Any one group of people who travel across the globe in full black metal garb (read: gauntlets with steel nails protruding, spooky face paint along with the most menacingly stoic yet equally awe inspiring facial expressions) to play shows for half packed clubs, deserve a tip of the hat for their intestinal fortitude. At some point, the veneer of living the metal lifestyle as portrayed by the likes of spinal tap must fall away, and a serious gut check would be in order. The love of the game is what I believe keeps niche communities like Black Metal alive, if not sputtering.

Although The Crowbar played host to little more than a skeleton crew of metal goers on Friday, March  23, most of the bands that night played their fucking guts out. This is the way it should be. Remember that old saying "dance like nobody is watching"? Well, Averse Sefira "frooooommmmmm Teeeeexxxxaaassssss" (as grumbled by their cheeky lead growler) obviously paid close attention to such maxims, as did openers, Goatwhore.  I only wish I could say the same for the Norwegian headliner 1349, who resembled a group evil elves with acute lower back pain. They seemed to avoid movement, as if such action would incur the wrath of their herniated vertebral discs from all those years of dragon slaying. Maybe the lack of energy spoke more to their supreme confidence that they could totally kill every one in the club with their nail studded leather gauntlets. Either way, the openers stole the show, and seized the rare opportunity to achieve true, albeit brief, metal greatness.