Gig review: Russian Circles, Deafheaven

When I first heard about this tour I was completely mind blown by the lineup and I was hoping that I can catch a show. As it turned out, my visit to the Netherlands was not well adjusted and there was no way for me to grab the performance. Yet, by some extremely unexpected and lucky circumstances, my stay was prolonged and one more amazing gig has been added to my seen live list. 

The show occurred a few days ago, namely on 21 April 2012, in a venue called "Tivoli De Helling" located in Utrecht, the fourth largest city in the Netherlands. Generally speaking, this venue reminded me of "Doornroosje" in Nijmegen, the place where the "Kylesa" show was held in February and about which you can read in my gig review here. Unlike "Sleeping Beauty", "Tivoli De Helling" has a really minimalist exterior and is basically just a big, dark, neat building with not much outside decoration. There is a wide entry door at the front and a small ticket window on its right side, numerous windows on the upper floor and that is pretty much all that grabs your eyesight while you are walking toward the place. The interior remains somewhat dark as well, but at the same time it is very lively. First thing that you notice is a nice bar just across the room and several small tables for enjoying your drinks.  On the left side of the place there is a secluded smoking room, while on the right there is a big drop counter for leaving jackets and bags. Also, near the very entrance, a small band merch table is located, the place where my better half and me fell to the temptation of buying the amazing silk-screened tour poster. Soon upon arriving we moved to the actual show space to which you enter through a double door near the smoking room. The gig room is the thing that really reminded me of "Doornroosje", as far as both the design and the technical features go. A wide, spacey location capable of supporting a great number of attendants, decorated with dim light, occasional clouds of smoke and a big stage that dominates the sight. As you will realize by the end of this review, the sound capabilities were very powerful and satisfying as well.
Doors of the venue opened at 7:30 PM, the show being scheduled to start at 8:15 PM. A short delay followed, but soon enough "Deafheaven" took the stage and kicked off the night. Seeing the band in February this year absolutely blew my mind away and left me stunned, so I was really looking forward to checking them out a second time and compare the two performances. In case you missed my review of their show in Amsterdam you can check it out here. By now all of my readers know how big my infatuation for this band is and I presume that this black metal band already crawled into the hearts of many who visit the blog. Ever since their first recordings surfaced on the light of day they have just kept grabbing more and more of my liking, this show being yet another step down that same path. Much like as on their previous gig which I attended, songs from "Roads to Judah" were played and this time we heard the album in its entirety, all four songs wrapped into a magnificent 45 minute performance. Already the beginning of "Violet" signaled that the sound will definitely not disappoint and in fact it managed to grow stronger. I was standing there in front of the stage in awe as wave after wave of the audio ocean kept hitting the senses nonstop, the very floor trembling under the onslaught of "Deafheaven". Movement on stage was also quite lively, with one of the guitarists constantly swinging himself as he played and, of course, the dancing of the singer did not go unnoticed. I have to admit though, that his act wasn't as nearly as provocative and taunting as in Amsterdam, which I presume is much more appealing for the majority of the crowd. Yet, as before, he managed to spice up the whole spectacle with his body movement. At this point I will stop with giving compliments to "Deafheaven", simply because I would end up repeating my words from the other review. The only bad thing that occurred on this particular show was the extremely low volume of the vocal... or well, the high volume of the instruments. The vocal was barely noticeable, despite Clarke screaming his lungs out and putting maximum effort. The only instances where he could be properly heard were moments when the guitar playing would be toned down a bit, like in some instances in "Unrequited". I have no idea whether the band noticed this imbalance of sound, but it definitely made their performance lower in intensity. Overall, their act was impressive, but I think it would be on a much better scale if the vocals were in proper order, possibly overshadowing the previous show I saw. Either way, this flaw wasn't actually their fault, so I am still pretty much far from even considering being disappointed.

About twenty or so minutes after "Deafheaven" went off stage, "Russian Circles" began. What is there to say about this brilliant post rock/post metal trio? If you haven't heard about them yet, you were probably living under a stone for the past eight years. In the said period, the band has kept lashing out astounding releases, constantly growing and expanding their sound, being stronger and more impressive every step of the way. I have been in love with their music ever since "Enter" came out back in 2006 and now it was finally time to witness them live. Prior to the show I was told that they were amazing in concert and during this show those claims came to be utterly true. The unstoppable force created by these three men on stage broke loose with the tones of the song "Carpe" and from that point on I was completely amazed, watching and listening for the next hour totally stunned. It was absolutely amazing to witness the gigantic wall of sound created by only three band members. Everything was shaking with intensity, then in another moment gentle melodies make the audience relax a bit only to be smashed again by an audio explosion. If one would just listen to their performance with closed eyes, the band would definitely be mistaken for an entire orchestra. The first song continued into "Harper Lewis", later followed by songs such as "309", "Youngblood" and "Death Rides A Horse". There was a perfect mixture of older songs and the tracks from their latest album "Empros", so I really feel like they managed to satisfy everyone who attended. Each song was performed in a perfect manner, sounding literally as on the recordings with the great clash of calm and aggressive for which they are famous for. With the addition of the above mentioned monstrously epic sound they really managed to create an impressive audio landscape and absolutely impress.
It is really tough to make a closing word for this concert. Maybe it is because this year has been extremely fruitful for me, as far as seeing amazing shows goes, so I always end up being mind blown. Either way, the night on April 21 will definitely be in the basket for running toward the best show of 2012. I sincerely hope that I will have a chance to see these bands again, despite seeing one of them twice already, and that they don't stop doing what they do for a very, very long time.

Gig review: Deafheaven, Hierophant, Fire Walk With Us

After an extensive period without shows, a draining three months to be exact, my first gig in 2012 finally happened. And I must say that it was quite an opener, featuring the band which released definitely one of the top ten albums of 2011. No need for any special introductions, just read on.

This amazing gig happened three days ago, namely on 17 February 2012, in a venue called "Winston Kingdom" located in the famous Red Light District in Amsterdam. Yes, I am really far away from my boring "home" at the moment. Seriously, gigs which are happening here in the Netherlands are amazingly beyond my comprehension and I am really hoping to actually burrow my roots here soon. In any case, the above mentioned venue is wonderful, to say the least. On first glance it might appear plain to the visitor, but the more you hangout inside the more you notice how great it is. The first footsteps that you take inside lead you to a corridor where you must leave your coat in the wardrobe, which is actually lined on the right side of the small hallway. Yes, the wardrobe is mandatory, but it is only one euro, so it is really no big deal. Once you enter the actual gig room, you see a bar in front of you, holding the left side of the space and the small stage on the right. As much as I managed to notice, the stage is octagonal in shape, so it is easily accessed and viewed from two sides and, seeing as how the venue is really small, this is quite an interesting architectural idea. The lights inside the room are scarce and the overall ambient is dark, which was very suitable for the upcoming concert.

First up that night was a local band called "Fire Walk With Us", a quartet which managed to shake up the quiet venue with sounds of  post rock/metal. No vocals, just strings, drums and nonstop shifts in the audio landscape. Without an ounce of exaggeration, I was really impressed with this band's performance, since they completely held the focus of my eyes and ears toward the stage for their entire set. I have never heard about their music prior to the gig, which in turn makes me unable to list the exact songs that were played, but their appearance came as an interesting surprise. They managed to throw a massive slam to the senses on each step of the way, be it with a calm atmospheric melody, a tense buildup or a remarkably devastating wave of sound, the act keeps you pinned down through and through. While my senses were constantly attacked, my brain tried to compare "Fire Walk With Us" with some other bands in hopes of describing their music more easily. Associations which came to mind are really impressive, the band possibly drawing influence from names like "Time To Burn", "Omega Massif", some early works from "Switchblade" and even the work of the more experimental acts such as "L'Homme Puma". The interesting thing is that all those influences which you get to hear are there for just a brief second, since the band manages to sculpt sound which is truly unique to them alone. Thus far this band gave birth to two releases, "EP#1" in 2008 and their youngest album "Carriers" which came out in October of 2011, both of which you can listen on their bandcamp page found here. A truly amazing band, be sure to check them out and follow their work.

After a small break, "Hierophant" took the stage. I was faced with this band numerous times in the past, but never actually grabbed the chance to listen to them, so they were a truly welcome addition to the show. Yet another four piece band, this time hailing from Italy and bringing along the sounds of "brutal hardcore crust", as described by the organizer of the gig. Let me be clear that beyond a doubt they succeeded in smashing the entire venue with their tunes and the overall quality of their sound and performance was great. You sense a "but" coming up, don't you? Yes, well, the thing that poked at my ears during their set is the duality of the song composition which is quite extreme. Usually, their songs start in an unbelievably aggressive fashion, a truly brutal d-beat-like strike which lasts just enough to blow your brains out. But after that there comes a drastic downfall in tempo where crust tunes turn to sludge, so the song in question ends up being dragged to oblivion, which actually makes the fast opening go bleak and it turns the song a bit dull. The funny thing is that I am currently listening to their songs at home and the tempo shift is neither dramatic nor boring. I presume that they just didn't manage to push my buttons live, most probably due to the fact that I was extremely anxious about seeing the band after the Italians. So basically you should ignore a large part of this paragraph and go take a listen to "Hierophant" on their bandcamp page, found here, and in no way should you feel like skipping any future gigs the band might have. I myself would love to catch them again and show to my brain that they are actually able to put up a good performance.

Following "Hierophant" came a good twenty or more minute break filled with anxiousness and expectation. Luckily my girlfriend met a couple of her friends at that moment, so my mind was busy with  being introduced to new people and trying not to look like a complete retard from all the excitement about the upcoming band. In any case, at one point a sort of extended version of the intro from the song "Violet" was ringing through the venue for some 10 minutes and very soon "Deafheaven" climbed onto the stage. I think there is no special need to introduce this well known black metal quintet from San Francisco, since they managed to rise through the ranks aggressively and in almost no time. Next to "Wolves In The Throne Room", they are the band that push me deep into the previously, for me, unexplored genre and seal my love for it. Their demo from 2010 was a total surprise and a definite unexpected kick, further empowered by "Roads to Judah" which, as I said above, grasped my top 2011 list. In the exact same fashion as their recordings managed to make me stunned, their performance consumed my attention and amazement without remorse. The second they climbed the stage it was a completely new world, both in audio and visual aspect. From those gentle and soothing introductions, to the blasting tones crashing the walls around you and the epically weaved bridges, "Deafheaven" additionally spiced their performance up with the stage movement. While the instrument players were normally calm and waving around with shoegaze-like motion, the singer George Clarke unleashed body movement perfectly correspondent to the sound, the emotions created through music and the very band name. He was extremely provocative, sexual and addictive, seeming self-centered and with a pumped up ego, reminding me of the singer from "Swing Kids", or "Blue Note" whichever you prefer, from last year's Fluff Fest. People usually frowned upon on such acting and behavior, but what they don't understand, in my opinion, is that it goes so well with the performance. Not every band can pull that off and not get bashed for it, but these two bands are a perfect example of success. Clarke appeared as the only particle pulsing with life, with moments where his movement suggested a state of being deaf or insane, correlating wonderfully with the band name. "Unrequited" and "Language Games" continued, being perfectly executed that night. "Winston Kingdom" provided an excellent acoustic and sound-friendly space, so that the songs came out stunning and even sounding better than on recordings. The final minutes of the last song saw a true crescendo and collapse of everything, the entire band finally showing movement with some even falling to the floor as the melody slowly died, while for the first time the singer went calm, signaling the end of a beyond amazing performance.

And what else to say in the end? The first show in 2012 and already "Deafheaven" managed to stamp this show as possibly one of the best concerts for the coming year. Other candidates will have a hard time beating this, though they are welcome to try.

One thing worth mentioning before I close this, rather long, review is that I managed to exchange a few words with Clarke prior to their set, concerning the interview that was discussed several months ago, but never really happened. He was generous enough to offer to talk after the show, but sadly I was unable to attend due to a tight train schedule back home. Needless to say, I will try once again to reach them through email, but thanks to Clarke for the offer of doing a live interview...which I would most probably fail at, since I never did interviews live, so maybe the trains aided in saving my reputation.

In any case, this was a superb show and if you have a chance to grab these bands live, do so! I am sure you won't regret such a decision. Thanks for reading and I sincerely hope you enjoyed the review.