OC Death Fest Burns Bright In Orange County

By Jason Williams

September 13th 2014, OC Music Hall, Anaheim CA: After its inaugural edition at the Mirror Image Studios in Anaheim, CA with Cattle Decapitation and Disgorge headlining the bill last year, the second annual OC Death Fest was held at the OC Music Hall last Saturday, with LA’s progessive death metal group Syrebris being the only returning band from last year’s lineup and many new bands including Inanimate Existence, Infinite Death and more. I was intrigued, especially as I’d actually heard only a handful of the bands on this lineup. Headlining this year were tech death veterans The Faceless, as well as the “supergroup” Murder Construct, having members from well established bands such as Cattle Decapitation, Impaled and Phobia. This was to be a truly exciting extreme music festival taking place at The Music Hall in Anaheim, CA, a new place for metal shows as of late. There were to be some challenges and obstacles on this day, as temperatures across Southern California were to be well in over the 100s. I stood ground, with the rest of the music goers, and ventured onward for a day of extreme metal music.

Arriving at The Music Hall at 1:40, bands were still setting up, as it looked like the festival was running behind. The heat did not help matters, as the decent turnout so far was attempting to stay cool by shade anywhere necessary and even laying down inside the main room. One outstanding aspect of the festival was the prices on food and drinks.  Although the beer selection was nothing to write home about, bottled waters for $1 and sodas/energy drinks for $2 could not be beat. Vegan tacos, enormous fry plates, carne asada tacos and bacon wrapped hot dogs all in the price range of $1-$5, it felt pleasant to not be eye gouged by ridiculous prices. Jewelery, art paintings, many CD sales and band merch were a sight for sore eyes. The promoters for this event Arrogant Behavior Promotions deserve credit for awesome pricing on food, drinks and other merchandise held at the venue. Too many times venues and festivals overcharge on the simple things fans need to keep themselves going, as the heat makes it much more difficult.

Finally at 2:20, in the main stage inside, Argentina’s Profanacion took the stage. Having been around for 19 years, they brought their grindcore/death metal style to the somewhat dehydrated yet sizeable crowd. Although the guitars I felt were not too loud in the mix, Grindcore focuses on more of the distorted bass complementing the guitar into a loud buzz of anger and ferocity. It was something I had to remember, that not all genres of metal will have the same powerful yet crystal clear sound.  Guitarist/vocalist Jorgue Rodriguez’s growls were impressive and menancing, to say the least.  Most of the songs were fairly short, brutal and to the point. Jorgue thanked the crowd on several occasions and mentioned, “Being the first band today, we’re grateful to play for you.” Although something I wouldn’t really hear on album, Profanacion’s grindcore style was solid way to start the day.

Bay Area’s own Antisoptera was the first band on the 2nd (outdoor) stage at 2:50. The sun burning brighest amongst the crowd, barely anyone placed themselves near the stage, as shade allured fancier to the ones in need of restitution from the sun. Nevertheless, Antisoptera played on with their dose of technical death metal.  Their sound was impressive, with interesting riffs that complimented the technical prowless of their sound, and not taking a step back. Turning tempo changes, unique picked appregios and a clear tone were some of Antisoptera’s themes. Guitarist/vocalist Robby Perry moved all around the stage, smiling in this dreadful heat while effortlessly playing brutal, quick riffs with a scream to back it up. Although their set was fairly short, as most of the opening bands today would get due to the festival format, Antisoptera got the heat stricken crowd going.

Two stages meant fewer setup times, and although the show was behind, it stayed true as LA’s own Harlequin blasted the main stage away, at 3:15, to a more active and sizeable crowd. An all-female band, Harlequin really got things going with their brutal death metal approach. Not one member was standing still, instead headbanging, windmilling away with intensity and on a mission. The one to truly stand out to me was bassist/growler Raquel Solis, who would put many male death metal singers to shame with utter sickness and brutality in her gurgles and growls while effortlessly rocking out the bass guitar. Leader, singer and guitarist Tawney Arredondo took command of the crowd, initiating headbangs and a little movement to this water starved audience. I was very impressed by Harlequin, one of the best performers this entire day.

Septicunt started their set at 3:30, outside to the sun still beating its heart too close to our faces. Their blend of death metal was a little too generic for my taste, although a good portion of the crowd was into them, even a number in the crowd sporting custom Septicunt shirts. One problem, to be fair, as it would plague this stage for most of the night, was the sound. Not dynamic, impacting, powerful or loud. The lack of these attributes made Septicunt sound “quiet.” And the growls and guitar playing were in no way terrible, but the sound especially for their set did not help much. I wouldn’t mind seeing them in a more proper setting to give them a better listen.

I was not able to see Saprophagous play the main room due to interviewing Syrebris. Hoping I’ll get another chance to hear them out someday. Father was next on the outside stage at 4:05, the weather still blazing but slowly cooling down. This four-piece played a very interesting progressive style of death metal, with various clean buildups with growls and some demented riffing. On top of that, Father happened to be a small exception to the plaguing 2nd stage sound. They were clear, loud and formidable. Each member was very talented in their playing, making even a few of their simple riffs sound grand. The growling reminded me of Steeve Hurdle, guitarist for Gorguts during the Obscura time period, somewhat wheezing but incredibly sadistic and psychotic. Father was greeted by applause and interest, and left me anticipating their next gig.

4:20 rolled on by, yes, more puns to even out the heat. Inhuman Atrocities were next, bringing their deathcore to the main room. I saw them about a month ago at a local show in LA, and although powerful and bringing in some of their genre’s audience, it just wasn’t for me. Breakdowns few and far in between are useful and impacting when blended in with other riffing instead of the chunking it tends to be. Those kind of breakdowns aren’t really my style and most of the crowd was certainly into them, so I take nothing away from them, just simply not in my taste.

Sacred Ruins took over outside at 4:40 to what was so far a very strong turnout. Their melodic death metal style worked very well with the audience, embarking the very first most pit in either stages. As with Father, the sound worked for them quite well, although could have been just a tad louder. Guitarists Milko and Robert captivated the audience with tasteful sololing and catchy riffs, bringing the most active of the audience to life thus far in the day. The band was on fire, no thanks to the heat of course, truly having fun on stage, with smiles and headbanging for miles. “Oblivion” was one of the highlights of their set, and met with an ovation after it was played. So far, Sacred Ruins from Whittier, CA were the best received band on the bill, and hope they obtain more opportunities as these.

LA’s own death metal band Deformity graced the main stage at 5:05, starting a brutal tone right away. Seeing how there were to be a various metal genres, it was refreshing to see a simply put brutal death metal band. Their newest song that they played, “Mutation”, really saw an increase in tempo, putting headbangers in the room into a frenzy. The band thanked the crowd for enduring the heat and for supporting underground music. Any brutal death metal listeners, get on board for Deformity.

By this time, the venue was quite packed. It’s always impressive to see underground music get support, and especially in this engulfing heat. At 5:30, Cataclysmic Spawn played outside with a dose of technical death metal to this eager crowd. The main singer/guitarist really dazzled the crowd with signature growling and even tapping across the fretboard simultaneously, something you don’t see that often even with high level death metal. Despite the sun (find that Suffocation reference), the mosh pits broke out in response to Cataclysmic Spawn’s music. I enjoyed their set and hope to see them on more death metal gigs in the near future.  But things were about to get hectic as the behind schedule problem was slowly taking its toll.

Some of the bands that were scheduled to play, dropped off for various reasons, along with other miscommunications. Instead of one band playing with the other stage set up for the other band, both stages at some points through the rest of the night were colliding with each other set times, which meant I was now having to ceck out bands only for a certain amount of time.

I left to see melodic black metalers Infinite Death play the main room to the largest audience at this point. A number of my friends have had said nothing but positive things about them, and I was very eager to finally get the chance to hear them play. Right at 5:30, the speakers hit everyone witnessing with some fantastic riffs and melody. Their stage presence was on a high note, constantly moving while proficient in their playing. Vocalist Hex Ramirez was definitely the most entertaining frontman of the entire evening, with plenty of dry humor and crowd interaction throughout their set, asking the crowd to sing along to their song “Until We Rot”. Not only did they bring a number of their own fans in, but the rest of the room absolutely loved them. Lead guitarist Josh Palomar was brilliant to watch, with beautiful melody all across the riffs and leads. But their new drummer was a delight to watch. Incredibly powerful, more than competent in his fills, and his blasting reminded me of Carcass’s Ken Owen on Heartwork, crystal clear, earth shattering and incredibly brutal. Infinite Death’s 25-minute set went by much too quickly. Absolutely one of my favorite bands this evening.

San Diego’s Shattered Eyes took to the cooler outdoors at 6:10. As with Inhuman Atrocities, their style was more of a deathcore kind. Although their breakdowns were nothing to write home about, the vocal approach was more black/death metal, which was easier to listen to. The guitar work was more than adequate as well, with some tasteful leads to go with it. Mosh pits were in no short supply here, feeding the band with more energy to battle the heat and deliver metal music. This kind of death metal/core was a little more up my alley, with the emphasis on the breakdown much less. I wouldn’t mind seeing them again without that 2nd stage sound, in the future.

Right at 6:30, only cutting into Shattered Eyes’ set by a 5 minutes or so, Our Own Accord took the stage next door. I had the chance to interview the band at the Summer Slaughter in Santa Ana, a few months ago, so it was also a pleasure to finally see them play onstage.  After Shattered Eyes’ set ended, a good portion of the crowd came inside. Our Own Accord play a melodic death metal style with some catchy riffs. Lead singer Alex Gray moved all across the stage, amping up the audience and singing straight into some in the front of the stage’s faces, something that’s always fun to see. Guitarists Julian Bastida and Bobby Cortez switched off some killer leads as well as some nifty riff work, something that should never be forgotten in any Death Metal band. The crowd really enjoyed them and overall, Our Own Accord’s live setting was enjoyable to watch.

Sons of Eli started right at 7:00, to a large number of the crowd there to see them.  Playing a style of death metal with lots of breaks, speed and heavy to go with it, the crowd was truly engaged to see them. I also happen to notice a lot of their friends and own fans were definitely in attendance. The sound on the 2nd stage for them wasn’t as bad as it had been earlier and would be sometime later, but could have benefited even more had it been like the main room. Vocalist Raul Arroyo was all over the place, screaming and growling away. And with the sun setting on the other side of the building, the crowd was able to be that much more interactive. The crowd ate them up and I’m sure will be doing the same at their very next show after.

Fatal were next in the main room at 7:10, bringing on a death/thrash element not seen too much today. Unfortunately, they were one of only a few bands in the main room where the sound could have been much better. The vocals were low in the mix, and they happened to be solid as well. Also, the music was a little too thrashy for my taste. I usually prefer my thrash to be more on the technical side, and while they weren’t really up my alley, the crowd in attendance had a few mosh pits for them and were enjoying themselves. But because Sons of Eli were going on at the same time, they didn’t get as big an audience as they would have liked.

Running around bands as set times were already impacting one another, I caught a small glimpse of Vampire Squid from Riverside, CA who label themselves, “Progressive Metal Ocean Grindcore.” I wasn’t too impressed with their music, although if you get to check out their lyrics, album cover and song titles, they’re hilarious and well done within ocean animals and meanings. To give them credit, they were fun to watch moving around onstage and the crowd was responsive as well.

Stages of Decompositon were originally supposed to play the 2nd stage, but were moved to the main room as label mates The Kennedy Veil and Inanimate Existence happened to be sharing the same equipment. Fans of Dying Fetus would appreciate them, as they brought a solid dose of brutal slam death metal. The guitars were quite powerful as well, something that you essentially need with slam riffs. Although the band didn’t stand out for me too much, I was headbanging along and the crowd enjoyed them as well.

One of my most anticipated bands on this bill, unfortunately turned to be the biggest disappointment for me. Hailing from Santa Cruz, CA and being pushed heavily by their label Unique Leader Records, Inanimate Existence bring forth a very interesting style of technical brutal death metal that focuses more on the instruments than vocals. Their first album Liberation Through Hearing, is simply outstanding and must be heard, while their newest release, A Never-Ending Cycle of Atonement, was no slouch either. Sadly, the constant shortcomings of the 2nd stage were at its worst for them. The sound was extremely low in the mix, and left the music, that’s normally full of life, vigor and intensity, to be dull, lifeless, and boring. I almost don’t want to even count this as seeing them, as I know under a much better soundboard they would translate live much, much better. It’s unfortunate that the sound was this grueling for them, and I hope the next trip they make to Southern California will be under a more proper sound setting.

Another highly anticipated band of the evening, Syrebris played the main room to a large audience. I had the chance to see them open for Kataklysm and Aborted earlier this year, and while their set was cut short due to time constraints, their blend of progressive technical death metal left a huge impression on me. Seeing them play a proper opening set was going to be a joy to watch. Utilizing their incredible guitar work and brutality, vocalist/guitarist Victoria Villarreal might be one of the better female musicians out there playing extreme music. Vicious, monstrous sounding growls, as with Harlequin earlier, that are truly in quality as well as tasteful, with complex, unique riffs that portray beautiful progressive elements brutality woven in. Her husband and guitar player Manuel Villarreal matched note for note and headbanging with his soul, never even looking at the fretboard. I was barely able to keep up seeing how he played those riffs and flawlessly shredding, as well. Bassist Jesse Villalta played on a beautiful fretless bass and had some tasteful bass leads that you could hear along the rest of the instruments. Speaking of, they had the best sound of the evening. Any side you were on, you could hear everything clearly. The music calls for a powerful sound and it was in no short supply. The band also released a new song, from a new album being worked on, described by Victoria as, ” A little more old school.” It was more mid tempo but had some gorgeous leads. This performance absolutely blew me away as well as the rest of the packed room. An outstanding addition to the metal scene and for me, was the best band of the entire lineup.

The Kennedy Veil, because of the equipment situation, were actually the last band on the 2nd stage instead of the 3rd to last on the main stage. I was only able to catch a small amount of their set as Murder Construct played at the same time in the other room. Because they were sharing the same equipment with Inanimate Existence, their sound also suffered, but not nearly as bad. The Kennedy Veil played a more subdued blend of technical death metal, not as ‘spacy’ and progressive as their label mates Inanimate Existence. It was the first time I’ve actually heard them, and while their riffing was very impressive and the growls were quality, the lack of power and volume in the sound system just made them stale. As mentioned before, it’s hard to count this as negative on the band when the stage’s sound was working against most of the bands who played. I hope to see The Kennedy Veil again to be able to gauge them in a much better setting.

Murder Construct went on at 9:30, actually on schedule as the shifting of some of the bands playing at the same time on the other stage made it work out. The audience was filling up the main room in anticipation for this metal “supergroup.” As with Bloodbath, Murder Construct was formed as a side project from members in Cattle Decapitation, Exhumed and Phobia. Leon Del Muerte, the guitarist and one of the main members, pummeled away headbanging while providing solid grindcore riffs. The audience was in a frenzy, definitely the most intense moshing this evening. Singer from the ever unique and popular Cattle Decapitation, Travis Ryan’s stage presence is captivating every single time. Spitting and attempting to catch it, it’s glorious. It has to be said how great and impeccable his vocals are, especially in the live setting. Country music or “Mary Had a Little Lamb” could be playing and I’ll still watch him growl and scream his soul away. He was having a fun time onstage and so was the rest of the band. They played about 45 minutes even though it felt like so much shorter. Murder Construct don’t play too much due to the nature of the other band members and their priority bands, so it was a real treat to see them play so close to home.

And finally at 10:30, The Faceless played to a pumped up crowd. I’ve seen The Faceless many times since 2007 and this happened to be the first time in a headline setting. Opening the set was “Coldly Calculated Design”, one of my favorites from Planetary Duality. The guitar solo performed by leader and founder Michael Keene, is beautiful to watch. Most of the set, as expected, was off their latest two albums, Planetary Duality and Autotheism. “An Autopsy” got a huge reaction, the only song played off their debut album, Akeldama. “Pestilence” from the same record happens to be my favorite song from them, but I wasn’t expecting it to be played. The band, as usual was on point and while their sound was excellent, the double bass drums when played fast, took over a good portion of the sound, leaving the guitars low in the mix. Although it wasn’t too often, it happened enough to be somewhat distracting. The highlight of the set was the Autotheist movement in all three parts together. One of the backing tracks was acting up as the first portion got under way, leaving Keene without his mic working. They quickly started over and had no problems with it since. The Faceless played about an hour and seemed a little short but given how intense the heat had been throughout the day, it was enough for everyone to enjoy and recover. I enjoyed their headlining set and hope someday they’ll play more songs from Akeldama.

It was quite a roller coaster in terms of how many bands were there to cover, sound issues, the overbearing heat and just soaking in all sorts of metal genres. But it was a wonderful day, full of life, music, great people and metal. The 2014 OC Death Fest was a success and I can’t wait for next year’s addition.

The Faceless set list:
01. Coldly Calculated Design
02. The Eidolon Reality
03. An Autopsy
04. Accelerated Evolution
05. The Ancient Covenant
06. Autotheist Movement I: Create
07. Autotheist Movement II: Emancipate
08. Autotheist Movement III: Deconsecrate
09. Legion of the Serpent
10. Hymn of Sanity
11. Xenochrist

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