Trap Them, Yautja, Die Choking, and Ten Ton Hammer recently played a packed Kung Fu Necktie billing in Philly with Blowthescene.com‘s photographer Dante Torrieri on hand to capture a gnarly set of photos for our viewing pleasure.
Philly-area heavy hitters Ten Ton Hammer set the trail ablaze with a patented blend of metallic hardcore, continuing to support the Always Empty EP, which BTS had the pleasure of premiering in conjunction with Harvcore Records earlier in 2016. The band recently announced a string of dates in the New York and Maryland areas to close out 2016.
Philly three-piece grindcore unit Die Choking continue to support the band’s 2015 debut full-length III (The Compound), as this show marked Die Choking‘s final performance of 2016, marking multiple treks across the US, Canada, and Europe. Die Choking donated all monies earned from this performance between the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe battling the Dakota Access Pipeline and The Planned Parenthood action fund. Die Choking‘s set also featured a guest appearance by Deb Cohen of Philly punk band Cop Problem for song ‘Civilian’. Die Choking are slated to play Slave To The Grind Fest in Toronto in January along with numerous appearances on 1Fest throughout 2017 with ACxDC, Cloud Rat, Unholy Grave, and more as the band continues to write and prepare a sophomore full-length.
Tennessee’s proficient purveyors of angular metal, Yautja continue to impress underground heads from all walks of the extreme music landscape as the trio supports a latest split 7″ with Fórna alongside 2015’s incredible, Songs Of Decent (Forcefield Records). Yautja have toured extensively in recent years alongside such mainstays as Magrudergrind, Cult Leader and Trap Them and are poised for far-reaching notoriety in the very near future. The band recently stopped by Audiotree in Chicago for a live session that is still available for streaming as the band continues to build towards a forthcoming full-length.
Headliners Trap Them have had quite a 2016 to say the least. Apart from releasing one of the year’s strongest full-length efforts with Crown Feral via Prosthetic Records, singer Ryan Mckenney who is known for both cathartic and self-injuring stage performances, proceeded to break both heels and an ankle onstage just day 2 into the band’s October European tour. True-to-form, McKenney played over an hour with the obviously painful injuries, clinging to the stage monitors for balance before being casted up at a local Eindhoven, Netherlands hospital and subsequently making it to all scheduled shows thereafter.
McKenney showed up to Philly fully casted from just below the knee down and one could see it was his intention to use knee pads to aid his kneeling stance on stage, forced now by his fixed casts (pictured below). McKenney‘s attempt to secure the pads in a comfortable position quickly ended in immediate frustration seeing him rip them off, toss aside, and pound the mic stand into a fixed position, before breaking into a harrowing set reinforced by co-founder Brian Izzi‘s irreplaceable guitar work and the now well oiled rhythm section of drummer Brad Fickeisen and bassist Galen Baudhuin. A band we’ll surely be keeping an eye on in 2017.
All photos by Blow The Scene Senior Photographer Dante Torrieri (Useless Rebel Imaging)
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