This past Friday, I made the trek across the state to the Magic Stick in Detroit for the Brainsqueeze Tour featuring Dead Heat, Necrot, Ghoul, and Municipal Waste. It is without hyperbole that I say this was one of the most fun shows I’ve ever attended. Top to bottom, the lineup rocked the stage, moved the crowd, and generally made it a fun night for all. I’m unaware of any hostility in the crowd. Instead, I saw (and participated in) a pit where the audience went hard, but still looked out for each other. I saw people fall, then immediately get picked up. I saw a guy running around the pit with another guy on his shoulders, and a couple people following behind spotting in case he fell. And yet, it was a wild pit and crowd all night long. I would add that we attended the show as guests of Earsplit PR to do press, so we focused a bit more on their three bands and a little less on the headliner. There were also some unfortunate technical difficulties regarding photos on their set. But, come on, we all know Municipal Waste rips!
The Venue
This was my first time (I think) at the Magic Stick. I thought I’d been there about fifteen years ago, but that venue was in a basement while this was up above a pizza kitchen. Either the venue moved, or it was a different venue. Either way, I really liked it. It’s mostly a big open floor with a bar at the front and the stage at the back. Security was present, but not in everyone’s faces, and were friendly in all my interactions. They let us all party the way we wanted, as far as I could tell, but were around and visible in case of something going down. All in all, I would recommend the Magic Stick and hope to be back sooner than later. One of the best Detroit venues I’ve visited.
Dead Heat
Up first was Dead Heat from Oxnard, CA, which Google Maps says is between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. I first noticed the band with their release of the Endless Torment EP in 2023. They play a thrash heavy crossover, with enough hardcore influence to keep that crowd coming back too. And the crowd definitely moved for them. I think that’s the earliest I’ve ever seen a pit pop off, and I’ve been going to shows for thirty years. Often when the opener calls for the pit to get moving again, the crowd just stares in silence, but not for this quartet. The crowd responded every time, and with good reason. They rip!
I caught up with vocalist Chris after their set to talk about the tour. He noted that the tour had been great, even better than they had expected. He said, “We’ve almost sold out of merch in the first week.” That’s proof from the customer that they’ve been bringing the (dead) heat. After touring with Municipal Waste a couple of years ago, the headliner brought them back for this one. Most shows have sold out or nearly so (including Detroit). Chris stated, “It’s the best tour we’ve been on so far.” That’s not hard to believe, given how the night went.
Necrot
Ok, confession time (and I’m sorry about this guys…I didn’t understand). I was never really into Necrot before. They seemed fine, but never really clicked for me. What became clear to me in seeing them live is that they are a bunch of punks playing death metal. Death metal punks are the best. They actually reminded me of a death metal version of Detroit’s own Hellmouth, which I consider to be high praise. It’s possible that they were my favorite set of the night, though it’s really hard to say, as I loved them all (I told you this was one of the best top to bottom shows I’ve ever seen, right?) As with Dead Heat, the crowd responded in a big way to this Oakland trio.
After the set, I was able to catch up to the Necrot vocalist as well, Luca Indrio. He was kind enough to answer a few questions, including what the tour meant to them. He says that the tour has been “…smooth sailing. The guys in Waste and Ghoul, we’ve been friends for well over a decade. It’s like being on the road with your friends. It’s cool.” For him, the Brainsqueeze lineup is special, “…because three of the bands are on Tankcrimes Records. Ghoul, Dead Heat, and us are on Tankcrimes Records. Municipal Waste has a history with Tankcrimes, because they released a split with Toxic Holocaust…and Scotty who is the owner of Tankcrimes Records has been the roadie for Municipal Waste for, like, twenty years. It’s a very ‘in family’ tour.” He also promises that the new album will be “sick.” He says “Cut the Cord (the first single) is a great song, but it’s not my favorite song on the album. I feel very proud of this album. I feel that it’s our best album so far.” Whoa! I can’t wait. Cut the Cord is my favorite Necrot song to date, so I’m expecting the album to blow me away.
Ghoul
This was my first time seeing this band (any of them actually). I was pleasantly surprised with the great balance between their schtick with costumes and a storyline, and the excellent thrashing madness. The costumes and creatures, as well as storyline between songs, served as extra seasoning, making the flavor of their set more robust, without putting it over the top. It was on this set that the crowd surfers and stage divers started to take things to the next level, with bodies flying everywhere. And, of course, there’s nothing like banging your head while taking a spray of fake blood full in the face. The quartet from Creepsylvania certainly brought the noise.
Digestor took a few minutes before the show started to speak to me. He said that the tour was going amazing, even claiming that it was, “The most successful tour that we have ever been involved in.” He also mentioned, “All of these people are friends of ours, so it’s been a really great experience, just to be able to hang out with people we’ve known for a really long time. Aside from Dead Heat, who we’ve just met – but they’re really great guys – everyone else we’ve known for years.” In response to a question about the latest EP, Noxious Concoctions, Digestor stated, “I love it! It’s being received really well. We play all the songs, except for the last one, in our set. People love them. It’s working out well.” Also, full support for the “Nazi Smasher” sticker available at the merch booth.
Municipal Waste
What can I say? These guys rip. I’d actually forgotten that Tony Forresta is the vocalist. I interviewed him years ago after an Iron Reagan show. The Richmond, Virginia quartet sounded fantastic and the crowd was there for it. I swear, half the floor was moving. The stage divers were basically nonstop, including occasionally between songs. The energy was vibrating through the whole room. The band played bangers and crowd favorites (causing lots of screaming along) as they celebrated the 21st anniversary of Waste ‘Em All, their debut full length. I was unable to catch up to them to talk to anyone, as my focus was on the other three (and quite frankly I didn’t want to wait around at the end of the night…I’d been up since 4:30 am, put in a full day of work, and still had to drive over two hours home). Still, full support for this band and what a fantastic way to close out the night!
Go see this tour!!!!
Biography: Hayduke X has been writing for MoshPitNation since June of 2016. He is also a contributor to The Metal Wanderlust. Prior to joining the MoshPitNation team, Hayduke published reviews on his own blog Rage and Frustration. In addition, he has DJ’ed an online metal radio show of the same name as his blog, written for TOmetal.com, done interviews for Metal Rules, and collaborated with The Art of B Productions to create video interviews with a wide variety of bands.
