Yearly Archives: 2013

Irish upstarts Visceral Attack are already laying siege to The Underworld as we arrive, and doing a damn fine job by the sounds of it. An energetic shot of thrash/punk that ends far too soon for my liking. It’s been a few years since the plucky five-piece last trod English soil. Don’t be strangers.

This feel-good factor is swiftly shat upon, with crust-fucks Bastard Hammer here to ruin your day. Reduced to a three piece on the night, the band lose nothing in battering ram intensity. The primitive crusty groove of songs like...

Swans took to the stage whilst country music was still blaring out of the PA system.  4 unassuming middle age gentlemen stepped forward and picked up their stringed instruments as 2 younger drummers took their seats hidden behind a wall of kit.  Tubular bells, mounted raised floor toms, giant gongs, they had it all.  Following a quick tune up they started playing whilst the PA was still going, but it was quickly turned off and "To Be Kind" gave Brighton it's first glimpse of Gira and co.  This new song is yet to be put down and released as a studio version, and starts with a minimal feedback loop...

Due to full time work commitments I arrived disappointingly late and Sahg were already playing to a somewhat small but enthusiastic crowd in London's Underworld club.  It was great to see a band going for it regardless of the lack of audience, head banging side by side, throwing their guitars skywards, they fully rocked out.  By set closer "Echoes Ring Forever" their enthusiasm was rewarded, the 40-50 people that had made the effort to get down early were...

The Garage brought shelter from the gloomy rainy Sunday for doom fans this weekend yet London decided to be fashionably late.  Witchsorrow took to the stage with roughly 40 people spaced out inside it's large interior.  Opening with "Aurora Atra" the 3 piece break the normal stage mould with drummer Dave and his kit sandwiched between Nick and Emily front of stage.  It made for an interested show, rather than being buried at the back I could watch him smack the hell out of his kit right under the front house lights.  Witchsorrow may not be breaking any ground with their material firmly routed in traditional doom but if it ain't broke, then why fix it?  Witchsorrow do it well, throwing up a good mix of Sabbath and Vitus vibes, some extremely slow sections, and some faster paced full rock out moments.  Thankfully for the band as the set went on the venue started to fill...

London's Diesel King have been a regular fixture on London's gig scene since their inception in 2010, but somehow i've managed to miss them until tonight.  They open the proceedings at the Camden Underworld, and for once it's good to see a large crowd has actually made the effort to get down early and see the support bands.  As lead singers go Mark O'Regan is bloody massive, all muscles and aggro, the embodiment of the bands huge, monstrous and pounding sludgy metal.  Despite the ferociousness during songs he builds a rapport with...