Dixon Rock Studio Concert Draws Faithful and New Fans

They came, they saw and conquered on the last Friday of May.

Band members of Beyond The Cemetery were anything but ghostly or angelic when they took over the DRC stage in front of dozens of head-banging teens--and a few parents.

“I'm so glad the kids have Dixon Rock Studio to come to, where they can enjoy each other's company,” remarked an enthused mom who wished to remain anonymous.

The sound was loud inside the garage-like rehearsal space extending to the rear of the glass-fronted DRC showroom, but quiet outside the cinder-block building (Beyond The Cemetery's heavy metal throb was muted to a dull roar a hundred feet down Adams Street).

Wolfgang Frost, on lead guitar and vocals, held forth with lyrics that penetrated the roar, pop and sizzle of Beyond The Cemetery's heavy metal sound.

“My first exposure to music, and especially lyrics, came from my hippie parents,” explained Frost, “I'm still under the influence of Jefferson Airplane, The Beatles, AC/DC, Chuck Berry. Now I'm like a human sampler trying to address all the stuff going on today. I just try to write songs that help people hang through the hard times and make a little history of their own.”

Drue Bertie had Wolfgang's back on rhythm guitar and vocals that approached the frenzy zone but never crossed over into madness. At one point he threatened to blow his kazoo into the mic “for some interesting feedback,” but never followed through.

Matt Yarborough came through loud and clear on drums, keeping his bandmates on track with, it sounded like, heavy-duty hammers instead of drumsticks.

Though their name derives from a Cannibal Corpse song Wolfgang likes, Beyond The Cemetery is anything but dreary--these kids' enthusiam is lively and insouciant.

The concert also featured the bands Within Waves, Better Luck Next Time and Redeem The Plague. Space does not permit coverage of their diverse sounds; reviews to appear in future columns.

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