Despite the late announcement, we’ve got the winners of our "Best Of" poll ripe and ready for their Deli Portland chart debut. In who all of you considered to be the best in local offerings of metal and alternative rock, let’s say a big ol’ congratulations to Shrine of the Serpent and Ice Queens.
Tallying the most adoration from both our jurors and our readers, Shrine of the Serpent melds death and black metal with all the gloom of sludgey doom that anyone could ever ask for. Though they’ve only one self-titled EP under their belt, Shrine of the Serpent has reaped much deserved acclaim from labels like Parasitic Records and Memento Mori. It makes sense, given their triad of members boast resumes including Tenspeed Warlock, Graves at Sea and Sod Hauler as past projects. Let’s hope we see a new release from them soon.
Locals’ hearts are filled with love for Ice Queens, who won our Deli readers’ poll by a landslide. It was just over two years ago when an admiration for rambling ’90s rock brought Minden‘s Evan Houston (guitar) and James Taylor (bass) together with the bearded force of Brandon Nikola on drums and vocalist/guitarist Edgar McRae, eventually breeding their sound salute to the style. Their celebration of syncopation of that decade makes for a captivating performance, with their next one being next month at the Turn Turn Turn.