How Nihilist Can Teach You A Lesson In Metal

One trend that has been making its rounds through present-day heavy metal is the "New Wave of Thrash."   Approximately originating in the late '00s, the movement is commonly known to be lead by the dynamic youths of Havok, Warbringer, Bonded by Blood, and the resurgence of Municipal Waste as well as their various side projects (one could argue that Foresta's Iron Reagan and Ryan Waste's Bat are subsidiary movements of a sideways resurgence of punk and thrash metal).  These bands do not as of yet frequent San Diego for touring (except look out on April 10 when Ghoul and Iron Reagan come out to play at the Soda Bar); however, we have a band of our own to look upon with pride when talking about prominent names in new thrash metal.  And that band is NIHILIST.

Not to be mistaken for the Swedish death metal group, Nihilist hails from Carlsbad and thrives on high-quality adrenaline pumping speed and thrash.  They released their latest full length album Blood Portraits in 2009, but their latest release is a 2011 EP by the title Dethmacheen.

Overall, Dethmacheen gives off the vibes of a less jittery Municipal Waste but a more vibrant version of some new wave rock band like Adrenaline Mob.  This EP has a lot of heart and soul, keeping you alert in wondering what the next groove is going to bring.  But despite the name of this work, I find Blood Portraits to be a lot less tame and a lot more exciting.  There's a lot of Slayer and early Metallica influencing this work from beginning to end, and it's worth more than one listen.  "It's On" is one of my favorite tracks as it is clearly a huge homage to skater thrash, with an intro that D.R.I. would definitely be tempted to sample.

Another huge reason why I admire this band is that they are not ashamed of flaunting their skills through a series of old-school covers that they have ready to pull out of their repetoire at any moment.  I have seen them play "Tornado of Souls" and "War Ensemble" among others, and I thoroughly enjoyed their techniques in both replicating the beauty of the song and simultaneously adding a Nihilist flair to the song.  

And this is why I believe Nihilist will end up being more successful than a lot of our other local bands when it comes to reaching out to counties other than ours.  The ability to showcase original abilities through covers is a tough one.  Local bands tend to perceive doing covers live in the same vein as doing karaoke; that there's no other way to do the original than to copy every riff, every solo, and every vocal nuance.  And I'm here to tell you that is NOT EVEN CLOSE to the truth!  We as daily internet users are constantly bombarded by a Pacific-Ocean sized amount of wannabe bands and original songs that--90% of the time--find themselves sinking in mediocrity.  As a result, young listeners grow frustrated in their prospects for new talent; thus I believe the best way to show new fans your style is by putting a spin on a cover.  There are two ways in my mind that you could accomplish this:

1) Like Nihilist, embrace the genre that you love and the bands that inspire you.  Show that you worship Slayer but in a way that nobody has seen before.  This is probably the better way to go for amateur bands who are just starting off.

2) Make people shocked that perhaps a thrash band is covering a doom metal song (it'll make people talk, but make sure it's good talk.).  I have a feeling I could talk about this for hours.  And maybe I'll make an entire blog post based on my opinions about bands and covers and why the hell we need more of them.

All rants aside, the dedication, solidarity and determined commitments of Nihilist will hopefully see them through the tough times we are experiencing in our local music industry.  Check out all the "Metal & Mayhem" that Nihilist has to offer in the links below!

http://www.reverbnation.com/nihilistkills

https://www.facebook.com/pages/NIHILIST

Fit for a Prince: How We Celebrated a Legend's Birthday

On February 2,  musicians, skaters, close friends, acquaintances, and family all gathered at the Boar Cross'n to celebrate the life and memory of Michael Prince.  Guitars were shred, tears were shed, and heads were banged to the wild beats of San Diego's classiest rock and metal bands.  It seemed the only way to properly commemorate a man who reveled in being the life of every party and in the pulse of every drum beat he played.

We kicked off the night with the sleaziest rock n' rollers this side of San Diego County, Slut Machine.  Former Purple Church bassist Rattle Jake took the stage alongside Jonathan, James, and new drummer Scott.  The crowd was warming up with a few Jack n' Cokes while Slut Machine brought the pre-game heat with their rock star presence.

The physicality, style, and musical abilities of this glam and rock-n-roll infused band make Slut Machine very interesting and appealing.  Sleazy, edgy, and just plain fun, Slut Machine is just one of those bands that I can't wait to hear more recorded material from.  However, you could tell that tonight just wasn't a night where the band was out to edify themselves or get their name out to the masses.  They were playing in honor of a close friend who would want all of them to make sure they never lose sight of that heavy metal inspiration that brought them together in the first place.

Next up was Great Electric Quest, the self-described "working class rock n roll" band with some flared-up hints of blues and classic rock.  Despite the band having a very long set time, they captured my attention greatly, and [vocalist] Tyler's intermittent dialogue about Prince got me choked up for the first (and certainly not the last) time that night.

Finally, it was time for the band of the hour to make their appearance.  Friends and family gathered close to the stage to hear Purple Church perform for the last time in the near future, and the set did everything but disappoint.  Filling in some big shoes was the drumming machine we all know as Sean Elg (Nihilist, Deathriders, Beast).  While he is known for incredible technicality, Elg executed that Purple Church finesse that had us believing Prince could have been causing mischief behind those drums.  I know every time I looked back to the drum set, I'd have these mixed emotions of extreme pride and confounded disbelief.  You could see it in everyone's faces, even between the bouts of headbanging or polite nodding, depending on which track of the emotional roller coaster you were on.

But once "Til Death Do Us Party" blasted its way through the amplifiers on stage, the whole place seemed to erupt.  It was our last shot---for band and audience---to show Prince just exactly how steadfastly united our party spirit could be.  A collective sea of headbangers with tear-stained cheeks joined arms, shouting the lyrics up to rock n' roll heaven with Daywalker, Jeremy, Rattle, and Sean fearlessly leading the charge.

 Even as the song faded out, the cheering and chanting only grew louder.  Prince's mom and sister were brought up onto the stage, their faces weary yet glowing with eternal gratitude at our overwhelming support and love for him.  We are even more grateful; without Prince, many of us wouldn't have found the company of a man who always cherished the precious wild and crazy moments and never took any of his companions for granted.  On Prince Day 2014, every word was sung with dedication, every chord strung with passion, every heart filled with loving sadness knowing that this was goodbye.  But it's only goodbye for now.