Day I
As with the previous year, work commitments
kept me from getting to the fest on time and, again, I had to miss a couple of
acts. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to catch either Whilt or Blighter.
PRIMITIVE MAN
First up, for me, was the misanthropic assault
of Primitive Man. Their ugly, hateful dirges had intentions nothing short of
decimating the weak. The three-piece constructed their set around a complete
disregard for humanity and theirs was the sound of hate and fury. The band
lived up to their namesake by bludgeoning the crowd with crawling tempos
matched with occasional bursts of upbeat fury. Noise. Death. Doom.
LYCANTHIA
Australia’s Lycanthia were the perfect follow
up to the focused hate unleashed by Primitive Man. Though not completely devoid
of aggression, Lycanthia’s use of keys and violin had a calming effect after
what was arguably the most caustic set of the fest. The band’s gothic styled
death-doom utilized both female vocals and death growls which produced a set
that had moments of dark melancholia and beauty. The band seemed to have a
great time playing in the US and stuck around for the second night of the fest.
It was great to have them on board.
THE SKULL
Closing out the first night of the fest, and
one of my personal favorite performances of the event, was The Skull. The
Trouble splinter group played classics from ‘Psalm 9’ through ‘Plastic Green
Head’ and they fucking killed it. The classic heavy doom from their earliest
releases and the stoner inspired rock of their later albums were equally
represented. Not only did the band sound great, but they also seemed to be
having a blast playing on stage and interacting with the crowd. An awesome way
to end the first night of the fest.
Day II
KHEMMIS
Kicking off day two of the fest was Khemmis—a
late addition to cover the gap left by the cancellation of Fister. Though I was
bummed to hear that Fister had to drop out of the lineup, Khemmis were a
fantastic replacement. They were tight, heavy, and had a head-nodding stoner
groove that remained unrivalled for the rest of the festival. This band was a
great surprise and I’m looking forward to hearing material beyond their
‘Sunrise/Sunset’ rehearsal demo.
BLACK ACID DEVIL
Continuing where Khemmis ended and pulling off
one of the most energetic sets of the night was Black Acid Devil. The band
dabbled in the same sonic territory as Khemmis, but took an adrenalized,
amphetamine fuelled approach to their brand of stoner sludge. Fuzzed-out
riffs and frantic solos punctuated every tune.
PENDULOUS
A gloomy, forlorn atmosphere and a killer,
wide-ranging vocal performance were the highlights of Pendulous’ set. E.R.M.’s
melodramatic stage presence was nothing shy of tortured and he effortlessly
shifted between melancholic clean vocals and guttural wails. It was cool to see
and hear the band live after checking out the band’s ‘Mirrored Confessions’ EP
on their Bandcamp page following Steph’s killer review.
DEAD TEMPLE
What’s better than an occult doom band with
female vocals? Try an occult doom band with female vocals in triplicate. Yep,
Denver’s own Dead Temple utilizes three vocalists to peddle their brand of old
school doom. The band effortlessly combines traditional metal, doom, and
theatrics into a memorable, hard rocking show.
IN THE COMPANY OF SERPENTS
The workhorse sludge/doom duo In the Company of
Serpents never fails to deliver. The band is heavy-as-fuck and always gives
100% on stage and night two of the fest was no different. Their set was amongst
the heaviest and the duo continued to tease the audience with tracks from their
anticipated upcoming full-length, ‘Of the Flock’.
GRAVECODE NEBULA
Shrouded in black, Salt Lake City’s Gravecode
Nebula combined a killer set of blackened funeral doom with an ominous stage
presence for one hell of a memorable performance. Acting as conduits, the band
channeled eerie atmospherics from the darkest recesses of the netherworld. I’m
totally looking forward to checking out more from this band.
STOIC DISSENTION
Keeping with the theme initiated by Gravecode
Nebula was Colorado’s own Stoic Dissention. The band killed it with their blend
of black metal, doom, and sweeping post metal. Their set was equal parts
blackened gloom and trippy atmospherics accompanied by tortured howls and chants.
Definitely looking forward to the band’s forthcoming album…
VELNIAS
Prior to performing, Boulder’s Velnias cleansed
the stage with a bundle of sage and proceeded to play a candlelit set. The
band’s music is moody enough, but the candles and darkness contributed to the
overall atmosphere. Similar to the previous fest, Velnias combined moments of
restrained intensity with outright blasts of blackened fury.
SHROUD OF BEREAVEMENT
One of the most interesting acts of the night
was New Hampshire’s Shroud of Bereavement who mixed death metal and doom with a
heavy focus on keyboards and piano. Add to the mix guttural growls wailed in
unison with operatic female vocals and you get an idea of where Shroud of
Bereavement is coming from. The band executed a killer set and were happy to be
playing the fest. To top-it-off it was Steph Robinson’s (vocals/keyboards)
birthday and the crowd was more than happy to sing her “Happy Birthday”.
EVOKEN
What else can be said about this band that
hasn’t been said before? Despite a few technical difficulties to kick-off their
set, the band persevered and managed to pull off a crushingly heavy set of
moody funeral doom. Evoken was able to match the epic, forlorn crawl of their
recorded output and somehow make it heavier and more oppressive.
Words and photos:
Steve Miller
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