Let’s get right to it: This reviewer hasn’t had that much fun at a concert in a very, very long time. On Friday, March 27, five distinctly heavy, distinctly rocking bands, and a fan base ready to start the weekend off right, converged on Metro Baltimore for a night for a bill led by Hirax and Savage Master — and they moved us all to the core…literally.
Openers Devil Lust, Total Maniac, and Desolus each brought a different shade of heavy to the bill. Devil Lust showed zero first-night jitters. Their debut set had the lead singer belting out semi-feral, growling howls while the guitarist played like a laser-beam, intent on splitting the earth itself. The crowd was in motion from the very start and only got rowdier with time.
Total Maniac was up next and ready for a good time. Fans helped these Baltimore natives celebrate their Love Overdrive LP release. The drummer shined during songs like “Flatline” and the bassist delivered a controlled, anchored performance that balanced front man Diamond Dustin’s beer-soaked anthems. (Truly beer soaked. At one point the Miller Lite onstage got tossed around the band, and the box became a prized mosh pit helmet for the next couple of sets). Crooning to the crowd, “Baby, you’re here for a little rock & roll,” Total Maniac made mirrored sunglasses rock again, and reminded us that sleaze, when it’s self-aware, can still be a blast.
The feel-good, questionable ’80s-rock-movie energy didn’t last long. Desolus hit next with a fully spiked-and-studded, dark, driving thrash — administered at punishing speed. The uncommon setup of bassist Vivek Rangarajan and guitarist Jimmy Frost sharing vocal duties added an extra layer to the intensity, and by the end, the crowd was chanting the band’s name as the set came to a close.
By the time the first of the two headliners, Savage Master, took the stage, there was barely room to move through the crowd — and they used that packed-in energy like part of the production. With a flourish and a clear love for the horror genre, they brought macabre, horror-film heavy metal to life: candelabra flanked an imposing wooden coffin, and a celestial-caped vocalist Stacey Savage emerged with the help of the band’s shrouded ghoulish fiends. There were whips and chains, bloody chalices, ceremonial throat-slitting — at one point the devil showed up to wreak havoc on the hooded band members. But the spectacle was never a cover-up for weak playing. Driving drums and bass shredding guitars gave Savage’s soaring, commanding vocals a solid base, and the set didn’t so much invite moshing as it demanded attention. The crowd answered accordingly with fists in the air and voices raised to sing along.
Classic thrash metal legend Hirax closed the night, led by the ultra-charismatic Katon W. De Pena, who insisted the stage belonged to everyone, and proved it in real time. From the first song, the band had an obvious priority: to make sure every person in the venue felt included in the experience. There were fist bumps, high fives, shared mics, and constant motion. If you weren’t in the pit, you were either stage diving from one side, crowd surfing your way to the front, or holding the line so someone else could.
The set was a pact between the audience and the band, complete with impromptu audience-driven collaborations (promised to reappear as a track on the next album) and a venue-wide rendition of Olé, Olé, Olé that felt well-earned. Even with all the crowd work, the band was in fine form — frenzied, raw momentum to match the aggressive melodic vocals that Katon brings to the party. And a party it surely was. For all the dark commanding theatrical presence Savage Master naturally demands, Hirax was exuberant in theirs. Changing up the setlist (if there ever was one) to meet the needs of the moment, Hirax delivered the most chaotic backyard party with your loved ones in the guise of a metal concert.
Between the singalongs, the chanting, the stage-sharing, and yes, the Miller Lite box living its best life as pit armor, Metro Baltimore felt like a scene that really shows up for itself. From Devil Lust to Hirax, it was five different dialects of heavy — swagger, thrash, theater, chaos — and a crowd that was fluent in all of them.
Words and photos copyright and courtesy of Ally Ramsey.
