Ghoul, Dry Socket, Surprise Privilege, Vile Rites
DNA Lounge
San Francisco, CA
October 24, 2026
Holy shit! Where do I start with this gig. How about…the BEGINNING!! Well, for starters this was the first time I played the role of DJ in quite some time. Mainly because the DNA haven’t had too many Metal shows this year. That’s changing as we speak.
Anyways, it was great to be back behind the decks and spinning Halloween Metal classics such as King Diamond's “Halloween” and Helloween’s …er…”Halloween”. There’s actually no shortage of spooky season Metal tunes. Based on the bands playing on this bill I also added some Crust/Grind, Death/Thrash/Traditional Metal and even a little humor. Here’s my list:
1. Ozzy - “Mr. Crowley”
2. Mercyful Fate - “At The Sound Of The Demon Bell”
3. Pungent Stench - “Why Can The Bodies Fly”
4. Savatage - “By The Grace Of The Witch”
5. Sepultura - “From The Past Comes The Storms”
6. Exciter - “Black Witch
7. Slayer - “Black Magic”
8. Rigor Mortis - “Vampire”
9. S.O.B. - “Over The Line”
10. King Diamond - “Halloween”
11. Speedwhore - “Secret Science”
12. Possessed - “The Exorcist”
13. S.O.D. - “Freddy Krueger”
14. Death - “Evil Dead”
15. Spinal Tap - “Stonehenge”
16. Alice Cooper - “He’s Back (The Man Behind Your Ass)”
17. Suffocation - “Synthetically Revived”
18. Deicide - “Dead By Dawn”
19. Six Feet Under - “Piranha” (Exodus cover)
20. Venom - “Buried Alive/Raise The Dead”
21. Judas Priest - “Love Bites”
22. W.A.S.P. - “Tormentor”
23. Cathedral - “Hopkins (The Witchfinder General)”
24. Fastway - “Trick Or Treat”
25. Mortician - “Hacked Up For Barbecue”
26. VoiVod - “Killing Technology”
27. Helloween - “Halloween”
Now for the show. Up first were Vile Rites. These guys hail from Santa Rosa I do believe. This was my first time seeing them and I was thoroughly impressed. At times the sound was a tad muddy and made it hard to make out what exactly was going on, especially when the double bass kicked in but even with the sound shortcomings they totally kicked ass.
Their style of Death Metal reminded me of the stuff coming out of Denver with bands such as Blood Incantation and ESPECIALLY Spectral Voice. Pummeling Death Metal with cavernous vocals. The thing that caught my ear the most was the wild chords guitarist Alex Miletich was playing. Total broken, dissonant mayhem. It was as if VoiVod and Morbid Angel joined forces in the Bizarro world.
The bassist had a pretty epic tone as well. These guys set the bar really high for the rest of the evening. Unfortunately it was about to be lowered real quick….
Next up was Surprise Privilege. Look, I don’t listen to much Punk Rock. It just ain’t my bag. So needless to say, musically these guys didn’t resonate with me at all. But I’ll try to give a fair review here.
I knew something was amiss when it was showtime, the lights went down, I bring the music down and the guitarist is still tuning his guitar on stage out loud for like a minute. That was the first red flag. The second was the person in the gorilla costume standing center stage. Not a band member mind you. This gorilla was like their low budget Eddie I guess.
They played a very loose and authentic brand of Punk Rock. When they were all on the same page they actually sounded pretty good. The bassist was a total spazz who didn’t play his instrument much. That’s actually when they sounded best. It was super entertaining watching him though.
In fact, Surprise Privilege were super entertaining and had me smiling by the end. And the crowd seemed to eat them up. So I guess mission successful for this band that normally plays the dirt floor basement of Thrillhouse Records.
Next we had Dry Socket from the Pacific Northwest. Now these guys and gal went straight to business, without warning pretty much as soon as they hit the stage. I still had music playing when they abruptly started for Christ sakes.
There was a major shift in Punk Rock styles between Dry Socket and Surprise Privilege. Dry Socket play with total aggro energy and precision with a female vocalist who can really belt out these very unpleasant, almost uncomfortable shrieks. They really took control of the room and just pummeled the audience with their brand of crusty, hardcore Power Violence. They played a great set.
Lastly we had the zany cretins from Creepsylvania, Ghoul. These freaks have come a long way from my seeing them at the CW Saloon and Balazo art gallery. Everything’s gotten bigger and better including their music.
I actually hadn’t seen them in ages so it was a real blast witnessing how much their show has evolved. Having local blast master Adam Houmam on the skins was a very wise addition. He adds a level of propulsion and power that maybe Ghoul’s live sound lacked before.
I love a good theatrical band but without great tunes all the extra bells and whistles don’t mean shit. Luckily, like Gwar, Ghoul have all the bases covered, great tunes, great characters / costumes and a very healthy sense of humor. It’s gotta be pretty difficult to play ripping thrash/death/punk/surf and be funny all the while.
Ghoul checked all the boxes. Some of their stuff even sounded like, dare I say it, ANTHRAX. Total mosh city!! Everyone around me had a smile on their face and that’s what it’s all about isn’t it. Even the guys involved in the raging fist fight in front of me seemed to be having the time of their lives. Until they got thrown out.
This was one of the most varied shows I had ever seen at the DNA and between the good, the bad and the ugly I kinda enjoyed it all. Helluva night.
–Bleeding Priest
