 Vile Creature opened the night with their gigantic, potent sound. With two band members, they created an impressive resonance throughout the room and captivated the audience with shrieks, screams, repeating heavy riffs and cymbal crashes. They also featured a third member on stage for a song, but played the majority of the set as their standard duo. They are a band whose message of cultural and sexual inclusivity and diversity is strong and pummeling, providing an outlet for those marginalized and under represented. (C) 2018 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com Photo credit: Rob Botten I have seen YOB once before: New Year’s Eve 2015 in Vancouver at the Rickshaw Theater. That was the first time I had ever heard them (or of them!) and I remember the whole experience vividly. There was the sensation of being pulled into a whirlpool of sound, with the water lapping around you beckoningly, promising a type of safety in murky ocean depths. If 2015 was a set of water, then 2018 was a set of fire. I don’t think any one could quite expect the magnitude of energy that would emerge once YOB opened with their first song “Ablaze.” Like a lit match, they ignited and filled the room with light and instrumental heat. It became clear very quickly that this band functions fully as a single, tight-knit unit, completely interdependent on each other. Just as Aaron Rieseberg and Travis Foster were dependent on Mike Scheidt’s survival to continue playing, so is Mike dependent on Aaron and Travis to perform and share these songs. There is a vulnerability to their playing and their dynamic as a band both on and off stage that demonstrates not fearlessness, but rather their ability to face fear and to work together to transcend difficulties and set backs. From start to finish, every piece allowed listeners to fly on a heavy psychedelic trip of pain, sorrow, and triumph, with Mike raising his arms from time to time between songs and screaming “YEAH!” victoriously in defiance of all he has gone through the past couple of years, reminding us that we too are victorious in our own struggles. | Written by Marty Adem Photographed by Rob Botten (C) 2018 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com @ The Mod Club Toronto, ON, Canada July 4, 2018 Click here for our interview with YOB bassist Aaron Rieseberg Presented by Inertia Entertainment Oppressive heat has a way of altering our perception of surroundings, both sounds and images, dulling our cognitive ability to function and forcing us to recede to darker places in search of shade and reprieve. With high heat comes also a slew of emotions and frustrations, a turbulent stream in need of release, and as luck would have it, Toronto was in for the perfect cathartic treat to allow it all to pour forth. On the 4th of July, audience members receded to the cool, air conditioned bowels of the Mod Club and bore witness to three progressive and emotionally gut-wrenching performances: Vile Creature, Bell Witch and YOB. (C) 2018 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com Photo credit: Rob Botten Next up was Bell Witch, a fellow West Coast band who have been touring with their latest album Mirror Reaper for the last year or so. The album is a masterpiece, and being able to witness it on stage with professional sound and lighting only amplifies it all the more. It was an absolute delight to see them perform this again (last time was at Coalition with Primitive Man on Nov 1st, 2017), and to still be able to feel all of the raw intensity that was there the first time I heard them play it. One does not need to necessarily know the tragedy of death in order to be able to feel the depth of emotions brewing in this album. They have an ability to entrance the audience, to reach in and pull at the heart, to stir up the well of emotions within an individual and to offer a release of these. I even saw one woman crying already as they were starting their set. Many were moved to tears, or at least subdued to silence and contemplation, some even hugging their friends and loved ones whom they had come to the show with. Communal mourning and grieving is a long held human custom, and Jesse and Dylan have taken this ritual to new depth with the performance of this album, engaging with audience members and allowing them to feel their own personal despair within a safe and accepting social setting. (C) 2018 All rights reserved by www.metalmasterkingdom.com Photo credit: Rob Botten |
He’s back. YOB is back, and Mike left no room for doubt as to his ability to play or sing from the moment he started; from the beginning, he prowled and bounced around the stage, exuding confidence and demonstrating his regained playing and singing ability. His voice has also definitely changed since the last album Clearing The Path To Ascend, and what it lacks in typical psychedelic rock vocals has been made up for in leaps and bounds in rawness, gritty-ness, and a new-found ability to reach even higher altitudes of shrieks. This was perhaps most evident in “The Screen”, where his punctuating screams were even sharper and more hawk-like than on the recording. It is as if he has reached deeper in to go further beyond and to bring us with him. Similarly to Bell Witch, YOB has an expert ability to rip the emotions out of you, to make you feel that it is ok to feel, and to engage in communal catharsis. By the end of the set (which included not just songs from Our Raw Heart, but also a few songs from The Great Cessation the crowd was ecstatic, and lighter, floating from the euphoria of the performance.
After finishing with “Burning The Altar,” Mike immediately began to shake hands with every one in the front row, thanking some people by name, and exuding warmth and gratitude, demonstrating that he needs us to play, just as much as we need him and the rest of the band to feel. This outpour of thanks and handshakes continued as people trickled out and as bands were loading out, until only a few remained. Even as security guards shooed people away, the tour manager still brought people up to Mike to shake his hand and to get autographs.
Love. Empathy. Inclusivity. Coming together in times of hardship and mourning. For a genre that is often perceived as dark and depressive, doom has come a long way in proving that it can be a profound inspiration of community and tenderness between people. These bands in particular are experts in breaking down barriers of hate, derision, and emotional blockage, allowing listeners and audience members to express themselves. That night, they provided a safe space for everyone to simply feel and partake in the cathartic release of emotions being amplified by the oppression of the heat. Communal catharsis has been an ever-present tradition in human history, and now, perhaps more than ever, as people become more isolated and hectic with their lives, it is necessary to allow even just a moment to disengage and to just be, and to let the struggles of daily life emerge and leave our physical bodies in the form of communal song, weeping, and ecstatic movement. These performances provided this necessity for many who I'm sure were grateful for being able to bear witness. Truly, it was an evening that made one feel vibrant and aglow with positivity and warmth.
After finishing with “Burning The Altar,” Mike immediately began to shake hands with every one in the front row, thanking some people by name, and exuding warmth and gratitude, demonstrating that he needs us to play, just as much as we need him and the rest of the band to feel. This outpour of thanks and handshakes continued as people trickled out and as bands were loading out, until only a few remained. Even as security guards shooed people away, the tour manager still brought people up to Mike to shake his hand and to get autographs.
Love. Empathy. Inclusivity. Coming together in times of hardship and mourning. For a genre that is often perceived as dark and depressive, doom has come a long way in proving that it can be a profound inspiration of community and tenderness between people. These bands in particular are experts in breaking down barriers of hate, derision, and emotional blockage, allowing listeners and audience members to express themselves. That night, they provided a safe space for everyone to simply feel and partake in the cathartic release of emotions being amplified by the oppression of the heat. Communal catharsis has been an ever-present tradition in human history, and now, perhaps more than ever, as people become more isolated and hectic with their lives, it is necessary to allow even just a moment to disengage and to just be, and to let the struggles of daily life emerge and leave our physical bodies in the form of communal song, weeping, and ecstatic movement. These performances provided this necessity for many who I'm sure were grateful for being able to bear witness. Truly, it was an evening that made one feel vibrant and aglow with positivity and warmth.
| VILE CREATURE Kw Campol - Guitars & vocals Vic Creature - Drums Chris Colohan - Guest vocals Label: Halo Of Flies Records Website: www.facebook.com/vilecreature | BELL WITCH Dylan Desmond - Bass & vocals Jesse Shreibman - Drums & vocals Label: Profound Lore Records Website: www.bellwitch.bandcamp.com | YOB Mike Scheidt - Guitar, Vocals Aaron Rieseberg - Bass Travis Foster - Drums Label: Relapse Records Website: www.yobislove.com |
RSS Feed
