Brutal Planet had the opportunity to watch the eOne Heavy Live streamed concert on Saturday April 3rd and it was a great experience. Hosted by Ethan Harrison from the band Great American Ghost, 5 heavy bands showcased their chops via webcam. The interview segments between each band’s set were equally informative and entertaining.
The first band to take the stage was Plague Years. They wasted no time cranking up the volume and speed to acceptable metal levels. The vocalist has a tone that reminds me a lot of Lemmy from Motorhead. The band as a whole has a very straight forward, heavy, groove metal style. This makes a lot of sense as during their interview they gave props to Metallica. They also said Arise and Beneath the Remains by Sepultura, Master of Puppets and the Black Album by Metallica and Divine Intervention by Slayer were some of the most influential albums on their band.
Next up was Body Snatcher – who was a bit more grindcore than the last band. “You’re gonna want Gramma in the room for this one” is how they introduced their second song. The band thanked everyone for support and tore through their deathy grindy set with intense precision.
Enterprise Earth was the 3rd band to take the stage. Brutally heavy as well they continued with the same level of energy set by the prior 2 bands. They were also the first band to bring some melodic acoustic guitar and synth sounds into the mix. These were used sparingly however, only to break up the onslaught of brutal for a couple seconds.
Up next it was time for the first of 2 headliners – Within the Ruins – they blew the doors off the place opening with Deliverance. Then they jumped right into the title track from their new record Black Heart. The band also played some songs from their older catalog. When they broke into Gods Amongst Men I about lost my mind, that was the song that exposed me to the band so it’s one of my favorites. All in all their set was loud, fast and full of energy.
Last but not least was a set by The Contortionist. This band is capable of producing a much more mainstream sound than the other bands in tonight’s line-up. That’s not to say they aren’t also incredibly heavy – their sound was just much more progressive metal. I really don’t want anyone to take that as a write off – there were definitely moments of heavy in their set that equaled the precision and intensity of the other bands. They were interspersed between a wide array of styles and sounds which also made their performance one of the most interesting of the evening. Near the end of their set they broke into a cover of 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. The band’s chops and presence were epic and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed them.
Incredible performances by all the bands for a truly successful virtual / livestream show. This one really got me anxious for real live music to start again. You could almost feel the energy radiating through your screen.