Hammers of Misfortune/Ludicra - DC9 - August 13 2009

Ludicra - A very metal looking band hits the stage and rips into a ferocious monstrosity that sounds like a cross between Napalm Death and Slayer. Whew, the rest of the set settles into more of a compositional death metal. There were some very catchy riffs coming out of the four players. The female singer and female guitarist were the only vocalists and pretty much limited themselves to the death metal screech/shriek sort of thing which does tire me out when there isn't a real voice to offset it once in a while. Close your eyes and your not sure if the singer is male, female, a blender in need of oil, or a wounded animal. But metalheads do like this sort of thing. Still, good music with good hooks.

Hammers of Misfortune - Large band of two guitars (one from previous band), bass, drums, singer and an organist. Three people sang (two women) and it was all singing for this band. I thought it was going to be a progressive metal band from what I read, but the metal was not really there, at least in the modern style. It was a very hard, assertive progressive sound with great organ, strong rocking guitars, good rhythm section and vocals that tried to cut above the rock (and failed early in the set until the sound got better). A good throwback sound and a nice set. The songs did not quite move me to great heights, but they were close. I would recommend them and see them again.

Quote of the Night: "First, we'll dedicate this set to the great Les Paul, the creator of this very guitar". Kudos to the Hammers of Misfortune guitarist for starting the set with this which did draw applause from the crowd, almost all of who knew exactly who Les Paul was and what he meant even if they probably couldn't pick him out of a police lineup.