Eyehategod, Crowbar, Bl’ast, Worship
- Bleeding Priest
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
DNA Lounge
San Francisco, CA
March 29, 2026
Jeez, I’ve spent so much time at The DNA this week I may as well move in. The final show in a week full of kick ass Metal gigs at said club was Eyehategod / Crowbar / Bl’ast / Worship.
I was a tad green around the gills being that Nefarious played that same stage the night before but I persevered. Plus, the music featured at this particular show was a great soundtrack for feeling like shit. Here we go….
First up was a band from Salinas, CA called Worship. I never knew there was a Salinas Doom Metal scene. I’m guessing these guys rehearse in a barn. Their style of Doom/Sludge was more in the vein of Pallbearer than the ugliness of bands from NOLA. There were also moments of uptempo hardcore type of stuff to mix things up. They were solid and professional and had a good, consistent overall sound.
Next were Santa Cruz surf/skate core legends Bl’ast. I’ve seen these guys many times over the years and they always deliver a thrilling, high energy set of left of center Hardcore. Great musicianship here. They recently had a lead vocalist change with longtime shouter Clifford Dinsmore departing and new guy Dave Cooper (I think) stepping in. Clifford left big shoes to fill but I think the new dude did a fine job.
I know Nick Oliveri (formerly of QOTSA) was providing the low end in recent years but I’m pretty sure that wasn’t him tonight. Regardless, these beach bums from Santa Cruz performed a fantastic, exciting and unusual (in the best possible way) set that the crowd absolutely ate up.
In the support slot we had NOLA favorites Crowbar. I haven’t seen these dudes since The Berkeley square. Do the math. The bulk of the crowd seemed to be there for them. Speaking of the crowd, HOLY SHIT was it packed. Completely sold out! I didn’t even make an attempt to go downstairs the entire night. Why would I when I have the best seat in the house?
Crowbar absolutely slayed! There’s no other way to put it. They ruled the night for sure. They’re probably my favorite of all the Louisiana Sludge bands. They have more of a chunky Metal sound than their contemporaries. They kind of remind me of a very slow Thrash band…if that makes any sense. Whatever it is, they do it right.
Their sound was totally dialed in and it was a pleasure watching their set. It was probably the longest and loudest I’d ever heard an audience demand for one more song at The DNA. Being that they’re not the headliner they really didn’t have that option but I could tell they REALLY wanted to. Crowbar KILLED!!
Lastly we had the reigning kings of Hangover Metal Eyehategod. I’ve seen these dudes more times than I can remember but one time does stand out. The time they played The CW Saloon for Lucifer’s Hammer. Actually the show doesn’t stand out as much as what happened after. At the end of the night, when it was time to pay the band Aesop was walking around with an envelope saying “is anyone from Eyewantmoney around? Eyewantmoney?” The band certainly did not care for that at all and a fight almost broke out. Aesop’s always great for a good laugh.
So, like I said I’ve seen these guys live many times with varying degrees of quality. The last time was when they supported Gwar at The Regency. Lead vocalist Mike Williams was in a foul mood. Berating the audience throughout their set. It was kind of a drag.
This time however was much, much better. They seemed to be enjoying themselves and they put on a pretty killer show. It was still packed when they played but the crowd wasn’t quite as rabid as they were for Crowbar. Needless to say the audience loved every second of Eyehategod’s brand of tortured Sludgecore…as did I.
–Bleeding Priest
