Battle of the Bands brought face-melting performances Saturday at the Holmes Student Center, ranging from light, smooth rock to the heaviest of metals.

I, the Martian

Wake up, suburbanites; I, the Martian has landed.

The first Chicago-based band of the night had a garage rock sound with an influence of alternative rock anthems from bands such as the Arctic Monkeys and Nirvana.

“They are very alternative, but with a spaced-out futuristic sound,” said band manager Nick Ratfield.

This was certainly true, as the drum and bass combined into a one-sound machine with added solos on the guitar from Jose Gomez, the group’s lead vocalist.

“There’s like a Spanish guitar influence kind of thing,” Gomez said.

The Smoking Revolvers

Like their name implies, this Elgin-based band launched onto the stage with a bang.

Cymbals crashed, a lone guitar solo was shredded and a bass solo was rocked as this band played a set that called upon a grunge and heavy rock influence. For a group of only three, the sound the band produced had a huge impact. They seemed well rehearsed with a command of the stage. They had a unique vocal aesthetic that I wouldn’t mind listening to again.

 Through Ashes

This heavy metal Chicago band made me feel like riding into battle on a winged tiger and roaring at the top of my lungs.

Through Ashes liquefied my brain with ridiculous, driving guitars solos. I was not sure humans could make the noises their lead vocalist made.

“Our sound is inspired by times you wanted to murder someone,” said bassist Shabbir Manjee. “Then you decided it was a bad idea to murder someone.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Wednesday Don’t Care

In stark contrast to Through Ashes, this local band brought a smooth rock sound to the battle.

Wednesday Don’t Care covered songs such as “Breakeven” by The Script and “Iris” by Goo Goo Dolls. These were covered well with strong female vocals. Wednesday Don’t Care seemed the most unsteady, but their explanation surprised me.

“This is our first gig,” said bassist Ed O’Donnell. “We’ve been playing together for two weeks.”

For a band that had only existed for two weeks, I was especially impressed with its cover of “At Last” by Etta James. Lead vocalist Vickie Perez delivered a soulful contribution for the new band.

Winner

The winner of Battle of the Bands was The Smoking Revolvers with Through Ashes coming in second, Wednesday Don’t Care third and I, the Martian coming in fourth.

“I plan on doing this event next semester, bigger scale — an all-day, two-day thing,” said Kim Manno, Holmes Student Center events programmer and senior elementary education major.

I can’t wait to see the hopefully two-day event next year.