Supports - Capricorns, 1 more
Southern Lord's Lair of the Minotaur finally make it over to the UK, taking Capricorns along with them. LOTM's most recent album 'The Ultimate Destroyer' was an awesome piece of unpolished, gritty metal fury, now with a new drummer following Larry Herweg from Pelican leaving the band and a new album on the way. Main support Capricorns are gaining popularity, and hopefully will have improved since I last saw them supporting Keelhaul.
Local supports start the night very well, strongly melodic, yet able to bring some fierce riffs. The vocals work really well, and stay away from straightforward shouting and the whole thing is definitely catchy. The only surprise comes from the introduction of a didgeridoo, which broke up the set nicely, but didn't really do enough to make the rest of the set memorable. A good start though, and I will certainly be looking out for them once I remember what they were called (Sorry)
Capricorns are a much bigger deal however, it definitely seems like a good amount of the crowd are here to see them, and they don't disappoint. Opening with some killer riffs and a healthy groove that carries on for the whole of the set, it is no wonder most of the crowd get swept in. Largely instrumental (not what i was expecting), but with more than enough going on instrumentally and more character than bands like Pelican, it works really well. The highlights would either be the opening riffs, or the new song which closed the set. Much longer than the other songs played, and featuring one growled verse of vocals, it hopefully gives an indication of where the band are going. The final riff played is fantastic, and leaves LOTM with a lot to make up.
Kicking off with the sludgy 'Behead the Gorgon', LOTM are disappointing at first. The rest of the band seems to shrink behind singer/guitarist Steven Rathbone, and everything just doesn't seem loud enough. After getting used to this, and once the band get warmed up (so it seems), things fall into place, despite a slightly less enthusiastic reception. All of the better tracks from their two albums are given an outing, 'The Hydra Coils...' being a fantastic bleak and sludgy centrepiece and encore song 'Juggernaut of Metal' proving their finest hour. It's a shame really that the band sound so flat on the night, the brutal vocals sound a bit dead and the guitar just isn't loud enough. Expecting a full on, harsh and undisputably metal performance, i got something that was amazing in its own right, but didn't live up to my ideal.
Notes
- Lair of the Minotaur played new material last night, it seems to be more technical, but still carrying everything you would expect from them.
- Japanese Noise/Hard Rock/Post Rock/Doom/whatever legends are due to play at Sleazy's on June 27th, for what will be an incredible gig.
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