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Gaytheist, Old Iron & Maximum Mad @ The Clock-Out Lounge

Posted by Nada Staff July 1st, 2018 1 Comment »

Gaytheist @ The Clock-Out Lounge with Old Iron and Maximum Mad
June 15, 2018
Words and Photos by Andy Perkovich

On June 15, I spent a good chunk of my evening getting yelled at on Beacon Hill by three bands on Seattle’s venerable Good to Die Records. Unsurprisingly, I loved every second of it.

One of the newest venues in Seattle, The Clock-Out Lounge, was playing host to the first stop on Gaytheist and Maximum Mad’s “Skeletour 2018.” It was my first time visiting the new venue in Beacon Hill and I’m already planning my return. Great sound, large stage, and plenty of room to move around make it one of the best South End venues. Plus, the venue shares its space with Breezy Town Pizza, which, while I did not partake in, definitely made the space smell better than your average rock show.

Maximum Mad set the tone for the evening with aggressively, catchy noise rock. Their set was short and sweet but barbarous nonetheless. The bearded quartet, up from Vancouver, stomped through some killer songs off of last year’s Dear Enemy EP (Good to Die Records) as well as some older jams. In-between the riff-fest, they even managed to find time to tout the joys of hanging out at the local mall.

Next on the bill was Seattle’s Old Iron. While they slowed the tempo just a tad, they provided no reprieve in auditory brutality. Coming out in October of last year, the group’s Lupus Metallorum (Good to Die Records) has been on my heavy rotation since I got my hands on it. Their songs lull you into a false sense of security and then manage to sonically punch you in the face (ear?) when you least expect it.

Gaytheist’s Let’s Jam Again Soon (Good to Die Records) is one of my favorite albums from last year, so I’ll do my best to keep the hyperbole to a minimum. Jason Rivera, Tim Hoff, and Nickolis Parks make up this Portland group that is responsible for some of the most blisteringly triumphant tunes I’ve ever heard. I do have a bit of a hard time pinning down exactly how to classify their sound. Is is metal? Yeah, I guess. Is it punk? Sure, OK. Is it loud, fast, and relentlessly fun? You better believe it. If there was an award for the smiliest rock band in the world, Gaytheist would be a front-runner. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing them a handful of times and the joy they have onstage is infectious. Looking around and seeing all the familiar faces in the crowd leads me to believe that I’m not the only one who feels this way.