Show Review by Æræder
Wednesday April 9th – Maul, Windchimes, Wanderer, Bound By Unity, Spinal Fluid
Doors 5pm, Music 6pm. $12 cover
- https://flyingvmusic.com/ – 1312 Broadway St NEMinneapolis, MN 55413
Venue
Flying V is a fairly new venue. A 501(c)3 non profit focused on getting kids into music. Interesting concept; check the website out! It’s not far off 35W, and has a fairly interesting setup and probably an interesting history – sorta seems like an old barn or dance hall that was surrounded by urban residences years ago. Neighborhood street parking. Straight Edge, which is probably good, because they only had one restroom, which I atypically spent zero time checking out. Keep this place on your radar!
Sound
It was plenty loud, but mostly highs and mids. Bass and drums were mic’d up but didn’t come through after soundcheck. Vocals were in and out depending on the pitch and volume. Low Fi for sure, but the volume and crowd energy made up for it.
Crowd
All ages, straight-edge, mostly hardcore vibes. Diverse mix of mostly younger folk, but holy shit… fucking HIGH ENERGY AND ENGAGEMENT. Things got rough at times, but the pit was exploding with ninja punches, kicks, and violent shuffles the entire time. I definitely kept toward the back half at this one! I’d take a circle over a dojo in the pit any day, but… fuck… no circle can compete with the energy and visual entertainment of hardcore / slam dancing. I talked to a couple guys about the show, bands, and how they learned about them… missed the dude’s name, but got connected to an up and coming promo page on Insta – check it out!!: https://www.instagram.com/minnesota.metal/
Performance
The 3 bands I saw were aggressive, engaged the crowd well, and came off the stage drenched in sweat. Sound limitations and some of my unfamiliarity with a couple bands made it hard to judge technical performance, but as far as an event with high energy sustained across the show, this one was pretty fucking good.
We got there late and missed the first two acts – Wednesday show after work/school, it gets tough to be there for the whole thing. Talking to some others, I heard Bound had to drop.
BOUND BY UNITY:
- Think I dug up the right link – If not, correct me! = https://www.instagram.com/boundbyunityhc/
- Latino, hardcore
SPINAL FLUID:
Sorry I missed you guys! Heard you killed your set. Reach out to MnBleedsMetal and keep us posted on when you are playing again!
- https://www.instagram.com/spinalfluidtc/
- 612 BRUTAL SLAM DEATH
WANDERER:
We came in about 1/3 of the way through Wanderer’s set; it was still light out but the crowd was already at it. I am fresh off a write up of Lung’s 4/5/25 show at Zhora Darling, so seeing vox/guitar/effects master Dan Lee at back-to-back shows was cool. 2 very different bands, and 2 very different crowds! But he brings some haunting screams and ambient sounds to each.
- https://wanderermn.bandcamp.com/
- Remedial mathcore, brutal hardcore, metallic false grind, extreme noise rock, electronic-infused brutality from Minneapolis
WINDCHIMES:
Coming in to visit MN from PA – Welcome, gentlemen! Again, crowd engagement and energy were top tier. Sound quality at Flying V made it tough to come away with a clear take on their performance, technique, theory, theme, etc. BUT, FUCKING CHECK OUT THEIR BANDCAMP. Being non-local, I am not gonna write up anything on them. But for sure I am going to listen more to this insane shit. Put it on your national radar.
- https://windchimesband.bandcamp.com/
- Western PA Post Death – death metal, deathcore, metal , black metal, deathgrind, death metal, grindcore, post-metal, post-death, sludge metal, Pittsburgh
MAUL:
This is the band I came to see. I caught them a year or so ago at White Rock Lounge (that guy who ran WRL, whose name shall not be mentioned, can pound some gritty sand, btw). Maul is awesome. The Midwest Death thing they got going is awesome. So many OSDM vibes, but with an insane ability to connect across all ages. Their studio albums are great, and their stage presence cannot be beat. Knowing the tunes, despite the low fi sound, I would say they killed their set and kept the crowd energy maxed until the end. This band in this venue = legitimate excrement, in the most positive way.
- https://maul701.bandcamp.com/
- REVIEW OF MAUL’S LATEST ALBUM HERE: https://20buckspin.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-jaws-of-bereavement
- https://www.instagram.com/mauldeath/
Highlights
Crowd energy. Not necessarily my cup of tea, but this was awesome to watch and be a part of. I want to see more of this shit. Tough to make a Weds night gig, so regretting missing the first chunk. But, loving the solid 9:30pm cutoff enforced at the V, lmfao!!
Shade
Flying V, you got a sweet setup and a sweet dream; keep this place safe, and maybe get some STAFF tees so it is easier to tell what is going on in a situation. Accessibility is important, too.
Summary
Overall, the show had great bands, and an energetic crowd. The venue had a nice setup with functional sound, volume probably being the primary highlight. We were able to get into the performances and enjoy the show. We will be keeping eyes on who plays and what happens here; definite potential if is marketed well and safety is prioritized!!