Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @AlanHasPicks
You know what’s missing at Spinning Platters? Black Metal. There’s just a lack of content related to the most extreme subgenre of metal music.
There are even several bands considered influential to this genre, including Mayhem, Darkthrone, Burzum, Immortal, Emperor, Satyricon and Gorgoroth. The most famous of these bands is definitely Mayhem, where members killed other members, committed suicide, and burned churches… ah, the good ole’ 1990’s!
While the vast majority of the subject matter here is geared more towards fans of Outside Lands than fans of Mayhem, Spinning Platters still employs a few brave souls who will immerse themselves in the mosh pits and get their eardrums pulverized, all in the name of reporting back about the glorious screaming vocals, remarkably incredible fast guitar riffs and blast-beat drumming, as well as maybe a count on the number of non-black clothing (HA!) and inverted crosses seen, and all typically without even having to stock up on corpse paint…
Fortunately for Neck of the Woods, black metal bands these days typically don’t burn down anything or commit murder anymore!
Neck of the Woods is located on the normally bustling Clement St. in the Richmond district of San Francisco. Since it is a Sunday, earlier in the day, directly in front of the venue, there is a farmer’s market. What a perfect storm of (missed) opportunity to do a matinee show! Go to Clement to get fresh fruit and veggies for the week and get your mind (and/or ears) blown by the amazing black metal sounds emanating from the upper floor of the venue…
Admittedly, that’s not very metal. We are serious about our health (and our black metal) though!
If only these people had stuck around until the evening when Portland’s UADA and Olympia’s Abigail Williams took the stage on a now quiet Sunday evening. Seventy-five fearless black metal fans did make it back to the Richmond district on this night, as did local openers Vile Rites and Vesseles.
Every descriptor written above about black metal fully applies to each and every one of these four amazing bands, and in addition, there was a corpse painted face, a horned guitar player, several hooded folks who couldn’t be seen because all the lights were off (except for three white lights on stage shining directly at the crowd), a backdrop with several Necronomicon symbols, and not a colorful piece of clothing in sight… or any tangerines, apples or spinach for that matter!
See more photos of all of your favorite Metal musicians at Alan Ralph‘s photo portfolio.
