Manning Bar, Sydney
Friday November 9, 2018 :
It takes a special kind of person to listen to Heavy Metal, it takes an even crazier person to listen to Doom Metal, yet here we are, packed into the Manning Bar like a bunch of denim clad sardines. Arguments can be made for Black Sabbath being the first and most crucial heavy metal band of all time, other people might even argue that Tony Iommi already wrote every decent metal riff and everyone else is either just watering them down or just straight up ripping them off. The four bands on display showcase how different one sub-genre can be, and how, one band, can influence all four styles.
Up first is Sydney based 3 piece gargantuan riff machine Potion, which is an apt name, as they induce hypnotic almost buttery cascading riffs over a rumbling rhythm section, think of a drunken fist fight between Sleep and Eyehategod and you get the idea. Vocalist Lee brings it back down to earth with vocals reminiscent of desert doom giants like Kyuss and Dozer. Here’s the thing about being a doom band, especially when opening for other doom bands, you have to watch your clock because it’s very easy to go over your allotted time, especially when you play 8 minute songs, as is the case tonight. From the side of the stage a frantic stage tech is gesturing towards his watch trying to get the attention of the singer whose hair has slung over his eyes whilst providing the crowd a face melting solo, the band have gone over time by almost 10 minutes, the band realises, finishes their set promptly and hauls ass off stage.
Fortunately Cruciform have clearly done this before, even with a short change over time the band still manage to kick into their melancholic, morose doom with only seconds to spare. This is just a testament to the professionalism of the band who formed in Sydney in the the early 90’s, having broken up in 1995 before really having a chance to hit their peak. They were even approached by Earache records about a deal. They decided to dust off the old doom sticks to rumble the countryside once again in 2013 and fortunately for us because they are sight to behold. Invoking Black Sabbath riffs, My Dying Bride keyboards and low, harsh vocals, the 5 piece slowly roll through a set of monstrous doom. Singer/Drummer Michael drops a cheeky “This’ll be our last song” ten minutes before the end of their set, the crowd was vocally perturbed but Michael quickly quipped “That’s what you get when you play 8 minute songs” – See? This guy gets it.
It’s hard to explain to someone what Bell Witch sounds like, especially if they’ve never heard a musical art form like this. The best way to explain it is it’s like seeing a star die in the distance, beautiful, haunting and terrifying, it also sounds strangely close to this as well. Having released one of, if not the best funeral doom album of 2017 (Mirror Reaper), Bell Witch have afforded themselves to ascend into the halls of greatness, bringing with them a slab of down tuned, sludgy, cacophonous dirge. The two piece made up of Bassist/Vocalist Dylan Desmond and Drummer/Vocalist Jesse Shreibman have to be the most transfixing, heavy band this crowd has ever seen, not one punter moved basically from the first note until the final ring out, the band just demands that much focus. The slowest, most droning riffs coupled with the ambient melodic notes were all skillfully presented by Bassist/Vocalist Dylan, it was mesmerising watching an instrument being played for both good and evil. Bell Witch played their album Mirror Reaper in its entirety, which is one song, which goes for an hour and 23 minutes, however they cut out some of the ambience and noise tracks in between the main chunks of the songs and moulded the album into a tight, 50 minute onslaught of beautiful funeral doom. If you’re reading this and you’re thinking “what the hell is funeral doom” Please, do yourself a favour and check this album out along with bands like Moss and Ahab, you won’t be disappointed.
On the other side of the doom spectrum, closing tonight’s proceedings is a much more energetic and dare it be said “faster” band than all others on display tonight (which is honestly, probably not hard to do). Conan have played Sydney 5 times in their long career and you would think it was the first time here the way the crowd reacted to the band walking on stage. The 3 piece rattle the bones of the crowd with their down tuned UK fuzz, playing it hard and fast with overdriven guitars, a crushing rhythm section and a trade off of harsh, screeching vocals from Bassist singer Chris Fielding coupled with soaring stoner/desert vocals akin to Matt Pyke of High on Fire from Singer/Guitarist Jon Davis. The band rip into fan favourite Vexxagon which erupts the crowd into a rhythmic, almost tribal headbang, the band return the energy willingly. Liverpool native Jon Davis rasps “We’ve played like 5 times in Sydney, we’ve maybe played more times here than in Liverpool” There’s no wonder why, the band are fantastically welcomed into what is slowly becoming their second home. Who knew the sunny Sydney can bring out the best in the crusty, drab, doom bastards Conan.
Reviewer : Luke Winchester