Photos by Wayne Edwards.
© Wayne Edwards
Photo Gallery: Bassists, Part 9
Live Music
Photo Gallery: Singers, Part 5
Photos by Wayne Edwards.
© Wayne Edwards
Photo Gallery: Shredders, Part 4
Photos by Wayne Edwards.
© Wayne Edwards
Photo Gallery: Bassists, Part 8
Photos by Wayne Edwards.
© Wayne Edwards
Rose Funeral at Black Circle, Indianapolis, May 7, 2023
Rose Funeral wrapped up their Father Death Midwest Tour at Black Circle with a Sunday Metal Matinee.
Here is something you don’t often see: a heavy metal show in the afternoon. And on a Sunday, no less. Sure, if you are at a festival, bands do play in the afternoon, but the main show is in the evening. With Sunday Metal Matiness at Black Circle, the feature show goes on before the sun goes down.
There were four bands on the slate for the May 7th show, starting with St. Louis’ own Hard Graves. They are a hardcore / metalcore act with enough energy and aggression to keep the room spinning all afternoon. All the music that day was loud and rugged, but I think Hard Graves was the harshest. They have a new EP out, Consequence Of Action, which you can listen to at the usual outlets and you can pick up a physical copy if you like their music as much as I did on Sunday.
Homicyde rolled up from South Carolina. They are a death metal band that formed in 2010 and have so far released two albums, Taken (2010) and The Sickening Tales (2022). Twelve years might seem like a long time between records for an active band, but however they are doing it, they are making it work. The five-member band almost spilled off the stage at Black Circle, so large was their presence. They muscled through thirty minutes of music and looked to have more in the tank when they had finished.
Hometown death metallers Fleshbore were greeted with rousing enthusiasm when they stepped up and hit the first note. Their most recent album, Embers Gathering, came out from Innerstrength Records a couple years back, and there is reason to believe new material is not far off. There are five musicians in this band, too, and when you add in lead singer Michael Ohara’s wingspan, there was no place to hide during their set. The music they create lies along the melodic shore of heavy, often structured on technical musical pilings. Their set was tight and menacing.
The big news was the appearance of Rose Funeral. The band formed in Cincinnati playing deathcore in 2005. They got off to a roaring start, releasing their first album, Crucify.Kill.Rot. (2006), independently, then signing with Metal Blade Records for two more, The Resting Sonata (2009) and Gates of Punishment (2011). Since then, there had been radio silence until the emergence of the single “Father Death” last year. Even more music is in the offing with the band teasing another major drop for the end of May.
The Midwest mini-tour has been in support of the new single and to set up more new music. They will be playing at the resurrected Milwaukee Music Fest over Labor Day Weekend in a crowded field and, if their performance is anything like it was on Sunday at Black Circle, they are sure to gain a whole new tranche of fans.
Look for these bands to show up in your travel radius, and seek them out whenever you can. Meanwhile, browse the Bandcamp pages for all four bands and pick up some of their music and merch. Links below.
Photos by Wayne Edwards.
Links.
Rose Funeral, https://rosefuneral666.bandcamp.com/track/father-death
Fleshbore, https://innerstrengthrecords.bandcamp.com/album/fleshbore-embers-gathering
Homicyde, https://homicyde.bandcamp.com/album/the-sickening-tales
Hard Graves, https://hardgraves.bandcamp.com/
Black Circle, https://www.blackcirclebrewing.com/
Photo Galleries.
More Rose Funeral photos, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2023/05/21/photo-gallery-rose-funeral-at-black-circle-may-7-2023/
More Fleshbore photos, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2023/05/21/photo-gallery-fleshbore-at-black-circle-may-7-2023/
More Homicyde photos, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2023/05/21/photo-gallery-homicyde-at-black-circle-may-7-2023/
More Hard Graves photos, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2023/05/21/photo-gallery-hard-graves-at-black-circle-may-7-2023/
© Wayne Edwards
Photo Gallery: Rose Funeral at Black Circle, May 7, 2023
Photos by Wayne Edwards.
© Wayne Edwards
Main article about the show: https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2023/05/21/rose-funeral-at-black-circle-indianapolis-may-7-2023/
Photo Gallery: Fleshbore at Black Circle, May 7, 2023
Photos by Wayne Edwards.
© Wayne Edwards
Main article about the show: https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2023/05/21/rose-funeral-at-black-circle-indianapolis-may-7-2023/
Photo Gallery: Homicyde at Black Circle, May 7, 2023
Photos by Wayne Edwards.
© Wayne Edwards
Main article about the show: https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2023/05/21/rose-funeral-at-black-circle-indianapolis-may-7-2023/
Photo Gallery: Hard Graves at Black Circle, May 7, 2023
Photos by Wayne Edwards.
© Wayne Edwards
Main article about the show: https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2023/05/21/rose-funeral-at-black-circle-indianapolis-may-7-2023/
Upcoming Music Festivals 2023
There is a lot happening in the world of music this year. The pandemic is behind us now. Mostly. Probably. And even though live music was becoming more regular last year, it is really opening up in 2023.
The decisions you have to make this year are not so much about which shows to see as which ones to skip, because there are just too many out there to catch them, all. Here at Shardik Media, we have that problem, too. With a finite staff and a modest budget, we are making some tough choices.
Here, then, is a list of festivals we plan to cover this year. Things change, so this list probably will as well. Let’s call it aspirational. In chronological order …
Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival, May 25-28. Taking place in the center of the country, Columbus, Ohio, Sonic Temple has only been around a short while, and it has skipped the past three years because of covid. It is labeled an art and music festival, and it truly is. The last instantiation had art installations and beautiful banners all over the grounds. This year’s music line-up is a big one, with headliners Tool, Avenged Sevenfold, Kiss, Queens of the Stone Age, Rob Zombie, Deftones, and Foo Fighters leading the charge. The festival also has an incredibly strong undercard, including Jawbreaker, Puscifier, Trivium, Knocked Loose, Beartooth, Anti-flag, and tons more. This is a big one, folks. Don’t miss out. This will be the only Danny Wimmer Productions fest Shardik Media will attend, but the others will be good too: Aftershock, Louder Than Life, Welcome To Rockville, and so on.
Buy tickets here: https://sonictemple2023.frontgatetickets.com/
Upheaval Festival, July 14-15. After relocating to Chicago this Spring, we are focusing attention more in this area of the country so Upheaval Festival is a good choice. It is the same weekend as Rock Fest in Wisconsin, but this one is a two-day event in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and it fits the bill. Performing bands include Bring Me The Horizon, Lamb Of God, In This Moment, Halestorm, Falling In Reverse, Ice Nine Kills, and many more.
Buy tickets here: https://www.upheavalfest.com/tickets
Michigan Metal Fest, August 19. This one is a single-day event in Battle Creek, Michigan. It is held at Leila Arboretum, which is a fantastic venue for live music. There are forty bands across three stages in a gorgeous setting, including Born Of Osiris, Upon A Burning Body, Cultus Black, Casket Robbery, Hemlock, Psychostick, Raven Black, and the list goes on.
Buy tickets here: https://michiganmetalfest.bigcartel.com/category/tickets
Blue Ridge Rock Festival, September 7-10. Returning to the Virginia International Speedway in Alton, Virginia for a second year, this event has turned into one of the biggest rock and metal festivals in the US in the past couple of years. This will be our third year at Blue Ridge, and we are starting to feel like one of the crowd. Headliners this year are Slipknot, Pantera, Shinedown, Five Finger Death Punch, Till Lindemann, Megadeth, Limp Bizkit, and Evanesence. And Danzig, Machine Head, Biohazard, Highly Suspect, Overkill, Black Label Society, Jinjer, Tallah, Lamb of God … it is a long list. There will be four stages this year, which is a nice set-up. I don’t know if the Kate Bush Hill will be between them this time or not. It will be a good weekend no matter what.
Buy tickets here: https://blueridgerockfest.com/festival-passes/
Power Trip Festival, October 6-8. Held at the grounds of the Empire Polo Club in the vicinity of Indio, California, the biggest festival of the year has only six bands: Guns N’ Roses, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica, and Tool. Mushrooms in GA, whattaya say.
Buy tickets here: https://www.axs.com/festivals/476616
LA’s Gates Of Metal Festival, October 14-15. Back for the third round, this festival focuses on epic, traditional, speed, and thrash metal. The line-up includes Riot, Hail Mary, Heathen, Sadistic Intent, Evil Dead, Hellfire, and more than a dozen more. This will be a great weekend in Garden Grove, California.
Buy tickets here: https://www.ticketweb.com/event/las-gates-of-metal-festival-garden-amphitheatre-tickets/13054735
Photos by Wayne Edwards, Aftershock Festival, Sacramento.
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