The Kosmo goes to Ogrefest

LANSING—Dive bars, rolling fields, not-so-virgin-forests, economically-segregated cities verging on bankruptcy–in almost every way a state both picturesque, yet bleak. Given that, it’s no surprise that Michigan is secretly a hotbed of underground heavy metal music. Historically, metal has been a genre of music found in the coastal regions of America (The 80’s San Fransisco Thrash scene, the 90’s Florida Death Metal scene), which might explain why so many of the quality bands found in the Midwest are still unsigned. That lack of label attention, however, has resulted in a tight-knit, independent scene whose yearly mecca is the annual Ogrefest concert held at Mac’s Bar in Lansing.

Mac’s Bar itself is a dive bar that feels like home, intimate and lovably grimy with a pulverizing sound system. The music on the jukebox and the low prices of specialty drinks like “Virgin’s Blood” send a clear message that this place is metal friendly, and good thing too—the locals need somewhere to bring the fury.

Last year’s Ogrefest was a revelation to me: not only was it the final performance of Detroit emotive melo-death legends Cursed Eternity, but it was a titanic set by Chicagoan joke-grind Mavin’s Maggot Twat. Needless to say, 2009 had a lot to live up to, but the greatly increased attendance showed that the routinely fantastic performances have lit a fire among Midwest metal heads. The growth also showed in the roster: this year’s fest had over twenty scheduled bands, and ran for fourteen hours.

My companions and I only managed to get there around six, hours into the show, due to flooding and power outages in the state. Those same outages caused the bands minor headaches, but even so almost every band ended and began on time, keeping the pace brisk and energetic.

The standout performances showed the untapped power of the familial local scene, as well as its diversity. Perhaps the most technically proficient band was Lansing instru-metal act Year 2000X, who played only metallic covers of classic videogame themes (their name is a reference to Megaman 2). The boys rocked out to rousing renditions of “The Contra Theme” and “Metal Gear,” with extended jams for solos—they are a homegrown Dragonforce, simultaneously more immersive and honest without the pretentious fretbord tactics Herman Li and crew overuse.

Blackened crust punks Wastelander kept things punishing and simple, sounding like Amebix and Bathory playing Motorhead songs, inciting enthusiastic responses from the audience in a festival full of bands with extreme technical merit like Cavalcade. Wastelander proves that good songwriting trumps solo ability every time.

“Thrash, Kill, Destroy”Ohio band Hammerhoarde play a very European style of Viking-influenced folk metal, sounding a bit like Turisas and Amon Amarth through lo-fi stereo speakers. Hammerhoarde are popular with the ladies—the whole show was surprisingly friendly to the oft-neglected woman metalheads, but the women took central parts in raising battle cries for the boys. They perform in renaissance fair gear and kilts, keeping a fun and engaging atmosphere through their set, even if all their songs sound the same.

Genocya played an energetic and spastic set of blackened technical thrashcore numbers, peppered with judicious self-promotion, before the legendary Satyriasis took the stage, bringing hooky but technical death metal to all. Ogrefest itself is organized by Satyrasis’ lead singer and guitarist Dave Petterman, who was thanked by every band on the bill at least once, if not multiple times. They played choice cuts like “Psyclopean Shores” and “Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing,” and a Rush cover to rousing applause.

The outstanding performance had to belong to Lansing’s Dagon (named after the HP Lovecraft story of the same name). They call their music Ocean Metal, and even played a song of the same name, but their music is best described as punishing progressive thrash, with hooky riffs, sing-along chorus and numerous start-stop drum kicks that left the crowd in a tizzy. Their stage presence is playful and professional at once—most notably in a cover of Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker.”

The night ended with a rare performance by notoriously lazy black metal band Sauron, who managed to rouse riotous applause without expensive equipment or even excellent songs, just great riffs and blistering speed. Their original work was strong, but for a closer they played Judas Priest’s “Breaking the Law” causing the first and only real mosh pit of the evening, leaving everyone to wander home sweaty, exhausted, and blissfully full of great underground metal.