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.