Editor's Note: Huge thanks to Kostas for covering this show after the initial writer fell ill.
It’s a mild Tuesday evening and despite the annoying rush hour traffic, I’m compelled to travel to the lovely Fleece in Bristol to watch an unusual package of bands. French doom rocksters Hangman’s Chair (8) take the stage first.
It’s a mild Tuesday evening and despite the annoying rush hour traffic, I’m compelled to travel to the lovely Fleece in Bristol to watch an unusual package of bands. French doom rocksters Hangman’s Chair (8) take the stage first.
They are the band I am most familiar with this evening. I’m standing right at the front and when I turn around at the start of their set, I’m surprised to only see 15-20 faithful ones in attendance. The figure will double by the end of the evening, but these skilled, talented doomsters deserve much better. They take us on a journey with a heavy emphasis on their masterpiece A Loner.
Singer/guitarist Cédric Toufouti enchants with his pristine vocals, while the overall sound is powerful and yet clean. Despite the band’s remarkable lack of engagement with the audience, this is a strong performance, and when I close my eyes I am transported to a serene universe away from the pain and suffering of this earthly vale of tears.
Dool (8) (Dutch for ‘wandering’) are a band that has arisen from the ashes of the much-missed occult rock outfit The Devil’s Blood. They don’t quite hit the magickal vibe of their predecessor, however their solid dark rock suits this stage perfectly and frontperson Raven Van Dorst oozes charisma and class. They delight the audience with an excellent cover of Love Like Blood and a strong selection of their original compositions, mostly centred around their album The Shape Of Fluidity.
Hailing from Portland, Oregon Mizmor (8) (Hebrew for ‘psalm’) is the outfit on tonight’s bill I’m least familiar with. Frontman A.L.N.’s screams of agony are the polar opposite of Cédric Toufouti’s angelic vocals and the sound strays remarkably from the clean vibe of the first two bands. Starting with a protracted blastbeat assault which lasts several minutes, one would be forgiven for being under the impression of attending the live ritual of an infernal black metal band.
Dool (8) (Dutch for ‘wandering’) are a band that has arisen from the ashes of the much-missed occult rock outfit The Devil’s Blood. They don’t quite hit the magickal vibe of their predecessor, however their solid dark rock suits this stage perfectly and frontperson Raven Van Dorst oozes charisma and class. They delight the audience with an excellent cover of Love Like Blood and a strong selection of their original compositions, mostly centred around their album The Shape Of Fluidity.
Hailing from Portland, Oregon Mizmor (8) (Hebrew for ‘psalm’) is the outfit on tonight’s bill I’m least familiar with. Frontman A.L.N.’s screams of agony are the polar opposite of Cédric Toufouti’s angelic vocals and the sound strays remarkably from the clean vibe of the first two bands. Starting with a protracted blastbeat assault which lasts several minutes, one would be forgiven for being under the impression of attending the live ritual of an infernal black metal band.
However, after a few minutes they slam on the breaks and what follows is a funereal sludge doom fest that would cause eargasm to the most demanding of doom acolytes. Unlike sludge icons Grief and their messy, chaotic faster outbursts, Mizmor seem equally comfortable at supersonic speed or at a torturous crawl. They go on to pummel our senses relentlessly, reminding us that despite our hopes and dreams, we remain eternal prisoners of this earthly vale of tears after all.
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