Dingbatz is an institution in North Jersey metal, and may it outlive us all and the forces of suburban luxurycondofication be forever vanquished. It was Friday night and it had been a start-strong-heads-downhill kind of week, so I was ready for the volume when it hit. Four bands on a Friday, it wasn’t gonna be an early night, but I got to see friends and that was no less welcome than the riffs that ensued.

But really, the place is a treasure. And I’ve seen some killer shows here. Here’s how this one went:

The Crooked Skulls

Tonight started with The Crooked Skulls, who organized the show and had family in the crowd. That’s wonderful and I mean it. Not the first time I’ve seen them, and I dug last year’s Midnight Sun (review here), and since when I saw them the first time was last September, and that was before I’d heard the album, the difference was in knowing the songs better. They revel in the Big Riff in a way that makes them a lot of fun to watch, and the Dingbatz lights were on point. The band are growing, geling in some of the slowest parts, and you can hear them putting together that chemistry between the three of them. The proverbial killer leadoff for the evening.

Precious Blood

My first experience with the New York trio, whose dungeon-stoner-meets-garage-black-metal-rock, three vocals and all, was an intriguing proposition. They were also, it should be noted, having a good time. And the shred, my goodness. They’re following the riff, midtempo, maybe on the low end of midtempo, then a snap and it’s blastbeats and a solo tearing it up. The twists suited them and they each took a turn on mic between songs, which seemed to me probably something they’ve considered. Their sound was likewise worked on, and the first impression was strikingly positive. Like I would go home and check out the record they released last Fall. Horror punk, but like grown up weirdo metal too? It was a hell of a blend.

Thunderchief

Well, the 11 months since I saw them last did nothing to dull the pummel of Richmond, Virginia, two-piece Thunderchief, who have a new record out in With Hatchet, Pike, or Morning Star… and have been on the road accordingly since the first of July or some such madness. This past weekend they were at No Gods No Masters in Portland, Maine, and they weren’t done after this show, but they were in the home stretch. They played like a band who’ve been on the road for a month with only the odd Tuesday off, only more furious, with Rik Surly’s tonal torrent piping through a full bass rig in addition to the full stack for his guitar and Erik Larson level to him on the other side of the stage, down off the riser, just beating the everloving shit out of his poor drums. And Surly’s vocals, that I-could-do-this-all-night-and-be-good-to-go-tomorrow natural scream, were once again vicious. They destroyed, no bullshit all go, and cut off at the end, broke down the gear and were gone. Hot damn what a band. I told Surly he was a monster after and I meant it as a compliment.

Clamfight

I missed their 20th anniversary show because I had covid, but I’ve known the Clamkings for the better part of those two decades and holy smokes were they a blast. Not to mention following up after Thunderchief, who leveled me, but they did their thing, with Joel and Louis on stage left and Sean losing his goddamn mind on stage right. They opened with a new one and then dove back for older stuff, shouting a song out to me and my former bandmate John Eager, who lives near the venue and came out to the show and whom it was a pleasure to see, and that kind of gave the end of the night a nostalgic vibe, as heavy and aggressive as “Fuck Bulldozers” is. It had been a few years since I saw my them hit it last and I was happy to again. They’re a band I remember doing shows with in like 2006/2007, and they were always awesome, always so cool to hang out with. It was doing a show with your friends. My band broke up, but the Clam-I-Ams stuck it out and now their families are family. It’s beautiful. You know, I’ve always seen myself as the guy who’s there for the music, put your head down, keep working, but I’ve been lucky to know some pretty incredible people in my time. And don’t get me wrong, I like the Clamgentlmenses’ new stuff too, but those are good memories. And yeah, Sean came down off the stage to rip it up in the front for a few minutes. He went all out. It was rad. I missed these guys.

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It felt like a quick night and the air was warm when I walked out to my car. I got to see some good friends at this one, and then on top of that the music was good and every band hit it in their own way. I love North Jersey heavy shows.

Thanks for reading. More pics after the jump.

The Crooked Skulls

Precious Blood

Thunderchief

Clamfight

Tags: ClamFight, Clifton, New Jersey, Precious Blood, The Crooked Skulls, Thunderchief

This entry was posted on Monday, August 3rd, 2026 at 1:09 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.