The Crunch House - 5/12/17 Roughly a month ago, my colleagues went to a show at the Crunch House, which you can read about here. It was a show that consisted of a handful of great acts in the Connecticut extreme music scene. Well, fast forward a bit, and we have yet another incredibly solid lineup at the Crunch House, this time a show that we at Metal Lifestyle have sponsored! The show included five Connecticut local acts from pretty different musical backgrounds, from hardcore punk to progressive metal to black metal. Nevertheless, as the night had shown, it was truly a fun one for all. Let’s get right into business. Perennial opened up the show with their very experimental punk music. Their sound could be compared to earlier post-hardcore acts, such as Refused and Blood Brothers, with a riot grrl edge you can find in acts like Sleater-Kinney. Their incorporation of the synth is absolutely infectious and the group was obviously having a ton of fun in the spotlight, making their performance all the more enjoyable. The only downside to their set was that more people weren’t moving around, when this is surely a group that people should be dancing and having a good time to. I hope they get a more appropriate reaction at future shows, because they put a lot into their performance. Check them out on Bandcamp here, and be on the lookout for more music from these guys. Prologues came up next. If you read Metal Lifestyle regularly, you have seen this name pop up before, be it in a review for Absence of Distance or in the above review for the last Crunch House show. There’s no questioning why Metal Lifestyle has spotlighted this group. Prologues has shown a level of passion in two years that most bands never get to show over an entire career, and this night was no different. The room moshed throughout their entire 20 minute set, and yours truly even did a bit of guest vocals during their song “Dialogue, By Any Other Name,” Of the three times I caught these guys live, this was surely the time they seemed the most focused and energetic. If you are a fan of groups such as Poison the Well, Zao, and Eighteen Visions and you don’t know these guys by now, you would be doing yourself a significant favor in keeping up with what they are going to be doing in the future. Until then, check out the one song they have up on Bandcamp right now. Next up was The Crooked Sound. They've been gaining a lot of attention in the Connecticut music scene, playing quite a few shows to hype their upcoming debut release, Lotus-eaters. Despite having only two tracks out currently, the entire room was going insane for the duration of their set. There was everything from moshing to crowd-surfing. Yes, there was crowd-surfing in a room that holds at most, 70 people. Tyler from Prologues, myself, and others were all crowd-surfing, and it was fun as all fuck. The Crooked Sound just brought so much energy out of the crowd, and we poured that energy back, making sure their performance was one to remember. If you dig bands such as Every Time I Die, letlive., and Bungler, keep on the lookout for Lotus-eaters and check out their singles here. Next was Destination Dimension, who was truly the oddest entry on the bill. They brought a very jazzy, proggy style for about a half-hour, mixing some really nicely-sung cleans and harsh vocals. I, as well as many others, were super tired after The Crooked Sound, so it was really nice to catch a breath and meditate over what Destination Dimension offer. If you dig bands such as The Contortionist, TesseracT, and Good Tiger, you should definitely give these guys a listen here. Finally came up Inflictor, whose 30 minute set brought me back to the days when I was a complete metalhead, and I was absolutely loving it. Their set wasn’t as active as Prologues or The Crooked Sound, but there was moshing during their set, and the band seemed to be really into it was well, with bassist Ray King getting in people’s faces and jumping off his amp. When their music slowed down it was atmospheric and meditative, but when it got faster, it was definitely mosh-worthy. I windmilled a few times during their set, which really did a number on my neck afterwards, but I had such a damn good time during their performance that I couldn’t give a shit. They don’t have any music out yet, but if you’re into bands such as Emperor, Enslaved, and Darkthrone, and want to unlock that inner metalhead you’ve suppressed in fear of being judged as an elitist loser, like their Facebook page here and keep up to date with them. This night was five incredibly solid local acts giving as much energy and love as they received. I’ve been to many local shows in my home state of New York, and honestly, none of them could come even close to how good this one was. Even with the wild reaction to Prologues and The Crooked Sound, there was never a sense of toxicity or danger, which is something I have unfortunately felt too often at various New York shows that are infested with the sort of manipulative, misogynistic NY/NJ/PA tri-state scumbags I wrote about in my first post for Metal Lifestyle. If I feel safe moshing and crowd-surfing at a show, let alone a local show with no big names on the bill, then I don’t see how anyone could complain. I never thought I’d say it, but I am a jealous New Yorker. - Alex Brown.
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