KRALLICE + PYROLATROUS + YELLOW EYES + FÓRN @ BROOKLYN BAZAAR /  by Christopher Wiezorek

An extended trip out of town, a couple of missed shows, and a return to a much busier schedule have delayed me some here, but I am always game for a little catch up. July 21st marked a headlining show from Krallice at Brooklyn Bazaar. Doom and Black Metal were the flavors for the evening. All four bands were absolutely awesome. Fórn brought a slow and weighty doom performance. Yellow Eyes played a sort of gut churning, nauseating, hypnotic style of Black Metal. Despite sharing a drummer, Pyrolatrous and Krallice play distinctly different yet wholly satisfying styles of Black Metal. Pyrolatrous smash the audience with a relentless, and attacking style that gallops through their set. Krallice are a technical player's dream; they bring the weight, heft, and the brutality that one would expect, but they do it with supreme musicianship and precision playing. Overall, it was a heck of an evening to send me off onto vacation the next morning.

I will be catching up soon with my two evenings spent seeing Spirit Adrift!

MORTUARY DRAPE + VOLAHN + PYTHON + VILKACIS /  by Christopher Wiezorek

I am very happy I took the time to attend this show. Four bands that I was more or less unfamiliar with. Mortuary Drape fit into my rule of "if they're from outside of the US try to go see them." Once again, this rule paid off. Mortuary Drape hails from Italy, bringing with them "Necromantic Doom." What they brought to Saint Vitus on July 19th was a tight set of powerful black metal. Their vocalist comes cloaked similar to what you would think a medieval executioner wears; the other members don the traditional corpse paint and cloaks to cap things off. They were an incredible sight to see. There were massive hooks driving the crowd to sing along, blazing guitar solos, and even bass lines that were wildly inventive, adding a color not normally heard in this style of music.

Volahn were relentless with their attacking performance. Hailing from California, Volahn are a three piece black metal terrorizing force. Their pace of play was blistering from beginning to end. There were very few passages that weren't charging forward with blasting drums and strobing lights keeping the pace.

Python was an absolute treat. They fall somewhere into the black metal tapestry, but mostly in terms of imagery, tone, and even their sending a song out to those in the room that believe in the occult. If the Butthole Surfers were into the occult this may be what it would sound and look like; a psychedelic nightmare.

The most confrontational performance of the evening was almost certainly brought by Vilkacis. Not knowing the evening would lead to psychedelic nightmares, blistering black metal fit for war, and electrifying Italian Black Metal, Vilkacis brought with them the power to bludgeon. The vocal performance from Vilkacis is what struck me the most; the band provided a buoy to hang onto for dear life as they tore through their songs, while M Rekevics (presumably the vocalist, and only identified member on Bandcamp) drew power from the song and brought it to arms against the audience through his bellowing shrieks and howls. It was a welcome way to begin a great evening of performance.

HOPESFALL + END + GREYHAVEN /  by Christopher Wiezorek

Hopesfall. Hopesfall. Hopesfall. 

Hopesfall is a band that was so meaningful to me in my early 20s. Their album Satellite Years was one of my absolute favorites upon its release, and has been in and out of rotation for me throughout my adult life. Time wore, Hopesfall changed and grew, my tastes changed and grew too, and then Hopesfall, like many other bands, called it a day. I had pretty much assumed I would never see Hopesfall again. Then the gentleman that make up Hopesfall decided it was time to return, record a new album, and play some shows. 

I saw them a number of times throughout the Satellite Years era, but had not attended any shows from A Types on to their breakup. When this show was announced I knew I couldn't miss it. I didn't know how much Satellite Years or No Wings they would play, but I knew that I was going to be there to find out. The evening was a blur. No disrespect to End or Greyhaven who opened, played very enjoyable sets, with a ton of energy, but there was no way that Hopesfall wouldn't own this evening. End and Greyhaven actually fit quite well with the reunited Hopesfall, they would have been excellent bands to accompany Hopesfall on the road during their original run.

Hopesfall had complete command of the room. They played songs from all of their eras all the way up to their new LP, Arbiter. There were no lulls to their set at all. For me, their work has aged incredibly well. Every period of their work shined. It is not often that a group you love reunites and plays their work with the vigor and spirit that made you love it in the first place. I think everyone in attendance of the shows that Hopesfall played left wildly fulfilled. It really didn't matter which era of Hopesfall was "your era," they put an evening together that those there will not soon forget.

SARGEIST + WAYFARER + ORDEALS /  by Christopher Wiezorek

I have tried to make it a rule that if there's a band coming from out of the country to one of the venues I like I try to go to the show. The announcement of Sargeist coming to Brooklyn Bazaar on July 12th enticed me, then Wayfarer was added to the bill so the deal was done and I knew I would be attending. Ordeals, a black metal band local to NY, opened the evening. Ordeals are a band that lets their music speak for them. There is some makeup and corpse paint going on, but the main attraction is the confrontational nature of their battering set. Wayfarer are a band that had my attention with their most recent release being on Profound Lore Records, and then a good friend giving me the "you have to check these guys out" put them right on my radar. Being skeptical, one may think that Wayfarer is just another death / doom / black metal hybrid to come from the Denver metal scene that is absolutely booming right now. That would certainly be a skeptic's right, but it would be entirely wrong. Wayfarer bring a sort of Western soundtrack element to their brand of black metal that gives them their own unique soundscape. They captivated me from start to finish and set a high bar for Sargeist. Aside from knowing Sargeist are a black metal band hailing from Finland, I knew very little about them coming in. Performance is the key word when describing the show that Sargeist put on that evening. There is an air of ritualism to what they do; incense burning, a singing bowl, the corpse paint, and even a rug all add to the flavor of the show that they put on. The music itself is absolutely crushing and intense. I have to say I am thrilled to have been able to see this show.