Story and Photos: Spencer Fleming
Omaha's underground metal scene showed up in full force Friday (5/26) for the return of Carnographer at The Drinkery. With a stacked line-up of thrash, slam, and sludge, the fans feasted upon tasty blast beats, nasty riffs, and a smorgasbord of tonsil-shredding "blegh"s.
Cannibal Abortion, Stagnant, and Keeper of Innsmouth rounded out the bill making this one of the higher profile local metal shows of the year. The bands opted to play inside The Drinkery instead of the outdoor stage and with so many fans it was packed in pretty tight. The room started to get hot as the metal buffet began.
Starting the night was Keeper of Innsmouth. It reads like "Inns Mouth" but it's pronounced like "Inns Myth", giving it a bit of a renaissance feel. This makes sense because while listening to their music I got the feeling Keeper of Innsmouth could score a super dark version of Knights of the Round Table. Jump on your stallion and get ready to slaughter everyone in your path. The thrashing riffs and pounding drums will pair perfectly as the streets run red with the blood of your enemies. Lead singer Dustin bounced with tons of energy and tried to get the crowd to do the same. The crowd instead opted for some crazy slams, bouncing into each other and tearing the floor to shreds. Keeper had the room rocking from front to back and did a great job opening the show. Dustin made a great MC too with little jokes about his buddies in Carnographer and other quips.
The band has been making some waves playing several sets over the last few months and I heard some folks in the crowd say they are getting better with each show. If you're not already following Keeper of Innsmouth make sure you take note so you can catch their next campaign of destruction!
After Keeper of Innsmouth burned all the churches and left the townspeople pillaged and plundered it was time for Stagnant.
The band has some members from Illinois and Blake the drummer is based in Omaha. Also, shout out to Blake for organizing the whole show. There was no promoter involved, this was completely DIY. The bands worked hard promoting the show in the weeks leading up to Friday and it showed. The scene really came through and supported this one.
Much like Keeper of Innsmouth, Stagnant is making moves! They've already singed to a small label, Murder City Records, and have released a demo. I was excited to catch their set because Blake and Stagnant guitarist Casey are some of the best dudes around. I mean really you could say the same for most everyone in the metal scene but they're always fun to be around.
A few years back Blake and Casey played the Lookout Lounge (R.I.P) in a band called Elend, and that straight up ruled. Elend was like really heavy prog metal, almost as if Coheed & Cambria tuned down and got super shredding vocals. Come to find out Casey loves Coheed, and during Stagnant's set I peeped he has a 2113 on his forearm, respect.
Thinking back on that time at the Lookout, it's now dubbed the infamous "poop door" show because someone got super drunk, kicked out, then came back and pooped on the front door of the club. The stuff of DIY show legend.
This time around Blake and Casey came to destroy. With deep sludgy riffs that instantly had you bobbing your head and doing the "something smells in here" face and pounding drums that will kick a hole in your chest, their death metal tunes were a welcome assault on the senses. I had to quickly scoot to the corner to avoid some flying fists of fury when the pit starting whipping up. Some guy came from behind the stage like a tornado and just crashed into everyone. Everyone escaped uninjured but it was a war zone of slam!
Stagnant kicked a hole in the roof and left the stage in shambles. If you like super heavy sludge that will haunt your dreams, give Stagnant a look today!
After the feast of Sludge it was time for Cannibal Abortion from Illinois. Just the name alone is so metal. Is it a cannibal woman aborting a baby? Is it a non-cannibal woman aborting a cannibal baby? Either way it conjures up images of tearing human flesh and blood dripping down the walls, metal!!!
Cannibal Abortion took the energy up a notch with fast-paced riffs and blasting drums. The thrashier tunes had the pit going wild, so I definitely shot from the side of the stage. The whirlwind of bodies was relentless as Cannibal Abortion had the room spinning. Their lead singer was thankful for the flurry of energy and kept the campaign of chaos going, calling for more circle pits, to which the crowd happily obliged. I had to make my way to the back and get some air after dodging all the action. Huge shout out to Cannibal Abortion coming in from Illinois to make this local rager a big success!
With many villages decimated and hundreds of knights destroyed by the sword, one battle still remained. Carnographer was ready to slay the demons and vanquish every remaining foe, but first they had to sound check.
While getting everything dialed in local guitar god Coop "The Big Ole Hot Dog" Schuh was on hand to keep everyone entertained. He played "We Want the Funk" and noodled around while everyone boo'd and hurled insults. I think giving Coop a hard time has become an Omaha pastime. I always make sure to razz him about starting a clean vocal group. He'll never tell you, but he's got pipes. The time is right for an early 2000s garage-rock cover group (The Strokes, The Hives, The White Stripes) DO IT COOP!
In all seriousness Omaha loves Coop and I think I speak for a lot of people when I say I'm proud of him for living the dream and going on a European tour this summer. Make Omaha proud dude!
Alright enough celebrity buzz. Carnographer was ready to ride the dragon and reign death upon their enemies! I've seen Carno a few times now and I've always been impressed with their slam metal viciousness. Coop whipped his hair around like Hetfield in the 80s as Sage ripped on the bass, giving us the deep low end. Spencer served up blast beats all night as Scotty shred up and down the frets like a pro. Lead singer Dustin screamed up a storm with his tonsil-shredding vocals putting the crowd into a frenzy.
Carnographer went through a line-up change and took a few months off before returning to the stage, but with the crowd response on Friday I think it's safe to say their rise from the grave was a smashing success. I look forward to seeing Carnographer out there more with their renewed energy and thirst for blood.
Again, a huge shout out to Blake for putting this whole show on and bringing the metal scene together in a big way. I love coming out to the metal shows and seeing all my friends. Omaha is blessed with one of the best scenes around. Keep going to shows, keep supporting live music and I'll catch you at the next one!
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Keeper of Innsmouth
Stagnant
Cannibal Abortion
Carnographer
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