Here I was
once more, all pumped up and set for another evening of dirty ol' rock n' roll
brought to us by our friends over at Stoned Gatherings productions. Whereas
last weeks' show was more focused on the lengthy, atmospheric side of stoner
rock compositions, last Thursdays’ gig at Le Glazart would offer us yet another
night of stellar stoner rock, but this time of the doomier and sludgier
persuasion, our top guest of the evening being the Dutch Stoner-doom band Toner
Low.
The band
would sometimes dive into some slower, doomy sections before building up again
towards some explosive riffs served alongside some rocking, ecstatic guitar
licks on leads. Simply put, these guys further prove to us why you should make
an effort to catch every opening band whenever you're going out to catch a
concert. For those unfamiliar with the band, log unto your favorite cat-video
search engine (google, YouTube...) and type in the 5 magic letters to uncover
magnificent sound of Fiend. Just do it.
Following up
our local opening act was the Belgian guitar and drum duo known as Sardonis. Sonically, the band played a
crushing set of songs rooted somewhere alongside the border between doom metal
and sludge metal. While the two piece formation usually spawns some concerns as
to the bands' capability to keep up alongside four or five-piece acts,
Sardonis' set undoubtedly proved to us that they could sound just as
ferociously heavy and complete as any four piece sludge band, but also that
they were capable of turning their basic stripped-down formula to their
advantage. For one, the bands' set was accompanied by some nice visuals
projected unto the stages' backdrop, exploiting the stage room to its fullest.
Also, the guitar sound had a heavy chunk of low end to make up for the absence
of a bass guitarist, making for an earthshaking rumble for every menacing riff
being channeled through both of the massive Marshall amps set onstage. The
songs from Sardonis' set was nicely balanced, with some faster riffs coming in
now and again as well as some post-metal touches being sprinkled here and there
(some riffs actually reminded me of Amenra). Overall this was a great set and
yet another great musical discovery for me.
Finally, it
was time for our prime guests of the evening to hit the stage. It didn't take
more than a few drum hits and a few stricken notes to understand why some
critics have to compare the Toner Lows'
sound to that of the stoner doom titans from Sleep. Ear protection was a vital
necessity for this evening, in that the sole intensity of each note being hit
swept you away and physically shook your whole body to its very core and make
you literally gurgle like a Tibetan monk. Heavy would be an understatement,
were I to describe Toner Lows' show. The snare drum was constantly rattling
from the sheer intensity of the vibrations. It was noisy, it was loud,
unapologetic and filthy, and by god was it satisfying.
This was a
slow paced, earthshakingly heavy set, with lengthy yet groovy compositions
charged up for maximum potency. The set was also complemented with the
appropriate imagery to immerse the audience into the full stoner experience,
with some colorfully trippy lava lamp-like motifs projected onto the front of
the kick drum, along with an animated backdrop of ganja leaves flying about on
the stage backdrop. Every now and then, the sonic vibrations in the air would
mix in with the all-too-familiar smell of THC.
A small gripe I would have for this otherwise top notch show would be the fact that the vocals were completely inaudible during the few passages during which the frontman made use of his mic, though this obviously was a virtually irrelevant issue for us riff-hungry audience.
A small gripe I would have for this otherwise top notch show would be the fact that the vocals were completely inaudible during the few passages during which the frontman made use of his mic, though this obviously was a virtually irrelevant issue for us riff-hungry audience.
Robin
PS: I'd like
to yet again send my thanks to Stoned Gatherings for making this review
possible. Be sure to visit their website to find out about their upcoming
shows.
SardoniS Setlist |
Stoned Gatherings
Official Website
http://stoned-gatherings.com/
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/stonedgatherings.shows?fref=ts
Official Website
http://stoned-gatherings.com/
https://www.facebook.com/stonedgatherings.shows?fref=ts
Fiend
Official bandcamp
https://ffiieenndd.bandcamp.com/
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/FiendBand?ref=br_tf
Official bandcamp
https://ffiieenndd.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/FiendBand?ref=br_tf
Fiend Setlist |
Sardonis
Official Website
http://www.sardonis666.be/
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/sardonis666?ref=br_tf
Official Website
http://www.sardonis666.be/
https://www.facebook.com/sardonis666?ref=br_tf
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