METAL MAYHEM

Don't cry home to mom. She'll be scared too.\nThat's because the metal scene in Bloomington is emerging fast, and if Bloomington's metal bands have their way, the sounds of electric guitars will soon be heard all over town. With the Buskirk-Chumley Theater hosting the Brawl of the B-Town Metal Bands, a metal-style battle of the bands, the community will find out what others already know tonight.\n"Metal has always been my genre of choice," says Mark Reeves of Reeves Entertainment Enterprises, which is putting on the show. "I've noticed not many venues doing it, though."\nFed up and motivated, Reeves combined forces with Vance Music Center, Megagrooves Media Production and Learning Center, Rising Star Entertainment, Inc. and Shadow & Light Studio to put on the first ever metal-head festival. The concert will start at 5 p.m. and feature five of the area's premiere metal bands: Eve's Revenge, the Exploding Curve, Of the Sun, Runik and Black Earth. Starting with 10 candidates and demos, Reeves and his panel of judges narrowed the list down to the five featured bands, which he claims are the area's elite.\n"The five that I've chosen are high-quality bands," Reeves says. "They were above all of the other candidates."\nAlong with the bands, Master of Ceremonies Jason West will be escorting the audience through the events. West, Reeves' friend, is a comic based out of Chicago and has performed at Bear's Place in Bloomington on several occasions. Bloomingfoods will also be providing concessions, including beer and wine, to keep the crowd happy.\nThe competition will be judged by WFHB host Jerry Prairie, who hosts "The Void," an all metal radio show, Tracy Rose, a '90s New York metal journalist, and Daren and David Short of Rising Star Entertainment. The judges will evaluate the bands on musicianship, originality, stage presence and crowd reaction. Ben Jacob, Eve's Revenge guitarist, says he's looking forward to a good show.\n"I think there's going to be a big crowd," he says. "One of the factors to judge is going to be crowd reaction, so I think everyone is going to bring their own crowd." \nRegardless of what everyone brings at the start of the night, only three bands will be taking home prizes. First place gets $250 in cash, a $300 gift certificate to Vance, a $150 gift certificate to Megagrooves and a submission to the Boston-based Traktor 7 label. Second place is awarded a $125 gift certificate to Vance and a $70 gift certificate to Megagrooves and third place gets a $75 gift certificate to Vance and a pat on the back. Although the prizes are nice, Jacob says there is a deeper meaning to the competition.\n"First and foremost we're interested in starting a scene," he says. "The more people come to our shows, the more people know about it. You can't like what you don't know about."\nAnd while Jacob admits that Eve's Revenge's music is hard to classify -- a mix of metal, hardcore, indie rock, classical and Indian classical music -- he says he thinks people will like it. He admits the scene isn't big in Bloomington yet, and that hopefully tonight will help. He recalls a time playing in his hometown of Springfield, Ill. when the crowd went crazy.\n"I don't know how to put it," he says. "People were just flying across the floor, jumping all around and yelling."\nSince the Buskirk is set up more for plays than for metal concerts, and might not generate the same hysteria, Jacob says they'll do their best to bring it with them. And for all those who come out, he says, just like every other time, they'll bring it hard.\n"The energy is just in us," he says. "Right when the music starts we're right there in the zone. Give us four clicks at the beginning of a song and we're there."\nTravis Crider of Black Earth says they'll also be bringing the thunder. With roots in Kiss, Black Sabbath and Pantera, as well as influences from Godsmack and Soil, Black Earth will be sure to pierce some eardrums. Crider says although they've played in decent-sized venues in Bloomington before, he hopes to get more people out this time.\n"Typically it seems to be a good response," he says. "But I think it's not really at the point where masses of people go to see bands a lot. I think a lot of people go to drink and dance."\nNevertheless, Crider says the show should be better than others. He says Reeves has put a lot of effort into the show, and the bands are some of the best around.\n"It would be good for people to come and check out some bands," he says. "They need to see what they might be missing. I think the bands are all going to be the cream of the crop."\nAdvance tickets can be ordered from the Sunrise Box Office located at 114 East Kirkwood. Tickets are $10.