Hood5six: Prayer for Cleansing 12/19/2022 The Ramkat Winston-Salem, North Carolina

The third act of the night and co-headliner was a reunion everyone's been hoping and waiting for since 2004, when they last got together for a couple one off shows (one being a hometown NC show & the other was Hellfest in NJ). They were a band that featuring some of NCHC's most talented and admired musicians, with one member having previously played in Azazel (who played a phenomenal set earlier that evening), and a few of the others went on to form the highly successful band Between The Buried and Me. Having formed in 1996 before calling it a day around 2000-2001, North Carolina's Prayer for Cleansing played numerous shows, managed to release two solid records in the form of an EP as well as one full length record, and behind that gained a major following that kept growing long after their breakup. Despite vocalist Dave Anthem's voice being a bit shot from performing the night before, they were amazing to see live. Another great 90s Metalcore band from North Carolina that appreciated the big riffs Metal had to offer, as much as the pissed off Hardcore that inspired their Vegan-Straight Edge ideology, and massive mosh parts. You can hear how Prayer for Cleansing's approach to late 90s Metalcore would later provide a template for Between The Buried and Me, but with a lot more going on in terms of experimentation, and Progressive Rock influence that sets them apart from their previous work in Prayer. These North Carolina Hardcore bands are definitely a major part of the conversation around how the marriage of Melodic Death Metal and Hardcore came to fruition. I personally think most of that sucks, but with most anything the originators of a style do it best before it's beaten into the ground by the music industry, and for me that's especially true of HC/Metalcore of the late 90s. In short you ought to be sweating the oldies, directing most of your attention to the classics, and in terms of NCHC, Prayer for Cleansing is where it's at. Though the reason for their reunion was a somber one, let's be glad it happened for a good cause, and it was an event John Rivera would've likely been very happy with. May he rest in peace. Keep supporting NCHC in his memory, put your support behind Between The Buried and Me, and if you're lucky Prayer for Cleansing might just have future plans for more reunion gigs. In the mean time let them know that's how you feel about that by continuing to show your support for the band. Current and former members of Grohg, Mouth of Maggots, Lobbyist, The Voids, William, Between the Buried and Me, Destroy the Machines, Dreadseed, Hopesfall, Dreadseed, Tried and True, Saeculum Obscurum, Azazel, Lamb of God, Undying, and maybe a couple others? Bandcamp: https://tribunalrecords.bandcamp.com/...   / 100066813157972   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer_... https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/... https://www.discogs.com/artist/675573... https://www.last.fm/music/Prayer+For+... https://www.interpunk.com/band.cfm?Ba... http://www.metalmusicarchives.com/art... https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/pray...