Postmortem Resurrection, En Masse and Anticosm - August 9th, 2012 - The Wisco - Madison, WI

Postmortem Resurrection, En Masse and Anticosm at The Wisco in Madison, WI - August 9th, 2012

I knew I needed to make it to a show to review and was tired of reviewing bands I've seen over and over again. There's no fun in that and it makes it hard to expand my knowledge of the local music scene and the bands in it. When I saw this show posted, I knew I had to go and check out some metal that I haven't heard before. 

Image from Postmortem Resurrection's
Facebook Page

First up was Postmortem Resurrection from Madison, which was interesting to say the least. Generally you hear "We are...." when a band introduces themselves, but in this case the one man band, Kyle, introduced himself "I am Postmortem Resurrection." Right then, I prepared for the worst. Fortunately for me, I am still alive and therefore able to be pleasantly surprised. Postmortem Resurrection was really enjoyable. He played the guitar while the rest of the instruments were pre-programmed and played through an iPod (or something similar - I didn't get close enough to see). The guitar was clean and fast and the programmed music fit really well and was extremely well done. According to the Facebook page, Kyle does all of the programming himself. His voice was good, although at times sounded a little strange. Watching him and listening to him, I couldn't think of a better name for this self-described "one man metal machine" than Postmortem Resurrection. It fit really well and I found myself enjoying it. 


Next was En Masse, a four piece metal band from Aurora, IL. The first thing I noticed was the very big and beautiful drum set. That usually means one of two things - either it is a mediocre drummer hiding behind a big kit or it is a decent drummer who doesn't fully utilize the tools in front of them. In the case of En Masse, neither was true. This drummer, "Parrot," was very good, very technical, and made the most of the big kit. I knew at sound check that I would probably enjoy this band. 

All four band members seemed to be having a good time. It reminded me of just a bunch of friends jamming in a basement or garage, which made me feel more comfortable. The vocalist, Don, had a good range and a harsh sound and blended well with his back up vocalist. He interacted well with the crowd and even played the air guitar. Bass player Tony had a nice clear sound and guitar player Mike had hummingbird-fast hands. The whole band blended well with blunt sounds. Not only did I like this band for the night, but I've already convinced a few friends to check them out. Below is my favorite song that they played, War Wounds.

Image from Anticosm's Facebook Page

The last band I saw at this show was Anticosm from New Jersey. They stopped in Madison on the way to a show in St. Paul, MN and I'm happy they did. There were some sound issues with the vocals early on in the show, but they did their best to work around it and fix it. The drummer had a relatively small kit, but beat the hell out of it and did a great job. There was a really strong bass and excellent rhythm guitar, bringing the brutal sounds together. Basically, it was an all out assault on my ears, which isn't a bad thing. The one thing that did stick out for me was the amount of hair this band was carrying around. They all had a lot of it and they definitely fit into the image of an ear-splitting metal band. They did look like they would be more comfortable if they had more space, but I think that is true of many bands that play The Wisco, which is a pretty small area.

This was a pretty great show, although I will admit that I left early (I'd estimate about 3/4 of the way through Anticosm's set) and I think there was one more band (who either played before I got there or after I left I think), but I guess that's what happens when you have to get up early for work. I like The Wisco because it is a comfortable and cozy bar, but it is really small for metal bands that like to move around. As long as bands keep playing there, I'll keep going, but I'd rather see them pack venues like the RSR Stage (formerly The Annex) like they used to.

Give the bands some love and check them out on Facebook:
Postmortem Resurrection
En Masse
Anticosm