Loudwire and CLRVYNT teamed up over the weekend to throw Austin, Texas’ sickest rock and metal showcase! Over two days, we were blown away by incredible performances from Giraffe Tongue Orchestra, Power Trip, Pig Destroyer and many more!

Townsquare HQ at The Sunset Room was the place to be for rock and metal fans. After Gibson presented guitars to Van Halen legend Sammy Hagar and Texas hard rock band Blacktop Mojo, Mike’s Hard Lemonade provided free drinks to our thirsty guests.

Our March 17 bill was presented with some major help from Party Smasher Inc., a creative organization founded by The Dillinger Escape Plan’s Ben Weinman. We brought Swedish hardcore upstarts God Mother to Austin for their first ever appearance in the U.S. and they absolutely crushed! Vocalist Sebastian Campbell spent his entire performance on the move, wrapping up audience members with his seemingly endless mic cable when not hanging from the rafters or getting piggyback rides from fans.

Brooklyn natives Primitive Weapons kept the energy high as the Austin crowd kept pouring into The Sunset Room, setting up a packed house for Friday headliners Giraffe Tongue Orchestra. Featuring members of Alice in Chains, Mastodon, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Dethklok and The Mars Volta, Giraffe Tongue Orchestra ended up making their U.S. debut at our showcase, as guitarist Brent Hinds broke his leg late last year, postponing what was meant to be GTO’s inaugural U.S. tour. GTO feature one of the most purely talented lineups in rock today and that fact wasn’t lost on the fans, who ate up what Giraffe Tongue pumped out.

Day Two of our showcase brought a larger and heavier lineup, starting off with the monstrous Ringworm. Even though Ringworm performed early, Austin metalheads came out to be pummeled by the Cleveland metal veterans. Attendees were soon dragged into a black hole of doom thanks to St. Louis’ Fister. The hypnotic trudging of Kenny Snarzyk’s bass and Marcus Newstead’s guitar sunk our guests into the floor as heads bobbed with mesmerizing approval.

Thou were next on the bill, keeping the tension high while their speed remained low. Bryan Funck’s perplexed gaze shined over the crowd as he delivered his droning screams and antagonized the audience. As massive Nirvana fanatics, Thou threw in a half-speed cover of “Blew” with grooves heavier than a ten ton brick.

Our showcase shot into hyperdrive as Pig Destroyer grinded our packed house into mince. J.R. Hayes’ vocal delivery and stage presence was reliably disturbing while the band’s recent addition of bassist John Jarvis rounded out the band’s sound with some heavy low end. PxDx gave fans two surprises on Saturday night: One in the form of a new, dynamic song that had never been performed before and another with the first jam of “Gravedancer” in 15 years.

Our trip to Austin concluded with Texas’ own pit fiends Power Trip. Immediately as the thrashers dove into “Soul Sacrifice,” a wild circle pit formed spinning with lunatics. The energy didn’t deplete one bit as fans flung themselves off the stage and came out covered in sweat, desperate for a sip of water. Yet right after a splash of H2O, the fans ran right back into the line of fire to get their pit fix.

Thanks so much to everyone who came out to the gigs! Check out our exclusive photos from Loudwire and CLRVYNT’s two-day showcase in Austin, Texas above. And get ready to be rocked again in 2018, as Loudwire and CLRVYNT will be back with new showcases.

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