By Jonny Bakes
There’s now a wee glimmer of hope that we may see a return to live music in the relatively near future, which is not a bad way to end what has been a pretty bleak year. But, in an effort to not get myself too excited, I’ll be keeping things slow and heavy with this little collection of live sets that I have come across. These four sets were all recorded at the Day of Doom showcase live at Brooklyn’s Saint Vitus Bar back in November 2019 which brought together the finest bands that Magnetic Eye Records have to offer for one big day of pure unadulterated doom metal.
The four headline sets from this event were recorded to immortalise this special event that celebrated the first decade of MER’s existence and I must say that there could not be a better choice of bands to really represent the roster of Magnetic Eye Records. The four bands hail from the four corners of the globe and all bring slow crushing heaviness to this event. There’s Swedish lads Domkraft, Boston’s Summoner, those crazy Aussies Horsehunter and of course, the Über Kingdom’s very own Elephant Tree. Each of these sets is being released as a standalone release, or if you’re feeling particularly flush you can buy all four of them together in a special edition hardcover art book! To help you make up your mind, hows about I dive right in and take a look at each of the sets?
Let’s start with Domkraft who had hauled themselves all the way from Stockholm to deliver an experience that is the musical equivalent of swimming in treacle. It’s a pretty relentless display of pure sludgy doom metal with a constant assault of brain rattling bass drone. It’s almost an hypnotic experience as the wall of noise washes over you while they trudge through a set of their popular tracks including ‘Meltdown of the Orb’ and ‘Through the Ashes’. Opening up the set with ‘The Rift’, Domkraft instantly hit you with some seriously filthy heavy bass that leaves no questions about what you’re about to experience. It’s almost like if you were to take Mastodon and slow them right down so that you end up with something of the same ferocity and energy, but it takes its time while grabbing you by the balls instead of rushing through it. With each song generally lasting somewhere around the 8 minute mark, there’s a solid amount to get your teeth into with this set, and certainly one hell of a heavy experience. So that’s a solid yes from me for the first set, just three more to go…
Next up – Elephant Tree. Now these guys should be well known to anyone who’s familiar with the ÜK doom scene as, let’s face it, Elephant Tree are a pretty big name! They also caught the attention of Magnetic Eye Records straight out of the gate with their demo back in 2015 so I guess you could say that they’re pretty decent. Again, this is another healthy dose of some heavy shit, it’s almost as if this all-dayer was dedicated to that or something… as always there’s a near-perfect balance of fuzzy riffs and excellent vocal harmonies, the like of which any established Elephant Tree fans will be familiar with. They also bring a significant amount of groove to the party as well that is almost infectious and gets right under your skin. By the time I was halfway through the second song on the set, ‘Dawn’, I found myself almost uncontrollably headbanging (which makes it very difficult to type up notes!). This set was one that I ended up replaying a good few times, because I was hungry for more by the time I got to the end, and mostly just so that I could hear ‘Wither’ again.
Horsehunter, while only having four tracks to their set, still managed to fill a solid 45 mins with some serious aggression. The grooves of Elephant Tree are a distant memory as I’m completely pummelled by the guttural cries and nasty riffs. It’s the kind of music that makes me pull the classic “Phil Anselmo face” as I get buried under the sheer heaviness of this spectacle. The opening track may be called ‘Bring out Yer Dead’ but the atmosphere is far from dead that’s for sure! This is immediately followed by ‘Nuclear Rapture’ which is a pretty fitting name for this song as it’s about as explosive as an 18-kiloton bomb. Seriously, I don’t know how these guys managed to fly over from Australia with riffs this heavy; the plane would hardly get off the ground! That’s probably why they had to borrow gear to make this performance happen but I, for one, am sure glad that they did.
Last, and by no means least, it’s time to groove away with Boston lads Summoner. This set is the odd one out really as, instead of having crushing heavy riffs and a slow gloomy atmosphere, this starts out as a raucous energetic affair with ‘Skies of the Unknown’. Things take a more familiar turn with ‘Let the Light In’ which sets a pace more in line with the other bands in this collection. This is more instrument driven than the previous song, with long psychedelic instrumentals that dominate to a point that the vocals are sidelined. But then this is followed with another raucous upbeat number in the form of ‘The Interloper’ making this set somewhat of a rollercoaster! The guitar harmonies in this track are pretty fantastic though and very reminiscent of Thin Lizzy at times, must be the Boston-Irish connection… Again this is another seriously solid set, and tops of an impressive collection!
What is particularly impressive about all of these sets is the audio quality. Each set is completely crisp and captures all the individual instruments perfectly, they’ve even managed to capture that ribcage-rattling bass without any distortion which is pretty impressive if you ask me! It’s difficult to pick favourites (although Elephant Tree may have just pipped it) which just means that you’ll have to get the collection of all 4 to get the most out of these. This is perfect for any doom fan who is currently sat at home eagerly awaiting the grand return to gigs, and it may just help scratch that itch a little bit – it certainly worked for me!
- All four albums are out now. You can get your copies, either individually or together as a 4CD artbook, HERE.
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