Review By: Bob (FClef)
I have some good news and some bad news for Thrash fans throughout the state of Florida. The good news is that Thrash is alive and well and appears to be making a comeback. The bad news is that there are only a small handful of Florida bands playing high profile shows here so far. One band who is
making a mark is Sanford, FL based Great Awakening. They were most recently on the Masters of Disaster tour with three Thrash bands out of California. Witchhaven (San Bernardino), Exmortus (Whittier), and Bonded by Blood (Pomona).
I caught this show at The Haven Lounge in Winter Park, FL. It was presented by Maniacal Mojo Records in conjunction with All Access Music Magazine. This was an early show with doors at 8:30 PM, show around 9. I arrived about 8:45 and was pleased to see that Great Awakening was set up and just about finished their sound check. Many times I’ve gone to a show and it seems to take forever for the first band to set up by their scheduled slot. The first band at times will also drag it’s feet before starting, waiting for even a minimal audience at such an early time slot. Not the case with Great Awakening. By the number of Great Awakening shirts worn throughout the club and the gathering near the stage, it was obvious that a decent amount of their crowd was in place and ready for the onslaught. Being such a young band, they have already established an impressive following and are total pros in their approach to their music. As I ordered my pitcher of Bud and exchanged greetings with some friends, John of Maniacal Mojo and Bobby of All Access Music Magazine took to the stage with a large backpack full of FREE goods to hand out. T-shirts, posters, bumper stickers, mini discs and CDs, along with a Great Awakening supplying a wide range of items from Sik World. I even snagged a Type O Negative license plate frame, among other things. Now who doesn’t want one of those?! These freebies alone were worth the cost of admission. As the frenzy died from the crowd grabbing up the goods being tossed by John and Bobby, Great Awakening launched into their set and the moshing began almost immediately. Needless to say they kicked much ass. I’ve seen these guys many times and they always impress.
Next up was Witchhaven, another fairly young group who traveled across country to play here. Being a Thrash fan from way back, this was awesome to have a full evening of Thrash – very uncommon around these parts. They smoked! Exmortus was up next. All the bands were like clockwork, wasting no time changing out gear onstage. As I wandered around the club, inside and out between bands, I overheard a lot of comments about how it was so bad ass to have all of these Thrash bands on one bill. And I concurred wholeheartedly. Exmortus broke the night up a bit with their vocals, crossing over from Thrash to downright Death Metal. We all know how a show filled with bands of the same genre can oftentimes blend each band into one, but these four bands all had their unique grooves. I’m out practically every weekend and I frequent The Haven a lot, and I have to say that out of all the people I know in Central Florida, I’d say 80% of the faces there were unfamiliar to me. I doubt very much the Cali bands brought that many from out of state, so I can only assume that this show brought out a lot of newbies who rarely come out to Metal shows, which is always a good thing.
At 11:30, folks were still coming through the door. I was well aware of the several Metal shows that were happening the following night and knew that many would most likely stay in to rest up or save enough money to attend those events. But the place ended up being pretty well packed all night and even at $10.00 admission, by far the most costly show of the weekend, it didn’t deter the turnout by any means.
Bonded by Blood hit the stage last but not least. The moshing did not stop. If the energy from the bands and the pit could have been harnessed that night, it could have powered the building. It was a fun night and I invite those Cali dudes back any time!! We need more THRASH!!
