I went to Saturday's show at Blender Theater not really knowing what to expect as I wasn't that familiar with any of the bands. I watched each of the bands looking to see whether I would hunt down their music after the show and/or see them again next time they came through.

I got to the venue a little before 8PM and Impending Doom were playing their last couple songs. Who would have thought that a concert would start on time in NYC? The songs that I heard from Impending Doom didn't strike me. It seemed a bit too stereotypical "grunt and growl". I have nothing against Christian metal but I was probably happier not knowing that the band calls its style of music "goreship". According to UrbanDictionary.com, goreship is "worshipping the god of the christian religion through the brutal music of Impending Doom." I'll pass on seeing these guys again.

I'm a fan of melodic death metal so As Blood Runs Black really caught my attention. The band's sound is comparable to At The Gates and Black Dahlia Murder and they have a strong live show that got the crowd and the pit moving. Not knowing their material, I couldn't put together a set list but I did recognize "Hester Prynne" (from As Blood Runs Black's 2006 debut CD), which got a strong reception, and a couple songs were introduced as being on the band's forthcoming second album (due out on Mediaskare later this year).

From As Blood Runs Black - Blender Theater, NYC 3-7-09

From As Blood Runs Black - Blender Theater, NYC 3-7-09

From As Blood Runs Black - Blender Theater, NYC 3-7-09

From As Blood Runs Black - Blender Theater, NYC 3-7-09

From As Blood Runs Black - Blender Theater, NYC 3-7-09

As Blood Runs Black is in the midst of a tour with Impending Doom, Arcadia Strain and Bleeding Through that runs through the end of March.

Upcoming tour dates are:

March 09, 2009 6:00PM, The Station, Portland, Maine
March 11, 2009 6:00PM, Le National, Montreal, Quebec
March 12, 2009 6:00PM, Reverb, Toronto, Ontario
March 13, 2009 6:00PM, Xtreme Wheelz, Buffalo, New York
March 14, 2009 6:00PM, Diesel, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
March 15, 2009 6:00PM, Peabody’s Downunder, Cleveland, Ohio
March 17, 2009 6:00PM, Majestic Theatre, Detroit, Michigan
March 18, 2009 6:00PM, House Of Blues, Chicago, Illinois
March 19, 2009 6:00PM, Eagles II, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
March 20, 2009 6:00PM, Station 4, St. Paul, Minnesota
March 21, 2009, 6:00PM, The Picador, Iowa City, Iowa
March 22, 2009, 6:00PM, The Marquis Theater, Denver, Colorado
March 24, 2009, 6:00PM, The Venue, Boise, Idaho
March 25, 2009, 7:00PM, Neumo’s, Seattle, Washington
March 26, 2009, 7:00PM, Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, Oregon
March 27, 2009, 7:00PM, DNA Lounge, San Francisco, California
March 28, 2009, 6:30PM, Key Club, West Hollywood, California

Links:
As Blood Runs Black's MySpace Profile