Images: The Shell Corporation, Illicitor, Brutal Resistance May 7, 2014 at The Artistic Armory

One of my favorite bands I’ve discovered while helping out with the site was The Shell Corporation during their Stripped Down Session back in 2012. I was impressed enough by their acoustic performance that I found them on Spotify and listened the whole way home from the shoot. I missed their Vegas show that evening and have been eagerly awaiting their return, which finally happened on Wednesday, May 7th at The Artistic Armory.

To kick off their set, they chose wisely with “Appetite for Destruction,” the opening track from their Paper + Plastick debut record Mandrake. Unsurprisingly, the new album comprised most of their set with “Trust Us,” “We Hear Them Wail” and “The Death of Us.” They did find time for some older tracks like “Ozymandias,” “Not Me” and “Quantitative Sleazing,” but sadly didn’t play anything from their split EP with The Mighty Fine.  Although there was a good sized crowd moshing to most their set, I felt like they deserved a much bigger turnout. I’m glad I finally got to see them as a full band though and left the Artistic Armory just as impressed as I was in 2012 at the Natural History Museum.

Being a work night, I missed both Brock Frabbiele’s acoustic opening set and The CG’s closing set. I did however make it just in time to catch Brutal Resistance, who had a pretty respectable crowd moshing for a weekday night. I was super excited to finally see Illicitor since I’ve missed their other shows thus far. I loved what I heard, with tons of energy and songs frequently changing tempo from fast to blisteringly fast. I know that drummer Micah Malcolm is a recent addition to the band, but it’s hard to imagine the songs being as powerful without him beating on the drums so ridiculously hard. I can’t wait to see more from them and hopefully hear some studio recordings soon.

Editor’s note: Aaron is in luck! Illicitor just released their first studio recording yesterday. Check it out here.

-Aaron Mattern | https://www.flickr.com/photos/akmofoto/