SITH, Forces of Nature, King Stench Cross Streams with Zuel at Hanks Pub

Friday night November 16^th  one of Dayton‘s long standing staples and supporters of local music Hank’s Pub hosted a noisy evening showcasing some of Dayton’s finest metal minions. Shadows in the Hourglass, Forces of Nature, King Stench and Zuel played like true metal masters, banging the heads of the cozy crowd. Offering a bullet belted buffet of heavy elements and styles. Not one head bang or evil growl was the same.

Bassist Zack Ryan and Travis Abling play passing away the sands of time delivering their two instrument musical torso. They’re missing the guitars and singer and they’re damn proud of it too. Carrying a show on four strings and some drums is a beautiful thing to hear when SITH happens. Nicknamed Showers in The Hourglass for the evening they bathed the crowd in deep bass patterns backed by fast intricate drum conversations. Ryans fingers played us into the dark caverns of the brain, the strings putting mental tip toeing, footsteps and running in the mind. There’s some funk with the shadows too. He shows off some skill fluctuating styles bringing Flea, Cliff Burton and Geezer Butler into the room. Abling lays the groundwork for Ryan to play with beating the crap out of his kit, in the nicest possible way. Sadly this was their last show of the year but as long as the Mayans don’t get their way they’ll be back next ‘13.

Next is the bloody reign of Slayer, Mudvayne and Pantera giftwrapped in barbed wire just in time for the holidays.  Only these Forces of Nature can control the Seasons in the Abyss. They break out the heavy artillery, pile-driving your head into a bulldozer. Singer Tate Moore screams and screeches sound like he’s trapped in a sewer drain lungs filled with septic fluid, spewing all kinds of nasty vermin. Guitarists Marc Godsey and Jimmy Rose trade crunchy, munchy guitar riffs torn off rusty chains of gristle. Johnnie Wallace plays the bass like it’s the deep voice of hell coming for you. Of course behind every four good big, bad, creepy metal dudes is always a better woman, who could probably beats the skin off of any drum head, the lovely Mrs. Shannon Godsey. The bigger Godsey plays with Kerry King goliath sound harnessing the bands dark live power. Playing with speed and Dimebag thrash he brings all the necessary demons howling out of his electric twanger. They opened with Magnus Lee, Nevermore (not the band), the feet stomping chug and Chromatic Death breakdowns of Mary Hates Herself.  Formed in 1999 and revamped in 2009, they’re a few years into their second decade of aggression. They play us the sound twisting, weaving tune with the twisted smiling face of the Dark Carnival. They play nice Throwing Fists just close enough to pleasantly assault the ear but not cause serious damage. They go from the stage to the mystery machine and deal out some serious shredding Scooby Snacks on EX-6-DEZMO. Forces of Nature bring all the elements and can play it all from breakneck guitar speed, seismic solos and slower melodic The Legacy type ballads and bringing down the lightning of the gods with instrumental material.

There’s something rotten in Denmark, or Dayton which means there’s a foul stench in the air created by King Stench. His Dan Lilker looking highness summons the mighty forces of evil dark black metal unleashing an old school sound down from the deepest, darkest, backwoods used crawlspace. With possessed grizzly bear growling and a naturally dark aura they play homage to the forefathers of the macabre musical genre including Venom, Mayhem, Immortal and a horde of other corpse painters.  Mr. Godsey plays double duty on bass and the newlywed Hammering Hobbit plays the blast beat, deep forest outhouse bowels out of his drums. Yes, under Ohio law it is legal for hobbits to marry. Cess Pool on guitar rounds out this stinking pile of Hellish Odorous Local Royalty.  Hells Gate opens revealing the Putrid Remains of False Prophets. The Ungod would be proud of new tune Eternal Flame. Visions of the Goat Lord are next then we Fight for out Last Breath against the Hell Hounds, finishing with a Premonition of Devastation.  They’re single handedly playing out the demons from hell and bringing them to Dayton. Thanks guys.

There is no Dana, only Zuel. It’d seem like a no brainer to name your metal band after the feminine Gatekeeping minion of Gozer and sometimes drooling devilish canine worshipped by the Sumerians and Hittites in 6000 BC and subsequently overthrown by the Babylonian goddess Tiamat and banished to another dimension.  But the guys from Zuel decided to be even cooler, changing the spelling and name it after the red eyed devil dog that lived in Sigourney Weaver’s refrigerator in the mid-eighties. In Ghostbusting terms they very well could be the 35 foot long, 600 LB, Twinkie of local instrumental metal, “IF” you can find one. Born in the summer of 2009, they’re a band with no gimmicks, no trends and no scene hair, which’ve recently gone voiceless so now only the music matters. They come right out and hit us with a prog, Helmet style guitar prodding taste of Morbid Angel with a S—t Hammer in the b—s. They prove they truly are Bill’s Gate Keeper on Microsoft Rapture. They slowly build up with solid steel spiked steps, jerking and jarring with sudden starts, stops, jolts and snaps. They show off some easy going groovy jazz then speed up the sound race sending you sprinting down the stairs as a building collapse’s above you. They add a little Zep to their dazed and confused set of intricate instrumentalism.