Goatwhore’s Sammy Duet Photo: Tony Deguire

This night’s show at the Ridglea Theatre, November 21, featured the top of the Dallas’ food chain with TMA, Turbid North, Debri, Premenishen, Burying the Trend and Five Empty Chambers opening for Metal Blade’s Goatwhore. This metal overdose left one feeling the intoxicating effects of living in a city with much metal!
Each band was handpicked by promoter Tim Vasquez, who said these are “hard-working bands that promote like hell and always perform with consistency.” Indeed they do, as several have been booked with other national acts all year long.

In fact, Turbid North recently opened for Iced Earth. These Alaskan natives are far beyond driven, and their Pantera influence bleeds through during tunes like “Endless Torment.” Their show typically consists of vocal assaults courtesy of Jason Hippert and windmill hair duets by axeman Alex Rydlinski and bassist Chris O’ Toole. Seriously, they always tear it up, and Dallas is lucky to have ‘em.

Then there’s Debri — whom you might have seen at a little show called Ozzfest! This Dallas metal outfit won the Monster Energy Garage to Ozz Battle of the Bands. Apparently, energy is what they bring, as they exploded on stage like kids on Ritalin during “One Up.” Debri’s unique sound combines southern grooves with metal, true to their Texas roots. PS, you can catch the video for “One Up” and “Carter” on YouTube.

Texas Metal Alliance (TMA) needs no introduction these days. Featuring former members of Gammacide and Rigor Mortis, they have the experience and finesse to mesmerize every time. One standout moment happened when Goatwhore guitarist Sammy Duet hit the stage to sing along to classic Rigor tune, “Reanimator.” Impressively Duet knew all the words. TMA is about to hit the busy season with several bookings locally, as well as shows in Mexico and Columbia, playing alongside Overkill and Malevolent Creation.

Next, it was swamp metal at its finest, Goatwhore! These New Orleans boys wreak havoc with back-to-back tunes that melt your face off. Their performance during “Alchemy of the Black Sun Cult” conjured a new pit move — I think it was called the parrot. People were climbin’ on each other while moshing. Insanity!

The Ridglea crowd was the first to hear “Carving out the Eyes of God.” This and other irreverent tunes will be on Goatwhore’s new album due out next year. Now, this trivia is worth mentioning… while at the merch booth b/s’ing with Falgoust (yes, rockstars work merch); I asked Ben if he wanted a drink. He said he doesn’t drink. So innocently, I asked, “How long?” He mused, “How long”… and began pointing at random “long” objects, lol. Come to find out, after a car wreck in 2002 (that left him temporarily in a wheelchair), Falgoust put drinking aside.

These guys are just plain badass. Their work ethic and resolve to overcome adversity make them worthy of much praise. In short, Goatwhore rapes each experience for all its worth — proving that success is measured by just how much you love your job!