Due to the nature of my culinary career, I work evenings. It's just what you have to do to make it in this business. A good busy lunch is of course integral to the success of any restaurant but dinner service is the show. That's where most restaurants make it or break it. So because of that, I don;t get out to shows enough, and even when I do i rarely catch the whole thing. But with Cradle To Grave hittin the stage for the first time in a few years...there was no way I was missin out.
After a frantic closing of my station and a good sprint from the restaurant to the bus, i managed to get to the Red Room for the last 2 or 3 of Scythia's songs, so really not much I can say about their set. I will catch one of their shows in the not too distant future, and obviously i missed 13th Prophet altogether. Next up was Cradle To Grave...
Cradle opened up with Broken God off their latest release "Texas Medicine", which is one of my favourite tracks from them, so I got fired up right off the bat. If you don't have that album I highly suggest you pick it up. It's laden with aggressive riffs, big grooves and well written songs. It's a staple workout soundtrack for me when I'm in the gym too.
Myself I am more familiar with this album than their earlier work, so it was cool for me that their set focused a lot on some of their older tunes, which I haven't heard as much. A big standout for me was "Burn It All". Really cool bass groove with a cool riff over top of it that reminded me a lot of Supernaut by Black Sabbath, and the song itself reminded me a lot of Tank, one of my all time favs, but with a modern twist. They also played an older version of one of my favourite tracks that I first heard on Texas Medicine, Beheaded In Paris, and I personally liked the version they played live better. As We Lay Dying was another killer, just really crushing riffs.
The sound started out a bit muddy during the set but got better really quickly. Denis Barthe has probably one of if not the best guitar tones in the city, and it sounded particularly crushing coming through the massive PA at the Red Room. I was partial to Glenn Chisolms bass tone as well, as a Fender bass through an Ampeg is just pure glory to my ears as a bassist. Vocalist Greg Cavanaugh is like a ramped up version of Oderus Urungus from Gwar with a bit of a Mike Muir swagger and an original voice, and he was on his game vocally this night. Easily one of the best frontmen in town.
All in all one of the better if not the best sets I have seen from a local band in a long long time. They focus on writing riffs and hard hitting grooves rather than trying to just impress with technical playing ability, which is something as an old school metal fan that I really appreciate. Good turnout as well especially for a Wednesday night, as this town is usually asleep by 930 on weekdays. Hope to see more shows from these dudes in 2011 and beyond!
1 comment:
I was there! And it was one of the best shows I have been in Vancouver. I didn't know Cradle to Grave till yesterday, and I absolutely loved them. And I was lucky to catch the other bands as well. I will say one thing about Scythia. That band amazes me with their stage presence. I am not a folk metal fan particularly but I do enjoy watching them live. I was undecided of going out on a week night after the rehearsal, but I am very happy that I make the decision in favor of :)
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