Who: EmeraldsWhat: Seattle’s best prog-metal band originally from outer space Where: King Cobra When: Saturday Night (Grand Opening Weekend)Emeralds was a band a friend of mine had mentioned before, usually the day they were playing some house party that I ended up skipping out on. And I almost missed them again Saturday night. Had said friend not reached out to me and insisted I must join him at King Cobra to see Emeralds, my Saturday night would’ve been as exciting as a bridge gathering at a retirement home. I walked into King Cobra ten minutes into Emeralds set, and was instantly floored. They are real deal space-prog-metal with a slight touch of glam. And I love Hawkwind. They were the perfect band to highlight a Saturday night. The sloppy, stringy long-haired front man in a ripped up Celtic Frost t-shirt climbed all over everything around him, audience included. Punks and metal heads and the dudes from Holy Ghost Revival were waking their arms and hats in the air, starting a little pit at times. In true metal fashion, the rhythm and lead guitarists showed off some hot licks, all while the bass player and drummer locked into the groove. There was a guy playing a Hammond organ, but at times, it fell too far back in the mix to be clearly heard over the guitars. The songs were long, technical pieces of metal that built and built to erupt at the apex, when everyone in the room would suddenly lose their shit, myself included. I will never see Saturday Night the same way again. Listen: Emeralds (MySpace)