Metal Underground.com

Column

Pit Stories: When A Venue Hands You A Sh*t Backline, Make It A Killer Show!

Band Photo: Evil Invaders (?)

We have practically seen it all in our expanding collection of Pit Stories - whether it finds us crowd surfing like legends, moshing in totally unexpected places or even attacks from psychotic large chested woman. You can find it all on Pit Stories.

Today, Jöe Anus - guitarist and vocalist of Belgian thrash act Evil Invaders - tells us about a gig in Brazil where the backline looked more hopeless than the venue itself. As things fell apart, the band continued to rage the audience and.....oh hell, let Jöe tell you about it:

We were on tour in Brazil and arrived in a club near the seaside to play a show. We entered and were quite excited because the venue looked promising. Unfortunately, the backline didn't look as promising as the venue itself (haha). An old cheap drumkit with some cymbal stands held together with tape, some Weir bass amp we had never heard of before, a line 6 spider which would be my powerhouse for tonight and an ancient Marshall combo which crowned Max [Maxheim] as king of the hill for that night!

As always we try to to the best with what we have and we always make it work in one way or another. So right before the show, Max got kicked off of his throne as the Marshall started to smoke. It got quickly got replaced by some Transistor similar to what I had (haha).

The show itself was raging!!! We were playing like speed demons and the crowd was going insane! Stagedivers and moshmaniacs everywhere. Shit got so violent that Senne [Jacobs] was beating the shit out of the drums. One by one the [microphone] stands started to fall down. In the meantime, one of Max's strings broke. We kept on going while he was trying to fix it. I picked up my mic stand and screamed like a madman only to notice that by picking it up, I ripped the cable to the microphone in two. At that moment, the entire drumkit fell apart, so I threw away my guitar and jumped into the crowd, ending our setlist two songs too short.

The crowd was so pumped up they were pulling me from all sides and screaming as they pulled me to the floor by my hair: "PLAY MORE! PLAY MOOOOOOOOORE!!!!" [they screamed] while I was screaming [back] "BUT EVERYTHING'S DESTROYED!!!!"

That was fuckin' intense!

For those who attended this show - be sure to tell us the story from your viewpoint! Also, if any of you experienced some crazy shit in a show you attended, tell us in the comments below!

Evil Invaders just released a killer new album called "Feed Me Violence" via Napalm Records on September 29th! Get your copy now at this location.

The band is currently on tour in Europe with the mighty Swedish vikings Grand Magus! Check them out on these remaining dates:

30.10.17 AT - Vienna / Viper Room
31.10.17 AT - Dornbirn / Conrad Sohm
01.11.17 AT - Graz - Explosiv
02.11.17 PL - Cracow / Kwadrat
03.11.17 DE - Leipzig / Hellraiser
04.11.17 DE - Berlin / Columbia Theater
05.11.17 DE - Stuttgart / Wizemann
06.11.17 DE - Hannover / Musikzentrum
07.11.17 DE - Aschaffenburg / Colos-Saal
08.11.17 DE - Nürnberg / Hirsch
09.11.17 NL - Eindhoven / Effenaar
10.11.17 DE - Cologne / Essigfabrik
11.11.17 DE - Weissenhauser Strand / Metal Hammer Paradise

From the early to mid-90's, Carl published his own fanzine called C.R.O.M. In 1997, he released a compilation entitled "CROM: The Resurrection of True Metal," which featured songs from bands from around the world, including the first U.S. release of any kind for bands like Italy's Rhapsody (n/k/a Rhapsody of Fire) and Brazil's Angra. Follow Carl on Facebook and Twitter: @CROMCarl.