My weekend adventures took me to Bucks County to see We… Our War, Empress & Vedic rock the house at Broken Goblet Brewing Company in Bensalem.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Broken Goblet, conceived in 2014, the brewery and event space are located at 2500 State Road in Bensalem.
It’s a super cool spot with a great craft brews, a legendary and historic stage that features all kinds of live music and events, and a killer vibe.
I’ve made my way up to the Broken Goblet a number of times over the years including the now legendary show with Preston Elliot and his band Saint. This past weekend’s lineup at the Goblet featured three Philadelphia area-based bands.
We… Our War
We… Our War, formed in 2013 out of the ashes of the band Beyond the Lies, endeavors to change the metal genre while drawing from influences that range from Classical Music to Death Metal and everything in between.
Founder Joe Gorski (Deteriorate/Beyond the Lies), Chuck Stadulis (Anvil Bitch/Dominance/Beyond the Lies), Eric Shields (Facecrime/Beyond The Lies), and Rip Riley (AxIs/Head of the Snake/D-n-E) put on a furious live show, and it was great to see the fellas live again. I think the last time I caught them live was at McStews up there in B-B-B-Bucks Co.
Empress
Philly Progressive Symphonic/Power Metal band Empress hit the stage afterwards and put on one hell of a show! It was my first time seeing the quintet live, and they were also excellent.
Members include Barbara Blackthorne on lead vocals, Mark Stainthorpe (ex-Shadows in the Crypt, ex-Percussor, ex-Lesch-Nyhan) on drums/percussion, Nicholas Bonsanto (Lör) on bass, Vlad Khavin (Infernal Opera, ex-Etheria, ex-Cyrcle IX) on guitar & Joseph Muir (ex-Seeds of Perdition) on guitar.
Empress played their 2022 album FATEWEAVER in its entirety, which was super cool!
VEDIC
The headliner was VEDIC, a band from right here in the Philadelphia area. They bring an adrenaline-fueled, heavy rock experience with elements of thrash, grove, and melodic metal delivered with energy and passion.
Strong hooks and blazing solos coalesce with crushing rhythms built to break your neck. They significantly define the power of this east coast quintet.
VEDIC is Jason Feinen on vocals, Matt DiFabio on guitar, Richard Gulczynski on guitar, Scott Schmitt on bass, and Joey Eck on drums. Their full-length, self-titled album is out now!
All three bands crushed it overall on Saturday night! I needed a good, hard-rocking show too. It’s the best kind of therapy! It’s also hell of a lot cheaper!