Rustbelt Rock Review

By: Z.M. Delgado

Volume #251: Befallen, Druparia, Chalked, Galactic Satan & Storm Reaver

August 1, 2026

No Class 11213 Detroit Ave, Cleveland, OH, 44102

Good morning, Cleveland Metalheads! It is I, your friend and narrator, once again awakening from a too short sleep. Last night was a good night. That is the vibe this morning as I sit at my keyboard and collect my thoughts. I didn’t get to bed until late, as another show at No Class kept me far from my bed. It was quite the occasion indeed, as we were celebrating the release of Befallen’s newest effort, “Our Light to the Stars.” The bill was stacked for this one as Befallen had tapped some of Cleveland’s heaviest hitters to be their supporting cast. Filling out the lineup was Druparia, Chalked, Galactic Satan and Storm Reaver. I’ve seen all of these bands in the past and was fairly confident walking in the door, that we were gonna have one hell of a show ahead of us. But lets not get ahead of ourselves... The whole affair started for me around 5:30, when Joha scooped me up and smuggled me off into the western lands. We rolled out with the new unreleased Lower 13 EP “Transcend” playing at top volume. We arrived at No Class some time after doors, paid the fee and began our wanderings. I was impressed by the early size of the crowd, but based on the strength of the lineup, I wasn’t exactly surprised. In due time we found ourselves at the foot of the stage preparing for the first of the evenings offerings to take form.

Kicking things off was Storm Reaver. This is a four piece act, built from Guitar/Vocals, Guitar, Bass/Backing Vocals and Drums. I would put them somewhere on the Death Metal spectrum, with a touch of Thrashiness to sweeten the brew. They opened up with some severe riffs and excellent Drumwork. The Vocals danced back and forth between low gutturals and shrill rasping snarls. Their style was raging, fast and savage right out the gate and that only increased as the set continued. Their Guitar work was very strong, exhibiting shredding solos in each and every song. The crowd ate up everything Storm Reaver was serving, devouring it riff after nasty riff. They broke out their new single, “Kill The Elite,” which was pure sonic punishment that the crowd reveled in. In the end they played a total of 6 songs, earning strong applause from the fans. I for one was blown away. This show could not have begun better. With speed and skill Storm Reaver devastated No Class and launched the evening in titanic fashion. It was incredible. So here’s my long and short...Storm Reaver? Fuck Yeah, Storm Reaver! I will definitely check them out again. During theset, my brother from another mother, the irreplaceable pillar of the Scene, my Co-Host on Heavy on Cleveland, Jimmy “The Dook” Fedor arrived. Together with Joha we adjourned to the patio where we took in the night air and prepared our minds for what was to come.

Second in the procession of heaviness was Galactic Satan. In stark contrast to the blazing Death Thrash of Storm Reaver, Galactic Satan is a Doom Metal band. This five piece is made of Guitar/Vocals, Guitar/Synth, Guitar, Bass and Drums. They began in a true Doom fashion, slow and atmospheric, giving way to crushing chords. Creeping, droning and always Heavy, the song plodded along for some time before the Vocals finally came in. Their Singer used clean tones as her voice floated eerily over the hum. Like a werewolf the music metamorphosed. Lycanthropic the songs changed and transitioned from one form into another. Long songs with extended compositions, haunting notes and chugging riffs. Yes, that was what Galactic Satan was all about. They also had significant groove, particularly on their second song, which was driven by their exceptional Bass player. Along the way, they also performed a rendition of my favorite Crowbar song, “The Lasting Dose,” which was awesome. All told they played four long ass songs in their thirty minute time slot and I loved every minute of it. And I certainly was not alone. The fans in the room with me cheered enthusiastically, really digging the chugging, churning Doomy style. We applauded severely when the set concluded, bidding Galactic Satan a fond farewell before returning to the patio to do what we do best.

Back inside with a new state of mind, we prepared for our third act of the night, Chalked. This is a five piece band made up of Vocals, two Guitars, Bass and Drums. I’m not exactly sure what subgenre to assign them, because they are a bit of an anomaly. I would say they are a blend of Metalcore, Groove Metal and Numetal. They are forged from pieces of each, without being wholly of any one of them. So without knowing their subgenre, here’s what I can tell you. Chalked is heavy as fuck. Full Stop. That could be it. That could be the entire review. This band is devastation. They have savage, snarling Vocals. They have machine gun percussion. Their Bass in bottomless and their riffs are jackhammers. On top of all that their stage presence is top tier. They rock THE FUCK OUT. These dudes know how to throw down and the crowd inevitably feeds off of it, every ounce. I watched it happen. These two dudes in front of me were headbanging... then bouncing a little. Then they looked at each other and nodded in silent agreement and began to collide. In an instant the night’s first moshpit erupted, others joined in and the show was in full swing.

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So here’s where this review gets a lot less fun. In the middle of that perfectly good moshpit, who came along? Yep, you guessed it: Captain Crowdkiller. This ASSHOLE decided to dive into the pit, flailing his fists and high kicking in all directions. Immediately the moshpit began to dissipate and people began to recoil from fear of getting punched. The dipshit continued doing poor mans karate, destroying the pit, and really ruining a lot of peoples good time. But he wasn’t done yet, no, he went on to do a full cartwheel before mule kicking backward blindly. He kicked a girl in the stomach. Read that again. HE KICKED A GIRL IN THE STOMACH. She dropped to the floor. Her friends couldn’t get her up. They stopped the show. The lights came up. Emma was clearing a path to the door, and was on the edge of calling paramedics before they finally got her up on her feet. It was scary. It wasn’t cool. It wasn’t HARDCORE. It was bullshit and it was frightening. So here we are, Cleveland. It’s all fun and games until someone loses and eye, right? Well how about it was never fun and games and now some nice girl got her guts stomped. How long are we gonna abide this? How long are we gonna get beat up by crowdkillers before we, as a scene, say enough is enough? I’ve been given a shiner or two over the years by these fucks. I saw The Dook get his lip split once. Last night I watched a girl get dropped by a grown ass man. I say enough in enough. Crowd killing isn’t cool. It’s dangerous and it ruins good shows. Fuck crowd killing and fuck crowd killers. End of rant. After the crisis passed, Chalked resumed their set and things returned to a portion of their former intensity. However the night never reached the fevered pitch that it had risen to prior to “the incident,” which is a shame. None the less Chalked finished strong, playing seven songs and getting an excellent crowd reaction.

We returned to the patio where we met up with Lady Stargazer herself, Heavy on Cleveland videographer and owner of Stargazer Studios: Jessica Mowrer. Now with our evening’s party complete we returned to the club and prepared for the onslaught of Druparia. This five man monstrosity is constructed from Vocals, two Guitars, Bass/Backing Vox and Drums. Let me just preface this by saying, I am a big fan of Druparia. Their particular brand of Melodic Death Metal really speaks to me. I feel it is unsurpassed and I truly believe that it should be broadcast on the very largest of stages. Their Vocalist is purely vicious. His tone is like nightmare machine that eats rusted nails and shits barbed wire. It is all wrath, violence and brutal beauty. The music that supports him is like a temple of sound. The songs are not written, but constructed; Built from riffs and leads, Bass lines and Drum fills. When Druparia plays, theyerect edifices on the grandest of scales. They raised another one of these structures on the stage of No Class last night and it was intense. It was a relentless assault, barreling down upon us as we stood powerless before it. The fans were enthralled from note one as the band cranked out bangers like “Severe the Roots,” “The River Above” and “Of Firmament… And the Renewal.” A brutal moshpit opened up for their fifth and final song, which raged on gloriously without a crowd killer in sight. The fans roared in approval as Druparia brought the house down with power and authority. The crowd unleashed a cacophony of approval. It was fantastic. With Druparia complete, we headed back to the patio for one final meeting of the minds before our final set of the night.

Then it was time for our headliner: Befallen. This band, made up of Vocals, two Guitars, Bass and Drums, is a mammoth force. They have a unique style that is a blend of Death, Doom and Melodic Death Metal. Their sound is nothing short of epic. They are uncompromisingly heavy, with layers of gorgeous melodies woven into the bottomless depths of their artistry. They somehow have the ability to be truly bestial in their sound, while remaining almost calming in their approach. The music is gorgeous, and atmospheric, setting a certain mood even while growing to fantastic proportions. Taking to the stage they began with symphonic notes drifting over the house speakers. This gave way to an avalanche of chords and a tsunami of deep, guttural Vocals. The set that followed was one sonic journey after another Each piece was a unique and impressive work of songwriting. These compositions, conceived on a grand scale, simply took me away. I watched in awe and fascination as Befallen dragged us into the depths of the nightmare fantasy world that is their music.

At some point the fog machine began to roll, filling the room with a soupy haze. Behind the mist, Befallen was putting on a display that was nothing short of barbaric. With that being said, they did show their humorous side as well. This was apparent when they threw handfuls of inflatable guitars into the crowd, before playing a Death Metal cover of Don Henley’s “The Boys of Summer.” This went over quite well, with the crowd singing along and dancing. After that Befallen closed out the set with one last monsterous original number. All told they Rocked hard and strong for a solid forty five minutes, performing seven lengthy songs to my delight. And when it was over we screamed. Yes, we screamed. With joy and elation and with the fire of Rock N Roll in out bellies, we screamed. Befallen took their bows and thank us for coming and still, we screamed. It was amazing. It was a Rockin’ moment to end a Rockin’ night. It was Metal to the bone. And then it was done…

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We slipped out swiftly, trying to avoid any post show entanglements. Out to the car we went. Off into the east, Joha pointed his car toward the dawn and we vanished. Down the highways we chatted, while rocking to Druparia’s album “The River Above.” We talked of the Scene and the incredible show we had just witnessed. Every band was fucking awesome. That is a rare thing, especially with five acts on the bill. But last night was an outstanding exception, we actually went five for five. Five bands came, five bands played, five bands Rocked. It really was a great time at the wildest club in town: No Class. Well, that’s all I have to say on the matter, Cleveland. Thank you for reading and Rocking and for supporting this awesome Scene we have. Don’t forget to bang your head, hoist your horns and always wear you earplugs.

Until next time, Rock on, Rustbelt,

-Z.M. Delgado

Rustbelt Rock Review

Rustbeltrockreview.com

8/2/2026

Vol. #251: Befallen, Druparia, Chalked, Galactic Satan & Storm Reaver

Vol. #250: Les Savy Fav, Suitor & Beast Killer