8-17 Skull Fest 10, Proletariat, F.U.'s, Sadist, Submachine, Red Threads, Pittsburgh @Cattivo 830PM

We went to this show directly from another Skull Fest jammer. We wanted to get there in time for Submachine, because they're cool, but that didn't happen. Missed Sadist too.

Red Threads - Missed them.

Submachine - Missed them.

Sadist - Missed them. They sound wonderfully loud and noisy on recordings.

The F.U.'s - They were playing when we walked in. They're a bunch of old heads. The show was good, I enjoyed it. A bit of an easier sounding punk from a time long long ago. Good energy, good crowd.

Proletariat - This band is odd. I didn't listen to them too much beforehand. They're more of a new wave punk band. Good energy. I like the way the singer moves, a little bit weird.

Another good day at Skull Fest. We didn't end up at Donnies Leather Central even though it sounded like it might be a good time. Or an awful time also.

8-17 Skull Fest 10, Cro-Mags, Annhilation Time, Protes Bengt, Drug Lust, Reason of Insanity, Killer of Sheep, Pittsburgh @Spirit 5PM

This was the show of the weekend to go to if you could only pick one.

Killer of Sheep - This band has been playing out forever. Same type of stuff. I like the band, fast punk with some Pittsburgh punk heroes.

Reason of Insanity - We were eating pizza during this band. Gotta get it somehow.

Drug Lust - Killed it. I don't think this band had played for a few years, but they killed it. At one point early on in the set the singer ripped apart the barrier between the drunks and not and the pit exploded for a second. It was hype. I'm sure security wasn't pleased, but no one cares. Raging hardcore punk.

Protes Bengt - This band shares members with Mob 47. Old timers playing really really really fast and short hardcore punk. I really liked the set. At one point the singer said they just played 40 songs, and with another minute they'll make it 44. They did. Rager.

Annihilation Time - This band brought all the punks out of the woodwork, and for good reason. They fucking killed it. One of the best punk shows I've ever been to. The pit was on, the singalong was on. They made fun of the overzealous security. Pretty much everything about it was great. Grooving hardcore punk rock.

Cro-Mags - NYHC legends. They didn't necessarily fit in on the fest because they've taken a more hardcore lean than punk, but they played all the hits and the crowd responded pretty nicely. Jon Joseph is an old timer and a legend and he's still an awesome front man. Great headliner to a great show.

Hi's - Everything
Low's - Not a damn thing.

8-17 Skull Fest 10, Complex, St Ripper, Phane, Agent, S.P.I.C., Reclusos, Pittsburgh @Rock Room 1PM

The previous night we were out late, but that didn't stop us from being up pretty early and getting out to this show on time. In traditional Skull Fest fashion there was some confusion over who was playing and I'm pretty certain that all the bands didn't play.

Reclusos - I don't think they played. Google has pretty much no help when getting info on this band. When I'm not sure what band is what I like to find some pictures and that helps usually. No dice.

SPIC - From New York City. I think they also didn't play.

St. Ripper - A bunch of ladies playing fast hardcore punk. It was really good. One of the members sings for Sisters of Shadowwe. Fast bang your head shit.

Agent - Kansas City punks. They were really fast and really good. Noisy, fuzzy, fast hardcore punk.

Phane - From Canada. Similar to the other bands that played. Fast street punk. They were good.

Complex - Really good hardcore punk from Philly. The shirts in support of their new album Modern Mutants is sweet as well. Good way to close out the early show.

Hi's - The bands and cheap early beer.
Low's - None

8-16 Skull Fest 10, Ritual Howls, American Nudism, Sisters of Shadowwe, Death Instinct, DJ Ericas Scary's Dance Party, Pittsburgh @Belvederes 9PM

This was the second show going on Thursday later in the night at Belvederes. So we were pretty hungry and drunk at this point. The first show ended a bit late, but it looks like they didn't start this show until after the other was over. Maybe. When we got there I think Scary Erica was DJing. I think that's what was going on. The kitchen at Belvederes was closed for some horrible reason. At that second we knew we would be leaving early. According to the lineup I think Death Instinct was supposed to play first. Maybe I missed them. I think most likely is that Sisters of Shadowwe played first, for whatever reason.

Sisters of Shadowwe - Ok band, slow kinda like synth punk new age punk sound. For the last few years Skull Fest has put on a handful of shows like this. Not something that I was able to get into being starving and drunk. We left about probably halfway through.

Went to the pizza place by the bowling alley. Pesaro's Pizza. Hit the spot.

Hi's - Cheap beer, punks, tunes, pizza
Low's - Kitchen closed at Belvies.

8-16 Skull Fest 10, Mower, Parasytes, Negativ, Janitor Scum, BB Eye, Iron Wind, Khiss, Lupus, Kollision, Pittsburgh @The Shop 4PM

Skull Fest every year is an amazing time. The the experience of melting into the accumulation of punk zombies and freaks is unparalleled. I like going to Skull Fest right after This is Hardcore. It makes me appreciate punk more than metal. TiHC isn't much punk at all. Skull Fest is punk as fuck. Cestones Pizza on Mt Washington to start the day. Obvious choice.

Anyway this was the first Skull Fest show. A few precedents were set here. First is that you should be very leery of starting times and also of what bands may or may not be playing. This show started pretty late. At least an hour and some. Not mad about it, but it's a fact.

Kollission - I don't particularly care for this band. Fast punk, street punk ish. Pretty sloppy. From Pittsburgh I think. They had some merch that I didn't like much. The lateness of things has now been established, now we bring in the confusion over who is playing.

Janitor Scum - I really wanted to see this band because the band name is so awesome. As far as I can tell they didn't play at any point at Skull Fest. They're on the same label and tour as BB Eye.

BB Eye - Another band I wanted to see with an awesome name. As far as I can tell they also didn't play at any Skull Fest show. Their bandcamp said they were to play this show with Beta Boys, but Beta Boys were scheduled to play Sunday. Some mix up happened here.

Iron Wind - It took some Googling to determine what band was playing here. It's Iron Wind. I really liked the way they started the set, with the lead vocalist slurring and all kinds of shit. They pulled it together a bit. Kind of a Motorhead punk sound. I remember the chic bass player having large hair.

Lupus - This is the point that the lateness and confusion stopped mattering. This band is killer. From Bogota Colombia. We don't get a whole lot of Colombian punk and hardcore but it's bad ass that we just saw Raw Brigade at This is Hardcore, and they were good, then this band. Fuzzy punk rock, not especially heavy or fast, but very good.

Khiis - From Oakland CA. They were really good too. Lady singer, weed smokers. I liked their merch, somewhat of an Arabic influence in the look maybe. They're a fast echoing punk band. They had great energy and got the steady stream of beer cans flowing.

Negativ - From Oslo Norway. They absolutely killed it. Band of the day for certain. The singer has a great crazy face. As soon as they started playing he went into crazy face mode. It was perfect. The punks went off. One of the best sets of the weekend.

Parasytes - After the last three bands it was going to be hard to top the energy. Parasytes was good, but not great. The bass player had some really awesome hair. The balding curly mullet was heavy. Screamy lady fronted fast punk. Good songs.

Mower - By this time the show was running really late. We were super hungry. We didn't watch Mower and instead went to Belvederes for the late show under the impression that the kitchen would be open until 1AM.

At one point in this show a punk band that I won't mention was setting off fireworks at the Shop. Prompting someone to take the stage and say do not fucking do that because there are chemicals in there that could blow up. Punks.

Highs: The inebriation situation, all the bands
Lows: One bathroom, a hundred+ drunk punks. The piss was flowing in all available places.

7-29 This is Hardcore, E Town Concrete, Arkangel, District 9, Wisdom in Chains, Carnivore AD, Twitching Tongues, Jesus Piece, Agents of Man, Sworn Enemy, Queensway, Lionheart, Mindforce, Sanction, Three Knee Deep, Vamachara, Philly @Electric Factory

The obvious bummer of the day is that Sick of It All dropped because of a medical issue or something. I don't know. They didn't seem to miss any other days on their tour. Either way, this day had a killer lineup with or without Sick of It All. In the end, where they played in the lineup, I wouldn't have seen them anyway. More on that later. We wanted to get there in time for Sanction. Played it out pretty perfectly.

Vamachara - Missed them. But I like their style of heaviness.

Three Knee Deep - Wasn't into them on recordings at all. Didn't see.

Sanction - Killer band from Long Island. They were added last minute when Sick of It All dropped off. Younger guys playing fast and heavy shit. We saw them a few times earlier in the year and they were just as good this time.

Mindforce - I really like the singer's voice. Perfect voice for their style of thrash hardcore stuff. I'd like them to come to Pittsburgh.

Queensway - Didn't watch them. I was out at the merch superstore.

Sworn Enemy - Good set. What I really wanted to see was a ton of songs from As Real As It Gets. We got a little bit of that, a few songs off the first release Negative Outlook, and a handful of new and newer songs. I guess they're becoming obscure enough that most people don't know Negative Outlook anymore, which was once their forte. So the crowd response was better than I thought it might be all in all, but the newer songs suck. Especially the last song, it's called something like Your Music Sucks. It's awful. Though, the brand new song was pretty good.

Agents of Man - Wasn't much interested in this. It was real weak, as anticipated. Crowd response equally as weak. I don't hate the band, it's just not that good.

Lionheart - They were way better than I anticipated. I guess I don't listen to them too much because I get tired of how many songs are about LHHC being awesome. The live show was very good. Good to see, especially since they've been playing out for a long time.

Jesus Piece - Super good and heavy band. They brought the mosh more ignorant than anyone else pretty much. That's not necessarily a good thing, but it's a thing. I like the energy of the vocalist and the bang your head parts.

Twitching Tongues - Missed them. Not a fan. After this was dinner break.

Carnivore AD - We caught the back end of the set. They were very professional metal. Having a shtick on stage. I didn't hate it. Still not sure how I feel about them as a band. I don't know them well enough to say for sure, but I heard some people grumbling that they didn't play their best songs. I don't know. I'm glad I caught the last 4 songs.

Wisdom in Chains - They pretty much killed it, just like every time. They played a good assortment of songs from their full catalogue. Ending with Land of Kings of course. They got a very good response from the crowd. A good time every time. They had a fill in on guitar, but he was pretty good. They didn't play Someday. That was suprising. Best set of the day.

District 9 - This band was good. I don't love their music, but a couple songs are bangers. They played them all. They even fucked up one song. But that doesn't matter so much. All about the Bronx. They don't have any new music in 20 years or so I think. Maybe longer.

Arkangel - I was super excited to see this band. Arkangel never plays in the US. Belgium heavy hardcore. They didn't disappoint. The first 6 or 7 songs killed it. Then a random fist that I never saw hit me in the head and I don't remember anything for about an hour. Fuuuuck.

E Town Concrete - welp...

Best Bands of Sunday:
1. Wisdom in Chains
2. Arkangel
3. Mindforce
4. Sworn Enemy

Best Bands of This is Hardcore 2018:
1. Incendiary
2. Wisdom in Chains
3. Regulate
4. Arkangel
5. Ten Yard Fight

7-28 This is Hardcore, One King Down, 18 Visions, All Out War, Harvest, Merauder, Knocked Loose, For the Love Of, Shattered Realm, King Nine, Trail of Lies, Candy, Year of the Knife, Numb, Departed, Invoke, Safe and Sound, No Victory, Philly @Electric Factory

This was the day of the fest that I was least excited to see. The lineup is good and killer, but it's lacking bands that I really really like. Unfortunately this day started looking better when Sick of it All and Rotting Out dropped. But still, no real complaints. This was the heavy day of the fest. We took our time having breakfast at the diner and missed the first few bands.

No Victory - Missed them. Hadn't listened to them before.

Safe and Sound - Missed them too. Hadn't listened to but maybe one song.

Invoke - Missed them. I really like the band name though.

Departed - Missed them. I usually like to support the stoner bands, but we didn't get there in time.

Numb - I'm betting they were really good. From Japan. I had hoped to get there in time to see them.

Year of the Knife - Really good band. I'm pretty sure I've seen them before, but this time was much better than any past time. I'm pretty sure they are a straight edge band. The new songs from the new album were really good.

Candy - I had been listening to a band called Candy from Vancouver Canada. I was excited to see them because their sound is different. This Candy wasn't bad either. Heavier stuff. The singer has nice hair.

Trail of Lies - From New York. Every time I see them they've gotten better. The singer is good to watch, good energy, really good songs. I'm going to listen to this band more. It seems like there was a ton of New York on the fest this year. That's good news. If NYHC blows up, all east coast hardcore blows up.

King Nine - Was really excited to see them. They killed at the Code Orange show, so I knew they would here too. The crowd was into it. They brought the mosh and it was all good. They have the Long Island hardcore sound that is pretty much blowing up right now.

Shattered Realm - We didn't watch them. I know Joe Hardcore is in this band and I'd like to support him. I just don't really like the band. We went out to the car to put down some free beers. After Shattered Realm was the dinner break so everything was all set up.

For the Love Of - Got back inside during their last few songs. I was very suprised at how good they were. I listened to a bunch of their songs beforehand and had the set pegged as boring. I was wrong. People were into it too. Good band, good late 90s 2000s metalcore sound. I don't think they've played at all for a long time.

Knocked Loose - I was expecting mass chaos. The set was very well supported, but didn't get as hype as I had imagined. They played a very good set, all the songs you wanted to hear. Dead Ringer and Oblivions Peak are killer every time.

Merauder - Never been a big Merauder fan. I think that their songs on recording are very average. Yeah I want to see Master Killer sometime. But this was not that time.

Harvest - Surprisingly good and energetic. They're the suprise band of the day for me. I really liked the whole set. I don't know any of the songs, even though I downloaded and listened to everything beforehand, but I obviously missed some bangers.

All Out War - They pretty much kill it every time. I still prefer them on recordings, but their This is Hardcore sets are not to be missed. They play all the jams that you want them to.

18 Visions - 0% interest in seeing them live. I'd be willing to bet that the crowd went nuts though.

One King Down - By the time they played we were back at the hooker hotel boozing up in preparation for a late night treat at the diner. I wasn't a big One King Down fan back in the day, still not now either. And I credit Rob Fusco, the singer, with ruining Most Precious Blood so that kills my interest.

Best Bands:
1. King Nine
2. All Out War
3. Year of the Knife