Housecore Horror Live Shot: Friday Part 2

When guitarist Mike Scaccia died onstage in 2012, Dallas thrash cult Rigor Mortis decided to never again play under that moniker. Though performing at Emo’s for Housecore Horror as Wizards of Gore, a name taken from the song off their universally hailed 1988 debut, singer Bruce Corbitt plugged a new Rigor Mortis album. Which there is.

New ripper “Poltergeist” lived up to the original foursome’s eponymous bow, but wasn’t helped by a live mix way too low and drums that sounded like wet carboard. On top of that, Corbitt had no voice at set’s start, the frontman even leaving the stage at one point to let Cattle Decapitaion’s Travis Ryan fill in as the transformation scene from American Werewolf in London played on the screen behind them.

Even at diminished volume, however, the Wizards of Gore kept Rigor Mortis alive and even kicking. The high quality of material both old and new remained apparent throughout the short performance, but there was no beating first-album favorites including “Re-Animator” and “Bodily Dismemberment.”

Afterward, it became apparent that the three-quarters full house house had come to see Portal. You’ll never hear someone say “I love that song” when talking about the Australian quintet. That didn’t stop Phil Anselmo from getting onstage to talk about how much he likes them in his band introduction. Yet Portal doesn’t perform songs. They put on aural art installations.

When their singer, who goes by “The Curator,” walked out onstage dressed as a goblin grandmother, certain “songs” occurred with death metal chord changes slowed to half speed while miniature notes rang like a sewing machine. By the end of the hour-long apocalypse, half the crowd was hypnotized and the other half creeped out. Makes you wonder how good these guys could be if they actually had some riffs.

By the time thrash legends Voivod got onstage, it was only 11pm, but the crowd had thinned out. It’s an indication of just how bizarre metal has become that these Canadians – once considered the vanguard of weirdness – seemed normal in comparison to Portal. Another group that’s lost a key member, Voivod continues largely on the strength of Michel “Away” Legevin’s drumming. No surprise he was the driving force behind Friday’s headlining set.

Meanwhile, original singer Denis “Snake” Belanger doesn’t head bang. He stalks the stage and conducts the crowd like a composer. At times, he appears almost bored. He schooled us about “Order of the Blackguards,” revealing its inspiration as Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.

After rejoining in 2008, bassist Jean Yves Thériault – “Blacky” – has again left. His replacement is a kid who’s half the age of the rest of the band. They could’ve at least gotten an old dude for the sake of visual continuity.