Ah Saint Vitus Bar, that home away from
home that I seem to constantly return to a veritable Brooklyn
lodestone for freaks like me. This is the sort of spot tat I go to
and drink too much at night after night because it is my bar and has
become a part of my soul. So when a solid friend puts on a sick show
there it's hard not to be tempted to make the half hour trek from my
apartment to the bars vaunted halls. Last night was yet another fun
and special gig at the bar – this time for free, an experiment the
dudes who own the spot have been conducting lately with much success.
First up were the newbies on the
Brooklyn doom scene – Cowardice. While I certainly am a little bit
surprised that Noisey hasn't given these Thou-worshippers a write up
yet I will say this – Cowardice fucking rule. In fact they may be
one of my favorite new doom bands and are almost certainly within my
top five unsigned Brooklyn acts. Their twisted sound came out
perfectly in their gut wrenching set with the musicians easing their
way through a show that many of their peers would be jealous to match
even after years in a band. There is something mesmerizing and
transcendent about their work that has me wanting to come back.
Up next were the stoned freaks in
Eternal Black. This pot smoking three piece traffic in powerful
riffs, punishing grooves and a sense of rock and roll chaos that
hints they could fall apart at any given moment. While their sound
and performance certainly felt defined by the size of their lineup
they pushed through a set of tracks that had the sort of crunch that
define many of the band on labels like Ripple Music and Heavy Psych
Sounds. The gruff, almost grunted vocals added a layer of beautiful
grit to the performance an hinted at a sort of longevity that I think
will aid Eternal Black for a long time to come.
Mantismass were truly impressive, their
sludgy approach to the genre is punishing. They have an almost static
live show which only makes their unique brand of doom metal all the
more punishing. There is a sort of sense of forward motion that makes
their live show exciting and inspires the listener to dig in a bit
deeper to the nihilistic poetry of this band and show. While they
certainly fit in the Brooklyn doom polemic it's fun to watch bands
like this because their buzzing and almost droning assault will keep
you in a trance and perpetually in love with the musics slow and
devastating burn as it winds its way into your soul.
Finally the tie had come for Thera Roya-
the local homies who haven't played a show since July because their
drummer was away .The bands post metal sound is delicious, Neurosis
worshiping and endlessly exciting Thera Roya have constantly pushed
themselves to bold new levels. They remain one of the most fun and
interesting bands to watch play live in this scene – they are
incredibly talented but unafraid to push boundaries. They dive easily
into free form jams and then break into riffs that were honed over
many hours of hard work. They have a shot to do far more than just
the local band circuit time and time again.
And so the soiree came to an end. We
had seen the doom and post metal destruction that we all know and
love and I was guided home by an equally drunk roommate. We had shared
in these sonic ablutions and realized that this above all things we
hold dear and could use together to create a better tomorrow. As dark
as it might seem today, tomorrow or any other day of the year we can
always count on demented heavy music to remind us of the harsh
realities and that no matter how ad we think we might have it, it
always gets worse.
Find the bands on Facebook:
Eternal Black: https://www.facebook.com/blackhanddoom/?fref=ts
Mantismass: https://www.facebook.com/mantismass/?fref=ts
Thera Roya: https://www.facebook.com/TheraRoya/?fref=ts
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