Last year I had the privilege of seeing Dischordia open for Black Crown Initiate at FUBAR in St. Louis and I quite enjoyed myself! Was it worth making the trek (2.5 miles according to Google Maps) to see them again in 2015, as part of their The Prisoner tour? PERHAPS, but you’d better keep reading to find out (hint: the answer is yes).

I had shit* going on during the day of July 9, so it was rather convenient that I pulled into the Firebird parking lot at 9PM that evening. “Squee!” I exclaimed, for as I walked in I could see the members of Dischordia putting the final touches on their equipment. I somehow accomplished the impossible: skipped all the anonymous, opening acts to see the band in which I was interested in seeing. To the bar I headed…

Having beer in hand and ear-plugs in ear-holes, I joined the other 19 people at the front stage JUST in time for Dischordia to start their set. The biggest act of the evening here tonight was Tyranny Enthroned, and as good as they are (they are VERY good), all bands had to compete with the local art museum showing Back to the Future on a large, inflatable screen. “Why do I point out how many people were at the show?” you’re asking yourself. Well it’s quite simple: whether Dischordia is performing for 20 or a packed venue (as they were in 2014) they give it all they’ve got.

From left to right:  Keeno (guitar, vox), Josh #1 (drums), and Josh #2 (bass, vox)

The band launched into their setlist with two songs coinciding from their 2013 full-length dick-crusher Project 19: “The Enemy” and “Torches”. Each song was tackled with the skill of a well-oiled machine and the sound quality was actually better than what you can hear on the physical copy of Project 19 (which the band admits lacks in sound production). It’s funny, I can hear a recorded album a dozen times but not really grasp the great amount of work that goes into the creation of those sounds until I see them live. With Dischoria, I got to see first-hand all the nuances that I never quite knew were present in the initial recording, like intricate drum fills hidden among already challenging patterns. One might assume that studio time allows the band unlimited chances to include various layers of different guitar tones; yet live I got to witness the guitar players adjusting different foot pedals and amps to fit the current tune, not just once or twice but multiple times throughout each song! Next were “Dark Passenger” and “Zone of Perpetual Darkness”, the latter which received a rather touching introduction from Josh #2:

Through a strange chain of events, I found myself on social media interacting with several fans across the globe. One particular individual, Bozlinger from Australia, has passed away in the last week. This next song I dedicate to his memory.

Heck I might have been the only person in the crowd to get the reference (as confirmed by a few crowd members who mocked the tribute), but it hit home for me. It was really cool to hear Dischordia mention a fallen brother of the TovH community. To lighten the mood, the next track was dedicated to “fire ants”, yes fire ants; something that might catch you off guard but it perfectly aligns with Josh #2’s typical on-stage banter that often reminds me of something Devin Townsend would say. Between songs I shouted as loud as I could “Tom Waits!!!”, but the band casually ignored my request. Although, next up was a cover by Thrice from their 2015 Sources EP.

 

Right here and now I’ll admit that simply the name Thrice gives me bad vibes, as my college roommates used to listen to them amongst other punk/emo bands, and so I initially had a bad taste in my mouth. But having given the chance to listen to the song in a live setting, I would never have guessed it to be a punk/emo song (is it? honestly, I have no clue) because I enjoyed it quite thoroughly! Dischordia thrashed through it with an intensity that may have tricked a newcomer to thinking it was an original tune.

Following this, the band played “The Grand Design” off Project 19, and immediately afterwards a sound-stage guy came up to whisper a secret into Josh #2’s ear. After which he relayed to the crowd the news: “there just isn’t enough time to cover our Dillinger Escape Plan song”, the boo’s and general disappointments were heard all over. Fortunately, the next track, “Madhouse”, really got the audience moving! Upon announcement of the final song, everyone engaged in head-banging and shouting (with devil-horns intact). They performed “Madhouse” with the energy of a band playing it as an encore, yet little did we know…

In an uplifting turn of events, Josh #2 announced that they were given enough time to play their cover of “Sugar Coated Sour”; and the crowed went BATSHIT INSANE. Everyone in participation knew all the twists and turns of the track and the energy was palpable. Everyone enjoyed the band’s full set thus far; but upon hearing this nugget of news, the crowd essentially found an infinity stone of energy and enjoyed EVERY note of the performance. It is truly mind-blowing to catch a venue of 20 people at their peak energy level! I hope it goes without saying that the band nailed every note, every time change, in “Sugar Coated Sour”. It was absolute mayhem.

After the show I met the members of the band at the bar where two things happened: 1) I tried to buy everyone beers but the local PBR rep stepped in and bought them for me and 2) Josh #2 and I ran into a rather racist metal couple who tried to explain to us the difference between black people and, y’know what, it’s just so dumb that I just can’t finish this.

So we found some random excuse and absconded to the parking lot where we talked about Life, The Universe, and Everything over a few IPA’s. Many passers-by stopped to compliment him on the band’s performance and talk about how “there aren’t many bands these days playing different forms of challenging death metal”. To one of these bystanders Josh #2 remarked “If you ever want to discover new, quality metal bands you should check out the Toilet ov Hell”. Upon hearing this I said “you KNOW about the Toilet ov Hell? I go there too…” I told him my identity “McNulty” and he told me his identity “Stockhausen” and things became weird. Very weird. Coincidentally at that time he received an incoming call (phone must have been on vibrate because I heard no ringtone) from his bandmates demanding that he go inside, and I had to leave to join my friends at Back to the Future, and here is where we shared our display of awkwardness.

TL;DR:  Dischordia fucking slays live. Take any chance that you get to SEE THEM AND BUY MERCH.

* Drinking

(you can find Dischordia on Bandcamp via)  (image via)  (all others via my crappy cellphone camera)