Trencher, Aseptic, Cobweb
- Bleeding Priest
- Jul 15
- 3 min read
July 11, 2025
Eli’s Mile High Club
Oakland, CA
After a hot and sweaty Nefarious rehearsal I was able to convince the guys (and Dave) to make the voyage over the bridge and catch Trencher and an assortment of other bands at the tried and true Eli’s Mile High Club in Oakland.
It was a five band bill but we missed the first couple of bands, Winter Wind and Hellenistic.
We walked in during Cobweb’s set. As far as I can tell this band is very new being that everyone I talked to said it was their first time seeing them. But they had the largest crowd of the night. I believe they’re from Oakland. They caught my ear immediately with their classic, Mercyful Fate/70’s Metal approach to songwriting. They had great, super catchy riffs which pulled me in fully.
The only drawback for me were the vocals. They weren’t bad by any stretch of the imagination. I commend the vocalist for aiming high. It’s just that they weren’t on par with the music and seemed a bit out of his ability range. However, if this band is as new as I believe them to be then he’s got a bright future ahead of him if he sticks to it. Again, he had great ideas and the talent is there, he just needs to work at it more to get to what I think he’s trying to achieve.
At first I thought the name Cobweb was a tad silly but after seeing them I think they’re aptly titled. Bonus points for the guitarist’s Ziggy Stardust boots. Keep an eye out for these guys for I see them getting wildly popular here in The Bay in no time.
Next up was San Jose’s Aseptic. Apparently this two piece has been inactive for years and recently started things back up. Normally I’m not a fan of two piece bands. It just sounds incomplete to my ears. No matter the combination. Guitar/drums, bass/drums, whatever it may be I usually pass on bands like this. But friends at the show said I needed to check them out so I did.
Aseptic are a guitarist/vox and drummer combo and they absolutely SLAYED! They played Death Metal in the vein of Death’s Scream Bloody Gore and early Napalm Death. Equal parts barbaric DM, Grind and even some hardcore punk thrown in.
Their approach and setup was simple, low-fi and honest. Heck, the drummer had one of the most basic kits I’ve seen at a Metal show in a very long time but honestly it’s all he really needed. I love watching someone rock a small kit, especially with Death Metal, like Chad from Necrot. The drummer actually reminded me of Col Jones, original drummer of Exhumed in style and look.
The guys had riffs for days and the crowd ate ‘em up. Just think how much more amazing it would sound with bass guitar. One can dream.
Now to the headliners Trencher! My first time seeing them with their new drummer. Their set got off to a rocky start with said new drummer having issues with his monitor. Too much time was spent on this. I mean it’s Eli’s, what did they expect?
After that was sorted out it was business as usual and they raged. Their new drummer definitely added a level of tightness to their sound which was lacking somewhat before. I look forward to the new music they make with this dude. I’m predicting an elevated, perhaps more elaborate layer to their music. Nothing wrong with that.
As is always the case at Eli’s the show ran way late and as a result lots of folks had to leave before Trencher hit the stage in order to catch BART. Remind me never to headline a show there. All in all it was a pretty killer Friday night at Eli’s with the three bands I saw bringing their A game. Fun night indeed.
–Bleeding Priest
