Under the
pouring rain and greyness of our february skies, doom and stoner enthusiasts
gathered once more at the ever-welcoming Glazart to enjoy yet another fine
lineup of bands brought to us by our friends at Stoned Gatherings.
First up on
our roster was the band Enos, whose
labeling on the gig flyer caught my attention, due to the fact that it
juxtaposed two words that it combined to words that I loved yet never thought
I'd see once day juxtaposed into a single term: SPACE DOOM! The 4 piece from
Brighton hit the stage and hit things off with what may be one of the best
opening shows I've seen so far this year. The band gave us a superb performance
combining some old-school bluesy rock n' roll riffs drenched in the fat,
earthshaking low end of fuzz-heavy distortion. Think of some epic old-school
space rock from the likes of Hawkwind crossed with the hard-hitting intensity
of stoner rock.
The thick sound and ecstatic reverberated leads, modulating and twisting under
the control of a wah pedal were simply ecstatic. The vocals had a deep flanger
effect on them to add to the trippy, mind-bending sound and were handled by the
guitarist, who delivered a great performance as well, switching between clean
singing and powerful yelled vocals. Whereas I would rather label the music as
"Space Stoner", the band did have quite a few tinges of doom
scattered all throughout their well-balanced set.
If the words "Epic Space stoner" is not enough to convince you to
check this band out, I don't know what will. For the rest of you, get ready to
sit back, fasten your seatbelts and get ready to rock out.
The second
band lined up for this fine evening was yet another great surprise and superb
live experience. Going by the name of Salem's
Pot, this Swedish band hit the stage wearing what appeared to be Venetian
masks, ceremoniously placing a lit candle holder unto a table at the center of
the stage while a preachy country song chanting "Satan IS REAL" was
being played in the background. In store for us was a superb set of heavy metal
from the genre's very early days, delivered with a theatrical and cinematic
vibe revolving around 70's occult-themed horror flicks.
The bands' overall live sound made for a nice change by being significantly
more focused and precise while still keeping a decent amount of punch. Respect
must be given where it is due; this was a superbly mixed live setup, pulsating
on the rhythm of the punchy kick drum that managed to stay thick without ever
overpowering the bass guitar sound.
As for the setlist, Salem's Pot made sure to balance out their 50 minute set
with a good deal of diversity, putting the bands' creative talent on full
display: we got some absolutely wicked doom metal songs but also some lighter
yet still occult themed blues-inspired hard rock tunes.
Drawing inspiration from a time when psychedelic rock slowly drifted into dark,
sinister new territories, it seems clear that Salem's Pot are here to bring
some of the Wickedness of 70's hard rock and heavy metal music back to the
musical foreground. Armed with some superb stage presence and a set of eerie
yet diverse, well-composed songs, Salem’s pot are a refreshing, exciting act
you SHOULD be paying close attention to.
Last but
certainly not least, Monolord
stepped to stage to close the evening off with their headlining set. The
Gothenburg based outfit, who is just about to release their widely anticipated sophomore
release Vaenir next month, have been
building up quite a bit of momentum ever since their excellent debut release Empress Rising hit the shelves last
year.
Having to keep up with the top quality opening acts preceding their set,
Monolord were faced with quite a bit of pressure in order to bring this evening
to its deserving climax. However, not only did this gig meet our expectations
with great ease, the band simply went all-in and gave us one of the best stoner
metal shows I've ever seen. Armed with a set of slow, dirty and ferocious
tracks (including a couple of new ones off their upcoming release), Monolord
thrashed out and shook every single audience member to their core with their
earth-shattering formula of doom metal blended with the buzzing, booming aggression
of stoner metal from the likes of classic early-day Electric Wizard. It did not
take very long for our headlining act to conquer the venues' entire audience,
turning the crowd into a mass of heads swaying back and forth to the grooves of
the Swedish doom. Headbanging was absolutely not optional.
During the course of the band's relentlessly heavy set, buzz saw fuzz timbres
and thick, punchy bass vibrations filled the venue with a perfect balance
between jaw-dropping intense distortion and sonic clarity to allow the bands'
brilliant writing skills to shine through.
As
Monolords' magnificient set drew to a close, so did this equally magnificent
evening, leaving us satisfied yet at the same time craving for more, hooked if
you will. Whether you're a doom or stoner metal fan, I can only hope you were
at the right place at the right time last Thursday, as this show has a very
good shot at being crowned as the best stoner/doom concert of the season. For
those who're unlucky enough to have missed out on the sure, be sure to check out each and every one of
these terrific bands.
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.
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| Enos Setlist |
