I hadn’t seen the self-proclaimed “loudest band in Boston” since 2018/19, and was itching to get my fix of melodic -turned- screamo vocals, crunchy riffs, and wobbly bass patterns. When Kal Marks took the stage, I thought perhaps it was the opener as the whole band looked different. The original three-piece featured on NPR’s music blog of drummer Alex Audette, and bassist Michael Geacone, (whose riffs up and down the neck were inspiring to a bassist like me) had been reduced to frontman Carl Shane now sporting a shiny dome. Yet on the first note of Carl’s dare-I-say Les Claypool style vocal delivery, I knew it was them. The band expanded to now a four-piece with a new drummer, bassist, and adding a second guitarist. I’d add their names but it’s not updated on their FB or bandcamp. Nonetheless, the new hairdo and new members rocked. Hard.
Moving quickly to stage left by the soundboard, I snapped a few pics and videos. There were a few new songs but I quickly noticed old favorites. The choppy distortion riffs of “Mankind” off the 2016 release “Life is Alright, Everybody Dies” brought back memories of the last time I heard it at O’Briens. “Fuck That Guy” played a loud aggressive F-U to “orange man” the president of shit who reigned during the 2018 release of “Universal Care.” I was glad to hear my fav tune “Loosed” which has a spooky music video likely filmed in Mount Auburn Cemetery with kidnapping scenes and their trademark demonic dog mask. I love the bass line on that tune, it has a “box” pattern similar to the jazz standard “Footsteps” by Miles Davis albeit a totally different heavy art-rock vibe. Perhaps if Carl reads this he can shout out the track with the bass part that plucks right on the nut by the tuning keys? Dig that.
The set was over far too soon for there were sets by Philly’s Rid of Me on tour with headliner Kowloon Walled City of Oakland, CA. Rid of Me didn’t play their Deftone’s cover of “My Own Summer,” which I would have loved to have heard as an encore. I was there to see Kal Marks, and of course, they stole the show! I chatted with Carl after the gig and picked up a new tee- as somehow during cleaning during covid lockdown I lost my famed White/Red Skeleton tee of “Universal Care.” Doubtful that they will do another release of that but maybe it will show up somewhere. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the black/blue dog mask tee that I wanted, so I settled on the spooky vampric touch of their “Broken Songs” cover art. Kal Marks won’t be on tour until the release of their new album in the Fall, but you can catch them locally at the “Nice a Fest” festival in July, and likely before that.
Only you can keep the scene alive!
-Anders