Article by: Wendy Podmenik Darugar
Photos by: Glenn Woodell and Wendy Podmenik Darugar
NORFOLK, VA: night of thrash metal, courtesy of Nuclear Blast Records, powered through Norfolk on Tuesday night at the famous NorVa. The evening began with a consistently strong line up featuring two bands from Finland, Swallow the Sun and Amorphis. Dark and foreboding, these groups lent a definite moodiness to the atmosphere. Amorphis’ music is influenced by ancient Finnish poetry while follow up band Nile’s gloom referenced Egyptian history. The crowd formed a large mosh pit early in the show and kept the action going all night long. The attendees filtered in and out during the night to catch personal favorites, but the big draw was of course Overkill, featuring two founding members, vocalist Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth and bassist D.D. Verni. Their punk roots were obviously stylistically present in their compositions and Ellsworth proudly annouced to the crowd that they just released their 18th studio album “The Grinding Wheel” in February to coincide with the current tour with Nile. Known as the band that could be considered an equal with the likes of Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax, over the years Overkill spurned any persuasion to create more commercially appealing music and they kept their hard core feel and originality. For any devotee of metal, this ticket is a great line up that not only gives you an opportunity to catch a revered classic, but it also exposes you to amazing new talent. Catch these groups at these upcoming dates: