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Readers' Choice

READER’S CHOICE: METAL FROM HOUSTON EDITION

 Wednesday, October 27th, 2010 at 12:00pm by

Wrong Houston

For the past two days I’ve done a “Reader’s Choice” installment based entirely on local scenes — one for the Pilippines and one for Kansas City — and now one of the members of a Houston, TX band has sent us an e-mail plugging both his own band and some other groups from the area that he thinks I should check out… so I guess we’re gonna do a hat trick of these things. I’ve been to Houston International Airport for a layover but never outside its walls, so it’ll be good to a taste of some Houston culture that isn’t the Geto Boys.

Okay, here we go!

METAVENGE

Oh hey there re-thrash made by kids who weren’t born yet when Rust in Peace came out! I’d ask how you’re doing, but I just saw you yesterday. Also, I don’t care. Unless you have terminal cancer? [hopeful] Do you have terminal caner? Oh. [long pause] Oh. [long pause] Okay, well, uhhhhhhh… I hope we don’t run into each other again tomorrow! Go fuck yourself!

LEGION

The dude who e-mailed me all these suggestions is in this band, but I don’t know which dude it is ’cause he didn’t include a name. But based on these first two bands, I’m guessing that he likes re-thrash. So to this not-quite-anonymouse e-mailer: You win, dude! I’m listening to your band! I’m not enjoying it, but I’m listening to it! And I’m writing about it, which is an all-around “win” for you.

I like your band better than Metavenge, I’ll say that. But you need a new singer. Gee… I hope the singer isn’t the dude who e-mailed me. Well, if he is, dude — you need a new you. Maybe not in actual life, ’cause you could be a real cool guy for all I know, but definitely for the purposes of this band, you need a new you. Holy shit, these vocals are terrible. I have to turn this off now, sorry.

CARRY THE STORM

So this is basically re-deathrash, but I actually kinda dig the music. It’s a nice mix of shreddy and catchy. It’s nothing I haven’t heard before, but it’s competent, which is a nice change of pace from Metavenge. But, again, the singer is no good. Sorry. I know how hard it can be to find a good vocalist. I have a friend whose band is experiencing that very problem right now. But this band still needs a new singer. Sorry sorry sorry.

NECROFAITH

I haven’t hit play yet, but my gut tells me that a band called “Necrofaith” cannot be good. Let’s find out.

So, hey, guess what? It’s  a re-thrash band with a terrible singer! So there was a trend to these suggestions beyond “Houston, Texas.” Interesting.

Man, this singer really stinks. He might be the worst one so far. And he’s so high in the mix I can’t even concentrate on the music behind him. It’s like trying to listen to Pantera while someone who thinks he can sing screams at you. So it’s like trying to listen to Damageplan.

I kid, I kid. About Damageplan, I mean. They sounded nothing like Pantera.

What was I talking about again?

Oh, right. So, in conclusion, when it comes to Houston, I think I’m just gonna stick with Six Feet Deep:

Wrong “Six Feet Deep”

-AR

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  • Tha Rev’rend

    Geto Boys FTW.

    Seriously.

  • yetzer hara

    houston bands that are worth a shit (or at least not rethrash garbage)

    uncleansed (sgt d would be all over this)
    http://www.myspace.com/uncleansedtxdm

    imprecation:
    http://www.myspace.com/imprecationusa

    demoniacal genuflection
    http://www.myspace.com/demoniacalgenuflection

    insidious decrepancy
    http://www.myspace.com/insidiousdecrepancy

    viral load
    http://www.myspace.com/viralload

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Darrell-Woodruff/1257502699 Darrell Woodruff

    Necrofaith sure does put on a mean show in Houston every time they headline a showcase.

    I saw Legion at the Finntroll concert not too long ago, and they dropped a few decent live thrash tracks, but overall that band was young and obviously still maturing. With time they could be something. The oldest member of that band was maybe 17. They were obviously pissed that they had a black metal crowd there and that nobody really got into them. They played some Slayer that night if I remember right. I’ll support kids trying to do their thing any day of the week.

    Necrofaith and another band called Pinhed seem to make up Houston’s most prominent unsigned metal bands. Metavenge would be up there as well, although I don’t think they’ve seen anywhere near the “success”

  • Natsquatch

    Aw, but you missed out on the best local metal band Houston has to offer: Of Raven and Ruins. I won’t say they’re completely amazing or groundbreaking, but they are good and have some pretty sweet guitar work. They’re more melodic than the rest of these bands, and also managed to get a 4/5 review on MetalUnderground.com. They’ve also got a pretty decent vocalist :P

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85xohepzkz0

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py7JQAamdqU&feature=related

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj_FoQCDW00&feature=related

    • holyshit

      of ravens and ruins is the worst band i think ive ever heard. seriously.

      • Natsquatch

        That’s cool.

  • MetalJesus

    Of Raven and Ruins is my favorite Houston local band, just catchy melo-death.

  • http://lordsofmetal.nl/index.php?lang=en The Almighty GOD

    The absence of the almighty Helstar makes this article almost completely pointless.

  • Jay Jay

    Dont for get about recently new signees to Housecore Records, Prestige, Seen em live sounds like Immortal meets Mercyful Fate, Then you got Helstar,Imprecation, Blaspherion,The Drunks,Drakonis,Spiritul Winter,Incect Warfare from houston, shit and no one mentioned them yet? and there is Insidious Decrepancy shit there are tons more I can think of

    • peaches christ

      insect warfare hasent played a show in over a year and the drunks and more Rock n roll than metal>>>

  • HARRYDICKERSON

    let’s not forget Scale The Summit comes from H-town.

    • LoomeyTunes

      Kings X….need I say more

  • J

    The 2 best things I’ve heard from houston lately would be

    By the End of Tonight – instrumental and very influenced by dillinger escape plan and explosions in the sky. easist song to check out – Philthy Collins … they broke up though :(

    Buxton -a more country than rock band ( not metal but good)

    oh and Destiny’s Child of course

  • Jay Jay

    Yeah how could you forget Scale the Summit

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Nicodemus-Gonzalez/100000496989391 Nicodemus Gonzalez

    Seriously WAY better bands in Houston.

    Check out
    P.L.F.
    insect warfare
    50/50
    Hypochristians
    and battle rifle for starters.

  • Genial Gentile

    Lol. Get ‘em AXL. We all know that there’s only two things that come from Texas….

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Alejandro-Aldana/683878171 Alejandro Aldana

      gotta love that full metal jacket reference

  • Derp

    I’m a Houstonian and I agree, our scene sucks.

  • LoomeyTunes

    go to the adversary.org for the guide to the Houston music scene

  • http://www.crustcake.com Andy O’Connor
  • Carson W

    Scale the summit
    By the end of tonight
    In vain (these guys are my friends, check em out)

  • Jay Jay

    I remember when the Houston scene was sick as hell. You Had bands Like
    Dead Horse, D.R.I. Are orriginally from there till they moved. Malignant Terror,Imprecation.Helstar,Fortress,Academy Black,Dark Reign just to name a few.

    • Jay Jay

      oh and I forgot to mention Cruxifixion.

      • yetzer hara

        fuck yeah. i remember seeing crucifixion @ the abyss way back when… soldados cabrones!

        • Jay Jay

          i bet the show you were at was morbid angel. imprecation and spiritul winter was ther too with Dissection and At the gates, great show.

  • Godcore74

    Check out Pasadena Napalm Division. It’s Kurt Brecht from DRI, Greg Martin, Ronny Guyote, Scott Sevall from dead horse, and Bubba Dennis from Verbal Abuse. New EP out now on Abyss Records

    http://www.myspace.com/pasadenanapalmdivision

    http://www.officialabyssrecords.com/

  • Kid Gruesome

    Carry the Storm, was called something else one time, I can’t remember what though. I saw them a couple times and they were pretty rad, then I went and listened to their tracks on myspace and they had changed their name and the vocalist was singing different, kind of a bummer. My friend keeps telling me about Metavenge, but I just really can’t get past the name. I know that sounds silly, but Metavenge is a corny name.

  • G

    Galactic Cowboys – Space In Your Face. That first track… But idk about the rest of the album.

  • MetalissA

    WTF? Like we’re supposed to believe some people who use words like rad… At its greatest point The Abyss hosted some of the best metal shows Houston has ever seen and while you may wish for the days of yore, they’re fuckin GONE!

    Houston metal sucks now! Crucifixion was one of the very best local Death Metal bands we ever fuckin had. I’ve seen PLENTY of local shows and for you to DISS Carry The Storm, you definitely don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about…

    I bet you miss the good ole days of Thrash Metal – What are you like 40? Come the fuck on! Just because you have the ability to blog about things you think you know about, doesn’t make you any kind of expert. Why don’t you go back to your room at your mom’s house and leave the opinions for the rest of Houston to decide.

  • Derek

    Carry the Storm are far more than competent. I’m glad he at least mentioned how catchy they are, but seriously, CTS rocks and has practically stolen the show every time I’ve seen them live! I don’t know nearly as much about the other bands mentioned, but I’m going to stand up for CTS. They’re too good to be called just “competent”,

  • Kro

    I’ll have to check out some of these bands. A couple that I think are good are Rendhaven and Holy Hell Rod. I play guitar for a Houston based metal band (Snakebite Therapy). Hopefully I don’t seem annoying, but here’s our myspace:

    http://www.myspace.com/snakebitetherapy

  • drumblaster

    Carry the Storm are all good friends of mine. We play a lot of our shows with them and we all went to school together. All great musicians. Some of the best I know.

    So whats to hate about some super sick glory metal? Fucking snobby purist hatin going on here. Or maybe you have to listen to too many bands everyday. Probably both.

    They have a new singer too which’ll be on their new record coming out next month. We’re going to play their CD release show cause they are fucking great and kick so much ass!

    Had to stick up for these guys. “We” are Carrion Sun. Our myspace has old drummer tracks up without my new drums just yet. Same story for my other band Defending the Kingdom. Houston represent!

  • eudemonist

    Picked up a Bagheera disc last time I saw them–pretty decent. Check ‘em out if you get a chance.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/James-Lee-McMahon/1007232008 James Lee McMahon

    You know there are a few comments on here I really appreciate , guys and gals sticking up for bands thats what i’m talking about. But for the rest its really easy to sit there and trash talk on bands and musicians. CTS is a talented group of guys i’ve shared the stage with them and they kill it. Consumed was a band not mentioned here which is a three piece metal band who wrote better music than most bands mentioned here. Metalloyd is a young group of guys who are good, but they have trash roots so the writer of this article would probably rip them apart. seems to me anything that doesn’t have a label logo on it gets that same treatment. I was in Necrofaith ( which is on indefinite hiatus) and its true bad publicity is good publicity you wrote about us on the web now thats just one more thing to show up on google. I would just like to say Houston would be a lot better off if people went to shows and supported bands but i guess its easier just to sit in front of a screen and dis them. I know all the bands appreciate the support shown here by the comments left by all.

  • tony

    Facebook.com/altardeceptionband

  • tony

    Somewhat new band Altar Deception ..

    Facebook.com/altardeceptionband

  • tom

    The Houston metal scene sucks…Buncha back-stabbing pricks….

    • drumblaster

      Houston must be saved!

      its a sprawling city ripe for tons of good metal. Be on the lookout for Carry the Storm, Carrion Sun, Decimation Theory, and A Tragedy Lost.

      We’re making an effort to find the coolest venues, decent promoters, and best metal in H-town through collaborative efforts. Since the city is so big and so spread out we need to find all the little meeting points of metal awesomeness.

      Any suggestions for where shit’s happening are welcome! Post it here.

      Can Houston be unsucked? worth a shot

  • dontbeadick

    Axl…you don’t know dick about heavy metal if you think Legion isn’t one of the best new bands on the scene…these guys range from 15 to 18 yrs old and have something you apparently can’t recognize, talent and music that isn’t like “all the others” out there (“Slayer wanna bes”)….so don’t be a dick and make issue with how you received a plug about the band, it makes you appear like a middle school punk trying to make it about himself rather than the music itself…. and try and have an open mind and at least try to develop a recognition of talent…try truly listening to the music rather than thinking about how you’ll slam a kid for trying to figure out the ways of promotion……being different and true to classic heavy metal means it doesn’t SUCK