On this stormy
Saturday night, the black metal fans of Montréal had a dark
rendez-vous at this cool venue located on Saint-Laurent boulevard.
The gigs organized by Sepulchral productions are always interesting
and worth seeing, this one was no exception. After a slight delay
that gave me the time to hang out with my disciples of the
underground metal world of Québec's metropolis, the show was ready
to start.
Havan
is an ambient project by Frédéric Arbour known for his
involvement with funeral doomsters Longing for Dawn and also as the
owner of the dark ambient label Cyclic Law. I'm nowhere near a fan
nor a specialist of this genre so I was in an unknown territory for
their set. It was a long introduction for Gevurah's set, the music
was highly atmospheric but it didn't have a lot of variations and
details. It was basically a long, creepy, soundscape quite fitting
for a horror movie or a video-game. It was pretty good but a tad
boring. I believe the piece was written or executed for this precise
evening.
Gevurah
stepped on stage and they began their set while Havan's
ambient overlong introduction was still underway. It was the Montréal
duo's first gig since the release of their excellent EP
“Necheshirion” (Profound Lore) almost exactly two years ago (read
my review: here). The creative core of the duo got the help from two live
musicians. Étienne Lepage (Venificium, Longing for Dawn, Sui
Caedere) plays the bass and the current drummer of Verglas
(black/punk) is the percussive force. X.T. (bloodied yet unbound) who usually handles the
drums decided to concentrate on the vocals and A.L. handles the incisive and aggressively melodic guitars. Their black metal sound is right between the more dissonant
approach of Deathspell Omega and the more riffy, in your face sound
of Scandinavian (especially Swedish) black art. They were pretty good
considering it was their debut live performance, the vocals could had
been louder and the bass a bit more present but their mix was quite
decent. They're currently working on their debut full length album
and while they played no new material (4 songs from the EP, 2 from the demo from what I've been told), it's safe to say it will be a tremendous record. Their tracks can be intricate, long and they're not exactly to include some doomier or atmospheric influences. Illuminated by fiery candlelight, the troop offered a strong performance.
This wasSortilegia's
first gig in Montréal since their solid set at Messe des Morts II
(2012) when they played with their fellow Toronto friends
Thantifaxath and were supposed to open for Darkspace (a like minded
band) who were finally replaced by Archgoat. It was a very cool gig and I was
excited to see them for a second time. The duo's full length release
“Arcane Death Ritual” (available on all formats, I personally got
the tape) released in late 2014 was well represented through the lush
atmospheric but raw black metal delivered throughout their
presentation. The guitar plus drums lineup is more than adequate even
though it can appear to be minimalist or simplistic. Also, in Sylvus
(now apparently dead? Lame!) , Anastasia is a damn fine guitarist
who's able to captivate and hypnotize with a wide array of notes. The
raw yet well composed songs can surely explain the deal the Ontarian
band got signed to a label such as Vàn Records (one of the best in
Europe).
The occult and
bloody theatrics also plays an important role in their performances.
Cloaked in dark purple robes and the face soaked in blood, Koldovstvo (her pseudonym) delivers profoundly noir metal with an incense smell. Sortilegia are
masters of ritualistic death music.
Pohjoinen
(north in English) is a new stoner/doom metal band from Helsinki, the
capital city of Finland and they released their debut self titled
album back in April. I've been worshiping the doom scene of this
Nordic country since a while with Reverend Bizarre (rest in peace) at
the head of the pack but lately, the stoner scene has been decently
represented with bands like Boar, Domovoyd or Tombstoned. Pohjoinen
is new to the party but oh boy, they're perhaps the best guest I
heard yet.
The
sallproblem I often have with most stoner/doom these days is their
vocal approach. It's often viewed as unimportant and buried
underneath a thick layer of lava (think of Ufomammut or Sweden's
Monolord, not that I dislike these bands, they're awesome). Compared
to this raw, rough and buried vocal approach, Pohjoinen has a clean,
powerful and distinctive vocal identity and it's very pleasing. It
reminds me of the folk rock inspired vocals of well known (at least,
in Finland!) heavy metal rockers Viikate with their deep, profound
Finnish lyrics. I really like the intonations of this language, it's
unique in the European landscape and we're still unsure of its origin
(it's quite distinct from their neighbors). I think their vocals are
interesting and fits their music. There's some vocal harsher moments
here and there to emphasize certain parts but it's mostly clean.
They're
a power trio and they're loud as hell, the bass is crushing and has a
really important place in the mix, that's exactly what you need for
great stoner doom. The guitar, unlike many stoner bands only relying
on riffs, is often soloing and the huge bass tone is giving it the
liberty to do so since it's filling up the empty void. These solos
are wonderful and resounding. They're are also quite melodic. Tumppi
(guitar, vocals) shines as a Finnish Mike Scheidt (Yob), like the
American, he's a versatile and terrific player. A track like
“Luovuttaja” has some very cool solos and “Helvetin Aurinko”
has this extended soloing finale with this particularly Finnish vibe
that you can often find in the melodic doom/death metal scene but
played with a stoner doom spirit.
Their
music is varied too, there's many tempo changes and different
atmospheres. As an example, the song “Joki” has some really nice
space/psychedelic moments and the the interlude “Lehto” has a
soft feel to it. They intertwine between repetitive slow doom riffs
and faster stoner, dirtier stuff. Their riffs are super catchy and
memorable, they're sonically massive when needed and a bit more on
the soothing side when they feel it's necessary. The album has a
great production, it's able to withstand all the different approaches
and ideas has, it's rock solid and succeeding mix the clean vocals
with the stoner goods.
While
they're not reinventing the wheel riffwise, I feel their blend of
aggressive stoner metal mixed is totally fresh and an exemplary
offering to the slow, down-tuned god. I came for the huge riffs, they
were delivered with proficiency and I stayed for the truly great lead
guitar. Highly recommended.
Starlight
Ritual is a new quintet from Montréal and they just gave birth to
their first child. Labeled as an extended play, it should be a full
length in my opinion. It's forty minutes long and it's totally
professional. This length is totally justifiable for a LP and has
been since the dawn of metal time! Shenanigans aside, the four songs
album is one of the best debut I heard this year.
The
first thing you'll really notice is the tremendous vocals. Damian
definitely has the pipes to fight his way
through heaven and hell against the strongest contenders for Dio's
throne. He's freaking awesome and it's
impressive that this band is (to my knowledge) his first foray as a
recording artist. Maybe he was waiting to achieve a high level of
quality as a vocalist? Anyhow,
his strong delivery and great range are what a traditional
metal band needs to compete with the best of 'em. He's
able to unleash some powerful melodies and
screams like Russell Allen used to do
before turning into a boring
groove metal machine.The
awesome vocals are combined with mystical, well written yet
simple lyrics that are more allegorical
tales than your pure Fantasy sword & sorcery sort of stuff.
Most
of the songs are quite long, they even open with the fourteen minutes
“The Triangle” and only “Civilization
Lost” could
be considered to be a typically built track with its almost six
minutes duration. The
tracks are busy with a
ton of
excellent
solos
emanating from the two guitarists and
there's no boring moments to be found. One
of the guitarists is actually Athros (he's
using his real name here, J-F Bertrand) from
well known black metallers Forteresse, Brume d'Automne and some other
projects and it's fun to hear him play something else, he's surely
good
at it too! The
leads all have this old school flavor to them with some NWOBHM
tendencies and even some middle-eastern influences (see the ones
midway through “Astral Flames”). These
solos are one of the strengths of the band, they keep the songs
grounded and interesting. I
think the bass has a good place in the overall mix but I think it
could be more thundering and heavier at times even though it's
noticeable enough.
While
I usually love long songs and this band is good at them, I think a
full length album could benefit from having a bunch of shorter,
punchier tracks. An album like Iron Maiden's comeback classic Brave
New World managed
to pull off. It had fantastic epic tracks like “Dream of Mirror”
while also making sure to include rippers like “The Mercenary”.
I'm sure Starlight Ritual could make this work too. Nevertheless,
that's only my suggestion, it's quite fine like it is, guys!
Well,
since
these
guys sure dig Rainbow's Rising
and
its proto progressive metal approach
so
much, the
long song formula isn't an obstacle for them as
it wasn't for Blackmore and company either.
They manage to write compelling songs with enough dynamite and
variations to keep us entertaining while never actually changing
their formula too much by including useless
“atmospheric”
moments to justify the extended length of a song. The
first track starts with a short but needed introduction but it's not
syrupy or disposable.
Before
I actually heard the band, I thought they were gonna be some sort of
stoner rock/metal due to their imagery. Speaking
of this, I
don't think the cover art, while
lovely,
fits their music, it doesn't have the epic traditional feel their
songwriting has. I
was surprised to hear the
actual style of the band, a full bodied heavy metal machine ready to
explore many different continents.Starlight
Ritual is certainly
a
varied band, there's
some doom,
stoner
and
hard rock
flourishes alongside
the heavy metal core and this gives a fresh sound to the band since
it's not a very common blend of ingredients. I
mean, the closer “Seal the Light” is basically epic doom. Damian
is taking a more somber tone on this track and it works like a charm.
Like the whole band, he's a versatile singer and
has a lot personality.
I
think the fact that they mostly explore heavy/doom territories is
giving
them a lot of
latitude. I like this style since it's mostly mid-paced and isn't
afraid of incorporating flashy musicianship into the fold, think
of a band like The Gates of Slumber as an example.The
doom component somewhat
ensures
that the album
doesn't fall in a overly cheesy disaster.
They're
mixing “Heaven
and Hell” era Black Sabbath with a bunch of other influences and
it's super legit. I
can't wait to see these guys live, they're about to start doing gigs
and that's pretty good for our metal scene since they fucking rip and do something different from what we're accustomed to.
They're
a vivid proof that the Canadian and
Quebécois
metal
scenesare
truly diversifying themselves.
Starlight
Ritual is a band that everyone with an interest in heavy metal or
doom should follow.
Thanks
to the band for the review opportunity. The CD is available for a
meager 5 bucks plus the shipping, just contact them on their Facebook
page. I think they're still considering a way to sell it more easily online as well.
Live photo taken at Wings of Metal 2014 by Wayne William Archibald
Jean-Pierre
is an American musician known for his involvement with the excellent
heavy metallers Borrowed Time and more recently, the Canadian epic
doomsters of Funeral Circle. I'm glad he took the time to answer these questions.
Metantoine's Magickal Realm: First of all, what's the situation with Borrowed Time? Is the band
over? Their status has been mysterious for a while. If the band is
done, is there any plans to come back to the heavy metal genre with
some other people? I speak for myself here, but I totally adored the
self titled full length! The band is without guitarists right now,
maybe you're looking for new musicians?
Jean-Pierre Abboud: I
stopped doing Borrowed Time as a choice. It was actually quite
difficult to fulfill our show obligations at the end of 2013, but
with the help of great guys and players like Derek DiBella, Justin
Henry along with Matt Preston, we came out and did some great last
few shows (one in Chicago with ZuuL and Dawnbringer another with
Raven…), and recorded a cover of Savage Grace – Bound to be Free
which appeared on a comp with Ostrogoth, Attacker, Jack Starr,
Paradox, Satan’s Host and other old school killers. At times it’s
my favorite recording ever done under the BT name. After all of that,
Matt Preston moved to Pittsburgh for a job and although he gave me
his blessing to continue, I decided it would be wise to look for
something new. Matt did a TON of work on the self titled record, and I didn’t
feel it would be right to continue without him. Things could have
gone a lot more smoothly in 2013, but if you’re on a bad path, band
politics can become implacable. I completely include myself in that
statement.
Borrowed Time's self titled album, released in 2013
MMR: What can you tell me about the inspiration behind the artwork of
Borrowed Time? ( read my review of the album)
There's this fantasy vibe but it's way more classy and less cheesy
than most “sword & sorcery” metal bands. What's your process
when dealing with artists and illustrators?
J-P: Paperback
versions of LeGuin, Moorcock, airbrushed LP covers, 17th
century pamphlet art and crazy convoluted images that I create in my
head. The two artists Borrowed Time predominately worked with were Seth Bennett
(who designed the logo, Fog in the Valley 7 inch and several shirts) and Tim
Jenkins (Acid Witch, Shitfucker), who did the jacket for Black
Olympia and the S/T as well as a logo update. At the very end the guy
who did the art for Black Magic – Wizard’s Spell created a pretty
rad shirt image as well. The demo release had these awesome skeleton
clarinetists drawn by Mike Tuff (Acid Witch, Temple of Void) who
played on the Fog in the Valley EP and was BT’s lead guitar player
from 2010-2012. We kicked around the earliest versions of BT riffs in
2009.
MMR: You
talked about moving to Montréal when we met, is there still some
plans concerning this? We definitely need more awesome trad metal
musicians in the city! Based on your experiences, what's different
here than in the US? What's better and what's worst?
J-P: Haha,
thanks. It’s difficult, the way things can change. I know one of my
main flaws as a person is that I can get really excited about an idea
and just…live in it, for a while. Ya know? I really love Montreal
Quebec at large because they function at a higher standard regarding
their citizens than much of North America. You don’t find people
forced to live like refugees, but I’m not ignorantly fluffing all
of Canada here (Calgary, lookin’ at you!). I can see much more
clearly why there are separatists in Quebec from my experience
playing in and skulking around different cities across the
continental span.
Jean-Pierre (Sarcofago shirt) with
Funeral Circle at Wings of Metal 2014 in Québec City.
Picture by Max Be Te
MMR: You
played Wings of Metal (with Funeral Circle) but from a fan point of
view, what was your most expected performance and what was the
highlight of the festival for you? Are you attending this year?
J-P: DEFINITELY
attending this year, got my tickets two months ago! My most
anticipated performances were ADX and Dream Death. Trouble or The
Skull were totally crushing the night before as well as Bolzer.
Seeing Occultation again was a delight (they were a late addition);
one of the best memories of our lives (and I can speak for all of us)
was touring the west coast in 2013. We could have grown further from
what was achieved on that tour, but aforementioned band politics were
just rough.
MMR: Can
you talk about your heritage? Jean-Pierre is a pretty French name for
an American! Is it transposed into your lyrics and music, if so, in
what manner? What are the other influences in your lyrics, I think
they're particularly well written compared to most metal around!
J-P: I
am an American of Semitic origin. I was born in Cleveland, Ohio in
1986, at a time when it still kind of rocked. I am of Lebanese
heritage, my French name and Arabic surname come from that. I had
moved every year of my life all over the country (and once to
Germany) before settling in Michigan at 17. Feeling like an alien, or
feeling unable to relate to people and the anger or sadness that can
come from that has followed me for a long time for various deep
seated reasons. Dio was a huge, huge influence for me, and the lion’s
share of his work was about real life. In his work, fantasy is an
allegory for self-preservation and survival, for dealing with human
emotions and social problems or speeding at night.
MMR: What's
the future for Funeral Circle? I recently learned that Matthew
Barzegar (lead guitar) has sadly left the band. Will you continue
with the other members under the same name? Your performance with the
band at Wings of Metal was awesome and it would be a shame to end the
whole thing. Your voice was a great fit to the epic doom genre!
J-P: Yeah,
we have no intention of stopping right now, especially with show
obligations like Covenant, stuff in August and Hammer of Doom in
November. Matthew Barzegar’s decision was tough, and we all
discussed how to continue forward. I am a full time member of Funeral
Circle, along with Graham McGee (lead and rhythm guitar), Matthew
Kaufhold (bass guitar) and Phil Fiess (drums). In 2014 we got
together, rehearsed for a couple weeks and toured across Canada.
Enthusiasm and precision are character to each individual within the
band. We developed natural chemistry and we get along well, so this
year will definitely see more
classic and dirty FC Doom.
Funeral Circle/Gatekeeper split, to be released soon.
MMR: There's
a split with Gatekeeper coming up, what can you tell me about it?
Artwork, lyrics, music...
J-P: The
new split features our song “Hades Triumphant,” which we
performed last year. The lyrics and vocal lines were collaboration
between myself and Matthew and the artwork is another rad piece by
Karamazid. Phil and Matt K are entirely responsible for the churning
rhythm section that in my opinion makes this particular track. Not to
mention the Gatekeeper song (“Bell of Tarantia”) completely kicks
ass and comes from the same sessions as their split with Eternal
Champion.
Listen to "Hades Triumphant"
MMR: You
recently wrote a short story called “Journey
in Somnamblia“for the
Swords and Sorcery book alongside Howie Bentley and Byron
A. Roberts. I have yet to read it, I need to get my hands on this
book! Do you plan to publish some more stories or even novels anytime
soon?
Mataera Nom, character from J-P's short story. Illustration by Eva Flora Glackman-Bapst
J-P: I
would love to, but I’m taking it slow! Back in the roaring
nineties, I was published at a very young age and from there on I had
a pretty spotty track record in dealing with artistic discouragement.
I would say this lasted until about age 22. But last year, getting in
contact with Dave Ritzlin (DMR Books) and hearing his idea to create
a 70’s style swords and sorcery anthology with Metal musicians-- it
blew my mind. I wrote “Journey in Somnamblia” on tour last year;
currently, I’m writing the next chapter to my story concerning the
self-exiled warrior Mataera Nom, set to appear in the upcoming second
edition of “Swords of Steel”. This next one contains more
exposition along with an inward narrative, with heightened action
compared to the first.
MMR: What
are the bands, movies, TV series, books or anything else that are
inspiring you these days? Do you still feel deeply linked with the
metal culture?
J-P: Well,
my fiancée and I live Metal every day. We both have working class
jobs taking care of the developmentally disabled (who I tend to like
a lot more than the empty corporatist yuppies they tell you to
worship on TV or in blog content aggregation). We live in a
vainglorious metal castle of our own in a post-industrial butcher
town disguised by a university and deplorable state politicians.
These days I’m always feeling inspired to sing (on a recording or
all day really) as well as playing piano, acoustic, electric guitar
and bass just to play or to come up with ideas. There is a love in my
life where, at this point I’ve watched this person stick by me
through some murky times. With the same eyes that haven’t changed,
a change I’ve seen before and know too well; it’s something one
can’t let go. “Can’t let go” and “Nothing to lose” are
both great cliché song titles, these days I prefer the first.
Listening-wise,
Dio’s extremely underrated Tracy G/Jeff Pilson era, early Solstice,
Russ Ballard, Strawbs (thanks to Barzegar!), Samael, TNT, Thin
Lizzy/Lynott/Grand Slamm, Solitude Aeturnus, old Blind Guardian, My
Dying Bride, Golden Earring, BOC, Savatage, City Boy, Zep, Fates
Warning…
MMR: Are
you looking forward to something in the future? Gigs, etc..
J-P: Going
nowhere (to stay Metal) and everywhere (to make Metal). I may be
joining one of my favorite classic acts, but even if that doesn’t
work out, a more migratory existence is in order. Absolutely can’t
wait for Covenant fest and Hammer of Doom. Going back to what you
said about feeling ‘deeply linked,’ honestly – more than ever!!
The grindstone is our (heavy metal) hamster wheel. I don’t
understand why people decide the establishment will suddenly be there
for them, but all I can say is good luck and hello China.
MMR: Anything
else you want to add?
J-P: I
am deeply grateful to everyone I’ve gotten to work with and share
experiences, good or bad. The sum of events and the resulting
education negates any moral qualifiers – this is the real world.
Can’t wait to jam with my mates in Funeral Circle, leaving nine
days from now!
Just
by looking at the artwork, I knew this was gonna be a good album.
Sometimes, you just know. The cover art reminded me Dream Theater's
seminal album Awake with the
wide array of details and the odd characters. I think it's charming
and represents their genre pretty well as it's intricate and nuanced.
Fortunately, the album lived to my expectations and it's one
of the best progressive metal
record I heard in 2015. Obsidian Desert, the
debut album of Armed Cloud manages to be
a modern yet interesting and fresh take on classic progressive
metal/rock. The quintet has all the ingredients to play this complex
form of music, an engaging
bass presence, super talented guitarist and
keyboardist, a singer who can
actually sing very well and a
versatile drummer who's
not afraid to use some blastbeats.
While
they're obviously technically skilled and that's proven at numerous
occasions by the guitar solos and
the waythe
keyboard interacts with the
rest of the instruments, they're very emotional and has this frank
desire to write compelling songs instead of flashing
their technicality,
a concept often plaguing their peers, like
the later Dream Theater work
to give an obvious example. They have a symphonic flair intertwined
with some pop tendencies but it's thoroughly enjoyable and it's not
saccharine. I think the ballad “Meltdown” is really beautiful and
fits their identity as it
remains highly atmospheric.
Daan
Dekker has a particular voice, powerful and with a lot of range but
it's also soft and rich. A track like “My Own Kind” is a good
showcase of his abilities. For some reasons, I thought of Ray Alder
when I first heard them but I
enjoy him more than the Fates Warning frontman who never managed to
beat John Arch in the heart
of many. The
vocal melodies are well
written and the addition of some aptly placed back vocals add an epic
touch to the songs (see “Pyramid of Charlatans”). In
fact the band reminds me of the American legends from Connecticut in
their capacity of mixing technicality, songwriting and emotions in
one solid package. There's
also some influences from progressive alternative
rock like Muse, Gazpacho or
later days Marillion in the
vocal department and considering I'm a big fan of these
bands
as well, it's a big bonus for me.
Augmenttheir formula with obvious
nods to the more progressive side of power metal (see Kamelot or even
Angra) and
you have a very solid mix of influences. Furthermore,
compared to many progressive metal acts, their songs are cohesive and
on the shorter side except perhaps the eight
minute closer “Wasted”
and the excellent “In Your Mind”. Sometimes,
it feels like they're a more streamlined version of some of Ayreon's
stuff. There's no fluff as the album is a little bit under a hour and
it doesn't feel this long either. There's no self
indulgent long ass instrumental track but there's a serene, symphonic
one before the last track and it gives the listener a break and a
change of atmosphere.
To
conclude, If you like your
progressive metal with solid solos but still in possession of its
soul, Armed Cloud is a band that you should
check out.
On
this warm Sunday evening, the metal fans of Montréal and its
surrounding all met on Jean-Talon boulevard for a night of doom of
epic proportions. It was my second evening in a row at this cool
venue after the excellent gig of Chilean psychedelic rockers
Follakzoid but this time, it was jam packed. The Farnham and Trou du
Diable beers were cold as ice and managed to put everyone in a good
mood. Even though it would had been nice to get Sons of Otis on the
lineup (they played the Toronto gig the night before), we got two
legit Montréal based openers.
Show
of Bedlam are one of the favorite local opener for metal
gigs in Montréal these days, I've seen them several times including
a great performance back in March when they opened for Enslaved and
Yob but it's always cool to see them again. Their debut full length
(initially released in 2012) was recently reissued by PRC so I
grabbed a copy (5 bucks!). The band is working on a new album and
their live performances got tighter and better than before, their
blend of stoner, sludge, doom, noise or post-hardcore is interesting,
intense and original. It's like a mix of Neurosis and Swans!
Paulina's stage antics are always frivolous, spastic and insane,
she's a pretty cool frontwoman. They always use some strange
projections (including some grinding teeth or weird nature images)
and this is really adding another layer to their live presentation.
Kudos to the many promoters putting them on their bills, they're
always worth it.
8
/10
Check
them out: Facebook
Tunguska
Mammoth were the second local openers and their name was
more than adequate to be on this bill! I've seen them before so I
know what to expect. The quartet plays a form of stoner/sludge with
semi harsh vocals. They mix Mastodon and High On Fire into a coherent
and catchy mix and are somewhat similar to bands like Red Fang. They
played a new composition and it sounded better than their debut
album, a bit more original too. I think they rely a bit too much on
simple riff progression to unnecessarily stretch some of their songs
but overall, it's enjoyable and groovy enough to keep the ball
rolling. It's not a style I really dig these days but it's well done
and there's not a lot of Montréal bands playing these styles so
they're definitely an appreciable bonus when they open for
international bands.
Usneafrom
Portland, Oregon is currently touring North America with Ufomammut
and they were an appropriate choice since they're crushingly heavy.
Their blend of funeral doom, doom/stoner, doom/deathwith some slight
black metal overtones (especially in the vocals) is quite good and
even though they're all over the place musically, their long
compositions work fine. The band also slight psych and spacey
influences and it gives them an entrancing atmosphere. Their dual
vocal approach is also quite fun, Justin Cory (guitars) handles the
high, screeching black metal ones while Joel Williams (bass) handles
the deep, cavernous ones typically used by funeral doom bands.
Excellent band.
Ufomammut were the
definite “pièce de résistance” of the evening. I've been
following these guys for a while and I was anxious to see them for
their first Montréal gig. The band played Victoriaville (the FIMAV
festival) last year as their sole North American gig and being a
broke soul, I couldn't attend this show. I was expecting the band to
be truly heavy but damn, they exceeded my expectations. The
Italian trio are masters of psychedelic doom/stoner, they're the real
deal. Massive riffs, an elephantine bass tone, slow but thundering
drums and buried but fuzzy and hallucinatory vocals. Bands often use a
projector as a way to add something to their performance, the
aforementioned Show of Bedlam do it and I really liked The Ocean's
videos. Ufomammut, on the other hand, integrates the projector so
effortlessly that it's like a fourth member. The band is also a
visual art collective under the name Malleus (they handle all their
artwork) and it shows. They have a perfect control on how they
present themselves and that's yet another proof that they're a
terrific band. During their ninety minutes set (??? I've lost track of time, to
be fair), they used a wide variety of psychedelic visualizations
ranging from stalactites to mysterious priests and intense volcanic
flames. It's really well done and fits their heavier than thou
music like a glove. The trio played their whole
new album “Ecate”, it was enjoyable and mesmerizing. They
have a pretty good discography without any truly flawed albums
but it's fun to hear a veteran band play their new material so
convincingly. They came back from a short break after the album and
played some older material like Stigma from
“Idolum”. I'm not quite of the other trackssure since I was
completely out of energy near the end, they really drained me in the
best way possible. Ufomammut were one of the
most spectacular bands I've ever seen, this set goes directly in my
top five of all time. I doubt I'll see a heavier band this year.
