It’s easy to just say, "I don’t like local bands, I only want to see the national touring acts," and often times that attitude comes from simply not knowing the local scene.
AINSLEY / ZEN BLACK / Höllõ/ SEVENTH SEAL
6/09/07
Recher Theatre
Towson, MD
It’s easy to just say, "I don’t like local bands, I only want to see the national touring acts," and often times that attitude comes from simply not knowing the local scene. There are always interesting acts in every area, it’s just a matter of being a seeker and searching for what you’re looking for. Trust me, if you look, you will find it! Those searching for local hard rock found themselves at the Recher Theatre June 9 taking in a killer show that included some of Maryland's finest unsigned bands — Ainsley, Zen Black, Höllõ and Seventh Seal.
The evening kicked off with Ainsley. This group — imagine Tori Amos singing with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra — was actually the odd band on the bill, which made me very excited to see them. Ainsley delivers rock music a lot of twists and turns and uber-dynamics. The vocals set the band apart. Lead singer and band namesake, Ainsley, has amazing range beyond the realm of rock music. She also plays keyboards and is the focal point of the band. As weird as it was to have Ainsley on this bill, their set was one of the coolest things I’d seen in a while ... and it was NOT indicative of what the rest of the night was going to be like.
Second on the bill was Zen Black, a modern metal band, regardless of what singer J.R. Black says. Before his band's set, Black said that he didn't consider the band's sound to be metal, but, make no mistake, they are as metal as it gets. You can never deny your roots or your sound. Zen Black's two guitar players both sport shredder guitars (a Dimebag Darrel model and an acrylic BC Rich). There were many melodic moments in the songs, but the core of Zen Black is hard rock and metal…and they do it well.
Next on the bill was Höllõ, which played a tight set of mostly new songs with a few older songs mixed in. The Recher crowd was really into Hollo's set and the band played their hearts out. Each band member has a unique stage presence. The five personalities work well onstage, and the sound system at the Recher definitely did Hollo justice.
The headlining band of the night was Seventh Seal. The band had a loyal following ready to rock. The guitar work is what stands out in Seventh Seal. They have the twin guitar attack down and it’s something that you don’t see too often...both guitarist complement each other’s playing ala KK Downing and Glen Tipton from Judas Priest, or Zakky and Syn from Avenged Sevenfold.
Seventh Seal definitely tore the place down and they shine brightest on their original material which is all very heavy, hard, dirty metal with guitar solos. The hour-long set included a cover of Alice in Chain’s “Them Bones”. While the crowd was into the cover, for this observer, Alice in Chains is a band that few can imitate. I give Seventh Seal props for the cover, but they took a grunge song and turned it metal, which made the song lose something for me. (But that's probably due to the fact that I’m a HUGE Alice in Chains fan. I was probably the only one with that opinion, and if I can’t be honest in my reviews I would stop right now!)