WARRIORS OF METAL FEST V
Frontier Ranch, Petaskala, Ohio
June 28 – 30, 2012
June 28, 2012
Our story of valiant metal heroism begins at 4:30 a.m. somewhere along Alabama’s
Gulf Coast. Your intrepid protagonists (Jen and I) awakened in the pitch black
of a sweltering summer night, piled into the rental car, and began the long,
arduous journey north. We saw Birmingham and Nashville and beautiful Cincinnati
(a hearty hex on their rush-hour traffic though), and passed within spitting
distance of Huntsville and Louisville, before finally reaching the metropolis of
Columbus, Ohio, nearly 14 hours and more than 820 miles later. Whew, that’s a
long drive. The hell of it was that it was substantially hotter in Ohio when we
arrived than it has been in Alabama all summer. What’s up with that? We’re
talking triple digits at 8:00 p.m. Doesn’t bode well for an open air music
festival, does it?
After getting settled into our clean budget hotel near the sprawling Ohio State
University campus, we picked up some groceries, sandwiches and beer, and relaxed
in free air conditioning for a couple of hours. At around 10:00 p.m., we headed
downtown for the Pre-Fest Showcase. In contrast to the main event, the Showcase
was held at a little hole-in-the-wall dive bar called The Shrunken Head Rock
Club. You know the place, because every town has one: small stage a foot or so
off the floor, tucked in a corner of a bar, right by the window, with barely
enough room for drums, amps and musicians. Air conditioning struggling (and
mostly failing) to keep pace with the oppressive heat. Makeshift chandelier made
out of PBR cans and a string of white Christmas lights. And a few dozen
metalheads from around the world (literally, given the appearance of Manilla
Road’s drummer Neudi, fresh off the plane from Germany) looking to kick off a
massive metal weekend with a few beers and a few bands. When organizer Datis
Alaee explained to us that “this is our party,” we understood just what he
meant. Although it was open to the public, most attendees were bands and Fest
personnel (volunteers/sponsors). This made for a very cool, homey, relaxed vibe.
Unfortunately, we missed the triumvirate of local or semi-local openers, and Zuul from Illinois
were a last-minute scratch. However, we did get to witness the Massachusetts
Invasion of Ohio. All four bands we saw on this night hail from Mass., and
featured interlocking (and to some degree interchangeable) members. It was as if
every true metal musician in Massachusetts banded together to form this
four-headed hydra of molten metal power, with each providing a slightly
different take on the old-school metal genre. Not only that, but the Mass. bands
were stalwarts, hanging out (and rocking out right near the stage) at the
festival all weekend long. To a man, the Massachusetts invaders were cool dudes,
as J. and I enjoyed our conversations with them over the course of the weekend.
And all four bands have been rewarded for their loyalty and enthusiasm by being
confirmed for Warriors of Metal VI in Summer 2013.
First up were Skull Hammer, a three-piece power/thrash act led by
singer/guitarist Ace McArdle. Kicking off their set with a blistering
shout-along rendition of “I Defy,” Skull Hammer impressed from the outset with
their energy and thrashy goodness. For some reason, they had me thinking of a
thrashier version of Anvil, or a rawer version of Wargasm, both musically and in
terms of stage presence. Hell, McArdle even sounds a touch like Bob Mayo. At any
rate, Skull Hammer ripped through a selection of tunes from their debut album,
‘Pay It in Blood,’ including the title track and “Balls to the Bone,” and also
played a couple of tracks from their forthcoming second CD, to be titled
‘Resisting Time.’ One of those tunes, “Nomads of the Wasteland,” was dedicated
to the many people who had traveled long distances to be there. Definitely a
fine and fun way to begin our WOM Fest adventure.
Our second Massachusetts invaders were the familiar Ravage, who are perhaps
best known for their second CD, ‘End of Tomorrow,’ which was released on Metal
Blade Records a couple years back. Firmly in the U.S. power metal style, and
anchored by the characteristic endearing vocals of Al Ravage, the band churned
out a crowd-pleasing set. Highlights included “Freedom Fighter,” “The Shredder,”
“Grapes of Wrath,” and “The End of Tomorrow” (all culled from the Metal Blade
album), as well as “Ravage Part 1” from the debut ‘Spectral Rider’ CD that came
out in 2005. Ravage also treated us to a brand-new song, “Enter The Outbreak,”
which definitely sounded up to par. Through it all, the twin guitars of Nick
Izzo and Eli Firicano sliced and diced along. Fun set, and here’s hoping Ravage
can release that 3rd CD in time for their performance at next year’s
WOM Fest event.
Want more Massachusetts metal? A special bonus tonight was that newcomers Iron
Will slotted into the set time vacated by Zuul’s cancellation. The Iron Will
dudes hadn’t planned on performing tonight, so their impromptu mini-set was put
together on the fly (including set list written on a crumpled-up sheet of paper
in the singer’s pocket). Iron Will features no fewer than three members of
Ravage, with Al Ravage playing drums, Eli Firicano handling the guitars, and
bassist Rich Berte also pulling double-duty. The three Ravagers are supplemented
in Iron Will by singer Tony “The Metal Duke” Canillas (a super nice guy with a
solid Bostonian accent) with a clear voice that sounds like it came right out of
the NWOBHM movement in the early 80s. Trad/true metal is the name of the game
for Iron Will, and although they only played a few songs, their material sounded
simply outstanding. I understand that the band’s debut album is basically
finished, so here’s hoping it sees the light of day soon. Iron Will rise, indeed!
To cap off the night, Framingham’s Seax delivered a powerful blow to the
jugular of the few hardy souls who still remained in the Shrunken Head after the
witching hour. Seax’s ranks include Skull Hammer bassist Matt C. Axe, and
charismatic vocalist Carmine Blades, sporting the cut-off Loudness t-shirt and
leather trousers look. (Some of these guys are also in the melodic power metal /
thrash hybrid act Sonic Pulse, who did not play at this Fest. How many bands can
this handful of Massachusetts metalheads juggle? It’s extraordinary, really.)
Seax’s brand of heavy metal is speedy, energetic, and definitely punky. It’s
fast, it’s heavy and it hits you right between the eyes. Seax’s performance was
my favorite of the night, because this is when the metal party vibe finally
gelled. There were a couple dozen of us standing right up against the stage,
standing shoulder to shoulder, rocking along and sweating it out with the band,
each song faster and heavier than the last. Seax band members wore big grins
all through their set, playing their hearts out and seemingly having the time
of their lives. This gig really captured the essence and magic of pure live
heavy metal. I didn’t know a single song they played (this was a release party
of sorts for their newly released debut CD), but it didn’t matter. This show
was about sweat and energy and brotherhood and metal. What a perfect way to
finish off the Pre-Fest Showcase!
By this time, it was well after 1:00 a.m. Jen and I had been up for more than 20
hours straight, and we were definitely feeling fatigued. So we said our good
nights, stepped out into the still-steaming Ohio night, and headed back to the
hotel for our last few hours of A/C and sleep in a real bed before the festival
proper began on Friday.
Friday, June 29, 2012
The WOM Fest is a marathon, not a sprint. So we took it easy this morning. We
enjoyed hanging out in the clean quiet of our hotel room until around 10:30
a.m., thinking this would give us plenty of time to make the 20-minute drive to
the Frontier Ranch in Petaskala (just east of Columbus) for our scheduled 11:00
a.m. report time to begin our volunteer duties running the Fest merch
booth. The next two hours were
basically a blur. We began working
our way through boxes and plastic tubs of merch delivered by various bands,
trying to figure out what inventory we had and to devise a system for handling
purchases, tracking sales, and displaying the merch in a way that was fair and
equitable to all. While this was happening, we were simultaneously endeavoring
to greet friends, set up our tent and camping gear in our appointed corner of
the campground, and oh yeah, listen to bands. The first band of the day, the
highly touted Borrowed Time, went on stage a few minutes before their designated
12:00 noon time. Fortunately, Jen and I work well together, so by around 2:00
p.m., we had the merch booth looking killer, the tent assembled (thanks to a
special assist from our pal Hoyt Parris of Georgia’s Pathfinder Promotions!),
and we were ready to enjoy the festival.
Now’s as good a time as any to pause the narrative and set the scene for you. The
Frontier Ranch (which was also the site of WOM Fest IV in June 2011) is
basically a remote grassy field with a few permanent structures, set back from
the main road on a farmer’s property. Rustic is a good word to describe it. It’s
not the lap of luxury, but if you’re going to have an open air festival, the
Frontier Ranch provides a suitable set-up. (I’ve heard it compared to the venue
in rural Germany where the Headbangers Open Air is held every August.) There’s a
large, permanent, covered stage, about six feet off the ground, with ample room
for the bands to move around. In front of the stage is a grassy field; however,
a rudimentary shelter from the sun and rain is created by a sheet metal roof
that extends out a good distance from the stage. (This roof was particularly
helpful this weekend, because the sun was oppressive, vicious, relentless and
frickin’ hot.) Scattered around the property are a few other buildings,
including our Merch Booth (which is unfortunately situated in a location outside
the direct line of sight to the stage), a food/kitchen building, a couple of
decidedly scary lavatories (featuring extensive rust stains), and rudimentary
shower facilities. That’s pretty much it, save for a larger shelter (looks like
an oversized garage or shed for farm equipment) at the back of the field and a
few Port-a-Johns. On the positive
side (and this is important): Stage sound is uniformly excellent, whether
because of the equipment, the acoustics, or the stellar work of the WOM Fest
sound engineer and associate director of the world famous Recording Workshop,
Inc.’s Brian Muth. (While we’re doling out kudos, how about a massive “Attaboy”
to the stage manager and stage crew, who kept everything running like clockwork
and on time all weekend long, with only a couple of bands overstepping their
15-minute allotted changeover time.) Lighting was better this year than last
thanks to an extra bank of lights set up right in front of the stage. Overall,
the Frontier Ranch is a fine place to stage an open air heavy metal festival, as
long as you don’t mind the barebones amenities (most folks camp, since the
nearest hotels are a 15-20 minute drive away) and the elements cooperate a bit
(note this clever bit of foreshadowing for what’s to come on this very day).
A word about the attendees.
This year, there was marked improvement in the overall numbers. Many of
the artists spend the entire weekend on the festival grounds, hanging out,
drinking some beers and supporting other bands. And there was a noticeable
uptick in the number of paying customers (and merch sales) too, which bodes well
for the strength and viability of the Fest. I talked to a couple of die-hard
Manilla Road fans who had driven down from Toronto, Canada. There were people
from all over the U.S., including members of bands who weren’t even playing this
year (like Lords of the Trident and Argonaut). These are folks who love their metal,
people who are fun and interesting to talk to, and people who can roll with the
punches without the incessant whining, bitching and complaining that
characterizes the fan bases of certain other festivals (cough*ProgPower*cough).
It makes sense, though, because this is a self-selected bunch. You wouldn’t
travel to WOM Fest if you couldn’t handle the heat and the mud and the smells
and the bugs and all of the other transitory discomforts that necessarily
accompany the outdoors, open air festival experience. Bottom line is it was a
great bunch of people, and we had a blast whiling away whatever limited downtime
there was just chatting with the extended heavy metal family in attendance.
All of that’s well and good, you say, but what about the bands? There were 11 acts
on the roster for Friday, during which the music was to run from noon to
midnight (a hard curfew imposed by the Frontier Ranch as a condition of allowing
WOM Fest to use the premises). Because of the attendant craziness of setting up
the merch booth, preparing the campsite, and so on, I missed most or all of the
first three bands, much to my chagrin. But I could hear them loud and clear from
my Merch Booth station. Borrowed Time started off the Fest with a bang,
offering a lively set of their self-described “arcane expressive regressive
heavy metal,” often sounding like hopped-up NWOBHM to these ears. I was highly
bummed that I didn’t get to see them play, but everything I heard sounded
amazing. And I wasn’t the only one, judging by the copious quantities of merch
they moved over the course of the weekend. Other bands may have grossed higher,
but in terms of pieces of merch sold, I’m not sure anyone matched Borrowed
Time. Their next big festival appearance will be at Germany’s Keep It True XVI in 2013!
We all wish them well and a glorious performance in front of the diehard
European metalhead legions.
I felt really bad about missing Fierce Atmospheres as well. I didn’t know
anything about their music before the Fest began, and unfortunately I didn’t get
to check out their set at all. They were billed as progressive power metal, and
from what I could hear, that appeared to be an apt description, with perhaps an
extra shot of power.
The third band of the day was ThorHammer, which marked the festival’s first
foray into the thrash realm. Sounded like pretty good thrash to me, and I
actually was able to walk over to the stage and watch them play for a couple of
songs. By the time I reached the stage, there were only three musicians. It
turns out that the fourth band member (lead guitarist) had walked offstage in a
huff early on in the band’s performance because he was dissatisfied with the
sound quality on stage, or the amp wasn’t to his liking, or something to that
effect. (Obviously, this information is all coming to me secondhand, since I
observed none of it.) If true, it’s a shame that a band member would allow the
kind of technical imperfection that comes with the territory in an outdoor
festival gig to ruin his own performance and cast a pall over that of his
colleagues. Too bad. Still, thumbs up to the remaining three ThorHammer dudes
for soldiering on and finishing their set, abandonment or no.
At 1:50 p.m., it was time for my first “must-see” act of the day, Possessor
from Virginia. I had recently received a copy of their debut CD, ‘City Built
with Skulls,’ on Ireland’s Slaney Records for review purposes, and loved it.
Thrashtastic (or thrashtacular, in the words of the band’s drummer/ master
marketer Chris Soblotne), but with melody, panache, and loads of uncompromising
raw energy. Vocals that range from growls to high-pitched wails a la Agent Steel
or prime Dan Beehler. Great songs. In a live setting, Possessor lifted
everything to another level. Visually, they were quite fun to watch, as
guitarist Mike Martin sported a towering green mohawk and they were all decked
out in enough homemade spikes and leather to destroy a bushel of poseurs. Singer
Robbie Rainey was spot-on, and the entire band sounded great. They played all or
nearly all of the entire CD, with highlights being the title track, “Champions
of Chaos,” “Taste the Blade,” and high-velocity closer “Metal Meltdown.”
Possessor have got a good thing going, and have a great chance to rise above the
faceless hordes of thrash acts that are a dime a dozen of late. Oh, and they’re
great merchandisers too. Their beer mug / t-shirt / sticker / patches combo pack
(which they sold for just $20) was the #1 hot merch item of the Fest, and I was
quick to snap one up before they disappeared on Friday afternoon. From now on,
I’ll drink all my beer out of a Possessor mug.
Staying with the thrash motif, band #5 on the Friday lineup was Chicago’s
Degradation, who were sadly making their farewell performance as tall
lanky singer/lead guitarist Alex Manske (sporting a Guinness beer “Tall Dark and
Have Some” t-shirt) has decided to bow out following years of frustration and
disappointment. If you like thrash and haven’t heard Degradation’s self-released
album, ‘Juggernaut,’ do yourself a huge favor and check it out. This is
amazingly high-quality stuff. In contrast to the loose, raw energy of Possessor,
Degradation come across as very tight, precise and controlled in their thrash
attack. Killer riffs are piled atop killer riffs, and the quartet really does
everything right, with a high degree of professionalism throughout. They played
a bunch of stuff from ‘Juggernaut,’ including the title track, a crushing
rendition of “A Necessary Evil,” and of course their signature tune (to my ears,
at least), “Thrill of the Kill.” Interestingly (it being the band’s final gig
and all), they performed a brand-new song. I suppose that gives hope that Manske
and his colleagues will find a way to keep writing and recording music in their
outstanding thrash style, even if Degradation is no longer an active going
concern. They were blowing out all their merch (shirts and CDs) for just $5
apiece, so I availed myself of a shirt to support the band.
Band #6 kept us on the thrash path, this time in the form of Brazil’s
Machinage. These guys are WOM Fest veterans, having made their U.S. debut
at last year’s festival. Looks like they’ve changed a couple of members out
since then, as I didn’t recognize either the bassist or the second guitar
player. What stays the same, however, is Machinage’s commitment to melodic
thrash, sounding very much like prime Megadeth as a reference point. Machinage
are in the midst of a U.S. tour, so they had the tightness and polish as a live
unit that only frequent live performances can bring. Oh, and they get special
kudos for playing what I believe was the day’s first cover song, a ripping romp
through countrymen Sepultura’s well-known hit, “Territory,” sung by the bass
player with much power and conviction. To quote their t-shirts (which sold
briskly), “In Thrash We Trust.”
When Machinage left the stage at 5:15 p.m., I noticed for the first time that the
skies were noticeably darkening, and the air smelled like rain. Uh-oh. Jen and I
raced back over to the merch booth (like we did after every band’s performance,
so as not to neglect our duties), and started battening down the hatches for
severe weather. That meant taking down t-shirts, moving CDs off the counter, and
trying to stow everything in boxes and plastic containers on the ground in the
middle of the booth so as to minimize water exposure. We were in the midst of
performing this task, when suddenly, without any warning, all hell broke loose
at the Frontier Ranch …
The wind went from a gentle whisper to a howling straight-line gale that carved a
path of destruction through the festival site. Trees snapped all around us. A
power line connecting the stage to the food vendor building was torn down.
Several hunks of sheet metal roofing near the stage were ripped off. In a matter
of seconds, the air was filled with deadly projectiles, along with dirt and dust
and pieces of foliage and debris. It was chaos. I grabbed Jen and we hit the
deck on the ground in the merch booth, as the ferocity swirled all around us.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared. Everyone else was too. Everywhere,
people were diving for cover. (Most creatively, Twisted Tower Dire singer Johnny
Aune found a crawl space under the stage to hide. And some poor guy had the
misfortune of being in the Port-a-John when the storm hit.) It wasn’t a tornado,
but these straight-line winds (part of the Derecho that wiped out power to
millions of people in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states on Friday afternoon)
packed an enormous wallop. The winds only lasted a few minutes, after which the
tattered remnants of the Frontier Ranch festival site were pelted with buckets
of rain for hours. Thank God no one was hurt or killed. It was that kind of storm.
For the next five hours, shock and uncertainty reigned over WOM Fest. For some time,
people just staggered around in disbelief, gawking at the destruction and
memorializing the event with photographs, even as they tried to stay out of the
rain. After an hour or two, a rumor spread through the Festival grounds that
another line of windstorms was approaching, so everyone gathered in the
garage-type building at the far end of the festival grounds for shelter. I
wasn’t convinced that the building was sturdy enough to withstand more gale
force winds, so I told Jen, “Look, if the wind starts going again, dive under
this truck. The building may collapse, but the truck’s going nowhere.” That
didn’t do much to reassure her, I’m afraid. Fortunately, however, the winds
never did resume their former intensity. As time continued to pass, rain
continued to fall, spirits were dampened by the minute, and it appeared that the
WOM Fest would be a total washout.
One of the worst parts of this crisis was the difficulty of communication. Given the
remote location of the Fest, Internet access and cell phone reception were
spotty at best. There was no way to get the word out to bands, fans, etc. what
had happened. I texted my friend George Call and told him to stay put at his
hotel. He had been planning to come back out to watch Manilla Road, Exxplorer
and some of the other bands. My buddy Hoyt left to go get some food and return
to the relative safety of his hotel. And nobody on the grounds seemed to know
what was going on. It must have been 8 or 8:30 p.m. when Jen and I joined Datis
and Lea in their rented Enterprise van for a few words of support and
encouragement. All of us were dazed. But a decision needed to be made.
Fortunately, in assessing the damage, the stage and all the sound equipment had
emerged unscathed, and there was still power to the stage too. The immediate
problem was the downed power line. The sound engineer and stage personnel had
determined that it was impossible to go forward with live music until that power
line had been secured in some way. The power company / electrician had been
called, but what were the odds that Frontier Ranch would receive service tonight
when the devastation from the storm was almost certainly widespread in more
heavily populated areas? Somewhere between slim and none, I’d wager. Eventually,
the determination was made that if the power line could be fixed, we’d be ready
to resume the live music within 30 minutes. Some soul (who is either very
intrepid or very stupid, or perhaps some of both) clambered up on the building
and disconnected the line, so we were back in business! Woo-hoo.
The next problem was what to do about the running order and the late hour. By the
time live music resumed, it was 10:00 p.m. and it had been 5 hours since the
storm had passed. And the Fest was still facing a strict 12:00 a.m. curfew for
the termination of all amplified music, as a condition of their use of the
Frontier Ranch. Something had to give. Power Theory, Twisted Tower Dire,
Exxplorer and Manilla Road were all on the premises and ready to perform, and
Mystic Force had left a message saying they were ready to come out if the Fest
was still a “go.” Power Theory was available to play Saturday, so no problem
there. Since all the Mystic-Force band members were not present and there was no
time to waste and Twisted Tower Dire guys had to leave on Saturday morning and
had since left the Frontier Ranch by that time, the painful decision was made to
just have Exxplorer play a greatly curtailed set, and to trim Manilla Road’s
planned 100-minute headlining gig down to about an hour. So that’s what
happened. It was terribly upsetting for all concerned: the organizers who had
waited a year and a half to see the bands perform, the bands that had spent all
that time rehearsing and traveling to Ohio and fans like me who would not get to
see a favorite like Twisted Tower Dire even though they were “in the house,” and
fans of Manilla Road and Exxplorer who would get no more than partial sets from
their heroes. Bummer. But what else could be done?
At around 10:30 p.m., Exxplorer took the stage and WOM Fest was back!
Looking back, this was the moment at which the weekend turned around. It would
have been easy for the attendees to pack it in, slinking off to hotels or
hitting the road and giving up on the weekend. It would have been easy for
Exxplorer to mail in their performance and be all bent out of shape that their
60-minute set had been sliced to a meager 25 minutes. But none of that happened.
Instead, bands and fans alike were galvanized and united in their common purpose
of celebrating heavy metal music, come what may. The concertgoers came back out
in droves (at least, by WOM Fest standards) to see the Friday night
performances. Energy levels were high and the mood was festive. And even better,
Exxplorer took the lemons handed them by Mother Nature and happenstance, and
transformed them into a truly delicious lemonade (or perhaps a summer shandy!).
The band radiated positive energy onstage. No grousing, no whining, no sulking.
Just a concentrated, focused ass-kicking by a bunch of veteran musicians who
know what they’re doing. (It also helps that their new album is rather
spectacular, so they’ve got a fistful of powerful new songs to showcase.) I was
so proud of Exxplorer for delivering in the clutch that I walked right back over
to the merch booth and bought one of their killer ‘Vengeance Rides an Angry
Horse’ shirts. A band that conducts itself in such an honorable, selfless and
professional manner is absolutely worthy of support. Oh, and they were really
good too, no matter how abbreviated the set may have been.
It was around 11:00 p.m. when Kansas metal legends Manilla Road began their
headlining performance. Confession time: I’ve never been a huge Manilla Road
fan. Just haven’t. It’s funny though, I tend to love a lot of newer bands
inspired by Manilla Road, but the genuine article has always seemed a bit too
arcane, musty and obscure for my taste. That said, I totally get why some people
(including my fondly remembered and dearly missed friend, Curt Meisner) go ape
for Manilla Road. Mark “The Shark” Shelton wrote some astonishing songs in the
band’s 1980s heyday, and they somehow devised a unique blend of the power of
U.S. metal and an aura of intelligent mysticism that no other band has ever
quite duplicated. So, yeah, the cult appeal of Manilla Road is definitely not
lost on me. And they were really quite outstanding tonight. Shelton may look
like your grandfather these days (even donning reading glasses momentarily
during one song), but the man kicks ass on guitar and even delivers some of
those trademark vocal lines from time to time. Lead singer Bryan “Hellroadie”
Patrick still has an uncanny ability to sound exactly like Shelton’s unique
voice of old (wish he hadn’t been reading the lyrics though – as long as
Hellroadie’s been in the band, he ought to know the words by now, especially for
such classic songs). German drummer Neudi looks like he’s having the time of his
life behind the kit. And the new bassist seemed a bit awed or intimidated, but
still managed to nail down his parts successfully. The setlist, even in its
pared-down format thanks to the storm, probably was a die-hard Manilla Road
fan’s dream. I didn’t write it all down, but I definitely remember they played
“Open the Gates,” “Road of Kings,” “Hour of the Dragon,” “Divine Victim,”
“Flaming Metal System,” well-received newbie “Brethren of the Hammer,” “Masque
of the Red Death,” “Death by the Hammer,” “Hammer of the Witches,” and “Witches
Brew.” For a special bonus, at the end of all that, and just after the midnight
curfew had expired, Manilla Road topped off their triumphant set with a
kick-ass version of “Necropolis,” during which they were joined on stage by
Helstar singer James Rivera (fresh off the plane from Texas), a couple of
sponsors who’d ponied up the dough to bring German drummer Neudi Stateside, and
my friend and bassist extraordinaire from Detroit, Larry Fritzley. It was worth
the whole long day just to see the blissful smile on Larry’s face as he rocked
out with his bass on stage during “Necropolis,” a magical moment that he never
thought was going to happen after the storm’s havoc and destruction earlier
that afternoon. In my heart, I know that somehow, somewhere, Curt Meisner was
looking down on the proceedings, smiling, and nudging me in the ribs by saying,
“See, I *told* you Manilla Road were gonna kick ass and save the day.” You were
right, my friend. You were right.
After Manilla Road’s set, we sold merch, swatted away bloodthirsty Ohio bugs the size
of household pets, and hung out chatting with Fest-goers until nearly 2:00 a.m.
What fun. At some point, though, a nagging thought began to creep into my head:
How will we sleep tonight? The tent was not an option, inasmuch as it had
flooded badly during the storm. Good friend Hoyt had offered to let us crash in
his hotel room, but we really didn’t want to drive 20 minutes in the middle of
the night to get to the hotel. So we went with Plan C: car camping. It kind of
sucked. But we tilted the seats back in the rental car, locked the doors, rested
our heads on pillows, and (strangely, given how viciously hot it had been early
in the day) tried to stay warm until waves of exhaustion overtook us in shallow
and not-so-restful sleep at around 3 a.m. It wasn’t optimal but to her credit,
Jen didn’t complain one time. So ended Day 2 of WOM Fest V.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
After a few fitful hours of semi-rest in the mighty Nissan Versa, it was time to rise
and shine on a rainy Ohio morning. A shower in the rusty water of the Frontier
Ranch’s primitive bathing facilities helped wipe away some of the grogginess
(not to mention all the dirt, stench and sweat accumulated yesterday). And just
like that, Jen and I found ourselves back in the Merch Booth, setting up for
another day of fun and excitement. The rain and gloom soon gave way to boiling
sun, and stifling sauna conditions returned to Frontier Ranch for the duration
of Saturday. As with yesterday, hydration (alcoholic and non-alcoholic alike)
was a key to survival, as was staying out of the damn sunlight whenever
possible. We metalheads are creatures of the dark, you know, and we recoil from the light.
North Carolina’s Dark Design had the unenviable task of trying to jumpstart WOM
Fest at 10:30 a.m. on this day. Tough luck. But you’d never know it from talking
to these guys before their set, or watching them during it. They mustered a
remarkable degree of enthusiasm, intensity, and greatly-needed humor that
guaranteed heads would be banging and smiles would be spreading throughout their
set. Not really sure how to describe their music. Some songs sounded like
traditional metal, others were thrashier, still others more experimental. But it
was awfully early in the day and I hadn’t had my coffee yet, so everything was
still a bit fuzzy. I distinctly remember enjoying their music, and getting the
biggest kick out of the band’s irrepressible singer bellowing out comments like
“Scream for me, Long Beach” as he took time out in the middle of songs to
welcome early-riser attendees stumbling towards the stage in a glassy-eyed
stupor. He also invoked Candlemass’s name before launching into a truly inspired
fit of Messiah Marcolin-esque doom dancing during one song. I give Dark Design
much respect and big ups for pulling off their early morning gig duty with such
flair, class, and giddy joy. I’ll look forward to checking out their debut CD
once they finish the production, which features Widow’s John E. Wooten at the
helm. North Carolina metal FTW!
The next band was another unknown quantity to me, Amadis from Vermont. When
Datis told me they were going to be performing without a bass player (he hadn’t
been able to make it to the Fest, I guess), I nearly passed on their set. But
Datis is a very persistent and persuasive man, and at his insistence I once
again abandoned my merch-selling duties to watch Amadis’s set in its entirety.
Holy obscure awesomeness, Batman. Amadis were fantastic, hands-down the best
“new band” discovery of the weekend for me. The core of their sound was
muscular, high-speed U.S. power metal, not so different from Cage, with a feast
of tasty guitar work and lots of songs about metal. Oh, and did I mention the
singer? Chrome-domed Sid Dystic (who is credited in the EP with “Vocals and
Gauntlets”) took the stage clad in studs, leather and (yes) gauntlets all the
way, looking like the bastard offspring of Ralf Scheepers and Sean Peck. Funny,
that’s how he sang too. Over-the-top high-pitched wailing, with loads of power
and heavy metal attitude. The songs were killer. The energy levels were pegged
to the red line all through their performance. And Amadis managed to be funny
too, whether in Dystic’s stage raps (introducing a song about sharks by saying
“Do you like sharks? No? Sharks are metal. They kill stuff. Well, you’re all
going to like sharks in a minute” or, most memorably, blurting out in the midst
of a song, “Imagine a killer bass line here,” because of course there was no
bassist). “Throne of Blood” was maybe, just maybe, the most bad-ass song of the
entire weekend, and ended with Dystic seated on a monitor at the front of the
stage, as if it were the titular throne. Most fun of all during Amadis’s set was
watching Datis Alaee go absolutely batshit at the front of the stage while they
were performing. The man’s head was on a swivel, and I thought his glasses were
going to fly off his head and go sailing through the air he was banging so
hard, all with a gleeful smile permanently etched into his face. Little wonder,
then, that Datis announced that Amadis will be returning to the WOM Fest stage
next year, hopefully in a much more high-profile time slot and with a
full-length CD release under their belts. Their guitar player told me after the
set that they have already written three full albums of material, each revolving
around a different concept, and now have plans to record and release them one by
one. Here’s hoping those plans come to fruition soon, because the metal world
needs Amadis!
By now, it was just past high noon at the Frontier Ranch and the heat had once
again become oppressive, baking the muddy swaths of field into a smelly paste.
No matter, though, the audience was alive and New York’s The Last
Alliance were ready to take their turn on the stage. The band had brought
with them a stack of CD-Rs on which they had burned copies of their brand-new
EP, ‘Dangerous Days,’ for free distribution to the festivalgoers. The Last
Alliance performed all 4 of the new tunes, which remained firmly in the thrashy
power style of Iced Earth meets Blind Guardian. I liked what I heard, and look
forward to spending quality time with the EP in the near future. And the band
were certainly jazzed to be playing WOM Fest, judging by the enthusiastic
comments of frontman John Ryan in between songs. I will say, though, that The
Last Alliance appeared to be a band with little live experience, judging by the
stiffness of some members and the visible awkwardness of others. (If memory
serves correctly, Ryan said they were in the process of breaking in a new
member, so that could account for some of the tentativeness.) Still, their
hearts are definitely in the right place and they’ve got a batch of cool tunes,
so The Last Alliance are a name to watch, for sure.
Rhode Island’s Enchanter were a last-minute addition to the WOM Fest roster
when Forte canceled because of a member’s health problems. I know Enchanter have
been a going concern for quite some time, but unfortunately they have largely
eluded my gaze to this juncture. (It doesn’t help matters that there is at least
one other 80s US metal band called Enchanter – from Michigan, I think – so it’s
tough to keep mental note of which is which.) Because of bad timing (Saturday
afternoon/evening bands needing to check in at the merch booth during
Enchanter’s set), I didn’t have much of an opportunity to check out Enchanter.
What I heard sounded like straight-ahead U.S. heavy metal of the old-school
flavor, but my attention was too distracted for me to make any firm
impressions. That’s a bummer, but inevitable at such a sprawling multi-day
fest, particularly where your bold reviewer is trying to juggle merch booth
duties with checking out bands with hanging with cool people and enjoying a
tasty beverage or two on a deathly hot afternoon.
I did not know anything about Fiakra before now, and although I witnessed
their WOM Fest performance in its entirety, I didn’t learn much more about them
today. Clearly, they’ve gotten someone’s attention, as they are releasing a new
album through Germany’s Pure Underground Records (a sub-label in the Pure Steel
family) later this month. And Fiakra are not afraid to go for a visually
striking Viking/pagan look, with cloaks and chain mail and kilts and what
appears to be a miniaturized homage to Stonehenge as the keyboard stand. The
problem was that, for the only time all weekend really, the set changeover for
Fiakra ran wayyyy over the allotted 15 minutes. With a schedule to keep, and a
tremendously long day of metal still to come, Fiakra had their set cut to just
3 or 4 songs. The songs they played sounded cool, like aggressive U.S. power
metal with slight folky touches. Definitely nothing wimpy about them, as
evidenced by their strong hymn, “Give Me Metal, or Give Me Death.” Sadly, the
delay also meant that a planned Fiakra tribute to Ohio’s folk metal institution
Lunarium never happened. Too bad, but Fiakra acquitted themselves well in their
short set, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for their forthcoming ‘Invasion’ album
in the new import CD listings at my favorite on-line purveyors of heavy metal goodness.
I’m not really objective about Brazen Angel. They’re from the South
(Georgia), and I live in the South (Alabama). (Okay, I’m not “from” the South
because I wasn’t born and raised here, and my grandparents weren’t pillars of
the community here, but I’ve spent the last 9 years in Dixie, so that’s gotta
count for something other than the sunburn on my neck and my diminished mental
capacity.) Jen and I have seen them play in the Atlanta metro area repeatedly
over the years. Their ‘Metal for Eternity’ CD is a staple at our kitchen
boombox. And the Brazen Angel guys are super-nice and quite hilarious people
with whom we’d been sharing laughs and killing time off and on all weekend. J.
and I promised them we’d be right with them for their entire WOM Fest gig (they
were a bit nervous playing out of their usual Southern environs), so we stood up
front and rocked out hard for their set. I thought Brazen Angel were fantastic
on this day. High-energy despite the searing heat. Great performances despite
guitarist Doug Neal’s axe going out of tune just a couple of songs in. And a
fine song selection hitting high points from both their releases, including the
towering classic “Crusaders” (a/k/a “Crusaders of the Truth”), the rousing
“Southern Waters,” the kick-ass “Devil Went Down to Georgia” cover (complete
with Georgia flag being unfurled), and the crowd-pleasing anthem, “Metal for
Eternity.” For the uninitiated, Brazen Angel play traditional U.S. metal, mixed
with a dose of Euro melodic power metal sensibilities, all wrapped in a
distinctive Southern wrapper that makes them sound unlike any other band I’ve
ever heard. No, they don’t sound like Lynyrd Skynyrd or Down. But they’ve let
their Southern heritage seep into their music and lyrics, which I think is a
good thing. It helps them stand out in an oversaturated marketplace. And it
absolutely 100% comes from the heart, with nothing affected or contrived about
it. Like the song (and a future Brazen Angel t-shirt, if Jen and my wishes are
heard) says, “We’re southern born / We’re southern bred / And when we die, we’re
southern dead.” Rock on, Brazen Angel. Setlist (order may not be
exact): Galaxy, Silver Tongued Devil, Crusaders, Evil of the Night, Mob
Rules, Angel or Demon, Devil Went Down to Georgia, Metal for Eternity.
Suddenly, WOM Fest was awash in awesomeness. I had scarcely had time to catch my breath
when it was time to abandon the Merch Booth once again to see one of my most
eagerly anticipated acts of the weekend, Sinister Realm. The
Pennsylvanians have released a pair of stellar albums on Shadow Kingdom Records,
both firmly in the epic/heavy Dio / Heaven and Hell mold, featuring
bone-crushing riffs, expansive writing, and top-notch vocals. Sinister Realm did
not disappoint in the slightest, as they tore through their 40-minute set
heavily laden with tunes from their latest album, ‘The Crystal Eye.’ By my
reckoning, they played all of the first 5 cuts from that album, including the
gobsmacking opener “Winds of Vengeance,” the pounding “With Swords Held High,”
and the clever “Signal the Earth.” They also threw in a song from the debut
(“The Demon Seed” was, I think, the only one they played) and a new, unreleased
track that featured the audience participation phrase “Bell Strikes” in the
chorus. I like this band a lot, and nothing about their live performance altered
my perception in the slightest. Alex Kristof sang magnificently, and it was cool
as hell to just watch bassist/writer Jason Gaffney perch one foot on the
monitor, Steve Harris-style, as he sang along and banged his head. Really good band.
The next act was the rescheduled Power Theory, who had graciously agreed to
shift their performance to Saturday afternoon because the deluge washed away
their Friday gig. Power Theory specialize in pure, unadulterated,
meat’n’potatoes U.S. heavy metal. They don’t do anything fancy, but instead go
right for the jugular with a straightahead, mostly mid-paced trad metal attack.
The WOM Fest gig doubled as Power Theory’s CD release party for their brand-new
disc, entitled ‘An Axe to Grind,’ out now on Pure Steel Records. Power Theory
aren’t the sort of band that will blow you away in a live setting, but their
brand of sturdy, no-frills U.S. metal does the job nicely, and their performance
definitely seemed to hit the spot this afternoon. Special kudos to the
vocalist’s shiny custom-microphone stand embellished with a cross. I definitely
look forward to checking out ‘An Axe to Grind’ (killer cover art and
accompanying t-shirt design too) in the very near future.
I suppose one possible critique of WOM Fest is that the billing isn’t exactly
diverse. Datis isn’t trying to cover the metal world from A to Z. A to B, maybe,
but not A to Z. In all seriousness, he’s all about the traditional and thrash
metal genres, mostly old-school and uncompromising. That actually works out
brilliantly for me, because it means that all the bands are in my wheelhouse,
with no gothic/progressive/death/black metal/mathcore stuff to sit through.
Having said that, in a very strange way, Argus were the oddball of this
festival because their sound owes at least as much to classic doom as it does to
traditional metal. Nothing else even approaches doom on this lineup, so Argus
came across as a refreshing change of pace. But they were much more than that.
I’m a sucker for a well-placed harmony guitar passage in the time-honored
Trouble style, and Argus litter their songs with those parts. Add in the
booming distinctive vocals of Butch Balich and you have yourself a winning
formula. Argus kicked in a veritable greatest-hits set drawing equally from
their two releases, including “A Curse on the World,” “Wolves of Dusk,” and
“Durendal” from their ‘Boldly Stride the Doomed’ opus, plus “Devils, Devils,”
“From Darkness and Light” and “The Damnation of John Faustus” from the debut.
For a special bonus, Argus also performed an excellent new, as-yet untitled
song. Y’know, ordinarily I’d ding a band for not moving around on stage, but
not Argus. Sure, they were pretty static, but their stoicism matched the mood
of the songs perfectly, so I didn’t mind at all. Everything sounded awesome,
and I’d reckon that Argus turned in one of the best sets of the weekend.
Judging by the highly enthusiastic crowd response, and the brisk merch sales
after their gig, I’d say I wasn’t alone in that assessment. Oh, and I had a
very nice chat with guitarist Erik Johnson after they performed. Incredibly
nice guy, and he seemed genuinely touched by the outpouring of support by the
WOM Fest legions on a steamy Saturday afternoon at the Frontier Ranch.
Nine bands before 7 p.m. We’re not getting tired, are we? If so, tough. Man up,
because there’s a hell of a lot more great metal to come. We can rest when we’re
dead, or when we’re back in exile in the heavy metal wasteland that is Alabama.
Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead! Crack another beer, exercise those neck
muscles, and let’s carry on, shall we?
Banshee were something of a mystery band, in the sense that I don’t think anyone really
knew what to expect from them. The Kansas City ‘80s melodic metal/hard rock
combo largely flew under my radar back in the day, so I was unfamiliar with
their “classic” period material. And the reincarnated version of Banshee is a
different animal altogether from its predecessor. Sure, guitarist Terry Dunn
remains the lifeblood of the band, but they’ve now added the bassist from
Cellador and George Call (ASKA / ex-Omen) on lead vocals. Not only is the lineup
different, but this configuration of the band follows a much darker and heavier
musical path than the Banshee of old. So those who were counting on a set filled
with anachronistic ‘Race Against Time’ hair metal were in for a rather rude
awakening. Likewise, those who expected George Call to mold Banshee in the
‘80s-style classic metal image of ASKA or Omen are bound for disappointment.
Instead, Banshee delivered a set filled with mostly new songs from their
forthcoming ‘Mindslave’ CD, plus an Iron Maiden cover (“Wrathchild”) and one
trip down memory lane (“Cry in the Night”). On first listen, the new material
struck me as intriguing, with Dunn’s dark, chunky riffs propelling the songs
beneath Call’s thrilling melodic vocals. The juxtaposition seemed to work well,
and I’m anxious to hear more. That said, I think all of Banshee would agree that
this was not a legendary gig. It was actually their first live show with the new
lineup, and there seemed to be a significant number of technical snafus
(including problems with the backing tracks sampler, prompting Call to utter the
rallying cry, “Fuck samplers!”) as well as a perceptible lack of ease in playing
with each other. Banshee don’t seem to have quite gelled into a killer live act
yet, but give’em time. These guys are pros. They’ve got the chops, the sound,
and George Call’s ever-entertaining stagecraft. They’ll be fine. So give
‘Mindslave’ a listen (I’ve got my copy on order from the band), and beware:
Banshee are planning a massive U.S. tour in the coming months, so they just
might make an appearance at your neighborhood watering hole in the relatively near future.
To hell with pep talks, I was dragging by the time Banshee’s set ended. No lie. So
a dilemma was presented. There were still three acts left to go tonight. I knew
there was no way I’d make it through all three unscathed, without some kind of
breather. (Dude, maybe that makes me a wimp, but what the hell? Even bona fide
bad-asses like Nick Fury have to rest sometimes.) But which band to skip? The
decision wasn’t difficult. I am a casual fan of Lazarus A.D., and a big fan of
Vindicator and Helstar. Lazarus A.D. are a semi-mainstream metal act that tours
the U.S. heavily, so I’m likely to have opportunities to see them again soon.
Not necessarily so for the other two. So I actually did not see a single song of
Lazarus A.D.’s set. That doesn’t mean I couldn’t hear them. They came
through loud and clear over at the Merch Booth, where I was kickin’ it with my
homies and my suds. From what I heard, Lazarus A.D. sounded powerful and
intense, with those crushing groove riffs and modern-Exodus thrash- type barked
vocals ripping the place to shreds. Those who watched Lazarus A.D. tell me they
put on an outstanding performance. I believe it.
The legend of Vindicator is firmly entrenched in WOM Fest lore. Last year,
the Cleveland thrash mavens turned in an unexpectedly awesome performance that
was a veritable tutorial in U.S. old-school thrash done right: speed glorious
speed, bucketloads of attitude, killer stage presence, excellent songs, and a
sense of humor (remember when they kept playing the last 20-30 seconds of their
“Trapped Under Ice” cover even when all power to the amps went on the fritz?
Epic.). Would the Stown brothers, James LaRue and new bassist Ed Stephens be
able to duplicate the feat this time around? The truth is that Vindicator (black
button-down shirts, white ties, and all) eclipsed last year’s performance. I’m
convinced that Vindicator played tighter this year than last. The infusion of
new material from the hot-off-the-presses ‘United We Fall’ album was a plus. And
guitarist/vocalist/hot-tea swilling great dude Vic Stown seems more comfortable
with his frontman role (as to which he was still pretty new last year) than in
the past. Also, I think it’s fair to say that the crowd was much more primed
and fired up for Vindicator this year than the out-of-a-clear-blue-sky surprise
attack at WOM Fest IV. As for the songs, Vindicator classics like “Antique
Witcheries,” “Gore Orphanage,” “Shock Trauma,” “Beneath the Guillotine,” “Fresh
Outta Hell,” “Vindicator,” and “Humanarchy” sounded like old friends. Old friends with ripping blades and bad
intentions, but old friends nonetheless. And the new material like “Gears of
Fate” slotted in very nicely. Midway through the set, Vic paused to explain
that the band had elected to be “crazy and spontaneous” and rip through a
brand-new song that they had just written four days earlier. Cool. But the
icing on the cake had to be the Priest cover, “Heading out to the Highway,”
which featured members of Possessor, Borrowed Time, and Skull Hammer all getting
in on the fun up on stage by helping to sing along (even if one of them kept
staring at his hand, where he’d apparently scrawled the lyrics he was supposed
to sing – come on, man, everybody knows Priest!). Tonight, I would pit
Vindicator against any thrash metal band in North America. And Vindicator would
win. Bet the farm (or is it ranch?) on it.
How do you cap off three days and two dozen bands of heavy metal insanity in the
woods of Ohio? The answer is seven letters: H – E – L – S – T – A – R.
The Texas masters absolutely laid waste to the Frontier Ranch with a
blistering 70-minute set that successfully covered all eras of the band.
Yearning for slices of formative U.S. metal history? Look no further than
“Suicidal Nightmare,” “Evil Reign,” “The King is Dead,” “Winds of War,” or “Run
with the Pack.” How about some technical shredding galore? “Baptized in Blood”
and “To Sleep Perchance to Scream” were right there to kick your ass. And the
post-reunion output was well-represented in the set list as well, including the
likes of “Pandemonium,” “The King of Hell,” “The Plague Called Man,” and “Angels
Fall to Hell.” A bit of obscurity? Try the overlooked “Good Day to Die” off the
much-scorned ‘Multiples of Black’ album. But this gig was about way more than
the setlist. It was about bassist Jerry Abarca scampering across the stage with
a non-stop frenetic joy that was highly contagious. It was about guitarists
Larry Barragan and Rob Trevino owning both their instruments and the WOM Fest
stage, as they worked the audience like true professionals. And it was about the
legendary Mexican Dio, James Rivera, proving once again to be immune to the
ravages of time as he hit every impossible note and exerted magnificent control
over his voice. Has the man ever sounded better? More important than all of
this, it was about true metal heart, love and spirit. You could feel it in the
air. It was there. It was real. And it was awesome.
When the last notes of “Run with the Pack” rang out into the still night air at a few
minutes to midnight, WOM Fest V came to a close. Like last year, I felt as if
I’d been run over by a truck. I know people like to say that ProgPower is an
exhausting marathon testing the outer limits of one’s physical exertion. Well,
this veteran of 11 ProgPowers says that the Atlanta fest is a picnic in the park
compared to WOM Fest. But damn if it didn’t feel good. It’s
mind-boggling how consistently strong the WOM Fest V lineup was. Nearly every
band showed up, and nearly every band brought its A game. The organization has
come a long way since the Fest’s humble beginnings a few years ago, and now can
hold its head high and be proud that its sound, lighting, stage crew, and
audience are all top-notch. Datis and Lea Alaee have built something unique and
quite special in Ohio. And they’ve constructed it with their blood, their sweat,
their tears, their dollars, and their love. Look, if you call yourself a fan of
traditional or thrash metal, there’s no better place for you in North America
than the Frontier Ranch in June. That said, be forewarned that this event
definitely isn’t for the faint of heart. But if you can tolerate boiling summer
heat, don’t mind a front-row seat for the unfettered wrath of Mother Nature, and
aren’t particularly averse to mud, clouds of bloodthirsty insects, or nauseating
port-a-johns, then you’d be a damn fool not to abandon your creature comforts
for a couple of days next year and join the heavy metal party at the Frontier
Ranch. Horns up, way up.
Postscript
We couldn’t sleep in the tent on Saturday night either, simply because we’d never
set it up properly again after the wicked Friday storm turned it into a swimming
pool. So we were back in the mighty rental Nissan Versa for a few more fitful
hours of car camping. Can’t say that I slept well, but I finally nodded off
shortly before dawn. An hour or two later, I awakened to the sound of Jen’s
voice, which was curt and to the point: “What do you think? Should we leave?”
There was no mistaking the message. She’d been a beacon of good cheer and
positivity throughout the WOM Fest experience, but my wife was ready to haul ass
out of there and return to civilization. So we did. Four hours later, we were
clean, showered, fed, air-conditioned and rested. The discomforts are transient.
But the happy memories live on forever …
~ Review by Kit Ekman ~
Frontier Ranch, Petaskala, Ohio
June 28 – 30, 2012
June 28, 2012
Our story of valiant metal heroism begins at 4:30 a.m. somewhere along Alabama’s
Gulf Coast. Your intrepid protagonists (Jen and I) awakened in the pitch black
of a sweltering summer night, piled into the rental car, and began the long,
arduous journey north. We saw Birmingham and Nashville and beautiful Cincinnati
(a hearty hex on their rush-hour traffic though), and passed within spitting
distance of Huntsville and Louisville, before finally reaching the metropolis of
Columbus, Ohio, nearly 14 hours and more than 820 miles later. Whew, that’s a
long drive. The hell of it was that it was substantially hotter in Ohio when we
arrived than it has been in Alabama all summer. What’s up with that? We’re
talking triple digits at 8:00 p.m. Doesn’t bode well for an open air music
festival, does it?
After getting settled into our clean budget hotel near the sprawling Ohio State
University campus, we picked up some groceries, sandwiches and beer, and relaxed
in free air conditioning for a couple of hours. At around 10:00 p.m., we headed
downtown for the Pre-Fest Showcase. In contrast to the main event, the Showcase
was held at a little hole-in-the-wall dive bar called The Shrunken Head Rock
Club. You know the place, because every town has one: small stage a foot or so
off the floor, tucked in a corner of a bar, right by the window, with barely
enough room for drums, amps and musicians. Air conditioning struggling (and
mostly failing) to keep pace with the oppressive heat. Makeshift chandelier made
out of PBR cans and a string of white Christmas lights. And a few dozen
metalheads from around the world (literally, given the appearance of Manilla
Road’s drummer Neudi, fresh off the plane from Germany) looking to kick off a
massive metal weekend with a few beers and a few bands. When organizer Datis
Alaee explained to us that “this is our party,” we understood just what he
meant. Although it was open to the public, most attendees were bands and Fest
personnel (volunteers/sponsors). This made for a very cool, homey, relaxed vibe.
Unfortunately, we missed the triumvirate of local or semi-local openers, and Zuul from Illinois
were a last-minute scratch. However, we did get to witness the Massachusetts
Invasion of Ohio. All four bands we saw on this night hail from Mass., and
featured interlocking (and to some degree interchangeable) members. It was as if
every true metal musician in Massachusetts banded together to form this
four-headed hydra of molten metal power, with each providing a slightly
different take on the old-school metal genre. Not only that, but the Mass. bands
were stalwarts, hanging out (and rocking out right near the stage) at the
festival all weekend long. To a man, the Massachusetts invaders were cool dudes,
as J. and I enjoyed our conversations with them over the course of the weekend.
And all four bands have been rewarded for their loyalty and enthusiasm by being
confirmed for Warriors of Metal VI in Summer 2013.
First up were Skull Hammer, a three-piece power/thrash act led by
singer/guitarist Ace McArdle. Kicking off their set with a blistering
shout-along rendition of “I Defy,” Skull Hammer impressed from the outset with
their energy and thrashy goodness. For some reason, they had me thinking of a
thrashier version of Anvil, or a rawer version of Wargasm, both musically and in
terms of stage presence. Hell, McArdle even sounds a touch like Bob Mayo. At any
rate, Skull Hammer ripped through a selection of tunes from their debut album,
‘Pay It in Blood,’ including the title track and “Balls to the Bone,” and also
played a couple of tracks from their forthcoming second CD, to be titled
‘Resisting Time.’ One of those tunes, “Nomads of the Wasteland,” was dedicated
to the many people who had traveled long distances to be there. Definitely a
fine and fun way to begin our WOM Fest adventure.
Our second Massachusetts invaders were the familiar Ravage, who are perhaps
best known for their second CD, ‘End of Tomorrow,’ which was released on Metal
Blade Records a couple years back. Firmly in the U.S. power metal style, and
anchored by the characteristic endearing vocals of Al Ravage, the band churned
out a crowd-pleasing set. Highlights included “Freedom Fighter,” “The Shredder,”
“Grapes of Wrath,” and “The End of Tomorrow” (all culled from the Metal Blade
album), as well as “Ravage Part 1” from the debut ‘Spectral Rider’ CD that came
out in 2005. Ravage also treated us to a brand-new song, “Enter The Outbreak,”
which definitely sounded up to par. Through it all, the twin guitars of Nick
Izzo and Eli Firicano sliced and diced along. Fun set, and here’s hoping Ravage
can release that 3rd CD in time for their performance at next year’s
WOM Fest event.
Want more Massachusetts metal? A special bonus tonight was that newcomers Iron
Will slotted into the set time vacated by Zuul’s cancellation. The Iron Will
dudes hadn’t planned on performing tonight, so their impromptu mini-set was put
together on the fly (including set list written on a crumpled-up sheet of paper
in the singer’s pocket). Iron Will features no fewer than three members of
Ravage, with Al Ravage playing drums, Eli Firicano handling the guitars, and
bassist Rich Berte also pulling double-duty. The three Ravagers are supplemented
in Iron Will by singer Tony “The Metal Duke” Canillas (a super nice guy with a
solid Bostonian accent) with a clear voice that sounds like it came right out of
the NWOBHM movement in the early 80s. Trad/true metal is the name of the game
for Iron Will, and although they only played a few songs, their material sounded
simply outstanding. I understand that the band’s debut album is basically
finished, so here’s hoping it sees the light of day soon. Iron Will rise, indeed!
To cap off the night, Framingham’s Seax delivered a powerful blow to the
jugular of the few hardy souls who still remained in the Shrunken Head after the
witching hour. Seax’s ranks include Skull Hammer bassist Matt C. Axe, and
charismatic vocalist Carmine Blades, sporting the cut-off Loudness t-shirt and
leather trousers look. (Some of these guys are also in the melodic power metal /
thrash hybrid act Sonic Pulse, who did not play at this Fest. How many bands can
this handful of Massachusetts metalheads juggle? It’s extraordinary, really.)
Seax’s brand of heavy metal is speedy, energetic, and definitely punky. It’s
fast, it’s heavy and it hits you right between the eyes. Seax’s performance was
my favorite of the night, because this is when the metal party vibe finally
gelled. There were a couple dozen of us standing right up against the stage,
standing shoulder to shoulder, rocking along and sweating it out with the band,
each song faster and heavier than the last. Seax band members wore big grins
all through their set, playing their hearts out and seemingly having the time
of their lives. This gig really captured the essence and magic of pure live
heavy metal. I didn’t know a single song they played (this was a release party
of sorts for their newly released debut CD), but it didn’t matter. This show
was about sweat and energy and brotherhood and metal. What a perfect way to
finish off the Pre-Fest Showcase!
By this time, it was well after 1:00 a.m. Jen and I had been up for more than 20
hours straight, and we were definitely feeling fatigued. So we said our good
nights, stepped out into the still-steaming Ohio night, and headed back to the
hotel for our last few hours of A/C and sleep in a real bed before the festival
proper began on Friday.
Friday, June 29, 2012
The WOM Fest is a marathon, not a sprint. So we took it easy this morning. We
enjoyed hanging out in the clean quiet of our hotel room until around 10:30
a.m., thinking this would give us plenty of time to make the 20-minute drive to
the Frontier Ranch in Petaskala (just east of Columbus) for our scheduled 11:00
a.m. report time to begin our volunteer duties running the Fest merch
booth. The next two hours were
basically a blur. We began working
our way through boxes and plastic tubs of merch delivered by various bands,
trying to figure out what inventory we had and to devise a system for handling
purchases, tracking sales, and displaying the merch in a way that was fair and
equitable to all. While this was happening, we were simultaneously endeavoring
to greet friends, set up our tent and camping gear in our appointed corner of
the campground, and oh yeah, listen to bands. The first band of the day, the
highly touted Borrowed Time, went on stage a few minutes before their designated
12:00 noon time. Fortunately, Jen and I work well together, so by around 2:00
p.m., we had the merch booth looking killer, the tent assembled (thanks to a
special assist from our pal Hoyt Parris of Georgia’s Pathfinder Promotions!),
and we were ready to enjoy the festival.
Now’s as good a time as any to pause the narrative and set the scene for you. The
Frontier Ranch (which was also the site of WOM Fest IV in June 2011) is
basically a remote grassy field with a few permanent structures, set back from
the main road on a farmer’s property. Rustic is a good word to describe it. It’s
not the lap of luxury, but if you’re going to have an open air festival, the
Frontier Ranch provides a suitable set-up. (I’ve heard it compared to the venue
in rural Germany where the Headbangers Open Air is held every August.) There’s a
large, permanent, covered stage, about six feet off the ground, with ample room
for the bands to move around. In front of the stage is a grassy field; however,
a rudimentary shelter from the sun and rain is created by a sheet metal roof
that extends out a good distance from the stage. (This roof was particularly
helpful this weekend, because the sun was oppressive, vicious, relentless and
frickin’ hot.) Scattered around the property are a few other buildings,
including our Merch Booth (which is unfortunately situated in a location outside
the direct line of sight to the stage), a food/kitchen building, a couple of
decidedly scary lavatories (featuring extensive rust stains), and rudimentary
shower facilities. That’s pretty much it, save for a larger shelter (looks like
an oversized garage or shed for farm equipment) at the back of the field and a
few Port-a-Johns. On the positive
side (and this is important): Stage sound is uniformly excellent, whether
because of the equipment, the acoustics, or the stellar work of the WOM Fest
sound engineer and associate director of the world famous Recording Workshop,
Inc.’s Brian Muth. (While we’re doling out kudos, how about a massive “Attaboy”
to the stage manager and stage crew, who kept everything running like clockwork
and on time all weekend long, with only a couple of bands overstepping their
15-minute allotted changeover time.) Lighting was better this year than last
thanks to an extra bank of lights set up right in front of the stage. Overall,
the Frontier Ranch is a fine place to stage an open air heavy metal festival, as
long as you don’t mind the barebones amenities (most folks camp, since the
nearest hotels are a 15-20 minute drive away) and the elements cooperate a bit
(note this clever bit of foreshadowing for what’s to come on this very day).
A word about the attendees.
This year, there was marked improvement in the overall numbers. Many of
the artists spend the entire weekend on the festival grounds, hanging out,
drinking some beers and supporting other bands. And there was a noticeable
uptick in the number of paying customers (and merch sales) too, which bodes well
for the strength and viability of the Fest. I talked to a couple of die-hard
Manilla Road fans who had driven down from Toronto, Canada. There were people
from all over the U.S., including members of bands who weren’t even playing this
year (like Lords of the Trident and Argonaut). These are folks who love their metal,
people who are fun and interesting to talk to, and people who can roll with the
punches without the incessant whining, bitching and complaining that
characterizes the fan bases of certain other festivals (cough*ProgPower*cough).
It makes sense, though, because this is a self-selected bunch. You wouldn’t
travel to WOM Fest if you couldn’t handle the heat and the mud and the smells
and the bugs and all of the other transitory discomforts that necessarily
accompany the outdoors, open air festival experience. Bottom line is it was a
great bunch of people, and we had a blast whiling away whatever limited downtime
there was just chatting with the extended heavy metal family in attendance.
All of that’s well and good, you say, but what about the bands? There were 11 acts
on the roster for Friday, during which the music was to run from noon to
midnight (a hard curfew imposed by the Frontier Ranch as a condition of allowing
WOM Fest to use the premises). Because of the attendant craziness of setting up
the merch booth, preparing the campsite, and so on, I missed most or all of the
first three bands, much to my chagrin. But I could hear them loud and clear from
my Merch Booth station. Borrowed Time started off the Fest with a bang,
offering a lively set of their self-described “arcane expressive regressive
heavy metal,” often sounding like hopped-up NWOBHM to these ears. I was highly
bummed that I didn’t get to see them play, but everything I heard sounded
amazing. And I wasn’t the only one, judging by the copious quantities of merch
they moved over the course of the weekend. Other bands may have grossed higher,
but in terms of pieces of merch sold, I’m not sure anyone matched Borrowed
Time. Their next big festival appearance will be at Germany’s Keep It True XVI in 2013!
We all wish them well and a glorious performance in front of the diehard
European metalhead legions.
I felt really bad about missing Fierce Atmospheres as well. I didn’t know
anything about their music before the Fest began, and unfortunately I didn’t get
to check out their set at all. They were billed as progressive power metal, and
from what I could hear, that appeared to be an apt description, with perhaps an
extra shot of power.
The third band of the day was ThorHammer, which marked the festival’s first
foray into the thrash realm. Sounded like pretty good thrash to me, and I
actually was able to walk over to the stage and watch them play for a couple of
songs. By the time I reached the stage, there were only three musicians. It
turns out that the fourth band member (lead guitarist) had walked offstage in a
huff early on in the band’s performance because he was dissatisfied with the
sound quality on stage, or the amp wasn’t to his liking, or something to that
effect. (Obviously, this information is all coming to me secondhand, since I
observed none of it.) If true, it’s a shame that a band member would allow the
kind of technical imperfection that comes with the territory in an outdoor
festival gig to ruin his own performance and cast a pall over that of his
colleagues. Too bad. Still, thumbs up to the remaining three ThorHammer dudes
for soldiering on and finishing their set, abandonment or no.
At 1:50 p.m., it was time for my first “must-see” act of the day, Possessor
from Virginia. I had recently received a copy of their debut CD, ‘City Built
with Skulls,’ on Ireland’s Slaney Records for review purposes, and loved it.
Thrashtastic (or thrashtacular, in the words of the band’s drummer/ master
marketer Chris Soblotne), but with melody, panache, and loads of uncompromising
raw energy. Vocals that range from growls to high-pitched wails a la Agent Steel
or prime Dan Beehler. Great songs. In a live setting, Possessor lifted
everything to another level. Visually, they were quite fun to watch, as
guitarist Mike Martin sported a towering green mohawk and they were all decked
out in enough homemade spikes and leather to destroy a bushel of poseurs. Singer
Robbie Rainey was spot-on, and the entire band sounded great. They played all or
nearly all of the entire CD, with highlights being the title track, “Champions
of Chaos,” “Taste the Blade,” and high-velocity closer “Metal Meltdown.”
Possessor have got a good thing going, and have a great chance to rise above the
faceless hordes of thrash acts that are a dime a dozen of late. Oh, and they’re
great merchandisers too. Their beer mug / t-shirt / sticker / patches combo pack
(which they sold for just $20) was the #1 hot merch item of the Fest, and I was
quick to snap one up before they disappeared on Friday afternoon. From now on,
I’ll drink all my beer out of a Possessor mug.
Staying with the thrash motif, band #5 on the Friday lineup was Chicago’s
Degradation, who were sadly making their farewell performance as tall
lanky singer/lead guitarist Alex Manske (sporting a Guinness beer “Tall Dark and
Have Some” t-shirt) has decided to bow out following years of frustration and
disappointment. If you like thrash and haven’t heard Degradation’s self-released
album, ‘Juggernaut,’ do yourself a huge favor and check it out. This is
amazingly high-quality stuff. In contrast to the loose, raw energy of Possessor,
Degradation come across as very tight, precise and controlled in their thrash
attack. Killer riffs are piled atop killer riffs, and the quartet really does
everything right, with a high degree of professionalism throughout. They played
a bunch of stuff from ‘Juggernaut,’ including the title track, a crushing
rendition of “A Necessary Evil,” and of course their signature tune (to my ears,
at least), “Thrill of the Kill.” Interestingly (it being the band’s final gig
and all), they performed a brand-new song. I suppose that gives hope that Manske
and his colleagues will find a way to keep writing and recording music in their
outstanding thrash style, even if Degradation is no longer an active going
concern. They were blowing out all their merch (shirts and CDs) for just $5
apiece, so I availed myself of a shirt to support the band.
Band #6 kept us on the thrash path, this time in the form of Brazil’s
Machinage. These guys are WOM Fest veterans, having made their U.S. debut
at last year’s festival. Looks like they’ve changed a couple of members out
since then, as I didn’t recognize either the bassist or the second guitar
player. What stays the same, however, is Machinage’s commitment to melodic
thrash, sounding very much like prime Megadeth as a reference point. Machinage
are in the midst of a U.S. tour, so they had the tightness and polish as a live
unit that only frequent live performances can bring. Oh, and they get special
kudos for playing what I believe was the day’s first cover song, a ripping romp
through countrymen Sepultura’s well-known hit, “Territory,” sung by the bass
player with much power and conviction. To quote their t-shirts (which sold
briskly), “In Thrash We Trust.”
When Machinage left the stage at 5:15 p.m., I noticed for the first time that the
skies were noticeably darkening, and the air smelled like rain. Uh-oh. Jen and I
raced back over to the merch booth (like we did after every band’s performance,
so as not to neglect our duties), and started battening down the hatches for
severe weather. That meant taking down t-shirts, moving CDs off the counter, and
trying to stow everything in boxes and plastic containers on the ground in the
middle of the booth so as to minimize water exposure. We were in the midst of
performing this task, when suddenly, without any warning, all hell broke loose
at the Frontier Ranch …
The wind went from a gentle whisper to a howling straight-line gale that carved a
path of destruction through the festival site. Trees snapped all around us. A
power line connecting the stage to the food vendor building was torn down.
Several hunks of sheet metal roofing near the stage were ripped off. In a matter
of seconds, the air was filled with deadly projectiles, along with dirt and dust
and pieces of foliage and debris. It was chaos. I grabbed Jen and we hit the
deck on the ground in the merch booth, as the ferocity swirled all around us.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared. Everyone else was too. Everywhere,
people were diving for cover. (Most creatively, Twisted Tower Dire singer Johnny
Aune found a crawl space under the stage to hide. And some poor guy had the
misfortune of being in the Port-a-John when the storm hit.) It wasn’t a tornado,
but these straight-line winds (part of the Derecho that wiped out power to
millions of people in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states on Friday afternoon)
packed an enormous wallop. The winds only lasted a few minutes, after which the
tattered remnants of the Frontier Ranch festival site were pelted with buckets
of rain for hours. Thank God no one was hurt or killed. It was that kind of storm.
For the next five hours, shock and uncertainty reigned over WOM Fest. For some time,
people just staggered around in disbelief, gawking at the destruction and
memorializing the event with photographs, even as they tried to stay out of the
rain. After an hour or two, a rumor spread through the Festival grounds that
another line of windstorms was approaching, so everyone gathered in the
garage-type building at the far end of the festival grounds for shelter. I
wasn’t convinced that the building was sturdy enough to withstand more gale
force winds, so I told Jen, “Look, if the wind starts going again, dive under
this truck. The building may collapse, but the truck’s going nowhere.” That
didn’t do much to reassure her, I’m afraid. Fortunately, however, the winds
never did resume their former intensity. As time continued to pass, rain
continued to fall, spirits were dampened by the minute, and it appeared that the
WOM Fest would be a total washout.
One of the worst parts of this crisis was the difficulty of communication. Given the
remote location of the Fest, Internet access and cell phone reception were
spotty at best. There was no way to get the word out to bands, fans, etc. what
had happened. I texted my friend George Call and told him to stay put at his
hotel. He had been planning to come back out to watch Manilla Road, Exxplorer
and some of the other bands. My buddy Hoyt left to go get some food and return
to the relative safety of his hotel. And nobody on the grounds seemed to know
what was going on. It must have been 8 or 8:30 p.m. when Jen and I joined Datis
and Lea in their rented Enterprise van for a few words of support and
encouragement. All of us were dazed. But a decision needed to be made.
Fortunately, in assessing the damage, the stage and all the sound equipment had
emerged unscathed, and there was still power to the stage too. The immediate
problem was the downed power line. The sound engineer and stage personnel had
determined that it was impossible to go forward with live music until that power
line had been secured in some way. The power company / electrician had been
called, but what were the odds that Frontier Ranch would receive service tonight
when the devastation from the storm was almost certainly widespread in more
heavily populated areas? Somewhere between slim and none, I’d wager. Eventually,
the determination was made that if the power line could be fixed, we’d be ready
to resume the live music within 30 minutes. Some soul (who is either very
intrepid or very stupid, or perhaps some of both) clambered up on the building
and disconnected the line, so we were back in business! Woo-hoo.
The next problem was what to do about the running order and the late hour. By the
time live music resumed, it was 10:00 p.m. and it had been 5 hours since the
storm had passed. And the Fest was still facing a strict 12:00 a.m. curfew for
the termination of all amplified music, as a condition of their use of the
Frontier Ranch. Something had to give. Power Theory, Twisted Tower Dire,
Exxplorer and Manilla Road were all on the premises and ready to perform, and
Mystic Force had left a message saying they were ready to come out if the Fest
was still a “go.” Power Theory was available to play Saturday, so no problem
there. Since all the Mystic-Force band members were not present and there was no
time to waste and Twisted Tower Dire guys had to leave on Saturday morning and
had since left the Frontier Ranch by that time, the painful decision was made to
just have Exxplorer play a greatly curtailed set, and to trim Manilla Road’s
planned 100-minute headlining gig down to about an hour. So that’s what
happened. It was terribly upsetting for all concerned: the organizers who had
waited a year and a half to see the bands perform, the bands that had spent all
that time rehearsing and traveling to Ohio and fans like me who would not get to
see a favorite like Twisted Tower Dire even though they were “in the house,” and
fans of Manilla Road and Exxplorer who would get no more than partial sets from
their heroes. Bummer. But what else could be done?
At around 10:30 p.m., Exxplorer took the stage and WOM Fest was back!
Looking back, this was the moment at which the weekend turned around. It would
have been easy for the attendees to pack it in, slinking off to hotels or
hitting the road and giving up on the weekend. It would have been easy for
Exxplorer to mail in their performance and be all bent out of shape that their
60-minute set had been sliced to a meager 25 minutes. But none of that happened.
Instead, bands and fans alike were galvanized and united in their common purpose
of celebrating heavy metal music, come what may. The concertgoers came back out
in droves (at least, by WOM Fest standards) to see the Friday night
performances. Energy levels were high and the mood was festive. And even better,
Exxplorer took the lemons handed them by Mother Nature and happenstance, and
transformed them into a truly delicious lemonade (or perhaps a summer shandy!).
The band radiated positive energy onstage. No grousing, no whining, no sulking.
Just a concentrated, focused ass-kicking by a bunch of veteran musicians who
know what they’re doing. (It also helps that their new album is rather
spectacular, so they’ve got a fistful of powerful new songs to showcase.) I was
so proud of Exxplorer for delivering in the clutch that I walked right back over
to the merch booth and bought one of their killer ‘Vengeance Rides an Angry
Horse’ shirts. A band that conducts itself in such an honorable, selfless and
professional manner is absolutely worthy of support. Oh, and they were really
good too, no matter how abbreviated the set may have been.
It was around 11:00 p.m. when Kansas metal legends Manilla Road began their
headlining performance. Confession time: I’ve never been a huge Manilla Road
fan. Just haven’t. It’s funny though, I tend to love a lot of newer bands
inspired by Manilla Road, but the genuine article has always seemed a bit too
arcane, musty and obscure for my taste. That said, I totally get why some people
(including my fondly remembered and dearly missed friend, Curt Meisner) go ape
for Manilla Road. Mark “The Shark” Shelton wrote some astonishing songs in the
band’s 1980s heyday, and they somehow devised a unique blend of the power of
U.S. metal and an aura of intelligent mysticism that no other band has ever
quite duplicated. So, yeah, the cult appeal of Manilla Road is definitely not
lost on me. And they were really quite outstanding tonight. Shelton may look
like your grandfather these days (even donning reading glasses momentarily
during one song), but the man kicks ass on guitar and even delivers some of
those trademark vocal lines from time to time. Lead singer Bryan “Hellroadie”
Patrick still has an uncanny ability to sound exactly like Shelton’s unique
voice of old (wish he hadn’t been reading the lyrics though – as long as
Hellroadie’s been in the band, he ought to know the words by now, especially for
such classic songs). German drummer Neudi looks like he’s having the time of his
life behind the kit. And the new bassist seemed a bit awed or intimidated, but
still managed to nail down his parts successfully. The setlist, even in its
pared-down format thanks to the storm, probably was a die-hard Manilla Road
fan’s dream. I didn’t write it all down, but I definitely remember they played
“Open the Gates,” “Road of Kings,” “Hour of the Dragon,” “Divine Victim,”
“Flaming Metal System,” well-received newbie “Brethren of the Hammer,” “Masque
of the Red Death,” “Death by the Hammer,” “Hammer of the Witches,” and “Witches
Brew.” For a special bonus, at the end of all that, and just after the midnight
curfew had expired, Manilla Road topped off their triumphant set with a
kick-ass version of “Necropolis,” during which they were joined on stage by
Helstar singer James Rivera (fresh off the plane from Texas), a couple of
sponsors who’d ponied up the dough to bring German drummer Neudi Stateside, and
my friend and bassist extraordinaire from Detroit, Larry Fritzley. It was worth
the whole long day just to see the blissful smile on Larry’s face as he rocked
out with his bass on stage during “Necropolis,” a magical moment that he never
thought was going to happen after the storm’s havoc and destruction earlier
that afternoon. In my heart, I know that somehow, somewhere, Curt Meisner was
looking down on the proceedings, smiling, and nudging me in the ribs by saying,
“See, I *told* you Manilla Road were gonna kick ass and save the day.” You were
right, my friend. You were right.
After Manilla Road’s set, we sold merch, swatted away bloodthirsty Ohio bugs the size
of household pets, and hung out chatting with Fest-goers until nearly 2:00 a.m.
What fun. At some point, though, a nagging thought began to creep into my head:
How will we sleep tonight? The tent was not an option, inasmuch as it had
flooded badly during the storm. Good friend Hoyt had offered to let us crash in
his hotel room, but we really didn’t want to drive 20 minutes in the middle of
the night to get to the hotel. So we went with Plan C: car camping. It kind of
sucked. But we tilted the seats back in the rental car, locked the doors, rested
our heads on pillows, and (strangely, given how viciously hot it had been early
in the day) tried to stay warm until waves of exhaustion overtook us in shallow
and not-so-restful sleep at around 3 a.m. It wasn’t optimal but to her credit,
Jen didn’t complain one time. So ended Day 2 of WOM Fest V.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
After a few fitful hours of semi-rest in the mighty Nissan Versa, it was time to rise
and shine on a rainy Ohio morning. A shower in the rusty water of the Frontier
Ranch’s primitive bathing facilities helped wipe away some of the grogginess
(not to mention all the dirt, stench and sweat accumulated yesterday). And just
like that, Jen and I found ourselves back in the Merch Booth, setting up for
another day of fun and excitement. The rain and gloom soon gave way to boiling
sun, and stifling sauna conditions returned to Frontier Ranch for the duration
of Saturday. As with yesterday, hydration (alcoholic and non-alcoholic alike)
was a key to survival, as was staying out of the damn sunlight whenever
possible. We metalheads are creatures of the dark, you know, and we recoil from the light.
North Carolina’s Dark Design had the unenviable task of trying to jumpstart WOM
Fest at 10:30 a.m. on this day. Tough luck. But you’d never know it from talking
to these guys before their set, or watching them during it. They mustered a
remarkable degree of enthusiasm, intensity, and greatly-needed humor that
guaranteed heads would be banging and smiles would be spreading throughout their
set. Not really sure how to describe their music. Some songs sounded like
traditional metal, others were thrashier, still others more experimental. But it
was awfully early in the day and I hadn’t had my coffee yet, so everything was
still a bit fuzzy. I distinctly remember enjoying their music, and getting the
biggest kick out of the band’s irrepressible singer bellowing out comments like
“Scream for me, Long Beach” as he took time out in the middle of songs to
welcome early-riser attendees stumbling towards the stage in a glassy-eyed
stupor. He also invoked Candlemass’s name before launching into a truly inspired
fit of Messiah Marcolin-esque doom dancing during one song. I give Dark Design
much respect and big ups for pulling off their early morning gig duty with such
flair, class, and giddy joy. I’ll look forward to checking out their debut CD
once they finish the production, which features Widow’s John E. Wooten at the
helm. North Carolina metal FTW!
The next band was another unknown quantity to me, Amadis from Vermont. When
Datis told me they were going to be performing without a bass player (he hadn’t
been able to make it to the Fest, I guess), I nearly passed on their set. But
Datis is a very persistent and persuasive man, and at his insistence I once
again abandoned my merch-selling duties to watch Amadis’s set in its entirety.
Holy obscure awesomeness, Batman. Amadis were fantastic, hands-down the best
“new band” discovery of the weekend for me. The core of their sound was
muscular, high-speed U.S. power metal, not so different from Cage, with a feast
of tasty guitar work and lots of songs about metal. Oh, and did I mention the
singer? Chrome-domed Sid Dystic (who is credited in the EP with “Vocals and
Gauntlets”) took the stage clad in studs, leather and (yes) gauntlets all the
way, looking like the bastard offspring of Ralf Scheepers and Sean Peck. Funny,
that’s how he sang too. Over-the-top high-pitched wailing, with loads of power
and heavy metal attitude. The songs were killer. The energy levels were pegged
to the red line all through their performance. And Amadis managed to be funny
too, whether in Dystic’s stage raps (introducing a song about sharks by saying
“Do you like sharks? No? Sharks are metal. They kill stuff. Well, you’re all
going to like sharks in a minute” or, most memorably, blurting out in the midst
of a song, “Imagine a killer bass line here,” because of course there was no
bassist). “Throne of Blood” was maybe, just maybe, the most bad-ass song of the
entire weekend, and ended with Dystic seated on a monitor at the front of the
stage, as if it were the titular throne. Most fun of all during Amadis’s set was
watching Datis Alaee go absolutely batshit at the front of the stage while they
were performing. The man’s head was on a swivel, and I thought his glasses were
going to fly off his head and go sailing through the air he was banging so
hard, all with a gleeful smile permanently etched into his face. Little wonder,
then, that Datis announced that Amadis will be returning to the WOM Fest stage
next year, hopefully in a much more high-profile time slot and with a
full-length CD release under their belts. Their guitar player told me after the
set that they have already written three full albums of material, each revolving
around a different concept, and now have plans to record and release them one by
one. Here’s hoping those plans come to fruition soon, because the metal world
needs Amadis!
By now, it was just past high noon at the Frontier Ranch and the heat had once
again become oppressive, baking the muddy swaths of field into a smelly paste.
No matter, though, the audience was alive and New York’s The Last
Alliance were ready to take their turn on the stage. The band had brought
with them a stack of CD-Rs on which they had burned copies of their brand-new
EP, ‘Dangerous Days,’ for free distribution to the festivalgoers. The Last
Alliance performed all 4 of the new tunes, which remained firmly in the thrashy
power style of Iced Earth meets Blind Guardian. I liked what I heard, and look
forward to spending quality time with the EP in the near future. And the band
were certainly jazzed to be playing WOM Fest, judging by the enthusiastic
comments of frontman John Ryan in between songs. I will say, though, that The
Last Alliance appeared to be a band with little live experience, judging by the
stiffness of some members and the visible awkwardness of others. (If memory
serves correctly, Ryan said they were in the process of breaking in a new
member, so that could account for some of the tentativeness.) Still, their
hearts are definitely in the right place and they’ve got a batch of cool tunes,
so The Last Alliance are a name to watch, for sure.
Rhode Island’s Enchanter were a last-minute addition to the WOM Fest roster
when Forte canceled because of a member’s health problems. I know Enchanter have
been a going concern for quite some time, but unfortunately they have largely
eluded my gaze to this juncture. (It doesn’t help matters that there is at least
one other 80s US metal band called Enchanter – from Michigan, I think – so it’s
tough to keep mental note of which is which.) Because of bad timing (Saturday
afternoon/evening bands needing to check in at the merch booth during
Enchanter’s set), I didn’t have much of an opportunity to check out Enchanter.
What I heard sounded like straight-ahead U.S. heavy metal of the old-school
flavor, but my attention was too distracted for me to make any firm
impressions. That’s a bummer, but inevitable at such a sprawling multi-day
fest, particularly where your bold reviewer is trying to juggle merch booth
duties with checking out bands with hanging with cool people and enjoying a
tasty beverage or two on a deathly hot afternoon.
I did not know anything about Fiakra before now, and although I witnessed
their WOM Fest performance in its entirety, I didn’t learn much more about them
today. Clearly, they’ve gotten someone’s attention, as they are releasing a new
album through Germany’s Pure Underground Records (a sub-label in the Pure Steel
family) later this month. And Fiakra are not afraid to go for a visually
striking Viking/pagan look, with cloaks and chain mail and kilts and what
appears to be a miniaturized homage to Stonehenge as the keyboard stand. The
problem was that, for the only time all weekend really, the set changeover for
Fiakra ran wayyyy over the allotted 15 minutes. With a schedule to keep, and a
tremendously long day of metal still to come, Fiakra had their set cut to just
3 or 4 songs. The songs they played sounded cool, like aggressive U.S. power
metal with slight folky touches. Definitely nothing wimpy about them, as
evidenced by their strong hymn, “Give Me Metal, or Give Me Death.” Sadly, the
delay also meant that a planned Fiakra tribute to Ohio’s folk metal institution
Lunarium never happened. Too bad, but Fiakra acquitted themselves well in their
short set, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for their forthcoming ‘Invasion’ album
in the new import CD listings at my favorite on-line purveyors of heavy metal goodness.
I’m not really objective about Brazen Angel. They’re from the South
(Georgia), and I live in the South (Alabama). (Okay, I’m not “from” the South
because I wasn’t born and raised here, and my grandparents weren’t pillars of
the community here, but I’ve spent the last 9 years in Dixie, so that’s gotta
count for something other than the sunburn on my neck and my diminished mental
capacity.) Jen and I have seen them play in the Atlanta metro area repeatedly
over the years. Their ‘Metal for Eternity’ CD is a staple at our kitchen
boombox. And the Brazen Angel guys are super-nice and quite hilarious people
with whom we’d been sharing laughs and killing time off and on all weekend. J.
and I promised them we’d be right with them for their entire WOM Fest gig (they
were a bit nervous playing out of their usual Southern environs), so we stood up
front and rocked out hard for their set. I thought Brazen Angel were fantastic
on this day. High-energy despite the searing heat. Great performances despite
guitarist Doug Neal’s axe going out of tune just a couple of songs in. And a
fine song selection hitting high points from both their releases, including the
towering classic “Crusaders” (a/k/a “Crusaders of the Truth”), the rousing
“Southern Waters,” the kick-ass “Devil Went Down to Georgia” cover (complete
with Georgia flag being unfurled), and the crowd-pleasing anthem, “Metal for
Eternity.” For the uninitiated, Brazen Angel play traditional U.S. metal, mixed
with a dose of Euro melodic power metal sensibilities, all wrapped in a
distinctive Southern wrapper that makes them sound unlike any other band I’ve
ever heard. No, they don’t sound like Lynyrd Skynyrd or Down. But they’ve let
their Southern heritage seep into their music and lyrics, which I think is a
good thing. It helps them stand out in an oversaturated marketplace. And it
absolutely 100% comes from the heart, with nothing affected or contrived about
it. Like the song (and a future Brazen Angel t-shirt, if Jen and my wishes are
heard) says, “We’re southern born / We’re southern bred / And when we die, we’re
southern dead.” Rock on, Brazen Angel. Setlist (order may not be
exact): Galaxy, Silver Tongued Devil, Crusaders, Evil of the Night, Mob
Rules, Angel or Demon, Devil Went Down to Georgia, Metal for Eternity.
Suddenly, WOM Fest was awash in awesomeness. I had scarcely had time to catch my breath
when it was time to abandon the Merch Booth once again to see one of my most
eagerly anticipated acts of the weekend, Sinister Realm. The
Pennsylvanians have released a pair of stellar albums on Shadow Kingdom Records,
both firmly in the epic/heavy Dio / Heaven and Hell mold, featuring
bone-crushing riffs, expansive writing, and top-notch vocals. Sinister Realm did
not disappoint in the slightest, as they tore through their 40-minute set
heavily laden with tunes from their latest album, ‘The Crystal Eye.’ By my
reckoning, they played all of the first 5 cuts from that album, including the
gobsmacking opener “Winds of Vengeance,” the pounding “With Swords Held High,”
and the clever “Signal the Earth.” They also threw in a song from the debut
(“The Demon Seed” was, I think, the only one they played) and a new, unreleased
track that featured the audience participation phrase “Bell Strikes” in the
chorus. I like this band a lot, and nothing about their live performance altered
my perception in the slightest. Alex Kristof sang magnificently, and it was cool
as hell to just watch bassist/writer Jason Gaffney perch one foot on the
monitor, Steve Harris-style, as he sang along and banged his head. Really good band.
The next act was the rescheduled Power Theory, who had graciously agreed to
shift their performance to Saturday afternoon because the deluge washed away
their Friday gig. Power Theory specialize in pure, unadulterated,
meat’n’potatoes U.S. heavy metal. They don’t do anything fancy, but instead go
right for the jugular with a straightahead, mostly mid-paced trad metal attack.
The WOM Fest gig doubled as Power Theory’s CD release party for their brand-new
disc, entitled ‘An Axe to Grind,’ out now on Pure Steel Records. Power Theory
aren’t the sort of band that will blow you away in a live setting, but their
brand of sturdy, no-frills U.S. metal does the job nicely, and their performance
definitely seemed to hit the spot this afternoon. Special kudos to the
vocalist’s shiny custom-microphone stand embellished with a cross. I definitely
look forward to checking out ‘An Axe to Grind’ (killer cover art and
accompanying t-shirt design too) in the very near future.
I suppose one possible critique of WOM Fest is that the billing isn’t exactly
diverse. Datis isn’t trying to cover the metal world from A to Z. A to B, maybe,
but not A to Z. In all seriousness, he’s all about the traditional and thrash
metal genres, mostly old-school and uncompromising. That actually works out
brilliantly for me, because it means that all the bands are in my wheelhouse,
with no gothic/progressive/death/black metal/mathcore stuff to sit through.
Having said that, in a very strange way, Argus were the oddball of this
festival because their sound owes at least as much to classic doom as it does to
traditional metal. Nothing else even approaches doom on this lineup, so Argus
came across as a refreshing change of pace. But they were much more than that.
I’m a sucker for a well-placed harmony guitar passage in the time-honored
Trouble style, and Argus litter their songs with those parts. Add in the
booming distinctive vocals of Butch Balich and you have yourself a winning
formula. Argus kicked in a veritable greatest-hits set drawing equally from
their two releases, including “A Curse on the World,” “Wolves of Dusk,” and
“Durendal” from their ‘Boldly Stride the Doomed’ opus, plus “Devils, Devils,”
“From Darkness and Light” and “The Damnation of John Faustus” from the debut.
For a special bonus, Argus also performed an excellent new, as-yet untitled
song. Y’know, ordinarily I’d ding a band for not moving around on stage, but
not Argus. Sure, they were pretty static, but their stoicism matched the mood
of the songs perfectly, so I didn’t mind at all. Everything sounded awesome,
and I’d reckon that Argus turned in one of the best sets of the weekend.
Judging by the highly enthusiastic crowd response, and the brisk merch sales
after their gig, I’d say I wasn’t alone in that assessment. Oh, and I had a
very nice chat with guitarist Erik Johnson after they performed. Incredibly
nice guy, and he seemed genuinely touched by the outpouring of support by the
WOM Fest legions on a steamy Saturday afternoon at the Frontier Ranch.
Nine bands before 7 p.m. We’re not getting tired, are we? If so, tough. Man up,
because there’s a hell of a lot more great metal to come. We can rest when we’re
dead, or when we’re back in exile in the heavy metal wasteland that is Alabama.
Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead! Crack another beer, exercise those neck
muscles, and let’s carry on, shall we?
Banshee were something of a mystery band, in the sense that I don’t think anyone really
knew what to expect from them. The Kansas City ‘80s melodic metal/hard rock
combo largely flew under my radar back in the day, so I was unfamiliar with
their “classic” period material. And the reincarnated version of Banshee is a
different animal altogether from its predecessor. Sure, guitarist Terry Dunn
remains the lifeblood of the band, but they’ve now added the bassist from
Cellador and George Call (ASKA / ex-Omen) on lead vocals. Not only is the lineup
different, but this configuration of the band follows a much darker and heavier
musical path than the Banshee of old. So those who were counting on a set filled
with anachronistic ‘Race Against Time’ hair metal were in for a rather rude
awakening. Likewise, those who expected George Call to mold Banshee in the
‘80s-style classic metal image of ASKA or Omen are bound for disappointment.
Instead, Banshee delivered a set filled with mostly new songs from their
forthcoming ‘Mindslave’ CD, plus an Iron Maiden cover (“Wrathchild”) and one
trip down memory lane (“Cry in the Night”). On first listen, the new material
struck me as intriguing, with Dunn’s dark, chunky riffs propelling the songs
beneath Call’s thrilling melodic vocals. The juxtaposition seemed to work well,
and I’m anxious to hear more. That said, I think all of Banshee would agree that
this was not a legendary gig. It was actually their first live show with the new
lineup, and there seemed to be a significant number of technical snafus
(including problems with the backing tracks sampler, prompting Call to utter the
rallying cry, “Fuck samplers!”) as well as a perceptible lack of ease in playing
with each other. Banshee don’t seem to have quite gelled into a killer live act
yet, but give’em time. These guys are pros. They’ve got the chops, the sound,
and George Call’s ever-entertaining stagecraft. They’ll be fine. So give
‘Mindslave’ a listen (I’ve got my copy on order from the band), and beware:
Banshee are planning a massive U.S. tour in the coming months, so they just
might make an appearance at your neighborhood watering hole in the relatively near future.
To hell with pep talks, I was dragging by the time Banshee’s set ended. No lie. So
a dilemma was presented. There were still three acts left to go tonight. I knew
there was no way I’d make it through all three unscathed, without some kind of
breather. (Dude, maybe that makes me a wimp, but what the hell? Even bona fide
bad-asses like Nick Fury have to rest sometimes.) But which band to skip? The
decision wasn’t difficult. I am a casual fan of Lazarus A.D., and a big fan of
Vindicator and Helstar. Lazarus A.D. are a semi-mainstream metal act that tours
the U.S. heavily, so I’m likely to have opportunities to see them again soon.
Not necessarily so for the other two. So I actually did not see a single song of
Lazarus A.D.’s set. That doesn’t mean I couldn’t hear them. They came
through loud and clear over at the Merch Booth, where I was kickin’ it with my
homies and my suds. From what I heard, Lazarus A.D. sounded powerful and
intense, with those crushing groove riffs and modern-Exodus thrash- type barked
vocals ripping the place to shreds. Those who watched Lazarus A.D. tell me they
put on an outstanding performance. I believe it.
The legend of Vindicator is firmly entrenched in WOM Fest lore. Last year,
the Cleveland thrash mavens turned in an unexpectedly awesome performance that
was a veritable tutorial in U.S. old-school thrash done right: speed glorious
speed, bucketloads of attitude, killer stage presence, excellent songs, and a
sense of humor (remember when they kept playing the last 20-30 seconds of their
“Trapped Under Ice” cover even when all power to the amps went on the fritz?
Epic.). Would the Stown brothers, James LaRue and new bassist Ed Stephens be
able to duplicate the feat this time around? The truth is that Vindicator (black
button-down shirts, white ties, and all) eclipsed last year’s performance. I’m
convinced that Vindicator played tighter this year than last. The infusion of
new material from the hot-off-the-presses ‘United We Fall’ album was a plus. And
guitarist/vocalist/hot-tea swilling great dude Vic Stown seems more comfortable
with his frontman role (as to which he was still pretty new last year) than in
the past. Also, I think it’s fair to say that the crowd was much more primed
and fired up for Vindicator this year than the out-of-a-clear-blue-sky surprise
attack at WOM Fest IV. As for the songs, Vindicator classics like “Antique
Witcheries,” “Gore Orphanage,” “Shock Trauma,” “Beneath the Guillotine,” “Fresh
Outta Hell,” “Vindicator,” and “Humanarchy” sounded like old friends. Old friends with ripping blades and bad
intentions, but old friends nonetheless. And the new material like “Gears of
Fate” slotted in very nicely. Midway through the set, Vic paused to explain
that the band had elected to be “crazy and spontaneous” and rip through a
brand-new song that they had just written four days earlier. Cool. But the
icing on the cake had to be the Priest cover, “Heading out to the Highway,”
which featured members of Possessor, Borrowed Time, and Skull Hammer all getting
in on the fun up on stage by helping to sing along (even if one of them kept
staring at his hand, where he’d apparently scrawled the lyrics he was supposed
to sing – come on, man, everybody knows Priest!). Tonight, I would pit
Vindicator against any thrash metal band in North America. And Vindicator would
win. Bet the farm (or is it ranch?) on it.
How do you cap off three days and two dozen bands of heavy metal insanity in the
woods of Ohio? The answer is seven letters: H – E – L – S – T – A – R.
The Texas masters absolutely laid waste to the Frontier Ranch with a
blistering 70-minute set that successfully covered all eras of the band.
Yearning for slices of formative U.S. metal history? Look no further than
“Suicidal Nightmare,” “Evil Reign,” “The King is Dead,” “Winds of War,” or “Run
with the Pack.” How about some technical shredding galore? “Baptized in Blood”
and “To Sleep Perchance to Scream” were right there to kick your ass. And the
post-reunion output was well-represented in the set list as well, including the
likes of “Pandemonium,” “The King of Hell,” “The Plague Called Man,” and “Angels
Fall to Hell.” A bit of obscurity? Try the overlooked “Good Day to Die” off the
much-scorned ‘Multiples of Black’ album. But this gig was about way more than
the setlist. It was about bassist Jerry Abarca scampering across the stage with
a non-stop frenetic joy that was highly contagious. It was about guitarists
Larry Barragan and Rob Trevino owning both their instruments and the WOM Fest
stage, as they worked the audience like true professionals. And it was about the
legendary Mexican Dio, James Rivera, proving once again to be immune to the
ravages of time as he hit every impossible note and exerted magnificent control
over his voice. Has the man ever sounded better? More important than all of
this, it was about true metal heart, love and spirit. You could feel it in the
air. It was there. It was real. And it was awesome.
When the last notes of “Run with the Pack” rang out into the still night air at a few
minutes to midnight, WOM Fest V came to a close. Like last year, I felt as if
I’d been run over by a truck. I know people like to say that ProgPower is an
exhausting marathon testing the outer limits of one’s physical exertion. Well,
this veteran of 11 ProgPowers says that the Atlanta fest is a picnic in the park
compared to WOM Fest. But damn if it didn’t feel good. It’s
mind-boggling how consistently strong the WOM Fest V lineup was. Nearly every
band showed up, and nearly every band brought its A game. The organization has
come a long way since the Fest’s humble beginnings a few years ago, and now can
hold its head high and be proud that its sound, lighting, stage crew, and
audience are all top-notch. Datis and Lea Alaee have built something unique and
quite special in Ohio. And they’ve constructed it with their blood, their sweat,
their tears, their dollars, and their love. Look, if you call yourself a fan of
traditional or thrash metal, there’s no better place for you in North America
than the Frontier Ranch in June. That said, be forewarned that this event
definitely isn’t for the faint of heart. But if you can tolerate boiling summer
heat, don’t mind a front-row seat for the unfettered wrath of Mother Nature, and
aren’t particularly averse to mud, clouds of bloodthirsty insects, or nauseating
port-a-johns, then you’d be a damn fool not to abandon your creature comforts
for a couple of days next year and join the heavy metal party at the Frontier
Ranch. Horns up, way up.
Postscript
We couldn’t sleep in the tent on Saturday night either, simply because we’d never
set it up properly again after the wicked Friday storm turned it into a swimming
pool. So we were back in the mighty rental Nissan Versa for a few more fitful
hours of car camping. Can’t say that I slept well, but I finally nodded off
shortly before dawn. An hour or two later, I awakened to the sound of Jen’s
voice, which was curt and to the point: “What do you think? Should we leave?”
There was no mistaking the message. She’d been a beacon of good cheer and
positivity throughout the WOM Fest experience, but my wife was ready to haul ass
out of there and return to civilization. So we did. Four hours later, we were
clean, showered, fed, air-conditioned and rested. The discomforts are transient.
But the happy memories live on forever …
~ Review by Kit Ekman ~