ONCE, located in Somerville and formerly known as Cuisine En Locale, used to be an Italian function hall, and still looks exactly like an Italian function hall. Which is awesome. Chandeliers, carpeting, chairs pushed against the walls, and a big open room with a good sized stage and PA. A welcome addition to the club scene in and around Boston, for sure. Lots of people are still finding out about this place, and they have Metal Night on Tuesdays, so this is a place to keep an eye on.
Local duo
Hepatagua (a made up word, by the way) kicked it off with a set of pummeling heavy rock. Some melody creeps in there in the vocals, and the riffs are solid. Aaron Gray also handles Grayskull Booking in Boston, so the dude knows his stuff. Nate Linehan (who served time in Anal Cunt) is a beast on the kit, bashing the shit out of it yet keeping it tight. Some humorous samples were scattered throughout the set but the main focus was on the pummeling.
Newish band
Wormwood was second, featuring dudes from Doomriders and Phantom Glue in their ranks. Doomy with some black metal influences mixed in here and there, definitely heavy. The drummer was a heavy hitter for sure, showing no mercy on the kit. Lots of crushing riffs and abrupt tempo changes. Excellent shit.
Magnetic Eye recording artists
Summoner were on third. They hadn't played live for a while but they brought it. Riffs upon riffs, lots of dual guitars, and melodic vocals are the name of the game for them. Both feet firmly planted in the classic "stoner rock" sound. They have a couple of albums out, if you haven't heard 'em then get with it. Heavy rock with a capital heavy.
And then the main attraction.
Jucifer. An imposing wall of speakers towered at the back of the stage, dwarfing everything. Amps were buzzing, it sounded like there might be a problem, but once Amber Valentine hit those first few power chords, it didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Molecules changed and matter was rendered obsolete. The sound was complete and overwhelming. The only way to escape it was to leave the building and take a bus to the next town. I chose to stand right up front in front of The Wall. I wanted to be destroyed. I wanted to be crushed. And I was. Once Ed kicked in on the drums there was no turning back. No dynamics. No let up. Just full on pure volume beating the shit out of everyone in the room. Amber was singing but I couldn't hear a single thing over the guitars. Again, it didn't matter. All that mattered was the sheer mass of volume, the unending riffs, the unrelenting drums, everything forming a solid wall of sound that steamrolled over everything in its path. Jucifer are the real deal, no doubt about it. If you want light and shade, if you want melody, if you want mercy, look elsewhere. They are here purely to destroy your hearing and make you feel like you're dying. Mission accomplished. I feel lucky that I survived. Show of the year for me.