Beatdown Hardcore: Cold World, Fatal Realm, New World Man, Bad Beat, and King’s Command at Tangent Gallery.

Nov 10

Bad Beat

It was a crazy 10-day stretch with Screeching Weasel at St. Andrew's Hall, Monday Night Football featuring the Detroit Lions at Ford Field, End It and WMD at Edgemen Printing, and Off With Their Heads Halloween Tour at Small's Bar in Hamtramck just the night before. But there was no missing this insane hardcore show at Tangent Gallery, with Bad Beat in the mix. As a really cool gesture to the fans, there was a one-day sale where tickets were half price, and I could not resist scooping up a couple. Doors were at 6:00, but we took a chance and arrived at 7:00, and it worked out, as King's Command had just taken the stage.

New World Man

Bad Beat had some great merch. Considering that several of the band members run Edgemen Screenprinting, I suppose that would be expected. In between sets, we dropped at least $100 at the Bad Beat table, ran it out to our car, grabbed a quick drink, and then headed up for a spot by the stage. As always, the set was too short, but they killed it and included most of my favorites (including "My Revenge" and "Dead And Gone"). I'd never heard New World Man, but they were also incredible (and they also had some really cool merch, with the cover art from "The Beast Is Back"). They are sometimes called a supergroup, with members of hardcore bands Mindforce, Pain Of Truth, Regulate, and Life's Question.

Fatal Realm was up next, and after reading about them earlier in the week, I was expecting something closer to death metal versus hardcore. Live, their sound wasn't all that distinguishable from the other bands. More hardcore, more two-step moshing action, and another great set with Cold World still to go.

Fatal Realm

Unlike the smaller straight edge/hardcore shows that I'd been to lately at Edgemen Printing and The Pike Room, Tangent Gallery is wide open and allows a large area for the kids to flail their arms and get in the occasional cartwheel or roundhouse kick. It also allows a longer run for the side-to-side, so when they eventually collide with the crowd, they have a lot of momentum behind them. The speakers near the stage are decent to stand behind but also make for a prime area to dive into the crowd. With all of this going on, there wasn't a great way to take photos without also taking a few hits (which I did). In the end it was worth it, as Cold World showed us why they were headlining. A great show, and Tangent Gallery stays way up near the top of my list of favorite venues.