In our preview of Soul Glo in advance of this year’s SXSW, I mentioned how music on the heavier side of things has never quite had the highest profile at SXSW and has definitely shrunk its presence at the festival over the past several years. That said, I still managed to find a decent amount of good stuff under the metal/hardcore/whatever banner that helped to scratch the itch, so to speak. Here are a few of the highlights:
Otoboke Beaver, March 16, Hotel Vegas
OK, they may not be metal per se, but Japan’s Otoboke Beaver can make just as much of a racket and put on a better show than many of the metal bands I’ve seen in my day. The band’s high energy punk rock can approach near-grindcore levels of intensity, but always with a strong sense of melody and most importantly, they’re a lot of fun to watch live.
Poison Ruin, March 17, Chess Club
With their dark, heavy hybrid of old school crust punk, post-punk/goth sounds, and a solid dose of heavy metal, Philadelphia punks Poison Ruin put on a memorable show during their Friday night set at Chess Club. Their new album Härvest is out April 14 via Relapse Records. Check out the video for “Resurrection II” below.
Soul Glo, March 18, Chess Club
I read somewhere that Soul Glo flew into Austin on the morning of the final day of the festival and crammed three sets into their brief time in Austin. I suppose that makes sense in a way – this band goes hard enough that I can’t imagine them sustaining the usual SXSW model of playing multiple shows a day over the course of the whole week for all that long. Their show at Chess Club as part of the Creem Magazine day party will surely go down as one of the best sets I saw at this year’s SouthBy.
Escuela Grind, March 18, Elysium
I may have only caught the last ten or so minutes of Escuela Grind’s Saturday night set as part of the Knotfest showcase at Elysium, but in those few minutes, the band crammed in a lot, putting on one of the most intense performances I saw all week. The band was fresh off the road from a European tour with Napalm Death and Dropdead and that time on the road has clearly left them in fine form. And I’m happy to see that Escuela Grind will also be hitting Toronto next week for a show at the Hard Luck Bar on March 31 as part of their current North American tour.