In pre-Internet times, teenagers used to make time capsules in school. (Nowadays, I guess kids just gather ‘round the Wayback Machine?) For the uninitiated, you’d fill a box with items from that moment in time, then bury it with the expectation that somebody would dig it up decades later. At the same time, your class would dig up a time capsule that an older generation had buried, and you’d laugh – oh, how you’d laugh! – at how charmingly old-fashioned their life appeared.
When I was in junior high (‘92-’95), we dug up a time capsule that contained a bunch of anti-war pins, tie-dyed tapestries, and records by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, and post-acid Beatles – if memory serves, the whole thing smelled like Otto’s jacket and patchouli – and as my sixth-grade class put together our time capsule in 1992, I lobbied to include copies of Nirvana’s Nevermind and Metallica’s Metallica (the black album), both of which had been released the year prior. With hindsight, I think I gravitated towards these albums because they somehow reflected my perspective as a reasonably well-adjusted, upper-middle-class tween: full of angst, vaguely disaffected, and angry with no reason to be.
By this point, over 200 words into a 2025 concert review, you may be wondering what this has to do with anything. But stay with me: the answer is, everything.
On January 4th, Metal6000 played their first show at John & Peter’s in New Hope, Pennsylvania, and it felt like opening a time capsule of ‘90s guitar music. This isn’t entirely surprising knowing that Keith Kenny (lead guitar, vocals) wrote every note of the band’s music 25 years ago as a teenage shredder in his childhood bedroom. But don’t let the name fool you: Metal6000 isn’t just about shredding and headbanging. There’s a depth and complexity to their music that sets them apart. Kenny’s lyrics explore adolescent themes of angst and alienation and resonate with a raw honesty that transcends any specific genre. “This is very much the project’s ambition,” he told me after the show, “to tap into the youthful spirit.”
As a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Kenny wears his influences on his sleeve, whether playing riff rock and legato a la Metallica, dropping divebombs and squeals a la Pantera’s Cowboys From Hell, or sneaking pop songs beneath heavily distorted guitars a la Nevermind, perhaps with a dash of Bush’s Sixteen Stone and the Offspring’s Smash thrown in for good measure. His song titles alone – including “Blackout,” “With a Gun,” and “Preaching Corruption” – somehow channel these albums and reflect the times. The music and lyrics proceed in kind, replete with uneven time signatures, quietly picked chords followed by thunderous riffs, and even a percussive solo acoustic intro.
Kenny and the band bring a musicality reminiscent of the bands that influenced both them and their influences, including the heavy riffage of Black Sabbath, the classical sensibilities Randy Rhoads brought during his time with Ozzy Osbourne’s post-Sabbath work, and the virtuosic speed-picking and harmonics of Edward Van Halen. Ian Kelly (drums) brought some of the metal drum staples, including a double bass pedal and China cymbal, and both Eli Ward (rhythm guitar) and Johnny Luberecki (bass) brought harmonic depth to the tunes. For his part, Kenny played a Flying V guitar and a Jackson with reverse headstock (natch), and the band closed their set of original music with a cover of “Master of Puppets” (also natch).
John & Peter’s has sat at the center of the New Hope music scene for decades. (Amy Yates Wuelfling’s Still Drinkin’ and Smokin’, Rockin’ and Rollin’: An Oral History of John & Peter’s of New Hope, is required reading on this subject.) The members of Metal6000 are grizzled veterans of the storied venue, and the room was full of longtime friends and fans happy to see their talented neighbors’ live debut ahead of their first album, which they’re releasing in late spring. (Ward and Kelly also run the entertainment platform New Hope Records.) Also veterans of the venue are Tyler Chiara (Big Boing’s Acid Rainbow) and Kevin Rovner (Sam Ryan Band, Calla Bere and the Attitude), who joined Kenny and Luberecki for a second set of old Kenny originals, a few covers, and some originals by Big Boing’s Acid Rainbow.
Metal6000’s performance at John & Peter’s was a night where the past and present collided, youthful dreams were finally realized, and the power of music proved its ability to connect us all. It served as a testament to the enduring spirit of rock and roll and a reminder that sometimes the best things in life are worth waiting for.
Photo Credit:Vince Brazen (@vicbrazen).
Videos by @CapnOfCrunch
One Response
Great review! I’ve seen Kenny on his solo tour and wish I could have been there. BTW, Randy Rhoads was in Ozzy’s solo band and Quiet Riot before that, not Black Sabbath as is implied here.