PRODUCT OF HATE (2017) Concert Review
Venue: Brauerhouse – Lombard, Illinois
Event date: March 18, 2017
Special Guests – Unquiet Eddy, Ryno
Reviewed by Michael Juvinall – Horror Patch
Very special thank you to James Zahn “The Rock Father”
The concert venue was held at Brauerhouse in Lombard, Illinois, which is a suburb of Chicago. It’s a small, quaint bar which also hosts live shows several days a week. I mentioned it was small with a maximum capacity of around 200 people. Unfortunately, there was nowhere near that amount of people to see Product of Hate, which is unfortunate because they are a band that deserves to be seen in front of a live audience.
The first supporting band was Unquiet Eddy – a progressive heavy metal band from Southern Indiana. This by-the-numbers act really did not have much musically to stir up the limited crowd on hand. Their set lasted a brief 40 minutes, which was a good thing if you ask me. Their mix wasn’t the best and they didn’t sound great. They looked to me like a weekend garage band up on stage. Their musicality was average but nothing special. They were rather boring to watch on stage. I remember watching their bass player just stand there looking like a zombie playing his guitar, barely moving. They had no stage presence at all. With more practice and live shows this band could be pretty good but they’re a long way from there.
1 out of 5 Pentagrams!
Next up to support was a Chicago metalcore act called Ryno. The band was a younger band than the previous group and was much more energetic. They played for about 30 minutes. For a young, unsigned band Ryno had a good grasp of their music and played well. They were very heavy with growling vocals from singer Mark Morse, who was lively on the mic. They seemed to get the audience a little more into the music than the previous band did. I have to admit I’m not a fan of metalcore and if I dare say (I know I’m going to get burned for this but…) their music sounded like noise to me. I couldn’t understand a word of Morse’s growling vocals – they were incomprehensible. Some of that might have been the lousy mix but more than likely it was his vocals. I understand that’s what metalcore is all about but, like I said, I’m not a fan.
2 out of 5 Pentagrams!
Finally it was time for headliner Product of Hate! POH is a thrash metal group based out of Kenosha, Wisconsin. They have been in existence for ten years but have only one record (Buried in Violence) by Napalm Records. I’m a huge thrash fan and POH didn’t disappoint. The meager audience was definitely there to see POH and really got the audience off their asses. They played for a solid hour with most tracks from their album with a cover of Motley Crue’s “Shout at the Devil”. There were also a couple new tracks from the album they are working on currently. The only bad thing was they only played for an hour. The audience could’ve definitely gone for more, and I as well.
They were extremely tight and sounded incredible. The dual guitar attack of brothers Gene Rathbone and Cody Rathbone was tight as they took turns thrashing the night. Bassist Mark Campbell also took care of business on the low end. I’ve never seen fingers move so fast outside of Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris. But for my money, frontman Adam Gilley brought it home. He was so lively and energetic he really pumped up the crowd. His vocal style is a mixture of straight singing and low-guttural growls, but with a purpose. His vocals could easily be understood, even when screaming. He has a natural ability to growl with ease and I’d put him up there as one of the best growlers in the business. Gilley reminded me a lot of a young Phil Anselmo; he has that kind of stage presence.
Set List:
- “Vindicare”
- “Kill. You. Now.”
- “…As Your Kingdom Falls”
- “Revolution of Destruction”
- “Buried in Violence”
- “Consumed” (Brand-new song. First time ever played live)
- “Annihilation”
- “Where’s Your God?”
- “Shout At The Devil” (Motley Crue cover)
- “Redemption”
- “Destroyers of Lives”
- “Start the March”
- “Monster”
- “Blood Coated Concrete”
- “Claw the Walls”
- “Unholy Manipulator”
If I had to pick my favorite tracks they played live I would have to say…”Monster”, “Unholy Manipulator” and “…As Your Kingdom Falls”.
All in all, I was not expecting the level of musicianship and showmanship the band exhibited, I was extremely impressed. Product of Hate has a great career ahead of them and I would definitely catch them live whenever they hit Chicago again. These guys are a band to watch out for.
4 ½ out of 5 Pentagrams!
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