The Twin Cities has a small but mighty metal community—supportive enough to fill the 350-person Turf Club, our favorite music venue in St. Paul, with False fans on a wild Saturday night. The tight-knit sextet was headlining the release show for its new album, Portent, which hit record shops in July through the Oshkosh, Wisconsin label Gilead Media.
From the cross-contaminated power chords of Jimmy Claypool and Skorpian Vanderbook to the soul-baring exorcisms of singer Rachel N., False’s breakneck set held nothing back. Breaking away from church-burning, corpse-paint cliches, her poison-tipped verses are both personal and poetic. (Sadly, these demons are real: Several band members dealt with deaths in their families while making this album.)
“If you were to read the lyrics,” she explained in a recent Outburn interview, “[Portent] diverts from traditional black-metal tropes. It’s a vulnerable and honest piece…. If you want to call that learning how to self-actualize in the most powerful and healthy way that you can, then that’s f***ing black metal to me.”
Other refreshing takes on extreme music within Minneapolis’ underground scene include Void Rot, Lungs, Wanderer, Feral Light, and Sunless, many of which have benefitted from the top-notch recording techniques of Signaturetone Recording founder Adam Tucker.
We’re still new here though; if you want to learn more about the Minnesota metal scene (and beyond), swing by Extreme Noise for all the latest releases and recommendations. The volunteer-run co-op just celebrated its 25th anniversary, and while it’s focused first and foremost on punk rock, the Lyn-Lake record shop also stocks a healthy amount of grind, death, black, and doom metal. Check out its current location below, along with some other streaming records that deserve five 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘.
Extreme Noise
407 W. Lake St., Minneapolis, MN; 612-824-0100.
