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3rd Annual Hammer Ball is on for this weekend, which means it’s time to break out your favorite Slayer T-shirt, fire up the ol’ Chevy, and head down to the Ocean Mist. Produced and presented by Rock Karma Promotions, the all-day metal decibel onslaught will feature 13 bands, all riff mavens from the local area. “It’s gonna be a huge party,” says drummer Ed from Train of Thought.
In addition to Train of Thought, who just released their album Half Empty Independence, the lineup includes Inner Self Lost, Acerose, Hypersolid, and Phi. If any school of rock in the area needs a good shot in the arm, it would be metal. Over the last few years, the scene has lost some of its most cherished bands as well as a handful of stages to play on. “There are still a lot of good bands out there,” says Ed, “but the scene is catering more towards emo. If you don’t have black fingernails and a chip on your shoulder you won’t get very far.”
Ed also believes, like the rest of us, that good music is good music, and as long as good bands have places to play, people will come to see them. “Like a lot of these bands at the Hammer Ball, we just wanna come out and play our asses off. That’s what it’s all about. What’s wrong with that?”
And, oh yeah, that nipple you wanted pierced? Make it happen on June 23.
Train of Thought + Inner Self Lost + Phi + Stain of Faith + Acerose + This Is Us + Southern Bastard Church + 18 Wheels of Justice + Waiting for Revenge + Hypersolid + A Cause for Betrayal | June 23 | Ocean Mist, 895 Matunuck Beach Rd, Matunuck | 401.782.3740
Hip-hop
Delusional Records out of Westport, Massachusetts, has been putting out music since ’03. Their tag line is “We got boom bap to abstract,” so they don’t believe in stylistic limitations to define their sound. This week at AS220 you can catch a couple of their acts, Wigsplita and Big City, doin’ their thang, along with Ra the Sun God (Tiverton), Charles Exsavior (Providence), 19ninty7 (Narragansett), and Reill People (Portsmouth). Wigsplita, aka Swayne, is a Fall River-based former hardcore dude turned hip-hop. He just released the Unlimited Thoughts disc, which has gotten some national coverage and made a few waves. Pretty impressive since he made the move to hip-hop from rock as a lark and it’s since become a way of life.
Big City is another hip-hop artist trying to return a tired idiom to its original glory. Born in Brooklyn, bred in Fall River and now with a studio in Pawtucket, City’s a larger-than-life talent who also a hardcore past. He did time in a local hip-hop act called Brokenviaments. After 10 years of diligence, things are starting to come together for Big City. He is currently working with Delusional supporting his first solo album, The City Never Sleeps. Both Wigsplita and Big City have played shows with RADIx, Brzowski, Access Immortal, Unauthordox, and Anime. The show is at AS220 on Monday, June 25. Doors open at 8 pm and admission is $5. Call 401.831.9327.
