"Warning: strobe lights will be used tonight" was printed in block letters on the foreboding black double doors leading to the 9:30 club floor, though in the end it probably didn't matter, since three out of four bands playing often lead to seizures anyway.
Orthrelm, Your Enemies Friends, The Locust and the Dillinger Escape Plan are not standard fare for the music industry, or at least not bands that would draw upwards of 900 people on a Monday night in D.C. Then again, just because they aren't mainstream doesn't mean they aren't some of the most amazing and talented musicians under your nose today.
Orthrelm's members are hometown boys; however, since they never seem to play the District, most people have neither heard nor seen them. Essentially music for selective aural palates, Orthrelm takes metal to another level, much in the way Lightning Bolt did, only instead of a bassist and a drummer playing on the floor, it's a guitarist and a drummer playing on a stage. For 25 minutes straight, Mark Barr (guitar) and Josh Blair (drums) played million-mile-an-hour arpeggios, jazzed-up speed metal and double bass cuts, entrancing a good portion of the people lucky enough to arrive early in the night.
Los Angeles' Your Enemies Friends came on next and instantly pushed the envelope energy-wise. Pumping out rock-hard riffs fueled with sweat, spit and beer, YEF definitely lived up to the myth that Buddyhead Records has played it up as. Unfortunately, its hard-rock-meets-punk songs, with melodies and catchy choruses, distorted the flow between all of the noise and grind that the night's other bands promised.
Cloaked in brand-new uniforms - white painter pants, tight white zip-up hooded sweatshirts and white locust masks replacing the much-loved army green short shorts, sleeveless tops and green masks - The Locust looked totally sterile as it took the stage. However, The Locust is anything but sterile. Gunning through blast beats, electronically enhanced guitar and bass riffs and some of the most bizarre keyboard sounds imaginable, The Locust had the crowd eating out of its hand. Instead of playing songs singularly, as each one's duration ranges between about :30 and 1:42, the tracks were streamed together in groups of five with breaks in between. Probably the most impressive aspect of the set was the band's ability to recreate the songs of "Plague Soundscapes," its newest record, live. The Locust was definitely the highlight of the night.
Now, though The Locust was by and far the best on Monday night, the Dillinger Escape Plan has been blowing away the competition for the past decade. These kids essentially took the metalcore scene and jettisoned it 10 years into the future with "Calculating Infinity," a record that remains one of the ultimate examples of musical creativity to this day. Unfortunately, it's been nearly a decade since the band has released a full-length - yes, the new record will come out this year, at least that's what lead singer Greg Puciato said.
Furthermore, after relentlessly touring for the past two years, the band looked fatigued, and seemed to hide it behind a blazing light show. Though the finest material including "Hollywood Squares," "Sugar Coated Sour" and fan favorite "43% Burnt" - which is only a shadow of its old self now that Puciato stopped breathing fire - were played precisely; the band didn't seem as agile or angry as it once did. Regardless, the Dillinger Escape Plan still holds the bar higher than the rest of the metal pack; it just seems as if it's sagging a bit these days.
