Metalhead breweries are a thing. There’s something about the craft brewing culture that just lines up nicely with metal culture. Meld the two together at an event and a good time is sure to follow. I hadn’t even heard of Brash Brewing until this event posted online, but I knew they had to be good people if they were connected enough to the underground metal scene to invite Colorado doom band Khemmis to headline their second anniversary shindig.
I had to get up early for this road trip to Houston due to a 1pm show time for opening act Oceans of Slumber. I kind of figured that since we had reached October that it would be a pleasant day outside. Silly me! I forget how oppressive the humidity in Houston can be. I already had sweat dripping down my butt crack standing in line to get into the brewery. On the good side, the stage set up was inside the brewery so we weren’t in the sun all afternoon. On the bad side, this was a metal warehouse with no air conditioning and little airflow.
Oceans of Slumber started promptly at 1pm and powered through a nice set that showcased one new song and a nice Candlemass cover as the finale. These guys are a Houston doom metal band that you should definitely check out. Their female singer brings a really strong and sultry voice to some crushing doom riffs.
Headliner Khemmis did not disappoint at all. These guys are newcomers to the doom scene and are still touring on their second album overall. I stumbled upon them last year with the release of Hunted, which I had in the top five albums from last year. The only reason I drove to Houston was to see them do their thing live. They definitely have the live chops to go along with their studio work. Crushing riffs and nice twin leads combined with the dueling clean and death vocals provided for a nice soundtrack to this celebration of quality beer.
Oh, and the beer was pretty good as well. Metal themed beers were the order of the day (Hammer Smashed Face and Vulgar Display of Power were two examples). Brash Brewing seems like a cool place to hang in you live in the Houston area. Lots of vintage video games, all kinds of heavy metal artwork and metal tunes galore.
Khemmis- Above the Water
Khemmis-Three Gates (featuring the dorkiest attempt at a circle pit in the history of metal)
Khemmis-Candlelight
Oceans of Slumber
DISPATCHES FROM THE VOID 