Those who were in the know knew to be on the Plinth at 7PM on September 8th, arriving promptly with their favorite metal t-shirt, black boots, and enough energy to mosh for at least two hours (face makeup and fashionable chains optional, but encouraged). Metal Night had a bit of something for everyone, playing genres from progressive metal to death metal to thrash metal to heavy metal and many more on a setlist composed of some of the most famous names in the scene such as Black Sabbath, Metallica, and System of a Down.
Strings Attached, a club for musicians at the University of Texas at Dallas, played in mismatching sets, rotating through many members of the club to showcase their various talents instrumentally and vocally. This showed a great amount of coordination on their part as well as a great level of technical proficiency from their audio tech, who was making sure the transitions were as smooth and quick as possible between sets; however, this is also my only complaint about the event. Some transitions took quite a bit longer than others, interrupting the flow of the event. In the end, they were only about 15 minutes over their budgeted time, so it was still an impressive feat to keep as tight of a schedule as they did.
The overall set up looked more akin to a garage practice session than any professional set up you may have seen before, but do not let that fool you. There was an ample amount of speakers, amps, and a myriad of instruments. The setup was more than enough to reach the entirety of the center of campus, and with how the musicians were shredding and thrashing, the energy was sure to reverberate throughout the reaches of UTD. As for us here at Radio UTD, Henry Jones, Rina Harrison, and Dom Gaffney were able to mic up the drums, guitars, basses, vocals, and keyboards with a minimal set up and four microphones. This was our first time recording a long-form audio session (about two hours of audio) but we hope to share an authentic live metal experience for those who could not attend. On top of recording audio, we also managed to take over 200 pictures of the event and share the best with you here in this article.
Organizing an event like this is no easy task. It takes many days and nights of practicing, hours of coordinating, dress rehearsals, hundreds of feet of cable work and organization, and performing in front of a large group of people, potentially for the first time. On top of all that rehearsing, planning, and practicing, Strings Attached was equipped with merch specific for Metal Night.
Personally, I can’t wait for the next event hosted by Strings Attached, because this Metal Night was one of the best events I’ve been to at UTD so far. As the club grows larger, I know that they will be able to expand and become more adventurous and become recognizable throughout the campus. Strings Attached is also hosting many other events this semester, including several open mic nights, and Emo Nite (currently set for November 15th on the Plinth at 7PM). They are always looking for new applicants and followers for their Instagram and TikTok. Even if you aren’t instrumentally inclined, their events are sure to be a blast, and they are always looking for help with a wide variety of ways to get involved.