Tonight's Riot Room bill originally included both At the Left
Hand of God and Christ Hate, a pairing that, judging by band names alone, seemed
to promise conflict, especially given that Christ Hate destroyed Bibles on
stage during its February Riot Room show.
But the holy war has been averted, not only due to Christ Hate dropping
off the bill (reportedly to assist Cannibal Corpse on its current tour) but
also because At the Left Hand of God maintains religious neutrality. The latter
fact remains relevant, with Goatwhore (new album title: Carving out the Eyes of
God) still in place as the show's headliner.
"We'll play with pretty much anyone, despite their antics,"
says singer Rikk Wolf. "One thing none of us really care for is when bands
vocally and blatantly preach religiously to the crowd one way or another, but
that's not something that would deter us from the opportunity to play in front
of a crowd unless it was particularly over-the-top and there was danger of
people associating us with the same views. At the Left Hand of God is just
supposed to be an ironic, spooky metal name, with no religious reflections."
At the Left Hand of God literally picked its moniker out of
a hat, eliminating Knife in a Gun Fight, among other contenders. (While it wasn't the inspiration for this
group's christening, Behemoth's "At the Left Hand ov God" is a fucking
incredible song. Also, Behemoth's singer boasts the awesome name Nergal.)
Wolf has experience with deity-centric monikers, having fronted
the melodic-death group The Messiah Complex from 2004-2006. He joined ATLHOG
already in progress, performing double-duty as the band's fill-in singer while
still power-grunting for Behold the Alliance. His current vocal style blends
his previous approaches. "I call it 'dirty clean' because it comes from the
same place my screams do, and takes just as much if not more out of me," he
explains. "My natural singing voice is a little too what people call 'emo' for
ATLHOG." Occasionally, ATLHOG recordings contain simultaneous screaming and
clean vocals, but Wolf actually handles both parts. Live, he chooses one or the
other. "We've been meaning to get some backup vocals going, but it seems to be
something we never get around to rehearsing," he explains.
ATLHOG's demo tracks combine dual-guitar harmonies and
intricate solos (from co-founders Chris Joslen and Dave Thompson), keyboard
ambience (Wolf), and a rhythm section (bassist David Herron and drummer Scott
Eggelson) that handles plodding breakdowns and thrashy beats with equal aplomb.
ATLHOG's latest song "An Anthem for Honor" seems to suggest
a new direction for the band, from its inspirational hardcore-style lyrics to
its lack of solos. But Wolf says not to read too much into it. "The next song
we write could be straight-up melodic death metal," he says. The titles
certainly promise something along those lines: "The Tower is Tall but the Fall
is Short" and "From Coffins Choirs Rise."
"I sing about what I feel the music inspires thematically,"
Wolf says. "I joined the band a year and a half ago, and the band's early stuff was very darkly melodic and inspired a lot of horror-movie images in my mind. So you end up with songs like 'Heaven Sent Death (On Swifter Wings).' However, I attach personal feelings and motives to even works like that, so they're at least somewhat empathic to a person that doesn't wanna just hear songs about vengeful ghosts and zombies."
newly formed groups can get Internet assistance with the creative process. For example, the
Death Metal Generator provides an album and song titles to go with the moniker:
Faithful Extermination, Opportunity, "Adoring The
Unhallowed Baby of the Terrorists."
The Death Metal Band Namer churns out names when you click on a skull:
Dripping Immolation
Angry Grave
Broken
Terminal Innards
The Tune Vault generator struggles without user input, suggesting ungainly six-word clusterfucks. However, if you pick your genre and a keyword (I borrowed some from tonight's bill), you get gems like Crushing Revolt Gods, The Lord Thorax Goats and Whore Tongue of Destructions.
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I hate how people instantly assume that because of their name, their full on christians. Im not saying Jesus isnt rad or anything, im just saying people stereotype to much. ATLHOG ROCKS! \m/
At the Left Hand of god has never said it wasn't keen on Jesus, and doesnt appreciate that assumption. If want to write about musicians who hate religion visit www.myspace.com/nickevans13
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