The show opener, local favorites, 100 PROOF HATRED, took the stage roughly around 9:30PM CST at The Rockstar Club in Fort Worth, Texas on this night of good metal vibes being given off by a fair sized crowd that was both hungry for their steady rounds of alcohol and an ever loving display of rockin’ heavy music. 100 PROOF HATRED’s frontman, Donovan Warren, fitted with biker-style bandana on his head, full-length tattoo sleeves down both arms and one mean scowl, was more than spirited in the way he engaged the night’s crowd with the demand that everyone in the room “Get them horns up in the goddamn air!”.
100 Proof Hatred does not hide from the fact that they are incredibly influenced by the likes of legendary thrash/groove masters Pantera and the band wasted no time at all in grabbing the attention of everyone in the club with an all-out combined high-energy approach, working like true hardcore ass-kicking musicians, reeling off one rampaging song after the next, such as: ‘Drunk On Blood’, ‘Reckoning’ and ‘Chrome Knuckles’. Drummer Chad Reed was locked in steady with bassist Jerry on a gritty, low-end sound throughout the set, met head on with the impressively squealing twin guitar attack from Dave Lewis and Donnie “Crimy” Nall. 100 PROOF HATRED seemed to get stronger and meaner with each song they unleashed on everyone, demonstrating to all that they’re keeping their form of uncompromising & brutal metal music simply just that: B-R-U-T-A-L. I estimated 100 Proof Hatred played for about forty-five minutes, not quite a full hour. I could have easily watched this band play twenty more songs, thanks in part largely to vocalist Donovan’s compelling control over his audience and grim stage presence.
The night’s headliner DECONSTRUCT from Sacramento, California wasn’t going to rest on any past laurels either. Headed up by current Danzig guitarist Joe Fraloub, the band, who has had its own fair share of high profile opening slots for greats such as Iron Maiden, Dio, Motorhead and Def Leppard, blazed off a collection of their hardest hitters like ‘FIA’, a potent cut from the group’s upcoming album THE SCIENCE OF FALLING DOWN. With pummeling drumming skills from Rev, the blistering hot vocals from Skitz, along with the slamming metal bass antics of the lovely Vanessa, who was more than capable of taking your mind into Rock N Roll la la land with her hot body and super-sexy sneer ala Sid Vicious, DECONSTRUCT now seems to have over time become a much more pissed-off animal itself. Fraloub and Vanessa both took to top stage right at one point, lost in the thick of the act’s unrelenting ‘kick out all the stops’ performance. A good number of bodies from the audience hung out and cheered close to the stage. That is when I couldn’t help but say to myself while observing it all: “Now this is what metal is supposed to be all about… good times, good beer, hot chicks and head-banging reverence.”
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