Maple Ridge Metal

Pictures from a metal scene. A hundred or so enthusiastic kids came to shake their hair, mosh, and throw the goats at this evening's all-ages metal show at the Maple Ridge Vineyard. Here are a few pictures taken on my cellphone - of Paradosis, above and below, doing artful and abstract metal that they sometimes would get a tad lost inside...

They also did a new song about the mayonnaise factory they call their practice space, and had a demo they gave out for free. They might not have the tightest chops yet, but they had the most ambitious and artful idea of what metal can be, so I'm hoping they'll keep going.

The Maple Ridge Vineyard appears to be a Christian space, with this creepily-lit evocation of John 3:16 on the wall and posters everywhere promoting the virtues of "goodness" and "faith" (as opposed to more metal-friendly concepts like "badness" and "blasphemy").

I had heard nothing about the headliners for the night, Magnus Rising, and wondered if they might be some sort of Christian band themselves, until I noticed that they were selling panties and thongs with their logo on them. By their merch you shall know them.

These guys certainly knew how to swing their hair. They had the bluesiest, most swaggering "classic rock" conception of metal, but were goddamn good at what they did.

13th Prophet had some pretty enthusiastic hair-swinging, too. They seemed to bring the biggest fan base to the show - they played third, with a more straightforward thrash sound than the bands that followed, and some great solos. It was nice to see that the guitarist, Nico Miraftab, was wearing a Behemoth t-shirt - I've become quite fond of that band (Polish "blackened death metal" according to Wikipedia). I missed Regime and Arrhythmic Pulse, alas, since things actually apparently started around 7pm - but it's nice to know that gigs like this happen in Maple Ridge. Now maybe I could talk someone into bring the Golers here?

I suspect they'd get an enthusiastic welcome...