Wrecking Ball Metal Madness 2

Post- pandemic has introduced a new venue to my radar every so often. Recently, there’s been a venue or two in Fort Worth successfully reaching my attention. Although I have yet to attend these venues, I hear they are pretty cool spots to check out. For thriving scene like DFW, it’s important to have a selection of venues all over the metroplex. The venue hosting this year’s Wrecking Ball, Echo Lounge, is a new venue to me. The location of this view trips me out a bit; it sits on the side of I-35 in Dallas, across the highway from the American Airlines center. My first thought was the exaggerated assumption on the size of the venue. A venue on the side of I-35 in this particular location had to be huge, especially for the kind of fest Wrecking Ball is. My second assumption was there must be a lot of money behind this building. Any establishment near this location had to be expensive, considering the large of amount of traffic in the area. My third assumption was whatever shows go on in this venue, it must have tight security. I couldn’t imagine it with little to no security, it wouldn’t make sense.

I was in the thick of traffic when the GPS showed I was less than 2 mins away. I was driving like a semi maniac, carefully weaving in and out of lanes to reach the nearest exit. I was already running four hours behind; it was a long work day I couldn’t avoid. As I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed the valet and the self-parking option. “Oh, Frozen Soul made it big now, we got the option to valet park at a metal fest“, I said to myself as I rolled down the window to hand the older woman my card for self-parking. Before arrival, I notice people on Twitter posting about the parking fee. One can express the thought of ten dollars being expensive to park but judging by location and the current times we live in, it’s not so bad. I pulled into the parking space facing south with the rear of my truck facing north. I wanted to back into a spot, but there were no spots behind me, only the sidewalk. After my cologne ritual, I made sure I had two SD cards, and my fit looking was right before leaving the truck. The walk across the parking lot felt longer than expected, due to the fact I had no clue where the entrance was. Once I finally reached the front of the building, I realized all my assumptions were correct. Outlining the line of people to the door was a fence composed of metal bars, containing the participants who have already checked in and previously occupied the inside GA area. After checking in, I had to travel around the other side of the entrance to retrieve my media pass. The process took a bit, but I understood why and felt a sense of appreciation about it. Without the check in process, the mature side of me would’ve started to worry a little.

As advertised, the Echo Lounge was equipped with fully functioning A/C. The ventilated, newly renovated venue was spaciously necessary for the capacity of this event. As I expected, the max capacity of this venue is 1,000. People were comfortably occupying the space 10 feet from the door, insinuating a crowded environment. From the front door to ten paces ahead was filled with the LED lights shining like ornaments on a tree from the ceiling. Entering into the general standing area in front of the stage was darker, containing the multicolored stage lights dressing the shadows in many hues. By the time I enter the dance floor area, Ohio death metal band Sanguisugabogg was in the middle of their set. Watching Sanguisugabogg was a wild ride to say the least. The guttural sound for the vocal cords of the front man was undeniably vicious, perfect for the brutal tone the band performed on stage. I used a bit of common sense to lead to the far left of the stage so I can get a closer point of view of the stage without entering the pit. I missed their set at last year’s Wrecking Ball, so I was blessed to finally witness them live. As I stepped forward to reach the side of the stage, next to the stiff security guys, I was able get full view of what the audience looks like from the stage. It was massive. In front of me was filled with metalheads of all shapes, ages and sizes. Many with an assortment of hair colors that could be easily represented by an assortment of candy flavors. Young and agile bodies catapulting their self from the stage onto top of the heads of other participants. Skin of all shades covered in uniquely custom tattoos to fit the owner. Flailing limbs and erratic, synchronized movement began to shape in a controlled circle, forming a pit. The sound quality was amazing in my opinion. No matter where I was standing in the venue, I was able to hear the sound carry the crisp echo throughout the space to fill in the cracks. I imagined the rest of the night to be as thunderous as the angry Zeus receiving disturbing news.

After their set, my boots carried me to the door adjacent to the bar leading towards the outdoor patio. From the inside looking out, the patio was swarming with attendees dressed in an assortment of death metal logos. In that moment, I felt like the oddball out. I was dressing in a white and red ringer shirt, straw cowboy hat, blue jeans and my DSLR camera hanging from off my left shoulder. Like any other large crowd of people in an enclosed setting, the variety on tones and volumes occupied my auditory senses. A smile slowly appeared across my face as I began to step outside. It was a bright evening like many others. It was hot but not as hot as I expected, but of course the humidity was treacherous. I’ve never attended a show where I didn’t know anyone, I’ve been around way too long to be a fly on the wall. With that said, it was no surprise of the amount of people I spotted in the crowd with a familiar face. It was like playing a game of catch- up with a few individuals. Nonetheless, every conversation started and ended with love.

A considerable amount of time passed before I heard the opening chord of the next band strummed. I had no clue who the next band was; looking at the set list after their performance, I found out it was Malignant Altar. Their stage presence was the first thing grabbing my attention as I walked back to the same side stage area to begin capturing their set. At first and last glance, they fit the mold of what death metal band look like: slim to muscular built musicians with the lead singer having the longest hair of them all. From my angle, it looked like each one of the members took good care of their hair. Their riffs were top tier; not mosh riffs but the kind of riffs your average headbanger would break their necks for. A familiar individual from across the stage caught my attention, wearing a BOLD shirt with dark brown Dickies style pants. My first assumption was chino pants, similar to what skaters wear for comfort and style. The individual was Zane Daniel. Along with Gray Muncy, Zane is one of the DFW’s favorite photographers. It’s a pleasure watching him work as he always makes sure he gets the best shots. There was no doubt in my mind that the result of his photography would blow my mind.

Malignant Altar was over. I made my way outside again to see if I was going to see any more familiar faces. To my luck, I see a couple of folks including Emma Lytle. I didn’t expect to see her in attendance, but I was delighted to see her. It was a pleasure considering she doesn’t live in the south anymore. After a quick chat, my curiosity carried me inside the Echo Lounge to explore. “There has to be a room or a part of this venue where all the merch is,” I said under my breath. From where I was standing, I had to walk across the sea of people, cut to all the way to the right and end up and the front door. Next to the front entrance was flight of stairs along with another flight of stairs leading up the part of the venue where the merch tables were. This was also the part of the venue where people were able to sit on the balcony to view the performance from a bird’s eye view. Merch tables at a live music event resemble a small flea market but instead unique items, it’s awesome band t- shirts, apparel and other items stamped with band logos. There’s a bar against the wall leading the balcony. My thoughts of getting a drink were few and far between. If I really wanted one, I would’ve purchased a double whiskey an hour ago. I decided this wasn’t the event I was going to enjoy with my favorite drink. The sober route was the path I was going down anyways, no reason to interrupt it. Everywhere I turned, I found myself in mid conversation with an individual or two. I couldn’t help but to talk to as many familiar faces as I could. For the past couple of years, I’ve made it a point to talk to as many of my friends as possible every time I go out. Time has the tendency to pass by quickly, turning weeks into months, months into years and years into a decade. A lot of things can happen in between those times and life gets shorter the older you get.

Fugitive began to play their set while I was upstairs in the middle of a conversation. Inadvertently, this was another time I found myself impressed by the quality in sound in the venue. From the balcony to the pit area, the sound maintained its crispy clean tone. The view from the balcony was the coolest point of view to experience a music show. At this height, I was able to see everything the stage lights illuminated, regardless of the color of the bulb. I snapped a handful of photos from the view before I turned my camera off for a bit to enjoy the show. It was insane to watch the audience explode into a frenzy when Fugitive began to play. It was equivalent to watching Greek men at war with the Persian Army. The cherry on top was this was Fugitive’s first show. There was a bit of technical difficulty the beginning of their set. Seth’s mic went out for a bit and the sound on Blake’s guitar was going in and out or so it seemed. The issue was solved moments later, just in time for the next song. I think the best was to describe what was unfolding in front of my eyes was a resurrection of Power Trip, but a bit more thrashy. Their ep they released in early August, Maniac, screamed perfection in a handful of ways. The similarities are at arm’s reach of any critique, yet within those similarities is a layer of stark difference that cannot go unnoticed. Mind-blowing to say the least. Viewing the band’s performance and taking a good look at each member, it was easy to see the reason why Fugitive is great band from its genesis. Each member of the band is from well- respected former or current Texas heavy bands. From the combination of Skrouge, Power Trip, ANS/Stymie, Creeping Death and Impalers, Fugitive is a juggernaut arising from its origin.

I ended up in the backstage holding a conversation with Quintin from Tribal Gaze for a bit before Creeping Death was setting up. For a brief moment, I found myself going through brief daydream in the form of a movie reel about past decade of growth in the hardcore and metal scene. It amazing to witness so much unfold in front of my eyes for a length of time. What’s even more special is the number of faces that chose to stick around to become a part of the growth. I figured it was going to take some time for the band to get set up, so I decided to spend a little bit of time outside Behind the few trees, the patio fence, and a RV trailer was a less desirable view of I-35 and some of the tall buildings Dallas had to offer. Noticing how irregular the Downtown view looked, I couldn’t help but to view the area as a reminder of where I was born and raised. A little grin appeared on my face before I turn around to head back inside the building.

As Creeping Death were moments away from the beginning of their set, I began to notice the energy in the room rising a bit more. Two weeks earlier, Creeping Death was sharing the stage with the current hardcore top dogs at Sound and Fury in Los Angeles. I wondered if they were riding on the West Coast high of performing in front of 5000 people. I took a different position on the side of the stage to get a lower angle. It was at this time I was beginning to notice more photographers and videographers on stage. In my extremely biased opinion, I was only comfortable with Zane Daniel and Gray Muncy as the other photographers on stage. Each of us has spent a length of time in the scene and we know how to get the best shot without invasive towards each other. The rest of the photographers/ videographers irritated me. The Creeping Death set began. One could be able to tell, almost immediately, the north Texas death metal band emit rockstar vibes. Their stage presence and energy screams excellence. Equivalent to the local bands I have watched since their beginning, I had a certain amount of pride when Creeping Death killing the stage. I loved when they play Edge of Existence. I’ve waited to see it performed live for quite some time and I was glad I was given the chance to become a witness to it. It was a powerful set to say the least. Trey’s ability to execute a somersault on to the audience while playing the guitar is undeniably epic. Creeping Death had nothing short of unmatched stage presence and talent.

After their set, we were down two more bands, the bread and butter of the night, the monstrous headliners we have all been waiting for. For a while, I thought the level of energy in the space hit its peak. I quickly found out I was wrong. Frozen Soul was up next. There was an obvious tone of emotion available for us to feel. There was weight from the recent passing of Chad and Josh Green’s younger brother Cory lingering over the shoulders of the ones affected. As I thought about it, I felt a bit of heaviness in my heart. I felt bad for the Green family, suffering a loss isn’t easy, especially a young loss. I bowed my head for a quick prayer for the family, like the son of a Baptist mother.

Right before their set was about to start, friends and friends of friends began passing out Wrecking Ball beach balls. The plan was to make it rain as the band began to play. The high level on energy intensified in the passing moments with heavy hearts. More photographers and videographers began to occupy the stage like an amateur squad of paparazzi. Hypnotized by the scene unfolding in front of them, the eyes of the audience were fixated on the members of Frozen Soul. The set began with Chad’s heartfelt introductory speech expressing the pain he felt of his recent loss. It was like losing a comrade in battle, leaving the rest of the unit sorrow- stricken while standing strong and tall. I couldn’t help but to go through the memories of watching Cory grow over the years, watching him being a complete menace in the pit. I have grown to believe when people die, their spirit lingers around for a bit, depending on their exit from the physical world. I believed Cory’s spirit was present, if not during the entirety of the show, then at least in the moments before the set began.

The room exploded with erratic movement as Frozen Soul began their set with Crypt of Ice. Mini beach balls began sailing from the stage, reaching its highest peak and showered the audience. Chad’s cold growl indicated the beginning of the chaos upon us. I stepped out from behind the stage and found a spot in between the audience, barricade and side stage. Ultimately, the decision to thoroughly enjoy the set outweighed the necessity of taking photos and documenting what was going on. From my point of view, their stage presence was larger than life, bigger than meets the eye. Even today, I am still star struck by their presence. A large amount of pride began to swell in my heart, creating warmth and inducing another grin across my lips. The thunderous sounds from the instrumentals engulfed the space, the unique, guttural vocal cords shredding against the mic created the aura of heaviness and brutality, the ingredients of a metal performance. Any moment of laziness was not tolerated, and Chad was quick to address it. The way he controlled the crowd held similar weight to a sergeant conducting its troops with power and authority. The action was non-stop and wasn’t going to cease anytime soon. The moment I was waiting on arrived as Chad handed the mic to Josh during the song Merciless. Not a second passed when Josh grabbed the mic and released a death growl with a monstrous amount of depth. It took me back to the days of Human Error. The depth of his vocals was just as impressive as it was in his youth. Chad’s demand for fitness chimed in during the song Beat to Dust, as he instructed the crowd to do pushups. Participants began dropping to the floor and performing the exercise. A few didn’t have a bad form but there was a few lacking in proper formation. As the set continued on, it seemed to increase in energy. Kids took their turns running across the stage to execute as many stage dives as possible. To top it off, their set wouldn’t be complete without the mandatory Witches Coven, the Mortician cover. That set was one for the books, legendary.

Following behind the Frozen Soul set was the current thrash metal kings Municipal Waste. I wasn’t able to remember the last time I seen the band, but I was sure I saw them live in the past. This was at the time of night I was getting sleepy, although it didn’t affect my decision to stick around for the headliner. Municipal Waste is a band I kept my ears glued to for a long time. On one of my workout playlists, it starts out with a few songs from The Art of Partying album. They are one of those bands, alongside Power Trip, no one can fail to mention in a conversation about thrash/crossover. As they were preparing to begin, I got a full view of what was in front of me from an artist/ musician perspective. Every square inch of the general standing area was filled with the feet of excited concert goers waiting with anxiety like a nervous tick. Looking up and forward were the occupied seat of participants that safely enjoyed the show. Along the side were the rest of the participants hanging over the railing to see the action unravel. I could only imagine the feeling of being on stage to play in front 1000 people and watch people lose their minds. I whipped back to reality as they began to shred. There were fans blowing upward by the standing musicians, I assumed it was meant as a prop to keep their hair afloat during their set. I thought I was pretty cool. I felt my youth creeping toward the present as they took owned the stage. It gave me the urge to hop back on my skateboard and start shred a bowl at a local skatepark. The repetition of the high tempo, fast paced thrash Municipal Waste offers is a metal masterpiece. To see it live was truly amazing, it felt like I was in the middle of MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball and Riki Rachtman was somewhere head banging with his long hair from the 80’s.

Halfway through their set, I had to call it an early night. I felt my eyes became little heavy after a long day of work and driving nearly 45 minutes north of 35 isn’t always fun. For one reason or another, it felt like the longest walk from the stage to the front exit. It’s possible that every fifth step forward became two steps back as I gave my friends a meaningful goodbye, contributing to the lengthy exit. There was no denying how legendary Wrecking Ball Metal Madness 2 was. It feels great to see friends make events as huge as Wrecking Ball happen. I was just happy to be able to witness the fun and watch some of the sickest, heaviest bands in our current life.