Winds Of Plague

Live @ Baltimore Soundstage | 2/20/17

By Jay Oakley

This was my first time seeing Winds Of Plague and they were heavy!

I'll start off first by saying that I am new to the Deathcore genre. I personally grew up on the LA glam scene with ties to the Bay Area thrash movement, hence being there also to cover Death Angel. But, I'll try anything once and Winds Of Plague definitely sparked my interest enough to see them more then once.

Aggressive, in-your-face vocals mixed with shredding dual guitars. Johnny Plague lays the hammer down, working the crowd and owns the stage. Guitarists Davey Oberlin and Michael Montoya have a very tight playing style which complimented the vocals but also left space for Justin Bock's bass playing. Just and drummer Art Cruz show the synchronicity of a true rhythm which is something that I personally look for. Singers and guitar players get the majority of the attention but the back line is what gives a band it's strength.

I have to point out keyboardist Adrienne Cowan. She rocked it and is worth pointing out because as a keyboardist she only had a small amount of stage to work with but her dynamic, roaring vocals turned heads. I give the band credit in realizing what she brings to the table and giving her the spotlight to perform lead vocals on a track towards the end of the set.

Winds Of Plague took a short hiatus a few years ago but they are showing that they are back with full force.