Rustbelt Rock Review

By: Z.M. Delgado

Rustbeltrockreview.com

Volume #178: Beast Killer “Exploder” EP Release Party feat: Neighbor Dan & The Dream Pop Nightmare Experience

February 21st 2025

The Five O’clock Lounge, 11904 Detroit Ave. Lakewood, OH, 44107

Good evening my friends and fellow lovers of Rock N’ Roll. I sit down with you now to write another account of my journey’s into the belly of the beast. I have once again traveled the Cleveland Underground and I have seen great and wondrous things. This week I got to experience one of my favorite aspects of this job: The fabled “release party.” There are a lot of different types of shows you can attend with a lot of different themes and vibes, but if you ask me, the release party is the best. There is always a certain energy in the air at these events. An electricity, if you will. An electricity that runs through the fans and connects each and every person the music. It’s intense. This was certainly the case Friday night when I arrived at the Five O'clock Lounge. But lets not get ahead of ourselves… the story begins before that. It starts back when the show, originally scheduled to be at The Foundry, ran into some sort of SNAFU. With the rise of some unspecified situation, outside of the bands control, the show at the Foundry was apparently shut down. Luckily with a little scheduling magic by the Five’s management, the event was re-homed. Now hosting a double header, Beast Killer became the first of two gigs the Five would be presenting that evening. That meant that Beast Killer was starting early, with kick off set for 7pm. Myself, Joha and Face (Guitar/Vandalizard) headed out arriving just in time to catch the first act. We entered The Five and I was immediately impressed by the size of the early crowd. Considering Mud Whale had rather suddenly dropped from the bill, the Five had pushed the start time back. This boded well for attendance, giving even more people time to arrive before the music kicked off. Also this left us plenty of time to wander out to the patio for a preshow pipe. I had brought along a fat nug of sour apple moon rocks, which Joha and I set to work chipping away at with glee. Once we had finished blazing, we returned to the club and mingled until the first band began.

Starting off the evening was The Dream Pop Nightmare Experience. This is a four member, female fronted band, consisting of Guitar/Vocals, Guitar, Bass and Drums. Their social media describes them as a “Dream-Pop Punk Band From Cleveland, Ohio.” To the best of my knowledge, I had never listened to Dream-Pop Punk before, so I wasn’t really sure what I was in store for. Well, I was about to find out. Soon enough The Dream Pop Nightmare Experience began their set. The first thing I noted was their fuzzy Bass sound. It is a thing that I remember clearly throughout the entirety of the set: I was digging the Bass. The next thing that grabbed me was the Vocals. I really enjoyed the singers voice; both her tone and her range. The opening number started out mellow but built and developed, gaining intensity. The singers voice rose to meet this intensity perfectly, adding passion to the performance. As the set progressed I became more and more enamored with this young woman’s vocal prowess. I made a note about some solid Guitar work on their fourth song. I also liked the dark, rumbling Drum work on their sixth number. In total they played seven songs, closing with a track called “Shattered Tides.” This song seemed to showcase all the elements seen throughout the bands set: Brooding Vocals, A fuzzy Bass line, nice Guitars and smooth Drumwork. This one built to a Rockin’ climax that left the crowd screaming for more. All in all I have to say that it was a great set. For a guy who doesn’t know the first thing about Dream-Pop, I have to say The Dream Pop Nightmare Experience really impressed me. They held my attention for the entirety of their time, and I have to say their set was a lot of fun. Their material was emotional and their delivery was flawless. Most importantly their crowd response was great, as the fans seemed to really dig what they were doing. To boisterous applause The Dream Pop Nightmare Experience said goodnight. With their set now concluded, we adjourned back to the patio where we reflected on the music and of course roasted another bowl.

We returned from our smoke break to find the club even more crowded than before, as fans continued to arrive. Taking to the stage was Neighbor Dan. They are a four man band built from Guitar/Vocals, Guitar/Vocals, Bass and Drums. Their social media describes them as “Emo gospel mixed with post-punk nu-metal from Ohio and Pennsylvania.” Now I have no idea just what in the hell that is supposed to mean. To me they had a Sludgy sort of Stoner Metal vibe. Neighbor Dan opened up heavy with Sludgy riffs and clean Vocals. Soon the second Vocalist joined in, his vocals were shouted and gritty. Their second track was trippy and wild. It had a bitchin’ Drum pattern, and an explosive break. My notes describe it as “cool, complex song with a lot of differing parts.” On “Filth and History” the vocals continued to impress me, pairing big clean notes with mighty roars. I was feeling both the Drums and the riffs on this one, as people around me were seen dancing and headbanging. “Jet Stream Geometry” had a slick riff and a very danceable beat. It built towards an explosive eruption where the vocals absolutely roared. Then my notes go on to proclaim simply that “This is a great song.” They played a total of six tracks, closing out with a number called “Until the Shaking Stops.” This final song was a beast and a thing of beauty. With roaring Vocals, devastating riffs and thundering Drums Neighbor Dan brought down the house with this closing number. The applause began before the song had even ended and continued long after it’s conclusion. I, for one, was floored. What a set! Neighbor Dan had come seemingly out of nowhere and hit like a missile strike. With power and precision they rocked the Five to it’s very foundation. Now, thoroughly impressed, but no longer thoroughly stoned, we adjourned to the patio yet again. There we indulged in another bowl of moon rocks, lifting our minds into the stratosphere. We blazed ourselves stupid that headed back inside. It was time for the main event. Beast Killer was gearing up and preparing to take the stage.

Eric Stevenson: The Official Tattoo Artist of the Rustbelt Rock Review

Now for my regular readers, Beast Killer is no new subject matter. By now they have graced the pages of the RbRR many times. If you’ve been keeping up with your reading, or paying attention to Cleveland Punk at all, you’ve surely seen Beast Killer’s name quite a few times. For those of you who are new to the Review, here’s some basic facts. Beast Killer is a two man Punk Rock wrecking crew, made up of Guitar/Vocals and Drums. They are one of our scene’s best and brightest performers and it is always a pleasure to see them play. This weeks gig was of course extra special, as I mentioned before, it was an EP release party. Celebrating the launch of their third release, “Exploder,” Beast Killer was ready to Rock. (For a full review of the EP please check out RbRR #176) The crowd packed in close as the set drew close to launch. The room was buzzing with anticipation as the crowd was chomping at the bit to hear the new material live. Diving right into the EP, they opened up with “New Dawn.” I was immediately taken by how excellent the band sounded. The sound guy had them dialed in and Beast Killer was firing on all cylinders. With a climax that is both ripping fast and passionate, “New Dawn” is a killer opening number that kicked off the set with adrenaline. “The Day Punk Rock Saved The World” was a fantastic. I don’t know what it was, but something about hearing this song live made it hit completely differently. Maybe it was just a little heavier, or just a little faster or the vocals were just a bit grittier… whatever it was “The Day Punk Rock Saved The World” is a song built for the live stage and once there, it shines.

“Wolves” was next and it was a real ripper to be sure. With Kris behind the kit, straight burning up at breakneck speed; his play came like a runaway truck. “Exploder” was a hard, heavy, ass kicker that left the crowd screaming. “Sparks” was fantastic. I swear they played it at near double speed, blazing like Doc Brown’s DeLorean. It was a testament to Chris’s passion as his vocal’s rose to enormous size. With it’s lightning quick finish this song really puts a capstone on the “Exploder” EP and brings the collection to a close nicely. Of course, Beast Killer, wasn’t through yet. Next they played the hard hitting “Synapse.” This is one of my favorites. With it’s powerful lyrics and pulverizing Drumwork this song set the crowd on fire. “Comet” was next and it was magnificent. All around me I saw people dancing and singing along as Beast Killer sang to us about the end of times. Following that we got what is possibly Beast Killer’s heaviest song, “Pixels,” and it was a killer. The Drum pattern on this one it simply devastating and the Vocals are focused rage. It poured out of the speakers and I nearly broke my neck from headbanging along. Here they broke out “Beast Killer,” which is always amazing. The first track from the debut album; the title track of the band; one bad ass song… “Beast Killer” is a monstrous piece of Rock N’ Roll. Closing out the set they selected “Neurotic.” Hard, fast and fueled by heart, this song is the perfect closing number. Climaxing with roaring calls of “Beast Killer! Beast Killer!” this song puts the icing on the proverbial cake. Yes, “Neurotic” brought down the house. The fans roared in approval as Beast Killer took their bows. What a set! It has been fantastic. Beast Killer sounded excellent and the performed flawlessly. The Exploder EP was officially live and let loose upon the world and we are all better for it.

With Beast Killer now finished, we decided to skip the second show and headed out into the night. Pointing our vehicle east, we turned up the tunes and rolled off towards the horizon. Along the way we chatted about what we had seen and heard throughout our evening. The Dream Pop Nightmare Experience had been really cool. I dug their chill vibe, fuzzy bass tone, as well as their Vocalists passionate notes. Neighbor Dan rocked. Plain and simple. I really dug their set and was surprised by their heaviness. They are a band that I would definitely check out again. Finally Beast Killer… well, they fucking killed! That’s it. That’s what they do, and that’s what they did! That’s all I can say. They came in, they took the stage and they absolutely slayed. They served up a nice blend of both the new and old material and it went down so smooth. But that’s Beast Killer. They never disappoint. And we drove on. The boys dropped me off, I raided the fridge and then headed to bed. So there you have it. That was my Friday night. On that note I will leave you for the week. Bang your heads. Hoist your horns. Wear your earplugs and thank you for reading.

Until next time, Rock on, Rustbelt,

-Z.M. Delgado

Rustbelt Rock Review

Rustbeltrockreview.com

2/24/2025

Links:

Beast Killer

https://www.facebook.com/BeastKillerBand/

https://beastkillerband.bandcamp.com/

Neighbor Dan

https://www.facebook.com/neighbordanrips/

https://www.instagram.com/neighbordanmetal/