Show In Review: Metal Night with Fatal Malady!

Pre-Show Shenanigans

So many shows, so little time. So why let Vegas hog allllllll of my attention. February

2nd,2019 I took an invite to an out of town show in Arizona. After deciding to de-sleeve my Wolves In The Thrown Room tour T shirt, Implements of Hell guitarist Rick and I hopped in trusty Ernest on our merry way to Bullhead City, AZ. Our road trip jams consisted of Devourment . After 2 hours of confusing “wrong turn 2” level google maps directions complete with many a back road adventures in the rain and darkness we arrived at the venue.

The Venue

Lazy Harry’s Bar & Grill looks like a trading post when you first approach it from the outside. It overlooks the Arizona Veterans Memorial which can be seen even during the pitch black of a rainy night.

When we walked into the bar there was already a slew of locals inside seated at

the various stools along the bar and tables . Walls, Ceilings and every other surface in between were decorated with dollar bills of which I contributed (above the bar). Complete with roof leaks , pool tables and a questionably structured back patio.

Bands loaded in gear and piled it near the

kitchens and side of the stage for quick set up while we indulges in some much earned adult beverages. While waiting for my food, I was greeted by familiar faces from the Kingman show the previous weekend. Including Mike, aka “Wheels”, as well as Danny & JP from Souls Condemned who are also part of Braced4Impact . In addition to my fellow Vegas locals coming to play in their project Pariah Was One, Calvin from DiM, Kevin previously from BiPolar and Glenn from Astoria.

The drinks were here were extremely cheap. Getting myself a rum and coke and my plus one a PBR and a shot of Jameson for only 11 bucks before tip. The food was also highly recommended (we scoped out google and yelp reviews beforehand too 😛 ). I had ordered the Nacho Tater-Tots. They were SOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOD. I couldn’t even finish half of them before asking for a box to take the delicious totty-goodness home.

The Line Up

Locals Braced4impact were up first, playing songs about addiction and other life struggles with inner demons. You could feel the floor vibrating through your feet with every note.

For the first couple of songs the guitars were not turned up high enough to have the impact needed for riffs and provide that extra oomph behind the vocals and drums. This improved through the set. The band also played a cover of Blondie’s “One Way Or Another”. Their crowd engagement and stage presence was in good shape considering opening bands normally get the shaft in regards to people in the crowd by the stage at these smaller venues.

After getting a facial from the ceiling via an extra big drip from a

roof leak, my boyz, and in one case distant relations, Pariah Was One took the stage. Calvin the comedian provided the intro “Good Evening Lazy Harry’s , We are Imagine Dragons from Las Vegas, Nevada” starting off light before diving into the fuck your ears deep growling and scream vocals.

At the start of things the clean vocals were

a bit high making them seem pitchy in certain spots. Drums were a bit high as drowning out the guitars a little bit. Glenn was slamming the snare and symbols like they owed him money. The cleans improved during the 2nd song of their set and more so after.

I was glad to see them playing outside of Vegas to increase their reach even as a newer project. Their set was filled with songs about Social media and toxic relationship. Coupled with random shout outs to blow jobs and circle jerks in the tour band after their set it made for some comedic moments that people will remeber along with the musical experience.

Calvin was noticeably in his element. Knowing him personally, I can say that the effort he has put into his cleans definitely shows. This was by far one of the best performances I’ve seen him do. Maybe it was the venue, maybe it was that this was my first time

seeing him play live with this project. But my props still stand.

While the next band set up, there were lots of discussions about dicks and red-wings between the people out on the patio. at one point the discussion turned to an exchange of dirty jokes where I claimed the title of victor.

Fatal Malady from Phoenix, AZ made their grand entrance filling the air around the

stage with smoke of a better quality than that basic shit that chokes you. (Bands / venues…invest in good smoke machines that don’t make breathing it in as an audience member unbearable.) This was of course after a sound check that included harmonizing of vocals barbershop quartet style.

Starting off with their track “America” as their intro, palying through their new album “Burn” released June 2018.

Vocalist Clinton and Guitarist Brent were heavily engaged with the crowd getting down on the floor and posing for pictures. Guitarist Dustin, built like a tank, brought that seriously brutal headbanging to the stage. As with most of the taller performers of the night, I worried there might be an incident with one of the beams right in front of the stage if head banging and jumping wasn’t done carefully.

Their crowd interaction and stage presence are at a level that sets an example for other bands. Really

making for a pleasant experience for existing and new fans in the crowd. Nothing turns me off more than a dead fish performance from a band. These guys did not disappoint one bit. The corpse paint with the lights made for an extra wow factor.

The band was kind enough to sign 2 album copies for me. One for my personal collection and one for a merch give-away (to be announced). I was able to meet the band before the show, thanks to Tao from Braced4Impact and local promoter for the introduction. Definitely approachable and super chill dudes.

Local favorites Gheara straight out of Kingman closed out the show with an

impressive set. Lead Vocalist Patrick Nolan has some pretty sweet techniques. Not putting too much power behind his growls as to not tear apart his throat while still having the integrity of the sound they were going for and a good amount of projection on the mic.

They covered as song from a well known metal band you may have heard of named Death towards. The guitarist slipped a little on the solo but did a pretty decent job at it. It was a great end to a pretty stellar evening.

The Head-Bang-Over

The drive back to Vegas was a caffeine infused 2 hours of winding roads and high beams while craving my extra firm memory foam mattress and blankets. My voice was only a little gone from screaming. There was no mosh pit at this event so i got to skip the full body Epson Salt soak and Advil routine.

Come the morning a pot of coffee and some home fries with eggs and sausage made for a great recovery meal. I spent the remainder of my Sunday going through photos from this show and that of the night before while snacking on some home made guacamole and watching Star Trek: The Next Generation. Periodically massaging my neck and doing stretches to reduce the inflammation from the head banging and hair flailing done in the last 2 nights.