METALCORE | As Temples Collide
w/ Vices & Vessels, INNERVISIONS, Never I, Down Under, Deatheater, Chasing Wind, and In Hope, We Return
Sun. Aug 28
5 p.m.
$5
The Hive
As Temples CollideRepping the Charleston metalcore scene at the upcoming Metalcore Mayhem fest is quartet As Temples Collide (ATC). Their existence seems to serve as a testament to the musical diversity of the Lowcountry’s scene. For instance, the video for the band’s latest single “Thin Ice” features views of the Holy City skyline while sonically delivering what you’d expect from a talented metalcore act: string-bending riffs, no-shit buzzsaw guitar tones, pummelling drums, and deathcore-emulating vocals. The band describes their sound as “new age metalcore,” placing record scratches and digital glitchiness right next to chunky chugging and stadium-ready leads, all polished off with the heady sheen of studio perfection. While exasperated parents and some self-proud left-fielders may accuse fans and creators of metalcore as simply “going through a phase,” you have to give some serious props to ATC, blending elements of old and new metalcore (think Underoath with a heavy dose of Asking Alexandria) and taking their job very seriously. “With this band we intend to write the best music we can offer while keeping a professional image with the intent of making this a career,” the band says. “We hope to inspire people to stay the course.” Playing alongside ATC at Metalcore Mayhem and celebrating the release of their new EP is Charlotte metalcore act Vices & Vessels. Other supporting metalcore bands are INNERVISIONS from Fort Mill, Never I from Charlotte, In Hope, We Return from Florence, Chasing Wind from Summerville, and DEATHEATER and Down Under,
from Greenville and Summerville respectively.
—Graham Crolley SUNDAY
COUNTRY TRIBUTE | One For Hagg
The Travelin’ Kine, Solid Gold Country & Friends
Fri. Aug. 26
9:30 p.m.
$10
Pour House
Charleston bands Travelin’ Kine and Solid Country Gold knew they wanted to do a tribute show of some kind at the Pour House, they just didn’t know what artist to pick. And then when country legend Merle Haggard passed away earlier this year, the answer seemed obvious. “Growing up, he was probably the first musician I ever looked up to,” says Travelin Kine’s singer/guitarist, Slaton Glover. “I remember sitting on the back of my Dad’s truck listening to him and singing along. And I knew his granddaughter in high school, and she used to sing backup with him.” It’ll be a bit of déjà vu for Glover at this show, because the aforementioned granddaughter, Dani Haggard, will be singing a few songs. So how do you pick a setlist from such an extensive, gem-filled catalog of country music classics? “We were worried about fighting over songs,” Glover says. “But both bands went over it together one night, and we each picked songs we wanted, and we didn’t really have a problem because the catalog is so big.” —Vincent Harris FRIDAY
HIP-HOP | Rager at the Cheese House
Cub Scout Records,
DJ Neongolden, Kurt Young Dade, The A5ylum,
Bass Ghost,
Truth Legacy
Fri. Aug. 26
9 p.m.
$5
Cory’s Grilled Cheese
Since last November, Donovan Epps has been booking gigs at Cory’s Grilled Cheese through his production company, Southern Scorpion Productions. He’s basically been turning Cory’s into a DIY venue after dining hours, setting up and breaking down the shows himself. And there’s something he’s noticed about some of the other events around town lately. “I got kind of tired of the same old rehashed metal shows every other week. Whenever I listen to music, I listen to metal, rap, and everything in-between. So I just figured why not get the people who come out to the same venue to see metal to come see a showcase of rappers and hip-hop artists?” Epps says he designed the show for maximum interaction with the audience. “I booked two DJs to perform after the hip-hoppers are done so that people would gather around and create a social spark,” he says. “So if they saw one of the performers, they could just walk up and say they enjoyed that. It’s a great way for the performers to talk about the mixtape or the EP they’ve done and get the word out.” —Vincent Harris FRIDAY
ROCK ALBUM RELEASE | Stop Light Observations
Fri. Aug. 26
9:30 p.m.
$20/adv., $25/door
Charleston Music Hall
For their new album Toogoodoo, Charleston’s Stop Light Observations eschewed the typical studio approach and recorded in an 18th-century cabin that was moved piece-by-piece from Kentucky to the Toogoodoo River by guitarist/keyboard player John-Keith Culbreth’s family in the mid-2000s. The result is a massive, cathedral-like sound that bathes the band’s new songs in an eerie, moonlit glow. “It had a huge effect on the songs and on the sound of the record,” says SLO singer Will Blackburn. “The ceilings were like 14-feet tall, so all the instruments sound a lot bigger than in a typical studio. We spent the whole first day figuring out how to get it to sound right, but it all came together really nicely.” The album, which was largely recorded live, combines the band’s passionate acoustic-electric rock sound with some of the electronics they introduced on the ‘Helicopters’ single last year. After initially regretting the more electronic sound, Blackburn says he’s found some value in it. “We might have overproduced ‘Helicopters,’ but the sound was cool,” Blackburn says. “It had this mix of arena-rock and hip-hop sounds in it. It felt right to kind of recall some of the things we’d done before on this album.” SLO’s album-release show is Friday during New Music Confab, and the band will also perform at Monster Music & Movies at 1 p.m. on Sat. Aug. 27.—Vincent Harris FRIDAY
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