Soon at Neptune's

I made a last minute decision to go see Soon at Neptune's on Wednesday, and I'm really glad I did. I haven't posted much since my mom died a year ago this week. I've been writing for About.com, but that's really it. Recently, though, I've been hearing -- and seeing live -- some music that's gotten me excited again, so expect to see more action on the blog.

Soon, which is perhaps best known for being a new project featuring The Love Language's Stu McLamb, just might be my new favorite local band. You would be forgiven for questioning this project's heaviness. McLamb perfected beautiful, hazy harmonies both with The Love Language and his previous band, The Capulets, but he's never been known for writing heavy music. In fact, I've heard of certain local people saying they won't go see Soon because of who's in the band. That's pretty short-sighted because this band is plenty heavy -- thanks primarily to the powerful rhythm section of bass player Robert Walsh (from the supremely doomy Bitter Resolve) and drummer Thomas Simpson -- while retaining McLamb's signature harmonies. In fact,  it's that mix of heavy and poppy that makes Soon so listenable, especially when McLamb, Walsh and guitarist Mark Conner sing together. The result is a dark, and at times droney, Americana that should appeal to fans of Jex Thoth or True Widow. The next time they play, I recommend you go see them

Check out the video below. I don't know the name of the song. Will update as soon as I know.

 

Shroud Eater, Orbweaver, Irata and Bitter Resolve

 (Shroud Eater)

 (Orbweaver)

(Irata) 

(Bitter Resolve)

On Friday I checked out three bands I hadn't seen before (Shroud Eater and Orbweaver from Miami, and Irata from Greensboro), all of which prominently feature women. Personally it's really exciting for me to see women taking such a role in metal. I can also say that all three bands completely ruled. Shroud Eater, which sound like a swampier, sludgier Black Sabbath,  were my personal favorite of the night. 

Chapel Hill's own Bitter Resolve, complete with a new drummer, opened the show and debuted some great new songs. 

I shot a couple of videos on my new camera, a Canon G15. I'm still not sure what I think of this camera. The video quality is obviously better than the G9, but the audio quality is significantly worse. I ended up buying an external mic, which makes the sound listenable, but I've found syncing audio and video together to be a painful chore. Besides, my goal was to haul around LESS equipment, not more. Here's video of Bitter Resolve and Shroud Eater from the show. See more photos here. 

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