VJS and Chris Gamble of Goreaphobia
A select and lucky few bore witness to venerable death metal greatness last night. It's very rare to be able to see former members of Death Strike, Krabathor, Incantation, Blood Storm, Absu, and Demoncy perform in one evening - and that's only discussing a total of five people in all. Both Goreaphobia and Master are comprised exclusively of underground veterans who know how to play it heavy without any care or concern for what's going on in the wide world marketing trends. Philadelphia's Goreaphobia formed in 1988 but died prematurely in 1994. Bassist and vocalist Chris Gamble went on to front Texas' own Absu and his own band Blood Storm, but Goreaphobia remained revered in the minds of many a metalhead. Gamble and guitarist Alex Bouks are the remaining founding members, but they found some top-notch backing with the addition of VJS (of Crimson Moon and late of Demoncy) on second guitar, along with drummer Jim Roe (of Onward to Golgotha fame, along with a dozen other notable contributions). The result is an old band with a new lease on life. Goreaphobia last played Texas almost 17 years ago to the day, and they have aged like a fine wine. Alex Bouks handled lead guitar duties with a fluid grace and chops that would stand up well even in guitar hero bands like Judas Priest or Iron Maiden. VJS faithfully held down rhythm guitar, and Jim Roe's combustible percussion added new flair to an already great catalog of songs. Of course the real star of the show was Chris Gamble; with his spiked executioner's hood and old-world stage theatrics, his presence could easily slide into an irreverent joke in less capable hands. Gamble is an inveterate showman, however, and it was nice to see an otherwise serious band having fun with the performance without turning it into self-parody. Goreaphobia played classics from their early 90's releases along with brand new tracks from their upcoming album Mortal Repulsion, and both new and old material were given a polished treatment. The new songs are darker and slower compared to the ripping post-Morbid Angel fervor of their original catalog, but they were no less engaging and therefore easy to absorb on first listen. This was largely due to the fact that the band was well-rehearsed and played the songs accurately and intelligibly, which is no easy feat in the dynamic-killing shoe box that is Room 710.
Paul Speckmann of Master
Master took the state next with little changeover since both Alex Bouks and Jim Roe are also two-thirds of the band's current incarnation. Elder statesmen and death metal folk hero Paul Speckmann is the only permanent member, and he basically is Master regardless of who backed him through the band's twenty-six year history. Fortunately, he had Goreaphobia's two best players on hand so there was no chance of going wrong in any case. Speckmann himself is as without frills as his brand of bare-knuckled death metal; he took the stage with bass and microphone and flatly announced, “Awright, so we're Master. Cool.” and then launched the trio into a barrage of fist banging tunes that hit all the death metal marks with deadly acumen. Speckmann's Spanish moss of a beard is the Eighth Wonder of the World, and his burly gurgle serves as a finishing blow for already impossibly cruel songs about life, death, and how America can be a pretty terrible place. Master is the death metal answer to Mötorhead in that they play it fast and dirty without any thought to ever changing a thing. This is a credit to their enduring legacy, as most metal fans would rather get the same album from a band over and over rather than hear them “try new things” or “progress”. Nope, Master is immutable – they helped kick off death metal as we know it, and they don't need any new gimmicks to justify their existence. One aspect that made an already great set even better was the proficiency and ease in which the band blitzed through the material. Paul Speckmann is actually a very talented bassist who displayed considerable agility on the fretboard while barfing out the sickest vocals this side of Autopsy. He was also genial and appreciative of the crowd as he addressed the audience in his nonchalant deadpan. Combine that with the aforementioned drum and guitar combo and the result was a performance that might as well have burned down the already doomed venue.
In summary: this show was simply excellent. It was exciting to see two long-running bands come out and perform with the kind of intestinal fortitude that is virtually extinct in the underground today. Metal lifers are cut from a different cloth than the short-timers that inevitably drift in and out of the movement, and to last night's small but vociferous crowd these warriors proved that their music was meant to stand the test of time.
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