by rudyards | July 21st, 2012
Eagle Claw (Austin, TX)
https://www.eagleclawhurts.com/
Weighing in at 700 pounds, two guitars, a bass and drums, Austin, Tx’s instruMetal outfit EAGLE CLAW is; Matt Rade, Michael Gonzalez, Luther Smalls and Bart Butler. Formed in the fall of 2007, the band started gaining momentum quickly when their Demo “Bastard Usurper” first infiltrated Austin’s music scene. This was followed up by their first official release entitled “Poacher”, which features 9 tracks that propels the listener through a dualistic soundscape of the void and the light.
From Beyond (Houston, TX)
https://www.facebook.com/FromBeyondBand
https://musicfrombeyond.bandcamp.com/track/one-year-live
“The next group up, From Beyond, was more than happy to provide [more power]. As soon as they took the stage, a huge fog of smoke blasted forth from a machine onstage, providing the proper atmospherics for a band that’s probably kicked over a dozen or more bongs thus far into its young lifespan.
From Beyond’s riffs are built to crush. The power trio makes no secret of their Sabbath infatuation, and their heavy, stoned rumble combined with the pulsing bass from the Beat Connection show downstairs to rattle the audience thoroughly. It felt a tad like being one of the little metal players in a game of electric football.
It was cool, heavy stuff. From Beyond should be a fun band to watch as they continue to gel and explore — assuming you can catch a glimpse through the smoke.After a nice drum solo from Dick Beeman (smoke break!), the band went into a long jam that I think must have been the title track to its recent EP release, One Year. It was pure bar-chord annihilation that I think spontaneously caused a few audience members’ hair to grow out.” - Houston Press
