1/26/07, 5:54 pm EST

Assignment Three Finalist: Clint Goulden on Murder By Death/Metal Hearts (Cambridge, MA)

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Note: This is not an official Rolling Stone article. What follows is a submission to the “I’m From Rolling Stone” writing competition.

MURDER BY DEATH/METAL HEARTS - 1/3/07

by Clint Goulden
Age: 25

Of all the world-of-mouth venues that share a floor plan with an Asian restaurant, the Middle East has to be, like, no lower than fourth best. But most of the time the acts that come through here are first rate, and Metal Hearts job of supporting the infrequently headlining Murder By Death was far from an exception.

The audience murmurs and bar shuffling was silenced by Metal Hearts, and if one didn’t know better, there were no more bands to play this night. Instead, the audience’s feet came to a complete arrest when the clearly-created-for-concert “Boy Decide” opened an offbeat set, followed by track-list-following “One More Notch,” before deviating for some “Killbot 2000” and serious ‘Breakdancing’.

A blistery “Dynamite Mine” and a Johnny Cash-in, which never pretended to be something it wasn’t, “Sometimes The Line Walks You,” were at the thick and height of a sweaty performance for a mild winter evening in the northeast.

But unlike most bands earning their stripes, this carriage is drawn by two ponies—rather than relying solely on Adam Turla’s rusty pipes, (“Shiloh”) it is Sarah Balliet that might be the star of this show, feverishly soloing away on the cello like her bff’s life depends on it. The performances are so complete they imitate the album’s soliloquies in top-notch form (“Steam Rising.”)

If the steam rises as expected, Murder By Death will be household names by next year—should they chose to steer the carriage in the direction they have so far avoided. The evening in the cellar closes wisely with the floor rattling and lyricless but pounding “Those Who Stayed.” From the looks of the Middle East’s drippy basement, it was quite a few, too. When congratulating Turla on a transcendent set after hours, he looked around and said, “Who? Me?”