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Out of fairness to the bands, I'm not going to spend too much time griping about the corporate bullshit I had to go through to get a photo pass for this show.  Suffice it to say I've never, in the 2 1/2 years I've been doing Utter Trash, had to get a photo pass for a locals only show at any venue.  On top of that, the legalese in the release I had to sign contained so many restrictions on how I could use the photos I took, that I've decided not to post them.  Sorry to the bands, and sorry that the House of Blues management are a bunch of douchebags.  End of bitching.

I missed about half of Black Trinity's set because of my negotiations over the photo issue, but what I saw was very impressive.  These guys are about the only full on black metal band left in Cleveland that I'm aware of (not sure what happened to Manticore, but haven't seen them around lately).  The band avoids the symphonic keyboard textures used by many modern black metalists and instead just pounds out raw, dark, and evil guitar based metal.  Very good stuff if you like the style.

"High energy death rock" band Abdullah (that's what their website says) were up next.  For whatever reason, they had the best mix of the night and their material really shined because of it.  Their set included a fair number of songs that haven't been released in recorded form yet, as well as old favorites like "Black Helicopters" and "With Guilt as a Friend".

Then it was time for Cleveland's metal godfathers to take the stage.  Destructor opened up with the classic "Maximum Destruction" and quickly followed it up with the "Sonic Bullet".  A fair amount of their set was new material from their forthcoming full length.  Some of the new stuff grabbed me, some didn't, but diehard fans can at least rest assured that it all sounded like old school Destructor.  A muddy mix detracted somewhat from my enjoyment of the band's set, but not too much.

A good show got even better when Soulless took the stage.  This band just killed for the entire time they were on stage.  Flawless is the best word to describe their performance.  The only downside was the mix, which didn't strike a fair balance between the two lead guitars.  Still, the band delivered an amazing set that I figured would go down as the highlight of the evening.  I was wrong.

Amps II Eleven came on stage looking like the dirty and disheveled but carried themselves with absolute confidence.  From the moment their set started, chaos reigned.  Beer was spit back and forth between audience and band, projectiles were hurled, and some minor slamming broke out.  The crowd had shrunk some in size, with many of the metal purists not interested in Amps more seventies hard rock approach, but the ones who were left made up for it with enthusiasm.  I don't think the club was prepared for this kind of performance.  When vocalist Matt Wroth dove into the crowd to headbang along with some of the fans up front, security tried to throw him out.  He got away and was trying to get on stage when they tried to evict him again.  Eventually, they must have realized, "oh, that's the singer for the band" and let him finish the show.  Whatever the case, it was an amazing example of real rock n roll triumphing over a corporate mentality.  I don't know if the House of Blues will ever ask Amps back to play, but somehow I don't think the guys really give a shit.