Beast In The Field enveloped the small stage at Crossroads Bar in Ypsilanti with an enormous wall of sound richly harvested from all that is HEAVY in this world. This was the first stop of the “No One Survives Tour” featuring four amazing Michigan bands; Whaler, Bison Machine, Blue Snaggletooth, and Beast In the Field. Each band brought their own unique take on the genres of hard rock, doom, and stoner rock. The fans in attendance loved it.
Whaler – Sailing the Seas of Rock
Whaler put the evening into drive amidst an electric shroud of green and blue fog. Sonorous and resonating grooves coursed from the band as they plowed through their set. The low-end thump even had the bass players glass of beer sliding across the stage. The bonus with this band was the gritty vocals provided by Adam Lupo, which reminded me of Troy Sanders from Mastodon. There are more pictures of the band in the gallery.
Bison Machine – One hairy mother of a machine
Burning bright and hot with lysergic energy, Bison Machine engaged the crowd with pure rock. The buzz from this band was palpable as they rammed high velocity tunes into the audience. The bent delivery by vocalist Tom Stec was intriguing and lent to people getting up close and banging their heads as the band kicked into one tight groove after another. The drumming by Breck Crandell was outstanding. His style is animated and powerful with great flair. Stop by the gallery to see more pictures of the band in action.
Blue Snaggletooth – Waking the Sleeping Mountain
It was release night for Blue Snaggletooth’s latest offering, Beyond Thule. The new vinyl album looked fantastic with art work by Jeremy Wheeler. The band unleashed a blistering set of colossal rock. From the thunderous “Sleeping Mountain” to the swashbuckling “Serpent and The King”, Blue Snaggletooth took no prisoners and caused a nice pit to open up in front of the stage. It was refreshing to see a band that has a great time on stage and welcomes their fans to join in the festivities. You can see more photos from their set in our gallery.
Beast In The Field – A Pyroclastic Flow
The struggle with writing about a Beast In The Field show is finding a word that is more massive than heavy. Due to the smaller stage, the Beast could only bring in a few speaker cabinets, yet they found a way to cause the power to fail on stage shortly after they started. With a quick adjustment, they restored the roar and began to pummel those in attendance. It is astounding how two people can generate such a thick and lush barrage of riffs. The lords of all things heavy smile upon Beast In The Field. Deep lumbering passages give way to full blown mayhem with songs that have no room for vocals. Check the gallery for even more pictures of the band.
The fans in attendance really got into the experience with bodies flying to the beat of the music. With ears ringing and reverberations echoing in our bodies, the show ended in screaming silence. I was blown away by how awesome these bands were. We really are blessed with a ton of great talent in our fine state. Do yourself a favor and go see some of these bands when they come to your town.
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