Golden Pony Metal - Downtown Shows

OBITUARY

Hailing from Florida, Obituary are one of the main innovators of the death metal genre during its immense rise in popularity throughout the 1990s. Unlike the fast and intense death metal bands preceding Obituary, their slower, sludgy feel as debuted on their first album, Slowly We Rot, became their most well-known attribute. Their first, and perhaps only show at the Golden Pony, was one of the tightest, best sounding musical acts I have ever had the pleasure to witness in all of my experiences at the popular downtown venue. Excellent mixing, awesome setlist of songs, and of course, immeasurably heavy riffs are just some of the great things I took away that night.
Be sure to check out the band online:
Obituary's Official Website, Obituary on Relapse Records

EARTHLING

As one of the premiere metal acts in the Downtown Harrisonburg scene, Earthling stands out amongst other metal bands of today with their unique blend of styles and subgenres, not to mention their outstanding musicianship after playing together for almost 10 years now. I have seen Earthling about 3-4 times now, and if I am being honest, this night’s performance was not the best I have seen of them. The sound mix was a bit fuzzy, their playing was not the cleanest I've seen, and strangely enough, drummer Brently Hilliard’s kick pedal gave out mid performance, leaving the entirety of their last song without a bass drum (a key element for playing heavy metal music). Other than that, I can hardly complain. Earthling is a Golden Pony mainstay and are always a pleasure to see live.
Be sure to check out the band online:
Earthling on Bandcamp

GENOCIDE PACT

Hailing from Washington D.C., Genocide Pact is currently one of death metal’s best young bands. Though heavily influenced by bands of the genre from the past, Genocide Pact’s take on death metal is familiar, yet fresh, hearkening to the greats of the past while still continually pushing forward into unseen territory for the genre. I had never heard of or listened to this band, let alone seen them live, prior to their performance at the Golden Pony. Despite that, I was blown away at their super tight and clean playing as well as their pulverizing, creative riffs that had me hooked the entire set. Their level of quality was not something I was expecting, especially for being the first band on the bill, which can be hit or miss when it comes to bars or other small venue shows. Genocide Pact is definitely worthy of opening for one of the originators of the metal subgenre they specialize in and I hope I get another opportunity to see them again in the future.
Be sure to check out the band online:
Genocide Pact on Bandcamp, Genocide Pact on Relapse Records