GENRE / STYLE - METAL
REVIEW - LIVE PERFORMANCE
DANA ORTT - LEAD VOCAL & GUITAR
PAT DOUGHERTY - BASS
BRIAN LOWE - DRUMS
BANKSHOTS - NEWARK, DE
SATURDAY, JULY 23, 2011
One of the things that I love the most about Original Music is when a musician or band does something cool, creative, or different out of the box. Hallowed Cain did that something cool and creative for me.
They stimulated my mind before they stimulated my ears. Let me set the scene; it was a steamy hot July night. This was the first time that I saw the band, and it was the first time I was at this venue. Bankshots is a small blue collar bar in a strip mall off of Rt 40 in Newark, DE. They have a nice and friendly staff but, let's face it, the venue is one of those small places where they move the pool tables aside so the bands can play out of a TIGHT corner. At least other small bars like the Club Taboo in L.A. or the Rat Cellar (RIP) in Boston or the Lion's Den in NYC or South of South Street (another venue RIP) in Philly have a elevated stage in those tight corners so that you can see the bands above the crowd. Here it was tough to see the band through the 50 - 60 people. It was smart of Hallowed Cain to place a projection screen above the band. I could see it clearly above the crowd of sweaty & rowdy beer drinkers. This blue collar crowd would never be caught dead drinking drinks with fancy umbrellas in them (not that the bar would serve them anyway). Instead of just playing old Horror movie or Ren & Stimpy clips in a video loop (yes, I have seen other bands do both before -even saw someone play video of the Three Stooges behind their performance), Hallowed Cain chose to have an originally shot video Intro with audio & graphics, that among other things, asked the audience to practice pumping their fist in the air while chanting Hallowed Cain. It may sound campy, but the production was so creatively done that it did work for me & the audience. The truth is, their original video presentation was more creative then any of the ones I have seen in recently. They had a constant stream of different originally recorded videos playing behind them throughout their performance. I did think that the intro ran just a little bit longer than I would have liked. About 3/4 of the way through the intro, I was ready for some music. Finally Hallowed Cain; Dana Ortt - Lead Vocal & Guitar, Pat Dougherty on Bass, and Brian Lowe on Drums, jumps (or should I say STOMPS) into their music. Out of the gate I could tell that the musicianship was good by all of the members. The ins & outs were ok and on point. The music is punchy and heavy. Hallowed Cain tunes feel to me like a kick to the stomach with the vocals distracting you from the gut punch. Their music seemed vicious, like a cornered animal clawing back the crowd and doing everything except biting the ears off the crowd like a Mike Tyson fight. The ears were moisturized and groomed for Dana Ortt's vocals which were rich with tone yet had some balls. He is a singer in the Maynard James Keenan (TOOL) vain, not a growler, or screamer like so many others who play the heavier stuff. The vocals were solid and up front clear (no need to ever hide them) thanks to a nice job by the sound guys from SME Sound who was doing the sound. Hallowed Cain songs are almost as creative as the video stream running behind them but I thought that one or two of the songs were a little too Artsy-Fartsy for me. In my opinion; a couple of tunes were trying to do a little too much or go into a different pocket of direction. I believe that this is something that can be tweeked in future song writings, especially when you have a group of musicians as good as the guys in Hallowed Cain. If you are into vocal style direction like Tool, but enjoy more of an upbeat sound with a touch in the direction of Annihilator or Crowbar (without the growl), then I think that Hallowed Cain is right up your alley. The performance, over all, was a good experience. I do wish that I saw them on a much larger stage instead of the corner of the bar. I think that the guys in Hallowed Cain wish to play in larger venues, too. Maybe, someday, we will all get our wish. You can only keep good bands in the corner for so long.
They stimulated my mind before they stimulated my ears. Let me set the scene; it was a steamy hot July night. This was the first time that I saw the band, and it was the first time I was at this venue. Bankshots is a small blue collar bar in a strip mall off of Rt 40 in Newark, DE. They have a nice and friendly staff but, let's face it, the venue is one of those small places where they move the pool tables aside so the bands can play out of a TIGHT corner. At least other small bars like the Club Taboo in L.A. or the Rat Cellar (RIP) in Boston or the Lion's Den in NYC or South of South Street (another venue RIP) in Philly have a elevated stage in those tight corners so that you can see the bands above the crowd. Here it was tough to see the band through the 50 - 60 people. It was smart of Hallowed Cain to place a projection screen above the band. I could see it clearly above the crowd of sweaty & rowdy beer drinkers. This blue collar crowd would never be caught dead drinking drinks with fancy umbrellas in them (not that the bar would serve them anyway). Instead of just playing old Horror movie or Ren & Stimpy clips in a video loop (yes, I have seen other bands do both before -even saw someone play video of the Three Stooges behind their performance), Hallowed Cain chose to have an originally shot video Intro with audio & graphics, that among other things, asked the audience to practice pumping their fist in the air while chanting Hallowed Cain. It may sound campy, but the production was so creatively done that it did work for me & the audience. The truth is, their original video presentation was more creative then any of the ones I have seen in recently. They had a constant stream of different originally recorded videos playing behind them throughout their performance. I did think that the intro ran just a little bit longer than I would have liked. About 3/4 of the way through the intro, I was ready for some music. Finally Hallowed Cain; Dana Ortt - Lead Vocal & Guitar, Pat Dougherty on Bass, and Brian Lowe on Drums, jumps (or should I say STOMPS) into their music. Out of the gate I could tell that the musicianship was good by all of the members. The ins & outs were ok and on point. The music is punchy and heavy. Hallowed Cain tunes feel to me like a kick to the stomach with the vocals distracting you from the gut punch. Their music seemed vicious, like a cornered animal clawing back the crowd and doing everything except biting the ears off the crowd like a Mike Tyson fight. The ears were moisturized and groomed for Dana Ortt's vocals which were rich with tone yet had some balls. He is a singer in the Maynard James Keenan (TOOL) vain, not a growler, or screamer like so many others who play the heavier stuff. The vocals were solid and up front clear (no need to ever hide them) thanks to a nice job by the sound guys from SME Sound who was doing the sound. Hallowed Cain songs are almost as creative as the video stream running behind them but I thought that one or two of the songs were a little too Artsy-Fartsy for me. In my opinion; a couple of tunes were trying to do a little too much or go into a different pocket of direction. I believe that this is something that can be tweeked in future song writings, especially when you have a group of musicians as good as the guys in Hallowed Cain. If you are into vocal style direction like Tool, but enjoy more of an upbeat sound with a touch in the direction of Annihilator or Crowbar (without the growl), then I think that Hallowed Cain is right up your alley. The performance, over all, was a good experience. I do wish that I saw them on a much larger stage instead of the corner of the bar. I think that the guys in Hallowed Cain wish to play in larger venues, too. Maybe, someday, we will all get our wish. You can only keep good bands in the corner for so long.
-Alex
Original Music Reviews
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