Gnostics, Aneurysm, Disintegrators, & Massacre System at VSC


Brian Baynes booked this gig intending it to be a first show for four new bands. A great concept, really, just getting the first shows for all of these bands out of the way, especially since none of them have any music out, although Aneurysm actually ended up playing their first show a couple weeks ago with Contrast Attitude and Physique since Axon had to drop last minute. Here's what I thought about the show:

Massacre System: Another solid d-beat band under the Sammie Bilbao dynasty. Really fast, HM-2s galore. And the midtempo song they closed with goes into an extremely fast scissor on toms and snare, what else do you need?

Disintegrators: It felt good to play guitar in a band again. The Bilbao-Luna songwriting partnership reaches its 5-year anniversary under another project.

Aneurysm: I was really surprised by this set since I wasn't able to catch them in time at the Contrast Attitude show. Basically everything you would need in a raw hardcore band. Ben's guitar had an awesome siren-like sound while idling between songs, a feature he attributed to a bad cable, but it sounded massive and noisy during the set. Dev's drumming really shines here, mostly d-beating with lots of good fills and creative and unexpected way to transition into tempo changes. The last song transitioned into a heavy breakdown in 3/4 (or triplets, whatever you wanna call it), and although most "heavy" bands would make the mistake of drawing out this section, Aneurysm kept it short and sweet and powerful.

Gnostics: Now this might be my new favorite Richmond band. Every time a new crust band emerges in the US it's just another crasher-influenced d-beat band or some 2000s style crossover/metal. This is not the case with Gnostics. Scully, Marie, and Spazzy dial it back decades to the early years of crust, influenced by post-punk and anarcho-punk. Marie's drumming is primitive and rhythmic with hardly any straight forward parts, harkening back to the Spiderleg and Crass Records eras. Scully's guitar parts oscillate between clean and noisy sections, with constant flanging/chorus. And don't let me understate the post-punk influences, there were parts of the set that reminded me of Vex's Sanctuary with its dreary apocalyptic chords drenched in chorus. During the set, someone moshed into the pedalboard and the band kept going with just bass, drums, and vocals, but they kept it together and tight while the crowd plugged everything back in.

This show was a benefit for the Sacred Heart Center which provides support for the Latino community. We raised $840 just on an all-locals show in a kitchen. While the neoliberals show their true colors in their silence, it's up to us to make the change and support our own community. Maybe you'll remember this next time they try to convince us to vote for them.

Brian also uploaded all the sets online, links below:

Massacre System

Disintegrators

Aneurysm

Gnostics

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