On Wednesday, July 8th, iwrestledabearonce came to Charleston. They could have had a night off before their tour, but instead they came here (this will be important later)! Ron and Bam (of Harder Nation Faster Unleashed X) from 98X, basically got them to come, somehow with their magical prowess (you can listen to their show every Saturday night on WYBB, 98.1) and pulled together a bunch of great local bands for openers. They promoted this show like crazy (I got to make the flier ! ) and their work paid off. I have never in my LIFE seen The Oasis that packed. You could barely move, and it wasn't just in front of the stage; all the way past the bar and in the entrance was full of people. Not only was it a Wednesday night, but it was pouring down rain (it was so bad that the Apple store flooded and had to be shut down). So despite torrents from heaven, and work in the morning, and hot and sweaty and crowded rooms, huge amounts of people came out.
And this crowd was not only filled with normal metal kids, there were the metal guys of the older sort who are legit and hardcore not in the sense that it's used today. There were kids that seemed to be normal. Even punk kids showed up. That's the appeal of this band; everyone came.
The first band on stage was amazing, Aralic. They were put first on the lineup just because not too many people knew who they were and they were from the farthest away place, but I think they should have been last. They're finalists for a Metal Blade recording contract, and when they started playing you could tell why. They really blew me away because to be honest I wasn't expecting to see a first opener with that kind of talent.
It was great, I loved the screaming, and it was really kind of almost smooth with their breakdowns. You can check out their myspace here.
My favorite "local" band of the evening: Your Chance to Die. They are from Columbia and I've been going to a lot of their shows this year so I guess I'll just go ahead and say I love them. They're another really cool band that talks to their fans. And okay, so we shouldn't have to talk about it but we do. The lead singer is a chick. Missy. And her performance will shut you up if you say anything about girls and metal. They are really fun to listen to and see. The set was really good at the show. I hope they got a bunch of new fans from Charleston now :)
At the end of their set, people started chanting "one more song! one more song!" And heck yeah, they played the THEME SONG! Which is tied with Verdict for the Gods as my favorite YCTD song. But they didn't play it in full. ): I'm really sad about this. Actually, I'm really sad that they don't play the Theme Song as an opener for every show like they used to. Heres my opinion, and guys if you're reading this, know that a bunch of us fans have talked about it and all agree. You should play the Theme Song as the opener for every show. Not just because I like it (although that is a perfectly legitimate reason) but did you see how during IWABO's set, they got the whole crowd doing the harp fingers? Thats what YOU have with the Theme Song. You get the whole crowd rushing to and jumping on the stage and singing along. Yeah, maybe its a gimmick, but it works. And even if your style is drifting a little bit away from that song, I still think you should play it, because when you do, it draws attention to you. Everyone in the venue looks up to see why everyone is rushing the stage. And people want to be a PART of that. They want to be in that crowd of people who know the words, and are screaming THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO DIE! It really works.
Well, anyway, you can check out their myspace here.
Mare of Steel was the third up. I suppose I'd call them speed metal maybe... with a Lamb of God influence. At the very least their music was very fast, and their dedicated fans were all about a good circle pit. They've been getting pretty big locally while I've been away, and they'll be at S.C.U.M. FEST later this summer.
Myspace here.
Coffin Syrup is really loved around here, and I'd been waiting to see them for a while. Kinda gritty sounding, pretty much grindcore; another SCUM IV band. Good at what they do. Not much to say because I missed part of their set. :o
Check it out here.
I've only had a chance to see Belligerent one other time. And I was outside with Ron and Bam and a few other people during part of their set as well but they are good. Read again Lamb of God and Slayer, and bands like that.
Myspace here.
AHH IWRESTLEDABEARONCE! Ohhmydeityofyourchoice! Bloooooown away. This is what everyone came to see. IWABO is one of those bands on the way to the top (are they there yet? ... maybe). They are completely unique in their sound and I believe if anyone sounds like them it is probably because they are trying to be like them.
Okay so first of all there's the talent. Theres some serious skill there with every band member, and the song writing is amazing. They keep everything hardcore and legit but aren't afraid to have fun. Then they love what they do. They came to Charleston the night before their tour. They could have taken a day off, but it just shows that they care about their fans, and they love their music. And I hope we made it worth it for them.
It was amazing to see the crowd explode when they started playing. The pit was crazy, even out of the pit everyone was moshing. Everybody played along. Everyone was into it. These kids have what it takes.
I don't even know what to say about them... myspace.
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