The Taylor Coppenrath Experience

Husk
Ultra-Violence Mechanism
1/5/2005 - Boston

I've covered the music scene for a lot of years, penning many articles for such buzzworthy independent weeklies as Hipster Survival Manual, Rock Balls and Missoula Tonight. So nothing surprises me anymore, I've seen everything.

And I mean everything. I've watched bands come and go. I've seen them come out of nowhere, get major-label record deals, and then fall back into obscurity. I've been guest-listed at parties that you just wouldn't believe. I've seen things backstage at shows that if they were made public, the rock establishment would be reduced to nothing more than a smoldering mass. I am behind the music.

So then you might ask: Kay-Dub, what stops you from getting bored and jaded? Once you've seen it all, what's there to see anymore?

Taylor Coppenrath of the heavy metal
rock band Ultra-Violence Mechanism
performs last night at Northeastern
University.

Well let me tell you, cuz. Every so often, I get out to a show that features a devastatingly charismatic rising star of the indie rock world. And Wednesday night in Boston, that star was Taylor Coppenrath.

The local quintet Husk was the headliner last night. I don't really understand what the attraction is with this band, but I can only guess that if you haven't heard real music yet, you'll naturally latch on to the first thing that comes along.

Husk plays a sort of disjointed hip-hop/rock/Latin blend. Their drummer, Jose Juan Barea, is also the lead singer - let me tell you, that never works unless you want to suck like Phil Collins. When they did a cheesy cover of Living Colour's "Glamour Boys" halfway through the second set, I was rolling my eyes the whole time, but the kids were jamming on it.

For me, this show was all about the other band on the bill. UVM, better known to their rabid fanbase as Ultra-Violence Mechanism, hails from Vermont. But they have as much in common with Phish as Slipknot has with Ashlee Simpson.

I'm sure the members of Ultra-Violence Mechanism and Husk don't have much reason to hang out with each other, but both are signed to the grassroots Americaëast Records (the label that also organized the tour). UVM is just coming off a disastrous red-state swing that took them to places like Kansas and North Carolina - I guess that people down there aren't ready yet for their brand of sludgy, grinding indie metal.

Most of the sold-out Cabot Center (near the center of Northeastern University's campus) were there to see Husk. The packed crowd spilled out into the aisles, and security was tight enough to avoid a massive bum-rush. But Ultra-Violence Mechanism captured their attention immediately, as lead singer Coppenrath applied his gruff snarl to the most recent single, "Pain Factory":

The cats they come to claw and bite
Guts and bones gleam in the night
Blood will drip and drench your flesh
There will be nothing left
Domination is the game
When you step into my... factory of pain

Despite the hardcore graphic content of their songs, I understand that UVM has a quite the cross-cultural following in their home state. I did see a few hippy-type dudes at the show with UVM shirts on. I even heard a rumor that there's going to be a Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Especially when you consider the lyrics of their first hit, "Midnight At The Vomit Arcade," which they performed in response to a shouted request:

Vomit covers everything
You will taste the bitter sting
Every night is Hallow's Eve
I will make you kneel before me

It's worth pointing out that this five-piece band is not all about Taylor Coppenrath. Over the course of their 100-minute set, the spotlight periodically fell on the other members of Ultra-Violence Mechanism as well - the ones who aren't quite dorm-room names yet. Their drummer, T.J. Sorrentine, lay down a solid pulse to support the other four's nocturnal antics. Guitarists David Hehn and Germain Njila delivered some devastating metallic chunks, and Martin Klimes is quite the serviceable bassist. But with soul-searing material like "Catatonic Entombment", it's easy to see that Coppenrath's lyrics are the glue that holds this unit together:

Decomposed, six feet under
Your dreams are torn asunder
You can no longer run for cover
Just try to stop me, m***********

I predict a solid future for UVM. They've tasted a little bit of underground success, but are probably a bit too inaccessible to gain any meaningful mainstream attention or attract a major-label record deal. Just think of them as a nice cult metal band you can name-drop without fear of losing any indie cred whatsoever. If you haven't already, you should definitely check 'em out when they come to your town.

I've lost count of how many shows I've attended over my many years as an important member of the rock community. (Two thousand? Three thousand?) I always try to guage the audience's reaction to a band on my way out of the building. Was the Boston crowd stunned by Ultra-Violence Mechanism? Shocked? I can honestly say this much - every one of the 2,000 or so people who attended this show was rocked.

Because that's rock and roll is all about, my peeps. It's all about getting rocked.

Photo Gallery | Box Score | Actual Game Recap
Coppenrath: 28 pts (13-for-26 FG), 6 reb

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