Nascent Charlotte Metal Bands Rock The Milestone

A handful of Charlotte metal bands and electronic artists gathered under one roof on Saturday, March 15, to showcase music new and old for a packed house at The Milestone.

The evening started with January Knife, the one-man-band/solo-project of Queen City percussionist/vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Brian Gryder. Perched behind his drumkit and blinded by a variety of light projections, Gryder used samples and a vocoder to create a heavy-handed electronic soundscape that set the tone for the night.

Mudlotus, making their live performance debut, features drummer Music Knight (Girl Brutal, Cosmic Twynk), singer Rachel Wilder, guitarist Alan (The Abstratica), and bassist Jake (Cosmic Twynk). As a whole, the band has the energy and talent to make a name for itself on the Charlotte music scene.

Wilder showed impressive vocal range and considerable stage presence and there’s the potential for her to define herself as a frontwoman over time. Jake, the former frontman of Cosmic Twynk, shared a bit of the spotlight and kept the crowd engaged throughout the quartet’s nu metal set. Alan will be back at the revered venue on Tuesday night as The Abstractica.

Hard-rock trio Wilma came up in the middle of the night’s lineup. The band moved from Charlotte to Richmond, Virginia a few years ago and changed their name before deciding to stick with Wilma. The group’s experience and technical instrumentation provided a sound with more depth than expected.

It was at some point during the Wilma performance that the swirling mosh pit in middle of the Milestone picked up in energy and attitude.

Girl Brutal, one of the Queen City’s most buzzworthy breakout bands, launched into its set of electronic hardcore next. With Knight back behind the drum kit and Jarrett Mintz dialing up the sonic soundscapes, singer Grace Nelson paced the stage, screaming, singing and commanding with relentless focus.

A mop of bleached blonde locks occasionally covered the white and black makeup adorning her face as she eyed the crowd and moved the masses. Nelson did wear her trademark bunny ears for Saturday night’s set, but they didn’t make it through all the head-banging.

Not to worry, plenty of folks in attendance had them on to back her up, including Den of Wolves drummer Savien Davis for his band’s closing performance. Girl Brutal plays in Charlotte often, but for their growing fanbase, the more the merrier.

Capping off the night was metal trio Den of Wolves who have been making sonic waves on the Queen City music scene for years. Though Davis dealt with some cymbal issues, it didn’t make any noticeable negative impact on the band’s music.

Singer/bassist Tristen England screamed his vocals and guitarist Khalil England kept the riffs churning. Sure, there were moments that the band had to work out some technical and memory issues — including trying to recall the beginning of a blistering cover of Chevelle’s “Family System” — but those were more charming than frustrating.

Overall, the night proved that Charlotte’s heavy music scene is alive, thriving and worth paying attention to.

Be sure to check out Queen City Nerve’s Soundwave, Charlotte’s most comprehensive live music listing, so you don’t miss out on any shows or concerts coming up. And hell, if you’re looking for something else to do, you can check out our events page as well, which runs the gamut of things to do in Charlotte. You don’t ever have to be bored again. You can check out more of Jeff’s pics and live reviews here.