Rustbelt Rock Review

By: Z.M. Delgado

Rustbeltrockreview.com

Volume #115: Cle Mosh 2023

December 9, 2023

Beachland Ballroom and Tavern, 15711 Waterloo Rd, Cleveland, OH 44110

Hello my friends and welcome back to the Rustbelt Rock Review. This week I have the herculean task of breaking down Cle Mosh ‘23. This event featured twelve bands over a span of about eight hours. I arrived early and met up with my homie, and event sponsor, Jimmy “The Dook” Fedor of Roxxxstarradio. I was happy to see Jimmy had secured me a spot on the guest list and once we had checked in, we made our way inside and began to make the rounds. We did our usual thing: Jimmy scouted for talent for the radio station while I tried to pick up info on the bands. We got the chance to chat with many of the musicians and do some valuable networking. One thing I noticed early on was the presence of a lot of photographers. I am not even exaggerating when I say there was no less than twelve photog’s working the event independent of one another. In fact there were times when they were literally tripping over one another. I was quite comical and a little annoying. Anyways, the time flew by and before we knew it, the start of the show was upon us. Here’s a run down of how the evening played out.

4:00 pm Tavern

6Deep - Akron

Kicking things off was 6Deep. This is a 5 man outfit consisting of two Guitars, Drums, Bass and a Vocalist. They play savage Beatdown style that is punishing to say the least. Even this early in the show the crowd was really solid. With a good sized audience in place 6Deep threw down with vigor. Earning strong applause, some moshing, flailing fists and a good bit of the old two step, 6Deep opened up the festival in exactly the right way. They displayed passion and intensity through every song. Giving zero fucks about being first on the bill, 6Deep played with the power of a headlining act.

4:30 Ballroom

Fight From Within - Upstate, New York

The second act to grace the stage was Fight From Within. They are a Six man Beatdown group made up of two Guitars, Bass, Drums and two Vocalists. They came out very heavy and had great stage presence, I will certainly give them that. My issue came on their second song when their singer threw a little temper tantrum on stage. You see, the crowd was not responding. Fight From Within was doing what I assume was their best and the crowd in the Ballroom did not seem to feel it. This apparently upset one of the vocalists and he proceeded to insinuate we were not throwing down because they were “not from here,” he then went on to say he thought we “looked like a bunch of little bitches.” I personally was taken aback by this. To me it was not a good look to come into our town and insult us, simply because we didn’t dig your sound. I hope they show more respect to their next host city, than they showed to Cleveland.

5:00 Tavern

Dreamwalker - Cleveland

The tavern was packed to the rafters for our third act of the night, Dreamwalker. They are a 6 man Progressive Metal band, made up of Two Guitars, Bass, Drums and two Vocalists. They utilized a blend of clean and growled vocals while playing Guitars that seemed to have entirely too many strings. They used these instruments to produce some very complex and trippy riffs. Their music summoned some nice action from the floor with kids moshing, jumping around and dancing. They even pulled off a successful wall of death. All in all Dreamwalker seemed to win over the crowd with ease, and they got a reaction that was fitting. I found them to be a cool blend of styles, with a lot going on musically.

5:30 Ballroom

Mouthbreather – Massachusetts

Mouthbreather is a four man group made up of Guitar, Bass, Drums and a Vocalist. They were our third Beatdown band of the day. They came out hard and heavy. Their aggressive approach earned them a lot of headbanging and some early moshing. The two step started up and fists and high kicks began flying in all directions. Their frontman hit some technical difficulties and got served up a bad mic chord, which resulted in some loss of Vox late in the set. Unabated the band played on and rocked hard. Despite this minor hiccup in the sound, I thought Mouthbreather was pretty good. They definitely played with a lot of heart and a pile of energy.

6:05 Tavern

Midwinter - Cleveland

Midwinter is a five member Progressive Deathcore band constructed from two guitars, Bass, Drums and a Vocalist. It is worth noting, that for reasons that were never explained, their singer performed dressed as a cow. The Vocalist used a blend of screams and growls, while receiving clean backing vocals from the Guitarist. For a time they brought up a guest singer who provided additional cleans and growls. Midwinter got strong fan support starting early in the set and as they rocked along, they seemed to keep the audience captivated. They had a lot going on and personally I got a little confused by the multilayered sound, but it seemed like most everyone on the room was digging it. They earned some strong applause and a lot of cheers as the set rolled towards it’s completion.

6:40 Ballroom

Tracheotomy – Miami, Florida

Tracheotomy is a four piece Deathcore band forged from two Guitars, Drums and a Vocalist. They came out with phenomenal stage presence, moving about with tons of energy. Their vocals were dealt up as either deep gutturals or piercing screams. The crowd responded immediately headbanging and rocking out. A wide open space developed near the rear of the room where the violence of the two steppers and the crowd killers was contained. By the third song Tracheotomy had the room jumping up and down in time with the jam. The pit went absolutely wild for this band and rightly so. With thundering drums, brutal breakdowns and magnificent energy, Tracheotomy blew the doors right off of the Ballroom.

7:15 Tavern

The Dead Don’t Sleep - Ohio

Next up was The Dead Don’t Sleep a four piece act made up of Vocals, Bass, Drums and Guitar. I would categorize them as some sort of Horror themed Metalcore act, and the band looked the part. The singer and drummer came out with makeup on that made them look as if they had fresh wounds and wicked scars on their faces. They had excellent stage presence, utilizing the limited space the Tavern provides to the utmost degree. Vocally they delivered in both cleans and snarls. They had a percussive Bass attack and an overall sound that I enjoyed... and apparently I wasn’t alone. The crowd was really into The Dead Don’t Sleep; jumping, headbanging and moshing like madmen. The band continued with their horror themed action, including a song about the one and only, Jason Voorhees. With a hockey mask in hand, the frontman laid out the track with passion and precision. The Dead Don’t Sleep played a great set and really rocked the Tavern stage. I felt like they were my favorite act up to that point, and in my humble opinion they probably should have been on the main stage.

Eric Stevenson: The Official Tattoo Artist of the RbRR
@ericstevensonart

7:50 Ballroom

Chamber - Nashville, Tennessee

Next up was Nashville’s Chamber. Made from Vocals, Bass, Drums and two Guitars, this five piece Metalcore act came to destroy. The band opened up on fire, with great stage presence and a strong sound. I was most impressed by the energy of their frontman, who performed with power and passion throughout the set. Their style was very hard and very aggressive. Immediately fists began flying and horns went up all around the room. A circle pit formed and the two step broke out across the rear of the Ballroom. Knuckles and fists whirled about as Chamber continued their onslaught. My notes make multiple references to the bands energy. Every member of Chamber threw down with authority and the kids were appreciative. Energy from the stage shone down on the crowd, who ate it up and sent it right back. All in all the set was a resounding success that had the crowd fully engaged from beginning to end.

8:25 Tavern

Audience of Rain - Akron

Up from Akron was Audience of Rain. This is a 5 man band constructed from Drums, Bass, two Guitars and a Vocalist. They play an odd style that is an amalgam of Hard Rock, Nu Metal and Metalcore. Without a doubt, they had the most unique sound that had yet to grace the stages. Their vocals were delivered in a mix of cleans and screams; with some nice harmonies being brought together between the lead vocalist and the Guitarist. At times they showed off some particularly tight lead Guitar work, which was a nice change of pace. They finished up their set very well and earned some very strong applause from the Cleveland faithful.

9:00 Ballroom

Tallah - Pennsylvania

Tallah is a 6 piece Nu Metal act from Pennsylvania. They are built from Drums, Bass, Keyboards, two Guitars and a Vocalist. They came out wearing, what looked like, matching lab coats, and exploded. Their vocals were, sang, rapped or roared, depending on what the occasion called for. With outstanding stage presence the band went wild and the fans followed suit. The movement started up at the first song and stayed that way for the duration. The pit never seeming to slow for a second throughout the set. In fact, Tallah had summoned the biggest moshpits up to that point. The front man performed like a certified lunatic, exhibiting a quirky and energized display of showmanship. This was emphasized by the lights he wore on his forehead and hands, in some sort of bizarre science fiction type… thing. I honestly don’t know what he was going for, but it looked cool, and without a doubt enhanced the performance. All in all I found Tallah to be a very entertaining and exciting band to see. The played with a lot of energy and drove the fans at the Beachland absolutely rabid. The pit was continuous and massive as Tallah conquered all that they surveyed.

9:45 Tavern

A Sense of Purpose - Cleveland

Up next was a little more Metalcore coming at us. A Sense of Purpose is a five piece group. They are made of Vocals, two Guitars, Bass and Drums. Their vocals were delivered clean and growled as the songs spun out. Both vocally and musically they produced a sound that was more complex than many of their predecessors. They brought a lot more melody to the stage than we had seen earlier in the evening. While still being very hard edged and often quite driving, they delivered an entirely different spectrum of emotions, beyond that of pure rage. I made a note that I was impressed with their Bass work, as well as their Guitar riffs. I also wrote down that they too had great stage presence. Early in the set a moshpit formed and stayed spinning off and on throughout the set. A Sense of Purpose came in a thoroughly rocked the Tavern, closing out that stage in a powerful fashion.

10:35 Ballroom

Left to Suffer – Atlanta, Georgia

Closing out the evening was Left to Suffer. This is a five man Deathcore act forged from two Guitars, Bass, Drums and a Vocalist. These guys opened up extremely heavy and held the crowd in the palms of their hands from note one. The Vocals were a deep guttural roar, which the crowd was singing along to; word for word. Moshing broke out at the foot of the stage, while the two step continued toward the rear of the room. The pits ran wild and stayed that way for the duration. And rightly so. Left to Suffer came out with a commanding stage presence and a certain authority in their demeanor. The majority of my notes on this set reflect the intensity of the crowd. Left to Suffer led the Cleveland Metal Scene to fits of madness and sent us, moshing, dancing and crowd surfing. For their final cut, they offered up free merch to whoever went the craziest. This led to an insanely huge moshpit. The fans stormed the stage and began stage diving with reckless abandon. In the end I don’t know who got the prize, but there were certainly a lot of loons in contention for the top spot. Whatever went down at the merch table after is irrelevant. What does matter is the fact the Left to Suffer played an outstanding set and thoroughly rocked the Beachland. With passion and rage they closed out the night in a cataclysmic fashion.

With Left to Suffer finished, I said my goodbyes and headed home. It had been a very long day, and I needed some chow. So off I headed into the chilly evening, to climb into my car and travel East again. Cle Mosh ‘23 had been quite an experience. I had watched from the shadows as a packed house threw down for band after band. Over the long hours I saw kids giving their all. Pouring out their hearts and souls to the music that we all love. In the end Cle Mosh ‘23 looked to have been a resounding success. The crowd was big and it was amped. There was a solid energy throughout the building from 6Deep until Left to Suffer. If you like Beatdown, Metalcore, Deathcore or NuMetal, this would have been the show for you. On that note, I believe I will bring this edition to a close. Thanks for reading.

Until next time, Rock on, Rustbelt,

-Z.M. Delgado

Rustbelt Rock Review

Rustbeltrockreview.com

12/11/2023

Links:

6deep

https://www.facebook.com/6deepOH/

Fight From Within

https://fightfromwithinofficial.com/

Dreamwalker

https://www.facebook.com/DreamwalkerCLE/