Scion Rock Fest -- Columbus, OH -- March 13th, 2010

[Chyck]

The whole night kicked ass, from meeting some of ya'll to being front & center for every band to getting to meet most of Ludicra. I’m glad I made the trip.

Sets (Photographed & Guaranteed):

Acrassicauda
Message from Baghdad
Tyrant’s Philosophy
Massacre
Garden of Stones
Unholy Lie
Life is Just a Day and Night
Poison
Unknown

Absu
Terminus / Swords and Leather
The Coming of War
The Thrice is Greatest to Ninnigal
13 Globes
Voor / Magic(k) Square Garden
Intro / Manannan
Highland Tyrant Attack
Night Fire Canonization
An Involution of Thorns / Descent to Archeron
Never Blow out the Eastern Candle
--encore—
Tara / Pillars of Mercy
Four Crossed Wands

Mini reviews (Although I could write a book on the night):

Black Tusk – Tons of fun. Their performance quality is stellar for a 3-person band. They were a great opener.
Swords of Lightning – Dang. Decent. Very decent. I would totally see them again. They sounded great, though I could have preferred a little more action on stage.
Acrassicauda – I have the same feeling as Maiden. Their set was fun and all, but not that impressive.
Ludicra – Wow. I am officially a huge Ludicra fan now. Frontwoman Laurie never stops throwing herself around like a crazy woman… even when she gets brained with a guitar head and blood starts streaming into her eye. The rest of the band plays beautifully. Off stage, they also turn out to be the nicest, most accommodating band in the world… even when the fan they’re talking to is very, very star struck.
Absu – Definitely the performance of the night. They had it all – talent, timing, brutality, performance, killer set… I couldn’t have asked for more.

Acquired:
Guitar picks from both Ludicra and Absu
Absu T-shirt for $10
A new appreciation for basement gigs (yeah Bernie's!)
The knowledge that Natty has no sense of direction

[mankvill]

THESE ARE THE PILLARS OF MERCY!

[DethMaiden]

Originally Posted by Chyck

The knowledge that Natty has no sense of direction

Total failure.

I definitely couldn't have gone out of my way though. I got home at 5 AM as it was.

[Natrlhi]

Originally Posted by Chyck

The knowledge that Natty has no sense of direction

I got your sense of direction right here.

@ Brad, I checked the notes I took on my Blackberry, and your set lists for Struck by Lightning and Pelican are both correct (but you knew that already ). I'm 100% certain that was Embedding the Moss and not Bliss in Concrete in the second-to-last slot for Pelican.

Here are some other set lists that I saw:

Landmine Marathon
25th Hour
Exist (new)
Bile Towers
Shadows Fed to Tyrants (new)
Skin from Skull
Crisscross Thoughts
Foul Revolt (new)
Justify the Suffering (new)
Red Days
Rise with the Tide (new)

Angela Gossow may be a hell of a vocalist (and pretty easy on the eyes), and Julie Christmas may just be straight up fucking crazy, but neither of those chicks has a thing on Grace Perry from Landmine Marathon. This woman can belt out the death metal / grindcore screams like no other. She is a serious badass, and so is the rest of the band. Their riffs are heavy and catchy, like something from one of the more recent Bolt Thrower albums. If you've never seen these cats live, DO IT. They will be touring soon for their new album which drops Tuesday (they were selling it at this show, and you bet your ass I bought it), so watch your radar screens and do yourselves a favor. See Landmine Marathon.


Voivod
Voivod
The Unknown Knows
Ripping Headaches
Overreaction
Tribal Convictions
Global Warning
Tornado
Missing Sequences
Astronomy Domine (dedicated to Piggy)

Holy shit, do these guys still have it. My cousin saw them at Peabody's last Wednesday, and called me the next day to tell me that if I missed them he would have to kill me. Chyck told me something similar when I met her at the beginning of the day. I went. They kicked ass. I shouted my damn fool head off, headbanged, fist-pumped and got the t-shirt (Nothingface album cover for a cool twenty-spot ). Awesome.


Cannibal Corpse
Scalding Hail
Unleashing the Bloodthirsty
Murder Worship
Sentenced to Burn
I Cum Blood
Fucked With a Knife
Shatter Their Bones
Make Them Suffer
Pit of Zombies
Vomit the Soul
Priests of Sodom
A Skull Full of Maggots
Hammer Smashed Face
Stripped, Raped and Strangled

I've always known these guys were (are) heavy as fuck, but I was always kinda lukewarm on seeing them live. I figured I'd get around to it someday. Yesterday was finally that day. I'm sorry I waited. Holy fucking shitballs are these guys awesome live...fast, tight and most definitely LOUD . Also, their frontman is one of the most awesomely obnoxious dudes at the helm of any death metal band today. Best line of the festival, by far, was: "This song is about SHOOTING BLOOD FROM YOUR COCK!!!" (intro to "I Cum Blood"). No true brutal death metal fan could see these guys live and be left wanting for anything. They bring it all.

Oh, and the main riff in "Hammer Smashed Face" is one of the quintessential awesome things in all of metal. There are very few things in this world that are better than that. Holy shit. There's one more thing that's not gonna have to go on my "bucket list", if I ever make one.

---

@ Lynne, Brad, Cameron: It was really nice to meet all you guys, and I regret the crossed wires at the end of the night as well. I'm blaming it on the dingbat chick I spoke to on the phone at the Waffle House, though - she told me to go north from Columbus to get to I-70 West, and judging by the uncertainty I could hear in her voice, I knew I should have looked at a map or just done the opposite of what she said.

I'm seriously considering returning to the Cbus on April 3 for either Clutch at the Newport or High on Fire/Black Cobra/Priestess/Bison B.C. at Skully's. Let me know if any of you hoodlums is up for one of those gigs.

[idrinkwine732]

so watch your radar screens and do yourselves a favor. See Landmine Marathon.

That good huh? I've always heard really good things about them, but I just was too lazy to check them out. They aren't going to be in CA anytime soon, but I'll keep an eye out.

"This song is about SHOOTING BLOOD FROM YOUR COCK!!!" (intro to "I Cum Blood").

If you hadn't said that bit at the end there, I might not have known what you were talking about...

[TonyD]

Here's hoping SRF keeps going west...

[DethMaiden]

Originally Posted by TonyD

Here's hoping SRF keeps going west...

Here's hoping it was super successful in Columbus and it ain't going anywhere!

Also,
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/15/ar...l?pagewanted=1

[rjturtle9]

So nobody saw 3 Inches of Blood, Hate Eternal, or D.R.I.

[gilpdawg]

I would have seen 3IOB and DRI had I been able to make it. Got forced to work, and would have fought it, but it's not like I paid for the ticket or anything.

[Chyck]

Originally Posted by Natrlhi

I'm blaming it on the dingbat chick I spoke to on the phone at the Waffle House, though

Yes, but the parking lot detour was hilarious. "No metal van, no! Don't turn towards the Gentleman's Club!"

Originally Posted by rjturtle9

So nobody saw 3 Inches of Blood, Hate Eternal, or D.R.I.

As much as I wanted to see 3IOB, I decided to check out bands that are harder to catch. I think everyone else chose that path, too.