Drink Their Blood Record Release at Bell’s Backroom

Drink Their Blood Unleash Exemplary Exsanguination

Kalamazoo’s progressive metal monsters, Drink Their Blood, put together a hellish metal show at Bell’s Backroom (literally the backroom to Bell’s Eccentric Cafe) for the release of their new album called Exemplary Exsanguination. Sadly, the physical copies of their new masterpiece were delayed. On the flip side, Bell’s has great beer and a super stage, and the lineup was stacked with a splendid blend of heavy bands from Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids. It also didn’t hurt that the Kalamazoo metal community came out in force to rejoice in all things heavy.

Bronson Arm

I have to admit I was eager to check out Bronson Arm. I’d heard the name and listened to their latest release, S/T, on Bandcamp. Nothing, I mean nothing, prepared me for experiencing this band live. Their performance was mind-bending, evocative, and sublime. The pulsing, sonorous guitar and punishing drums wove a tapestry of aural devastation. The songs were at once dark yet feverishly brilliant. I wanted to swim in the swirling sonic ocean of feedback, percussion, and surging guitars conjured by Bronson Arm.

Flood The Desert

I caught this band for the first time last year at Oigs Fest 6. They floored me then and again tonight. I was thinking about their name, Flood The Desert, as I took in the band’s extraordinary performance on the stage at Bell’s. The name is perfect. Flood The Desert suggests a swift and massive transformation. An event that is startling in its overwhelming force while simultaneously beautiful. If you think about how a flood in a desert would at first disrupt the normal and then transform it into something brand new and bursting with life, it captures the essence of what this band’s music is all about. The music rushes in, consumes, destroys, and creates. Flood The Desert hails from Grand Rapids. You’ll love this band if you dig bands such as Mastodon and The Ocean.

Rip VanRipper

With a name like Rip VanRipper, you aren’t sure if the band will be fun, given the play on Rip Van Winkle or something serious. In effect, they are a seriously outstanding black doom band. Using sparse flashing light bars, the stage became a graveyard in the midst of a storm. This sets the mood for music, which is dark, ominous, and atmospheric. The thundering drums and bass crash as the brooding vocals and malevolent guitars claw at the funeral shroud. As the band played, it was easy to feel transported into a dimension beyond the void without fear into the dark and unknowing. If the music of Winterfylleth or The Ruins of Beverast speaks to you, then breathe deep the black mystery of Rip VanRipper.

Drink Their Blood

The progressive “beastcore” malevolent jazz metal maestros of Drink Their Blood unveiled a set full of new music from their forthcoming album Exemplary Exsanguination. Just as they did at Oigs Fest 7, Drink Their Blood sacrificed their souls on the altar of metal. While that may seem extreme, it shows the band’s total dedication to performing technical and brutally heavy music with passion and precision. All that they are is on display as you stand transfixed by the fierce and highly nuanced songs. Particularly emotive are the songs “Shiver” and “Bane of Blackness”. The layers of percussion, instrumentation, and vocals coalesce into vibrant audio landscapes—another phenomenal performance from this exquisite band.

Hats off to the superb crew at Bell’s Backroom. They were masters of managing the stage, quickly working with the bands to transition smoothly while providing outstanding sound and lights for the show. Of course, the bar staff slinging delicious Bell’s beer was the cherry on top of a monstrous night of metal music.

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