brought its own brand of shred to the table, but steeped in atmosphere. Heavenly keyboards provided a floating background to the band’s music. Guitarists Scott Carstairs and Brian James helped make these keyboards even richer with their long, bending jazzy notes. Alex Hofmann showed an impressive range in his vocals. Fallujah was slower than Archspire and Allegaeon but their progressive ways and short bursts of speed saw them in much of the same light as those two groups.

Norma Jean didn’t hit the stage until 1 AM, but the crowd didn’t seem to be tiring nor did it seem to be thinning out. They didn’t possess the mind blowing skill of Fallujah or Archspire, but their breakdown heavy approach surely got the crowd moving. In fact, they received the best response of the whole night. This included getting the pit going, which was on again, off again throughout the night. I’m not a fan of Norma Jean’s style, but I can’t deny they energy they brought to the night.