Ghoul Gang X-Mas show review- 12/18/12 at the Magic Stick

Ghoul Gang X-Mas show review- December 18^th, 2012 at the Magic Stick

Freedom, Retribution, Weed Nap, Heat Lightning, From Hell, Build & Destroy, Face Reality, Ghoul Gang, and Rzl Dzl

As a stacked local line-up, I just knew I had to be at this.  As such, I took the day off work and caught a ride down there.  As I arrived, sound check for Freedom was just starting.  Thankfully, I was right on time.

Freedom went on a couple of minutes later, the first to do so.  They blasted through a quick set of youth crew-influenced powerviolence, or vice versa, whatever is suited to the subjective definition of the band’s sound (in other words, whichever YOU like more).  Fast and very short, the songs hardly eclipse a minute, if that.  Some of the band’s newer song stretched on for a bit longer than that, but make no mistake- this is definitely hardcore that everyone has time for.  Singer Denny has a strong voice that manages to mix both the mile-a-minute powerviolence sound with the rough, tough, slower youth crew sound.  It’ll take one longer to fap than to listen to a set by these guys, so no doubt, do the latter before the former, if at all separately.

Next was Retribution, who have been playing out more as of late, following a mild hibernation that has clearly led to the band becoming far more energized.  The set they did this time around, though not as stellar as the ones they’ve done recently (opening for Expire, Trial, and Twitching Tongues, respectively), was still pretty solid.  The material on their “Consumed” 7” is always energetic live, and some of their newer stuff, particularly the one about gay marriage and the moral clusterfuck churches seem to be preoccupied with at the moment, are even harder-hitting.  After a few years of sporadic activity and only a demo released, it seems that Kenny Smith and Retribution are at long last moving forward and accumulating much-deserved fans of their 90s-style straight-edge hardcore.

Weed Nap followed after this, jamming out their brand of funky, janky party punk.  This was some weird music, yet it was some very interesting stuff.  Still in its early development stages, I anticipate a decent EP to come out soon.  Think garage, janky, funky, punky.  Close enough.

After them came Heat Lightning, a band play jam music in the punkiest way possible.  This is definitely not music to have to read the lyrics to or soak in all the vibes, art, and meaning of the band to, but it is absolutely high quality, fun music to listen to.  I was not disappointed with it, I’ll put it that way.  Some music is to be taken in with absolute seriousness and the vibe/aesthetic to be fully absorbed, and other music is meant to be taken lightly, to be enjoyed, and be played loudly at parties.  This is the latter, and I couldn’t be happier with it.  Jam these jams.

After Heat Lightning was From Hell, who radiated dark energy with their slower, demonic style of hardcore.  Their brand of punk rock, though different from the more positive and fun styles of their friends, was strangely fitting.  The rearing of a dark, ugly sound has been a staple for Detroit for quite some time, and the current harbinger of this sound is From Hell, who have been around since roughly 2010, sludging it up with a demo and currently working on a 7”.

Build and Destroy came on next, and seemed as though they had improved since I last took notice of them around two years ago (at the Refuge benefit show in November ’10).  Sporting a party-style 90s hardcore with a subtle hip-hop influence, the band was very crowd-friendly, two-steps and gang vocals all around- the locals definitely seemed to know the words to the songs.  This is fascinating, as the band (to my knowledge, at least) has only a demo a good circulation of fans who spread the word, from Detroiters to, uh… Philadelphians, I guess, would be the word.  These guys do live up to the hype, so long as you understand that the music isn’t excessively serious or unique- it’s just fun hardcore.

Next came Face Reality, who is one of the best bands to come out of Michigan punk-wise in a long time.  The band came out full-force, and save for a couple moments where singer James’ voice went out, the band was totally on point, largely opting to play the newer material, which is much heavier and “harder”, so to speak.  Crowd participation was pretty strong, and people were singing moving for the majority of the duration of the set (yours truly included)- the only time the band stopped was to thank a few folks for their contributions to the scene, and it was, all in all, a pretty energetic and united vibe in the room.  Truly a sign of good things to come, and some already here.

Ghoul Gang and Rzl Dzl closed out the show, but due to my ride situation, I was unable to catch these two sets (much thanks to Ryan Coleman of Heat Lightning for that ride!).  However, the Ghoul Gang is not that unlike in its punky jam band vibe, and Rzl Dzl is the more hardcore side of party punk music- fun and light-hearted, and including Haroun Khan as a member.

Ultimately, the show drew a lot of different faces (I am more of a “punker” than a hardcore kid, I suppose) and truly drew them all together under one roof, for one purpose.  All in all, a great example of a Detroit show done right- I haven’t experienced an all-local show this awesome in quite some time.  This is how it’s done.

-Aunty Social

Retribution- Consumed 7” review

Retribution- Consumed 7” review

Upon first glance of this record, the first thing I noticed was the utterly fantastic artwork.  That was a great start to jamming out this EP.  The record begins with a punishing intro- you can almost sense the pit warming up as the drums smash in the background and the riffs ring out.  Then, the intro moves into the song “Diseased and Dead”, which rolls along rather quickly, pummeling with speed and focus from all the members of the band, before the tempo slows and the breakdown (inevitable to all hardcore bands, local and otherwise) begins, as the chorus is shouted out from both singer Kenneth Smith and the various voices in the gang vocals, being appropriate here- this is a crowd favorite, so these are words actually screamed out by fans at shows, which is fitting.  Next, “D.R.A.”  is a track about a lost friend and the sorrow and regrets that follows with that loss.  I didn’t get too into this one, but I can see why this song is important- to both the band and the friends who lost the friend whom the song is about, and I can at least give respect to a band for that.  “Consumed” is a metal-tinged hardcore straight-edge jam about, of all things, not being overly occupied with the many vices of “poisons” that lurk in our worlds.  This song is a killer jam- it is direct and pointed, rather than most straight edge songs, which usually are metaphorical and somewhat indirect.  Concluding this EP is a song called “No More”, about taking back the world from the control of those who do evil to other people, namely killers and rapists.  Philosophically, this is right on my level- no moral high ground or being the better man, but instead imposing the suffering that these victimizers have dished out.  There is something inexplicably satisfying about bringing that sort of pain back to someone like that.  It rings of the Malcolm X idiom “by any means necessary”- when danger lurks around every corner, it is a great deterrent to have when equal pain brought will be received in return.

Not groundbreaking, but the songs are some real damn good hardcore jams, the artwork rules, and this band deserved the work put into this record.  Definitely worthwhile, money and time-wise.

-Aunty Social

Dire Wolf Final Show review at the Metal Frat

Dire Wolf’s final show at the Metal Frat, show review, January 29, 2011


When the Meat Mansion’s residents were booted, a DIY venue died in Ann Arbor. Having been the home of multiple awesome punk parties, I wondered where else would a killer punk party be held. DIY venues are a handful in number in Michigan, let alone metro Detroit. Where was I to go? Luckily, a fraternity house has residents who are open to booking punk shows just down the road from the former Meat Mansion, the Metal Frat. The place has been booking shows on and off for approximately three years, and a few notable acts have been through there. I had been to one show in the past, failing to take any notice of any decent acts at that show. However, I saw a very dynamic bill of bands on a bill for this Metal Frat show. Maybe the place wasn’t all bad. I ventured off to the Metal Frat to see if this was indeed the case…

The debut band The Great Reversals set up and started their set. They play a style of strange hardcore I’m unfamiliar with, a sort of distorted-sounding heavy hardcore with intelligent, free-from lyrics and a general lack of rhythm. The sound still captivated my interest, just not in the grab-you-by-the-balls way some bands do. Think Jawbreaker meets Frank White meets a linguistics professor with an associate’s in English composition; the singer is very emotional, very serious in his tone, and in between songs, he talked about some of the things that meant something to him, a heartfelt socio-cultural speech of sorts. The sound was very tight, but I think I’d more enjoy the company of this band talking about socio-political-cultural over coffee and incense (I doubt the band smokes anything at all) rather than in a frat house basement. To me, emotionality is more purposeful in literature than in punk music, seeing as how punk is moreso an expression about/ of anger than it is linguistics or philosophy; still, I can’t count out proactivity and a packed-out basement of fans. 90s and emotional hardcore didn’t interest me when I first heard it and it still doesn’t interest me now; oh well, they have their fans, and I’m just not one of them.

After the Great Reversals finished what seemed like five songs, Muskegon home boys Retribution set up and slammed out some songs. Straight-edge with non-serrated (non-judgmental) teeth, but still cutting edge instead of breaking it, Retribution particularly impressed me for a new band; energy just fucking radiated from this west coast crew. I really felt the anger seeping through this singer’s skull, spewing from his mouth. Such great potential lies ahead for this group if they keep on the path they’re on. I know this anti-straight-edge asshole (myself) will be blasting this band’s future demo while cruising Mound or I-75.

Fresh from a signing to stalwart record label Youngblood Records, Face Reality was locked, cocked and ready to rock the block. Even though straight-edge bands really seem to have a giant hard-on for slowed-down 90s hardcore with what seems like a montage of perpetual/ never-ending breakdowns, Face Reality is a face-melting furious fighting force that I cannot get enough of. I’m more pissed off listening to Face Reality than I am SSD or Cold as Life. This band is the band to play a show with right now, without a doubt. I don’t go off for a lot of bands because I’m usually pissed off anyway, but this band just makes me go apeshit. Although no one else did, I tried to just go off and mosh the shit out of the place. Sadly, breakdowns were the population’s pastime. I still fucking love this band regardless of what anyone’s mosh pit desires are. It doesn’t make any difference what kind of punk you like, listen to this fucking band and you will never be the same again, and it’s for the better.

Next was Grand Rapids hardcore one-tour vets Damages. Although notable in their hometown, the previously mentioned, often unacknowledged wall of division between Grand Rapids and Detroit is still very high; I haven’t seen too much local recognition for this band (local being local to me, metro Detroit) and they do deserve some; even though they play 90s-ish hardcore and I’m not particularly partial to their lyrics, they still seemed to be doing something right. I had no feelings, really, about the set; intense 90s hardcore with lyrics and context not necessarily appealing or repellant to me. One thing I can say, though, is that they’re proactive and seem to be interested in doing something, which I’m always down with; we’ll see what I (or others, you lazy non-reviewer fucks) think of the 7” when I get to it.

Closing the show with their last-ever set was Dire Wolf. I don’t have any idea what they were like previous to their break-up plans, but what I saw was intense dedication (Hellmouth-like levels here, people) and the most fucked mosh pit since Leftover Crack and Negative Approach (July 1st, 2009 and July 31st, 2010, respectively). Some guy had a t-shirt burkha and was mount-moshing, someone had their nose broken (I have a couple pictures of this), and at the end of their mixed 80s-90s hardcore set, their dedicated fanbase yelled out the lyrics of their last two songs, ironically enough the first two ever written by the band. Damn near half the room just erupted in unifying chants, all together, at the same time, screaming the same song that wasn’t “Thriller”, “Filler”, or “Rise Above”. Real music dedication, real fan bases who genuinely support local bands actually do exist; I have some restored hope for humanity. Perhaps I should be worried that optimism has begun to infect me.

All in all, this show wasn’t just another shit in the stall. Out of five bands, I really got down with three, and the other two were still good, just not for my personal tastes; for a local-only show, 60% great bands is an unusually strong ratio, and I’m glad I ventured out. Although I will still draw circles on my hands to show my non straight-edge values, I think that scene, and the others who surround it, just may have something well worth mine and others’ attention.

-Aunty Social