Metal at The Rail Club -

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Article and photos by Alexis Benitez

FT. WORTH, TX – The parking lot was full and the line was long outside at The Rail Club on Saturday night. As metal heads lined up for an exciting show, with six metal bands to mosh with, it was an awesome night for a plethora of people.

Asylum, hailing from Ft. Worth, kicked off the evening with a performance full of songs about acid trips, the human psyche and even covered The Black Dahlia Murder’s, “What a horrible night to have a curse”.

Founded in 2007 and also from Ft. Worth was Splatta Fish. They’ve shared the stage with an impressive list of veteran bands, including Napalm Death, Eyehategod and Goatwhore. They gave us an energetic performance lead by front woman, Andrea Alexis, who is engaged to lead guitarist, Justin Paul (congrats, guys!). Her growling vocals on top of the bands exquisite musical talent made for an incredible set that got the crowd moving. You can catch them next on Halloween at Bar Uno in Houston, Texas.

All the way from St. Loius, Missouri came ‘progressive, blackened thrash metal’ band, Black Fast. Made up of four guys, Aaron Akin leading with vocals and guitar, Ryan Thompson on bass, Trevor Johanson on guitar and Ross Burnett on drums, these guys sounded amazing. It’s been awhile since I’ve heard a band with the kind of vocals that Aaron brings and I was thrilled to hear them. If you’re a fan of death, definitely check these guys out! Recently signed to eOne (also on the label are bands such as The Contortionist, Black Crown Initiate and Impending Doom), the band release their first full-length album, Terms of Surrender. Just go pick it up. This is definitely a band I would love to see again.

Archspire, all the way from Vancouver, B.C. – Canada, took the stage next. I first heard Archspire last year while I was shooting Housecore Horror Film Festival and I was blown away by the talent of this band and haven’t been able to stop listening to them since. Their entire album, The Lucid Collective, plays flawlessly the entire way through. Made up of Oliver Rae Aleron with insanely fast vocals and circular breathing techniques that allow him to never run out of breath, Dean Lamb and Tobi Morelli tearing up the 8 String and 7 string guitars, respectively with insane technical riffs and Spencer Prewett like a machine on the drums – I could watch these guys ,in awe, play forever.

Hailing from Richmond, Virginia came weed-themed, Cannibal Corpse inspired death metal band, Cannabis Corpse. These guys were awesome and the crowd, including a guy dressed as a giant bud, was hyped up and moving. This was the first time I was able to see Cannabis Corpse and I’m definitely glad that I was able to, they were incredible.

Headlining the tour and bringing the night to a close was Boston, Massachusetts’ own, Revocation. Founded in 2006 and signed to Metal Blade, this thrash/death metal band is made up of David Davidson on guitar and vocals, Dan Gargiulo on guitar and vocals, Brett Bamberger on bass and vocals and Ash Pearson on drums. These guys took the night out with a bang bringing the crowd an intense, relentless set. The entire night was an incredible experience, people of all ages and a love for metal enjoyed themselves and it made for a great weekend. If you have a chance to catch this tour, DO NOT MISS IT!