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Tuesday, 30 November 2004 18:00

Here are just three of the great original St. Louis bands that play around town on a regular basis. Check these three out as soon as you get a chance.

Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting—This local hardcore band is well worth taking the time to see on a Saturday night. There’s no shortage of well-played, aggressive guitar sounds in this band and the fact that a mosh pit could break out at any time during their set is a bit of an understatement. But in addition to what you might expect, this group has a few tricks up their sleeve and won’t have to fight hard to get people to come to their shows for long. Aside from the strong guitar hooks and great lyrical content, lead vocalist Brandon Hoffman has a unique stage presence that audiences will no doubt be impressed by. He comes across as a man at times full of rage, screaming explicit lyrics into the microphone; at other points in the set, he’s more laid back and distances himself from the audience. Hoffman makes full use of the stage and his unpredictable antics and style make the show well worth watching. Hopefully, this group will be around for many more great Saturday nights to come.

The Frankenhookers—Three local musicians came together to form this band and what they have created is certainly a monster. The band is sure to satisfy fans of punk and metal with a sound that consists of a ferocious guitar roar that will leave a person feeling relieved regardless of how bad a week they have had. There’s no need for any fancy effects or costumes in this band; the three members just hit the stage and play and hook audiences with their raw energy and angst filled vocals that tend to flow into a death-metal like roar at times. Fans of the group have wondered where they have been as of lately should take note of the fact that they have just recorded a huge batch of songs and will be having a CD release party at the Creepy Crawl in early January.

Conquest—Singer/guitarist Derek Brumley formed Conquest back in the mid-’80s and his time and effort have certainly paid off. Conquest remains to be a great local metal band that is worth seeing time and time again. The music certainly seems to be influenced by 1980s metal bands but Brumley puts plenty of his own unique ideas into the songs and his natural stage presence makes every show they play worth watching. There’s no shortage of catchy hooks and screaming guitar solos, but the band has a way of delivering the songs on stage in a way that makes people feel happy they came out to see them play. In addition to some of the great original songs that make up most of the set, the band isn’t afraid to end with a string of covers which often include songs by Metallica or Black Sabbath. The cover tunes tend to put smiles on the faces of audience members as they are taken on an entertaining nostalgia trip. When the band leaves the stage, they can feel confident that the crowd has had a great time.