This year’s PREserker warm-up to Berserker Music Fest at Small’s in Hamtramck was a blazing nitro funny car of rip roaring music featuring the satanic royalty of Midnight.
PREserker to Berserker
The annual PREserker show continued again this year at Small’s in Hamtramck. This cozy venue is perfect for getting up close with the bands. Fans could also pick up tickets for Berserker and sample the new Cold Steel Probe beer brewed by Cellarmen’s of Hazel Park. The beer is in honor of the Australian maniacs in King Parrot who will be performing at Berserker. The music ranged from irreverent punk to blackened death, to thrash, and black rock and roll. This wild ride of crotch punching goodness was the perfect preview for one of the nation’s best extreme music fests; Berserker Music Fest.
Steve Harvey Oswald
Starting the show with a manically humorous set of hardcore were the gagsters of Steve Harvey Oswald. They are seriously awesome and take nothing seriously, except their music. Steve Harvey Oswald blasted song after song as their vocalist ran around the room launching toilet paper and blasting confetti cannons into the crowd. It was a delirious riot of music that delivered a pant-load of fun.
Throne
Drenched in red lights, Throne called the old gods on to the main stage with a furious set of blackened death metal. The pummeling drums and bass echoed the hammering smiths of Hell as the guitar riffs cast shadows of dark despair. Guttural barks clamored with anguished screams as Throne savagely performed songs from their new album ‘Altar Of The Dying’. Their set was majestic and oozing with evil.
Menagerie
The singer mentioned in jest a bit of ska music when testing the mic, but there was none of that nonsense. Menagerie hurled hardcore music at the crowd by the fistful. They powered through a set in a breathless rush that grabbed everyone’s attention.
Axioma
A hidden gem for this evening’s entertainment was Axioma. Their sound morphed the brooding atmospherics of Neurosis with the cacophony of black metal mayhem. The rhythms crashed like dark waves against a sinister coastline as vocals roared. The dynamic chords and racing single-note flurries supercharged the intensity of Axioma’s performance. I definitely need to buy some of their music.
Manic Outburst
Detroit’s Manic Outburst is pure thrash with a double shot of adrenaline mainlined into your aorta. Propelled by punishing rhythms and chainsaw guitar, they were a white-hot corona of metal fury. They played tunes off their latest album ‘Violent Agitation’ including the relentless riff storm “Weapons of Mass Prescription”. Classic thrash awesomeness in spades.
Shed The Skin
When seeking the prototype of death metal, look no further than Shed The Skin. Their performance at PREserker was commanding. From the first notes, Shed The Skin enveloped the audience in a sonic wall of primal malevolence. They slashed to the bone with new songs from We of Scorn including the “Legion of the Scorpion”. The sheer ferocity of their sound was exceptional.
Mammon
Tortured screams of the damned consumed us in an unholy shroud under the withering attack of Mammon. With gripping vehemence, the band performed as if we were all leaving this world for the eternal void. As the music churned and swirled in black miasma, the agonized vocals threatened to tear apart the fabric of space and time. Mammon reminded me of very early At The Gates with their raw yet textured approach to black metal.
Midnight
As the witching hour approached, we raised our fists with the blackened rockers of Midnight. The frenzied crowd banged their heads and moshed to “Satanic Royalty”, “Black Rock and Roll”, and “You Can’t Stop Steal”. The rich scent of sweat, beer and leather filled the room as the crowd convulsed in an orgy of speed rock madness. I can’t think of a better way to cap off a brilliant night of music at PREserker.
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