The night was moist. Sandwiched between new local supergroup Zillionaire and Ohio post-rock favorites The Six Parts Seven, a little hard-rock trio from St. Louis with the crazy-dumb name Riddle of Steel took to the New World deck and gave up the best set I saw this year. The crowd was a big one, partly because Tampa loves The Six Parts Seven and partly because promoter (and Planet senior ad coordinator) Jack Spatafora somehow managed to create a buzz about a band nobody had heard of six weeks earlier, and everybody pretty much went apeshit; headbanging, spilled beers and “metal fingers” abounded. The group didn’t put on a show, but rather got across on the strength of amazing musicianship, great songs and a completely original sound. It was way more than enough. www.riddleofsteel.org. – Scott Harrell
This article appears in Sep 7-13, 2005.