Show Review: Disparager, Restless Spirit, Truckfighters at The Meadows, NYC.
August 21st, 2025.
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“This goes out to the Mastodon community” -Disparager
August 24th, 2025
On Thursday night we wandered down to East Williamsburg’s The Meadows for a much needed does of heavy riffage courtesy of Disparager, Restless Spirit, and Truckfighters. We lost count of how many Mastodon shirts we saw, news had broke that morning of the heavy metals groups founder, Brent Hinds, unexpected passing. RIP. All the bands performing paid some sort of tribute to Hinds, a testament to his impact on the genre & culture, and a feeling of reverence hung in the air throughout the night. Here’s what else was in the air:
Disparager opened the evening with relentless headbanging metal. The kick drum pounded in double time as their dreadhead bassist unleashed the most compelling variant of headbanging we had ever seen, dread-banging. It was midtempo mayhem with powerful, gravelly screams. Their sound was not one-dimensional though, melodies shone through the dark cracks, hooks dug into skin, and harmonies that turned heads.
Restless Spirit’s guitar squealed with WAAH as their singer bellowed into the microphone. This Long Island group shifted the vibe from headbanging to thrashing. A large banner with the band's name and an image of Nosferatu hung on the back of the stage. There was something familiarly anthemic about their set that we couldn’t quite pin down. They had a bank vault full of riffs, a pile of gold like that kind Scrooge McDuck dives into and swims around in.
We never thought we’d see a Truckfighters show in our life. They’re from Sweden. But as fate would have it, we saw them at NYC’s incredible 2024 edition of Desertfest . It was thunderously mesmerizing, so when we caught wind they were coming back across the Atlantic for this show we instantly got a ticket. They are one of the undisputed torch-bearers of the stoner rock sound, with their own 18-wheeler sized hard rock/groovy signature added. More than 20 years into their career, these mother truckers are at the top of their game.
This review is later than most, life in the Rrrat Rrrace gets busy sometimes. But set all the glue traps you want, you can’t get rid of us. We’re out and about, documenting the few small drops we get splashed with by the massive live music waterfall. We often get asked how to find these gigs. For the NYC area we point everyone to the ohmyrockness calendar. We hope that if you want to get out there, that you are getting out there. Rrrock On, Rrrat Pack, see you around.
| Keywords: | New York City | The Meadows | Disparager | Restless Spirit | Truckfighters |
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