It's Not Night, It's Space, Serial Hawk and Jucifer at the Acheron

I mentioned this the other night in my KEN Mode show review - but it bears repeating, the Acheron is one of the best places to see a metal show in the world. And that's exactly what made last nights show with It's Not Night, It's Space, Serial Hawk and Jucifer so god damn special. Considering that I've wanted to see both Serial Hawk and Jucifer since the time this blog started I knew that I was in for a good time - so I made the wonderfully short trek to this idyllic metal venue and found myself reveling in the murky splendor of the soiree.

It's Not Night, It's Space seriously impressed me which - at the risk of sounding pretentious - is rare for me in a local level doom band. It's Not Night, It's Space play powerful and groovy heavy music that is far too much fun to just jam along too. They have an incredibly endearing (And very stoned) bassist who seems to be the backbone of the sound, gently thudding his way through the bands half hour said - that being said, the chemistry in the band is incredible. You get a sense of pure organic magic with the It's Not Night, It's Space sound and it's hard to separate yourself from the almost sacred sonic experience of the band.

When Serial Hawk took the stage I couldn't help but be blown away. I had gotten a chance to interview the band beforehand and had been impressed by their earthy wisdom and respect for the sense of time and space that this kind of music needs. They create incredible sonic landscapes - you ride over the hills and far away with them as they pick you up and make everything right in the world. Their is a very palatable sense of despair that defines the music - one that permeates even the new tracks, but despite (Or perhaps in spite of ) that Serial Hawk create an incredible empowering and cleansing sonic experience that few other bands could really compare too.

At last the hour was nigh for the almighty Jucifer. Despite blowing the venues power twice early in the set the band came on to perform some of the most captivating music I have ever seen. With a huge drum kit (Not in terms of pieces, but in terms of how big the pieces are, hell, the tom's are just modified kick drums!) and of course the legendary White Wall Of Death the thirty odd congregants gathered in the Acheron had their faces melted by the pure sonic annihilation that Jucifer's unholy music represents.

One thing that struck me is that despite the fact that the band have played all over the world and been constantly on tour for decades now there is still a very real passion behind the music. It's incredibly refreshing to watch a band who are simply that in love with being loud and ferocious. They are a band that broke all the rules - they live in their Winebago with their dog and use a frankly ridiculous amount of gear - and despite it all they are still hugely enjoyable. Jucifer are the lords of volume nad always will be.

I walked home trying to come to terms with the incredible thing I had just experienced - one of the single most impressive bands in the world. But beyond that I had had a chance to bond with Serial Hawk, a band that had helped me uncover the underground heavy music scene. It's nights like this that make it all worth it - good people, good brews, and a sense of community that will carry on through the ages. No one ever said that it would be easy to play heavy music, but god damn can the experience be rewarding.

Find the bands on Facebook!

It's Not Night, It's Space: https://www.facebook.com/innis.band?fref=ts

Serial Hawk: https://www.facebook.com/serialhawk?fref=ts

Jucifer: https://www.facebook.com/juciferofficial?fref=ts