A wall of cacophonous sound captivated costumed partygoers on Chimes Street on Saturday night during “Metal Massacre.” Six bands – tWYRIO, Spikes Driven, Axes of Evil, Fister, Peckernut and Suicide Holiday – converged for a heavy metal extravaganza that included thrashing guitar solos and fast-paced drum beats. Each was from Baton Rouge, with the exception of Los Angeles based Suicide Holiday. Fister guitarist Eric McCauley, known as Layne “Ladyfingers” Murphy on stage, was responsible for booking bands for the show. “It was an accident,” he said. Originally Fister, Peckernut and Axes of Evil were scheduled, and gradually more bands got added to the event, McCauley said. The members of Fister first got together this past spring, inspired by what McCauley calls the new metal boom. “Heavy metal has had a bit of a lapse,” he said. “Lately it’s been picking back up again.” This new wave of popularity for metal bands includes big names like Killswitch Engage and Dragonforce, McCauley said. With renewed interest in the genre and nearby Halloween festivities, North Gate was packed with people dressed in ghoulish attire. Marshall Vince, agricultural business senior and lead singer of local band Horseshoes and Handgrenades, is a regular at North Gate Tavern and said the event stood out from others. “It’s better than usual,” he said. Fister was the last band to perform, and they added a unique twist to the show by combining comedy and metal. “We were tired of being in serious bands and decided to start a joke band,” McCauley said. Other members of the band include bassist Troy “Lungs & Thunder” Murphy, guitarist Nigel “Afterburner” Cuttingham and drummer Bartholemew “Black Bart” Fister – also known respectively as Tom Pyle, Adam Boudreaux and Jake Fertita. The band has an elaborate and entirely fictional history that starts in 1976 with the Murphy brothers. They claim to have toured with the likes of Judas Priest and Motorhead until the late ’80s when drugs, women and booze led to a breakup. Fister reunited in present day after realizing the bassist was not, in fact, dead. That joke does not just stop with the bizarre back story, however. Fister has its own personal makeup artist to give the band a middle-aged, over-the-hill look. That artist is Wes Branton, who owns Composite Effects (CFX), a theatrical makeup company that does work for productions like The 13th Gate. Branton, University alumnus, is a longtime friend of the band. He said the band came up with its own fake history, and he offered to help make it seem more realistic. “I said If you’ll pay me in beer, I’ll make you look as old as you’re supposed to be,” Branton said. While Fister theatrically channeled stage personas and a few of the bands dressed up for Halloween weekend, most of the musicians on stage stuck to their traditional garb. One such was Axes of Evil, who played their first show at North Gate in 2006. The band features two lead guitarists: English freshman John LeBlanc and mechanical engineering graduate student James Post – also known as J.W. Post or “John Wayne” or “The Duke.” “Saying they’re ridiculously good is being modest,” lead singer Michael Dodd said of his bandmates. Dodd said he hopes “Metal Massacre” will get people interested in a style of music that takes talent to play. “Metal is supposed to be about succeeding at things, not about how hung up you are about your ex-girlfriend,” he said.
—-Contact Lauren Walck at [email protected]