Tragic Ritual, Lodus, Element Fifty-Four
Brick By Brick - Bay Park, San Diego
March 15th 2003
By
Amber Shaffer,
SDAM Staff Writer
©Copyright
2008
SDAM.com/Amber Shaffer
|
By the time I made it the 50 yards from my car to Brick by Brick's entrance my
eye makeup was more smeared and runny than usual, my hair was limp, and my
clothes were soaked. Whoever told me it never rains in San Diego owes me an
umbrella. But it turned out the weather was good for my "look". My appearance
was now appropriately moody to match the dark, heavy music I would spend the
rest of the evening listening to.
Lodus, the night's headliner, had their CD release earlier in March. I remember them flyering for it at Cane's during a Rochelle Rochelle show and wondering what their style was. Turns out it's a blend of moody, thoughtful lyrics and heavy backing music in the vein of nu-metal (does anyone even use that term anymore?) and they were better than most the local acts I've covered at Brick. They had an impressive fan base at the show, including a die-hard up front who knew every lyric and played air-drum to most the songs like it was going out of style. Singer Justin Miller, was a very social guy who spent most his time off stage milling about talking and joking with the crowd. He also had some fashion sense and didn't just fall into a pair of baggy jeans, a tee, top it off with a backwards cap and call it an outfit. For that I'd like to shake his hand. My eyes like to be stimulated as much as my ears.
Unfortunately I missed opening act Amherst, but we are very fond of their CD here at SDAM.com (review coming soon). You can pick up your own copy to over-play at their next gig, April 2nd at San Diego's Hard Rock Café. To find out more about all these band's and their upcoming shows, visit:
For more info on Tragic Ritual, visit their Web site. |
I walked in on Tragic Ritual mid-set expecting, solely based on their name, to
witness death metal at it's finest. Instead I found a band whose music was heavy
but very emotional and melodic, something a lot of hard alternative rock acts
don't successfully pull off because their singer doesn't know how to express his
anger, suffering and other dark thoughts in anything but screams and shouts. Not
the case for Tragic Ritual's Mike Maksim who, although not immune to an
occasional gut-wrenching cry, has a solid voice and isn't afraid to sing. And
actually knows how to sing too. So much so, I wasn't even aware Maksim had lost
his voice the night before until he told me. His tone and earnest performance
brang to mind Cold's frontman Scooter (sadly, I don't think that's a stage name)
while his eyeliner and hunting cap with ear flaps made him look like an outcast
Northern Exposure extra. Someone must have told him I award bonus points for
make-up and individuality. Although the band apparently didn't get the memo that
you must be Hobbit-sized to be rock stars (several members actually made Brick's
stage look small), their expressive lyrics, good guitar hooks, appropriate
placement of effects, and bottom-heavy bass made them my pick of the night.
Element Fifty-Four had a very cool intro sequence that motivated me to
return to the main floor from the couch I had been lounging on after Lodus'
set. It was like something off a Rob Zombie record. Element's style of music
is heavily influenced by Tool, and they'll be the first to tell you this. In
fact, they promoted the Tool Gathering (http://www.toolgathering.com)
throughout their set. Unfortunately their set began close to midnight and I
was pretty tired so my observation skills were not as keen as usual. Their
music was in the same vein of moody hard alt rock as the rest of the
evening's performers, which is a style I'm particularly fond of. They had
the driving rhythm section of a hard-rock/industrial band and vocals whose
energy and power come from the emotion behind them and their content, not
because the singer is screaming for the sake of screaming. I really enjoyed
Element's extra-heavy bottom notes on bass and the energy of the guitarist
and bassist in general. It's good to see musicians who are comfortable on
stage. Plus watching their guitarist creeping about the stage super-low and
fierce brought joy to my hard-rockin' heart. Can I tell you I can't wait for
Ozzfest? Phil, the singer (who at times sounded like Layne Staley), was just
a fool for banter this evening, and Element's bassist was his victim of
choice. I particularly enjoyed the harassment for having Korn dolls on his
amp stack "like the one's in Sum 41's latest video". For those of you
wondering, that's not a compliment for a band like this. They return to
Brick by Brick April 5th with Tall, Triad, and 10 to None.