Municipal Waste
THE ABBEY | ORLANDO, FL | 03.13.2024
Photo by Sam James @samjames.jpeg
Wasted in Orlando
The Disneyfication that transforms bands once they achieve a certain status has alluded Municipal Waste. They remain true to the original intention, more metal lately which I LOVE, established on Waste ‘em All 21 years ago. The only thing that has really changed is song length. That just means more riffs. More solos! More Dave Witte grooving endlessly. Flawlessly. Never missing a beat. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned from Tony’s lyrics over the years, it’s that more is always better and never has negative side effects.
Photo by Sam James @samjames.jpeg
Photos by Luke James @lukejeffjames
The Abbey in Orlando felt more like a house show than a venue. It was packed. The floor was slick with cheap beer and no barricade stood between the crowd and the low stage. Maniacs of all genres became completely deranged. Running in circles. Slipping. Stage diving without concern of being caught or hitting the floor. Thrashers in flip bill hats, Black Metal freaks in dog collars, Death Metal dudes in cargo pants, a girl in a KoRn shirt and a few plain clothed civilians that looked like they just got off work sweating together side-by-side. Fists in the air. Throwing toilet paper, cardboard boxes and caution to the wind for an hour and an encore.
Photos by Sam James @samjames.jpeg
Municipal Waste is democratic. They achieved the coveted status of being one of those bands where if you like metal you like, or used to like, The Waste. If you used to like them, what happened? Turning our backs on bands that open doors for us early in our metal indoctrination is counter-productive to the evolution of the genre. Just because something is popular doesn’t mean it’s not as genuine as whatever obscure project you recently discovered after digging on metal-archives. Rediscover what got you where you are today.
Written by Luke James @lukejeffjames
Photography by Sam (Willey) James @samjames.jpeg