D.R.I. 40th Anniversary Tour thrashes into Atlanta
Written by Scott Belzer | June 23rd, 2023
It’s rare that a band—any band—celebrates its 40th anniversary, let alone with a full-blown tour. After all, that’s four decades (!) worth of revolving band members, writing, recording, touring, promoting, and just trying to pay the electric bill. That’s older than I am. That’s older than most of y’all.
When you consider those 40 years also include moshing around the world (literally), helping to create an entirely new heavy music genre (crossover), and colon cancer (!), it’s nothing short of a miracle. D.R.I. is that miracle, folks, and they’re coming to Boggs Social & Supply on June 27.
D.R.I. (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles to the uninitiated) are equal parts thrash metal, hardcore punk, Texas humidity, and raw aggression. They produce a quick-and-dirty sound whose ingredients can be found in a variety of bands, ranging from DRAIN to Hirax to Cro-Mags to Municipal Waste. Want to bang your head? D.R.I. has you covered. Mosh around with your buds with a beverage in hand? Yep, they can help you with that, too. Circle pit so fast that a tornado made of beer, cigarette butts, skateboards, bandanas, and discarded denim vests forms at a venue? Um, no promises, but there’s only one way to find out!
D.R.I. may be getting older, but the sheer enjoyment they inspire in punks and metalheads throughout the world will live forever. It’s a downright privilege to see original vocalist Kurt Brecht alongside original guitarist Spike Cassidy both doing what they love. It will also be interesting to see how many battle vest-clad fans can fit into the corner of West Atlanta we affectionately call Boggs. If there’s any show that can help kick(flip) off the summer, it’s this one (insert “How do you do, fellow kids?” meme here).
Joining the fun will be fellow Texans, Metalriser. This quartet provides that sweet, sweet ‘80s thrash sound that inspired many a metalhead to raise their fist in defiance, as evidenced by their 2017 full-length Demise. Faster than an adrenaline-fueled freight train (“D.Y.I.”), angrier than an agitated alligator (“Hypocrite”), and armed with musicians that clearly worship the work of Slayer, early Metallica, Anthrax, and countless others, these lads are sure to make you push the nearest stranger or bang your head straight through a wall. The riffs Raymond Valdez and Joel Estrada throw your way gallop on steeds of steel and plummet to the depths of the underworld before resurging to melt your face off. How bassist Arturo Leyva and drummer Kevin Ortiz lay such a solid, well-crafted foundation is astounding. If it’s tried-and-true traditional thrash metal you crave, executed by folks who know their stuff, seek Metalriser, my friends.
Atlanta’s own Stripper Cult will also help set the mood, bringing their own blend of chaotic punk to the stage. This group of “HATE CITY CHAOTIC FUCKERS” has been storming stages across Atlanta with old-school hardcore punk, complete with prominent bass lines, aggressive rhythms, and playfully agitated vocals. Stripper Cult proves that there is, and always has been, room for that riotous sound driven by angst and an overall desire for RELEASE. Grab your neighbors and kick around the pit, y’all.
Keeping the punk train a-rollin’ will be skate punks Loony. Like Stripper Cult, Loony has been dishing raw, aggressive, old-school hardcore punk to the southeastern masses for the past few years. RadAtl.com worded Loony’s vibe much better than I can: “The music is inspired by So. Cal hardcore/nardcore Thrasher Magazine skate rock aesthetics of the ‘80s. It’s music for fans of TSOL, RKL, Agent Orange, Aggression… pulling off slappies and smith grinds, and getting awesome.” While the halfpipes and grind rails may not be at Boggs on June 27, the pit will be – enjoy.
–Scott Belzer
Grab your ticket HERE while you still can.