PRO-PAIN, CROWBAR, ENTOMBED and my favorites, Hyperthermia Sabala’s Mt. Tabor in Portland, OR
By Robin Steeley
I have been looking forward to tonight for weeks. How many opportunities in a lifetime do you get to see a line up like this, three heavily saturated metal headliners all in one night, not to mention my favorite local thrash metal act, Hyperthermia who play first tonight, thrashing the crowd into a frenzy and inspiring the first mosh pit of the night. This band never ceases to amaze me with their tight musicianship and incredible metal delivery, it’s nice and heavy and full of sick crushing breakdowns, just how I like it.
After Hyperthremia’s set, I got a chance to check out the crowd and saw that it was a mixture of the old school metal heads and the newer generation of hardcore fans. I’ve never seen so many Pantera shirts in one room, fitting not only because Pantera is the most bad ass metal band of all time, but also in tribute to the recent death of the legendary guitarist Dimebag Darrell, a respect that I am proud to see in this crowd of Portland metal heads.
Of course mixed in with all the old school and hardcore is a healthy dose of WEIRD, people painted with fake blood, staring crazy eyed as if to say “Don’t fuck with me” with an icy glare. I’m thankful to say that besides these few strange individuals, and despite all the black hearts in the room, I am most often greeted by my fellow thrashers with a smile and a flash of devil horns in the air. I think the crowd is a good representation of fans from many genres here tonight, Metal, Thrash, Death, Doom, Hardcore, Black, and even grindcore. All congregated in one place at the altar of the pit to see the godfathers of thrash perform on the same stage.
After anticipation welled up so thick you could cut it with a razor, Pro-Pain finally takes the stage and proceeds to their stations and blast into their set, a violent tirade of hardcore and street metal, turning the crowd into a pit once again. It’s a solid performance played with sadistic intent, Pro-Pain never disappoints. Frontman Gary Meskil works the crowd, finding the true fans and connecting with them through the music.
After the set change, Crowbar comes to the stage and rapidly produces their brand of sonic mayhem, a furious tirade of drums and vocals and string work. The sound is flayed open and raw, and delivered expertly by vocalist Kirk Windstein. The music is a powerful driving force that grabs you from the inside out, pulsing through your veins from your ears to your soul. They keep a constant closeness with the crowd, talking between songs and keeping everyone within decibel range mesmerized by what was happening on stage.
Top this off with a prescription for “A Lasting Dose” and you have the makings of metal history. Closing their set with “All I Had” which was offered up as a tribute to the late Dimebag Darrel, they ended their portion of the night with something bittersweet.
The crowd starts to get restless at set change and soon it will be time for Entombed, a band that has taken a long and twisted trip through the halls of metal history. They appear on stage and jump right into a long set filled with some of their greatest work. The guitars are amazing, handled impressively by Alex Hellid and Uffe Cederlund. They play their classic hits as well as new songs from Inferno that are primal and intense, a wash of fury driven from their instruments. Frontman L.G. Petrov controls the front of the stage, full of contorting expressions and pent up rage. They close their set with the piano driven “To Ride…" only to begin crushing minds again with “Wolverine Blues” and “Chief Rebel Angel” before finally leaving the stage to a spent crowd who still yell for more even as the lights come on and the techs begin breaking down the stage.
Editors Note: I sincerely apologize for the lack of pictures accompanying this review. The photographer’s camera was stolen from their vehicle prior to the show starting.
