A far-out trip through a hard rock tunnel

Seattle merchants of heavy, Akimbo, are coming to little ole Portland and are sure to bring the best that the metal, hardcore and noise-rock genres have to offer. Imagine all the parts that make classic bands like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin rule and combine them with a really pissed off screaming dude and the angular weirdness of The Jesus Lizard. These guys will make you headbang harder than a drunk frat boy at a Metallica concert, but without the dumbass factor. Fresh off the release of their fourth album, Forging Steel and Laying Stone on Alternative Tentacles, Akimbo are looking to make their mark in the independent music scene with their brand of ass-kicking rock music. Akimbo drummer Nat Damm is one of the best drummers around today, and the rest of the band aren’t slouches either. A typical Akimbo song consists of bassist Jon Weisnewski laying down a thick and sludgy bassline while two guitarists (Burke Eglington and another nonpermanent person) add a layer of intricate and heavy riffing over the top. Akimbo also have the best song titles that perfectly bring to mind the nature of their sound. “Bitten from the Thigh of Zeus” and “I’m a fucking Ice Giant” are great examples; the song titles lack pretension and just plain rock. The same could easily be said for Akimbo themselves.

The headlining band is Some Girls. This is an interesting decision considering that the band is comprised entirely of men. Irony is in now though, and “some boys” isn’t exactly ironic. Some Girls are also touring off the release of their new album Heaven’s Pregnant Teens on punk label Epitaph. Some Girls are a hardcore punk band with songs that are over in less than a minute and half usually. Their music consists of really fast, thrashing guitars and lead singer Wes Eisold’s distinctive yell. Some Girls aren’t really doing anything new, but considering that they are a veritable hardcore “all-star” group with members that have served time in such diverse bands as American Nightmare, The Locust and Unbroken, their songs tend to be pretty damn good. They also try to mix it up with some time changes and other weirdness, but in the end stick to pretty much the roots of hardcore.

The other opening band is local noise/grind experimentalist Blowupnihilist. I’m a big fan of the whole concept of one-man bands, mainly because the one person really has to stretch the confines of traditional instrumentation to make it work. Blowupnihilst appears to do that well, combining blistering electronic noise with guitars and crazy drum machines. Probably not for the faint of heart, as the noise Blowupnihilist makes is pretty extreme, but should be interesting nonetheless. If this show interests you, it would probably be a good idea to show up a bit early, as the Food Hole is extremely small.

Akimbo will play Wed. at 9:30 p.m. Food Hole is located at 20 N.W. Third Ave. Tickets are $7 and the venue is open to all ages.