Ne Obliviscaris Destroys At Fineline
Classic Minnesota, not sure what weather to deliver in the soon-to-be holiday season. A Winter Storm Warning would be going into effect Tuesday night around 9pm. Welllllll that’s gonna be right in the middle of the show. Cool. May be a spicy meatball driving home after, but if anything can boost my mood and confidence in potentially turbulent driving times, it’s a good metal show.
Headed down a little before to snag a beer and a bite before heading to Fineline. Stumbled upon one of the best deals downtown. Tuesdays at Pizza Luce are apparently “Tap Tuesdays.” What does that mean? Fricken every beer (besides Guinness) is only $5. Seeing that venues have been going to the moon with their prices, my Voyager Brewing Hound IPA for only five American dollars tasted oh so satisfying. Rivers of Nihil also took advantage of this wonderful deal at Pizza Luca as they were seated only a handful of tables away from me! Accompanied with The Bear pizza, had a solid base for a fun night ahead.
Not sure if you have had the pleasure of seeing a Tasmanian metal band, but Psycroptic was my first one from what I can recall. Their country may be far away, but their passion and energy was at the forefront of every single one of their songs. They brew some mighty fine musicians in Hobart it seems. Formed back in 1999 by brothers guitarist Joe and drummer Dave Haley, you can feel and hear their connection. Tone was on point, and they filled that stage with a surplus of sound.
Joining the band a touch after it’s start in 2004, lead vocalist Jason Peppiatt is the frontman of metal dreams. Popped that top off right away, he growled and screamed with such vigor and momentum. The fans clung to the front part of the stage to make sure they didn’t miss a moment. The ones not in the front whipped around a few circle pits after some encouragement from Jason. Dripping in vibrating red the majority of the set, there were a few flashes of white light that flooded the room from time to time, revealing a packed and joyful crowd. With heavy helping of tech mixing with classic death metal trajectory, they made a new fan of the entire room including myself.
Next up are the progressive metal boys from Pennsylvania, Rivers of Nihil. The North American Headline Tour was almost guaranteed to be excellent knowing what songs were on deck. Typically, I enjoy not taking a peek at the setlist before going to a show. The element of being surprised by my favorite tracks is part of the fun of going to a show for me. Totally get how it is hard to resist. Easy to poke around online to scope out what is being played at other cities. Though bands do switch it up, is a safe bet to make if you want to know. This tour is different. Two of the three bands are playing FULL albums during their sets. Rivers of Nihil just released a self titled album in May of this year, so would be presenting it whole to fans.
The ability to craft a story through sound is crystal clear when it comes to Rivers of Nihil. Their self-titled album is a beast. In my opinion it is one of the best metal releases of 2025. The band played tight and crisp, damn near replicating the album sound. Songs like “Water and Time” and “American Death” resonated off the walls of the venue and captured the attention of all. Singer/bassist Adam Biggs’ vocals filled the room song by song. I also want to highlight his bass playing as there were some parts that were more reminiscent of guitar parts. Impressive. The bands sound is complemented very well by guitarist/vocalist Andy Thomas. If his beard alone doesn’t impress you, his stirring clean vocals should. Was extra jazzed seeing sultry saxophone maestro Patrick Corona accompanying more typical metal instruments, creating a unique and beautiful adventure for folks in the audience not quite used to that. Spying the already wide-eyed fans get even wider every time he popped back up for a part was the cherry on top and made me smile consistently between headbanging.
Running back onto the floor to capture some wider shots of the crowd, was delighted to see Psycroptic’s vocalist selling merch at their own table while rocking out to Rivers of Nihil. Seeing bands at their retail and merch locations used to be pretty common, but now seems the VIP upcharge and backstage meet and greets are too tempting of a revenue avenue for it to be a mainstay. Was tickled to see the Tasmanians still abide by the old code, and the fans picking up shirts also do. Big smiles in that line.
Big poppa headliner Ne Obliviscaris was going to end this three-peat with a boom. What could be better than hearing one full album from start to finish? Hearing TWO full albums. And that is exactly the decadent buffet we were served.
“Citadel” was first album performed, followed by my personal favorite of theirs’ “Exul.” Since going to metal shows, there are many familiar faces you see at shows. Names you’ll maybe never know and personalities you judge just from afar. This was a show that brought all the OGs out. Saw a fair handful of metal friends from high school, some escaping pre-thanksgiving prep and some that hadn’t been to a show in years. Perhaps it was the irresistible lineup of bands, maybe it was a perfect excuse to avoid family in town. Either way, was fantastic to see some familiar friendly mugs.
Hearing the song “Equus” was such a heavenly moment. The smoke machines and sweet LED lights that Ne Obliviscaris brings with them are sweet. Amps up the theatrical aspect of presenting entire works as their unbroken whole self. Fingers crossed tightly that this will be a continuing trend for bands to do. Great way of inviting new people into their fold by showing how their concept functions as an unbroken entity. Since much of modern music discovery is done through trending audio and single songs being shared, it may be the person’s first time hearing the majority of tracks. Some special highlights of the show were when clean vocalist/violinist Tim Charles took the stage solo at various points for some very haunting violin parts that fans of Ne Obliviscaris are all familiar with. At times only being back-lit by the LED lights, Tim presented very cool, unique moments that left the audience watching in silent awe.
After a delicious dozen tunes, the crowd was left full and satiated. Cracking open the doors to the outside chill wasn’t too bad. Seems the storm was a classic MN false alarm for the Twin Cities at least. The welcomed cool night air was peppered with chubby snowflakes slowly falling and melting into the black pavement as the sea of metal fans made their post-show glow walk to their cars.
What a great night.
