RedFlameOut’s Musings

Nephilim

My original intent was to go see a local band named Nephilim whom I personally know. They were one of the opening acts for Finnish metal band Finntroll last night. There were two other bands (Abyssmal Nocturne and Elfion) but I was unable to get there early enough to see.

Nephilim is a fine up-and-coming band from Orange County, California consisting of four members — Mike Hess (vocals), Andrew Hicks (guitar), Arya Zarrinkelk (bass), and Max Whelihan (drums). While I like their music, I think they need some constructive criticism to improve.

Arya seems to be out of sync with the rest of the band on stage. His bass playing does not provide the driving bass metal is famous for and the clothes he selected to wear did not fit in with the genre nor what the other members outfits. Arya’s dance style while playing bass is distracting.

Mike’s vocals are good and with more practice plus gig work will be very good. His interaction with the other members on stage was more than adequate but was a bit too one dimensional. Of course, the short stage due to Finntroll’s equipment already setup and covered behind them did not help.

Max is a drumming machine and is one of the highlights of the band along with Andrew’s guitar. Thrumming double bass and smart playing with complex rhythms represent Max in the total. A fine drummer and a fine member of the band.

Andrew is a really good player but I feel the band is missing an angle. A second guitarist would round out their sound.

Back to Andrew’s play — really better than good. He is just outstanding. He interacts with the other members on stage well and never missed a riff.

One major criticism I have for them is to not promote themselves during the concert by telling the audience to buy their merchandise. This happened not once but twice during the set — bad form. Let your music and presence sell you. The second time they got booed.

The crowd listened intently but, with but a few exceptions, little enthusiasm. No mosh pit opened up although there was some head banging going on.

The bass playing was not clearly defined in the set but rather muddled in with the drums. Drums were crisp and clean but the bass drums overpowered the unusual playing style of the bass player. The guitar was well played but sounded muddy at a few points where is was difficult to discern the riffs being laid down. Vocals were a bit unintelligible but that is more from the sound setup than the vocalists performance.

Overall, Nephilim is a fine band that I hope makes it one day. With some adjustments in their style and possibly the band member makeup, they are sure to get a recording contract.

Finntroll

I had heard of them but never heard their music. I was blown away last night. They were extremely tight and played the audience well. Being this was their first gig at the Galaxy, I was impressed with the size of the crowd that came out for them. They were extremely tight and the set was upbeat and fast paced. Well done!

The mosh pit was active after Vreth (lead vocals) encouraged them to dance. Security managed to keep a few crowd surfers from spilling onto the stage. Guitars were crisp and clean and the bass player was clearly heard and not muddled as sometimes happens in these small venues. Vreth played lead throat well and considering it appears they are nearing the end of the tour in the US and Mexico, I was impressed with the quality.

The Finntroll performance was rousing and I wish them good tidings and luck!