On Friday night, the Maintenance Shop was ignited by three metal bands: Caligra, Only and On A Pale Horse.

During an overly long bout of mic checks, people started filling the venue. The Melvins pumped out of the house speakers as the bands set up.

Caligra started with a hoarse scream and never topped it. The band’s vocals were forced, and the songs were mixes of walloping screaming over overly distorted guitar. Chris Thode on bass was likable though, and his good-natured spirit helped carry the show through its end.

After another long showing of mic tests, Only started their set. A mix of hook-laden metal with punk intensity describes their sound. They were full of energy, but were not wholly collected as a group.

Vocalist Sol Bales had a good voice, but a lack of original spirit and his repetitive vocal style shaded the overall performance. Drummer Sal Ramirez and guitarist Mark “Sparky” Reinking played off each other the whole night and were fun to watch.

Visually, Only does not even look like a group of friends because of their apparent variance in age and personality. Only, however, is an interesting band to check out.

Des Moines band, On A Pale Horse, started loud and confident. They were ripping the Melvins riffs that were coming out of the P.A. before their set and they sounded good. If you like grunge-metal that is rooted in sonic mayhem, you would enjoy their shows. They are not for the weak-hearted.

Their dual-Les Paul set up was effectively churning out tons of heavy riffs reminiscent of Black Sabbath and the Seattle sound. Their songs sounded like a blend of the Melvins and Badmotorfinger-era Soundgarden – and Aaron Peltz’s vocals were quite good. His range and his ability to carry the audience was much better than I had anticipated.