I love metal. I. Love. Metal. I have been a metal-head since high school and I can tell you that there is nothing better than a couple hours of the fist-pumping, head-banging, and physical violence that comes from the metal concert. So I was really, really excited when I found out Amebix were playing at the Echoplex last night. I put on my combat boots and black clothes, and headed out. Let me tell you, this show was not for the weak of heart.

Amebix are the metal band that history forgot. Originally formed in 1979 Britain, they are responsible for starting Crust-Punk (punk meets metal on speed). In fact, without them, we wouldn’t have Napalm Death or Sepultura. But history is making amends; last night was their first show EVER in 22 years. And I will be honest, this worried me. A lot of bands “re-unite” only for the fans to discover that there’s one original member standing off to the side pretending to play (and the merch tent is always over-flowing with expensive re-union t-shirts). Thankfully, this was not the case with Amebix.

Lead singer Chris Miller growled, “Something wicked this way comes.” And so right he was. This was one of the most brutal shows I’ve ever been to. The Echoplex is a relatively small venue, so the crowd was especially tight and compressed. And I have to confess, although I’m 5’4″ and a girl, I love running headfirst at the biggest guys in the pit. The ones over 6ft, covered in tattoos, and who look like they’re fresh out of prison. Those are my favorite, because when else in normal life would I ever attack one? Certainly not at the bank.

It’s difficult to describe the insanity of a truly great metal concert. It’s a little like a war zone. You have to weave and bob around the crowd-surfers, the drunken kamikazes who will punch anything, the occasional stupid kid with something to prove. But you get to be as frenzied in the music as you want. You can run, freak out, and slam into other people as hard as you can, only to be tossed back at someone else. If you don’t like the annoying guy to your right, you can throw him in the pit and feel better. When do you ever get to punch annoying hipsters at a concert?

Amebix were amazing. They knew when to play the big hits (they even played Axeman!); they knew when to calm the crowd down and when to stir them up again. Sick drums, ripping guitars and bass, and those insane angry vocals. By the end of the concert I was in a complete daze. I was smelly, covered in beer, sore and battered all over. Today I am a giant walking bruise and I’m pretty sure I have whiplash. I can’t even remember all of Amebix’s show, it’s a blur. In other words: last night was freaking fantastic.

-Rachel K.
www.loudvine.com

Tags: Amebix, Echo, Echoplex, Live Music, Live Music Community, Loudvine, Metal, Music Community, Music Network, Plex, Punk

This entry was posted on Friday, January 23rd, 2009 at 1:57 pm and is filed under Live Music and MP3. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.