Heavy Chicago festival is back, and already delivering an evening of thrills! It’s great to see a festival where a combination of styles keeps the listener on the edge, and each performance brings out something unique. Each band featured this evening represented something different musically. There was no chance for monotony, it was very wisely mapped out, this was an evening of metal adventure!
Motherless started opened the festival with a very intense set. They were excited, pumped, and certainly gave their best. The audience instantly took liking to Motherless! Their songs were fast and heavy, and their delivery full of rage. There was a lot of hunger coming out this band, and they just wanted to blind everyone with that internal intensity that was tearing them apart on stage. Motherless showed a lot of promise, and made people take notice of them.
This was a big evening for Avernus. The band had just released their long awaited “Grievances” album, and now it was time to play the songs live. Their set was absolutely stunning, full of moods, and feeling only Avernus can deliver. There was an incredible amount of experience shining through the new songs, and the group knew how to use it to their advantage. Kudos to Chris Avgerin who filled in on drums for the injured Rick Yifrach. The new songs sounded great, and it was great to hear a few Avernus classics as well. Avernus left everyone with a mood of reflection and sorrow.
Wraith was a perfect band to follow Avernus. Their intense approach provided a perfect balance, and speed up the pulse of everyone in the audience. Wraith felt very fresh, mixing tracks from their newest, “Fueled by Fear,” album and some older classics. The audience instantly loved Wraith, and each song they played generated more intense response. It’s great to see a band on stage that is simply enjoying themselves, and having a great time. Wraith was quite unstoppable playing great songs, and displaying some great musicianship. Each show from these guys is a treat, and a celebration of friendships!
Pelican brought something completely different to the festival. Their approach was miles apart from every band that performed thus far, yet their feel was completely in the right time and place. Pelican plays instrumental atmospheric metal/rock. In fact, it’s difficult to truthfully describe what they do, but it definitely kicks serious ass, and that’s all you need to know. There were plenty of jazz elements in their music as well. Pelican created an atmosphere of different landscapes with their music. They sounded very heavy, and most likely caused a number of irregular heart-beats in the audience. Not only did they channel the emotions through their songs, but manifested that delivery physically. They were possibly the most awaited band of the evening.
Bongripper was a perfect band to close down the first day of the festival. They were also an instrumental band, but their music differed quite a lot from Pelican. Those two bands may come across as alike, but they are certainly on too different paths. There was a strong mood of doom, they knew how to invoke a total darkness in their sound. In some ways, Bongripper’s set was very supplemental to what Pelican did only minutes before, and vice versa. Avondale Music Hall shook when Bongripper was on stage, and their domination was unquestionable.
In conclusion, this was a great evening of heavy music. Every band was awarded a fair amount of time on stage, and could be fully enjoyed. Sometimes less is more, and the running order was perfect. There was a build-up, and a culmination point to this evening. One can only wonder what the next two days will bring!
Mark Kadzielawa
GALLERY
MOTHERLESS
AVERNUS
WRAITH
PELICAN
BONGRIPPER
