Kildrifter

Kildrifter Band Review at Crunchy Frog in Green Bay, Wisconsin

By TJ
February 18, 2009
Some would say that love was in the air tonight, but what I found was my love for hardcore punk rock! I do a fair amount of research going into reviewing a band and tonight it landed me at Broadway Ave's Crunchy Frog, or as Monty Python's accurate description, #4, crunchy, raw, unboned, real, dead frog! Clever name for a venue indeed. It was here that I caught up with Kildrifter, an all out hardcore band from De Pere. I do believe a brief and extremely vague description of the genre "Hardcore" is due. Hardcore is the seamless blend of punk rock and heavy metal, it is most likely to be driven by: distorted guitars, fast upbeat drums, and intense vocals that shout or yell in key, it is dynamic, intense, and emotional. It has not been since my Kutska's Hall and Concert Café youth that I have heard our area's signature sound in hardcore as I did In Kildrifter's music. If you're not aware of our town's history in the punk / hardcore scene, I must warn you that the history is as deep as the ocean is blue. Tonight watching Kildrifter's show I was a bit taken aback, but extremely impressed with the bands level of energy and skill. Brad and Corey's guitars were heavily creative, balanced, and melodic, Bob's bass guitar locked into Nick's bass drum and it created the driving sound that just hits you right in your chest. Brad's vocals were angst-ridden, direct, and unwavering, singing songs of strength, dispute, and resolve. Brad's solos were fast, accurate, and euphonic, especially when the leads teamed up with Corey for some two part guitar harmony action. Kildrifer's guitars are so compacted with riffs and that's where the blur between what is punk rock and what is metal occurs. It is Nick's veracious rhythms that were so amazing and so aggressive giving Kildrifter an edge! Kildrifter's entire show was intense but the patrons respected and kept orderly. It would have been a great tension cutter if someone would have shoved someone else and started a pit. I'm not sure if a pit is even an option these days, but if it were up to me, the perfect Kildrifter show would be like a bull in a china shop! The entire set was intense and I really got a sense that this band was progressing when they gave up some of their newest material. The Crunchy Frog's best attributes have to be the low in your face stage, lots of space, and a huge bar with great prices on PBR. In all, tonight was a great show and a great venue to catch a hardcore punk band! Kildrifter's full length album Seven is available on iTunes for $7.92 and if you are as big a fan of instant gratification as I am, you will buy it right now. You can also see Kildrifter play at Mug Shots in De Pere on March 20th.
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