Of Butter, and of silly band names (e.g., "We Butter The Bread With Butter")

Right now, there are so many bands around with names that consist of Verb-The-Noun (insert random Verb and random Noun around "the" and you'll understand--there must be an app for that already surely because there seems to be a blatant lack of creativity in band name creation), that to discover a band with a name like... oh really, I have to say it out loud????  Surely, to find a band with a name like "We Butter The Bread With Butter", or WBTBLB for short, (though it's no shorter to say and it's darn infuriating to try)... you'd think that band would stand out, simply by it's name, and I'd be drawn to them just because of that.

No?

It had the opposite affect.

I wanted to ignore them, because that name is so darn ridiculous.

Seriously guys, what were you thinking? The band is labelled as deathcore... and the name is smooth and bland and English teas and summer and cream and just well... buttery? Really? Shouldn't it be something heavy and Germanic, something that sounds aggressive even if the words mean something gentle? "Brot mit Butter", for example? Or "Ich Liebe Dich"?  Or something you can yell and make a song of, the name of an airfield, like "Rammstein"??? Oh. I forgot. That's been done already.

But here they were in Sacramento again, and I went to see, and hear. Online reviews of their new album, Goldkinder, are very mixed: some rave about how wonderful the blend of electronica, metal and Paul Bartzche's in-your-boots-growling vocals are; others just don't get it, not one bit.

I found them quite intriguing, both musically and visually. Appearing on stage in clouds of fog, they played almost in the dark for the first couple of songs. Then one by one, the band members donned strange devices or headsets that added to the light show, and a video played as a backdrop with images from WBTBWB videos. This didn't make for the best photos of a live band ever, but intriguing all the same.

Musically: a mix of electronica, hardcore metal, and something that sounded on the edge of pop. And very very deep screamo-growling vocals.

And a couple of hairstyles that somehow meld metal with Justin Beiber. Go figure.

All in all, a very entertaining show. But guys... fix the name. Please. It distracts from the music. And you make real music and you put on a good show; something a wider audience should hear, and see.

More photos from We Butter The Bread With Butter's show at the Assembly, Sacramento, can be seen in the gallery: http://alisontoon.com/wbtbwb

The WBTBWB tour continues: see all the dates here: We Butter The Bread With Butter 2014 North American Tour

For review and photos of the three support acts, The Iliad and the Odyssey, Honour Crest, and Lions Lions, click here or scroll up!