By ÆRæder
Venue
https://www.eagles34.org/ – 2507 E 25th St, Minneapolis, MN 55406
Quick Take
The bill name says it all: “Latino Rock Punk Metal Fest”! The show was almost entirely in Spanish, with a cool mix of acts displaying styles and takes on rock/metal/punk that were a bit different than what I am accustomed to. That made the night refreshing in a way, sort of like a palette cleanse. The opening bands Adictoxaty and Vhalta kept it interesting from the start. Highlights that stood out to me from their sets where the folk elements (rhythms, keyboard, and vocal styles) they weaved into several different songs.
Adictoxaty
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094566560009
Vhalta
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063817772501
Blodwar
- St. Paul
- 4 Piece (Vox, guitar, bass, drums)
- Bandcamp tags: death metal, groove metal, metal, thrash metal, Saint Paul
Definitely not a true metal show here, but I came to see Blodwar, and they did not disappoint. Heavy, tight, groovy riffs and rhythms. Juan Carlos demonstrated some of the sickest tremolo leads around! Meanwhile, Jorge’s screams and stage presence lifted the energy and visual intensity of the performance. There was a decent crowd turnout, but aside from a few flourishes, the pit was pretty minimally active. This didn’t really take away from the show in any way, but I would love to see them in a full-on metal lineup with a full-on metal crowd.
Xawaro
https://www.facebook.com/Xawaro2020 / https://www.youtube.com/@JuanLagunes-u3b
- St. Paul
- 5 Piece (Vox, guitar, guitar, bass, drums/vox)
- Heavy Metal, Rock
Half of the Blodwar crew plays in Xawaro (Jorge on vox and Juan Carlos over to drums), but the bands have a completely different sound that meshed well together in this lineup. Xawaro has a more traditional heavy metal sound (I heard 80s Sabbath riffing), and something unique was the mix of dirty and clean vocals in Spanish. It looked like most of the band had sheets out with notes, and I haven’t found much of an online presence, so I’m curious about the background and what future plans are for this band. Would also like to see them at a more METAL metal show.
I had a limited timeline to be out this evening, so I left toward the end of Xawaro’s set and was not able to see Borrachoz, Inc. Check out their bandcamp though! I want to try and check them out at some point in the future.
Borrachoz, Inc.
https://borrachozinc.bandcamp.com/album/borrachoz-inc
- St. Paul
- 4 Piece (Guitar/vox, guitar/vox, bass, drums/vox)
- Bandcamp tags: meta,l punk, rock, rock salsa, Minnesota