"Speaking of the Off Beat, my first experience at the ballyhooed all-ages venue run by Friends of Noise was a punishing one in the form of Southern California hardcore legends Terror, Baltimore's End It, and NYC's Pain of Truth, with LA rowdies Start Today and Portland straight edge HXC crew Reflex supporting. By the end of the sold-out show, crowd-surfers were monkey-barring the venue's 2×4 drop ceiling, and a truly all-ages crowd (plenty of wide-eyed children taking in the chaos up close) were suitably stoked on the magic and menace of community in action."
"Even a weeklong sojourn to Kauai with family, where ukuleles and slippery slide guitar music was the soundtrack du jour, couldn't deter the encroaching shadow of what is a vibrant and, sadly, overlooked metal community in Portland. So rejoice! You get two fantastic recommendations for regional heavy, and you can show up at Twilight Cafe, Black Water Bar, or the Off Beat and take comfort in at least a little local insight."
"On the band's fourth full-length, The Earth Is Breathing Beneath Me, A4A settles into a dynamic wheelhouse of heavy genre-splintering that, over the album's 11 tracks, manages to tap into a collective subconscious of unbridled catharsis. That exorcism comes screaming in thick slabs of molasses riffs on alb"
Portland’s metal scene is described as vibrant yet overlooked, with heavy sounds dominating attention even after a family trip to Kauai. An all-ages show at the Off Beat, run by Friends of Noise, features hardcore bands including Terror, End It, Pain of Truth, Start Today, and Reflex. The sold-out crowd becomes intensely engaged, with crowd-surfers damaging the venue’s drop ceiling and children watching the chaos up close. The focus then shifts to select releases, including Armed for Apocalypse’s fourth full-length, The Earth Is Breathing Beneath Me, a sludge-doom album that blends genre elements across 11 tracks and aims for cathartic intensity through thick, molasses-like riffs.
Read at Portland Mercury
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