Domkraft Summon The Magic of Live at 'Day Of Doom’
At the start of "The Rift" you can hear DOMKRAFT interacting with the crowd, announcing what they're next to play, which is immediately met by cheers of approval. In those opening seconds, my mind conjured the memories of a dozen festivals (including Psycho Las Vegas, where Domkraft made their North American stage debut).
You just can't beat the magic of "live" sometimes, especially when it comes to experiencing music from the heavy underground, where musicians pay such close attention to crafting their sound. Some would say they're downright fanatical about it -- tales of guitar players using bass strings, exotic pedalboards shaping the sound that emits from giant Sunn and Orange amps keyed into all the right settings. It's trivial to say that when it comes to doom, what you hear live is more than just a faithful reduplication of the record; it's the next level of the medium -- the slow 'n' low as it was meant to be experienced.
On December 11th, Magnetic Eye Records will cut loose their Day Of Doom live series with four bands who played the celebration of the label's first 10 years at Saint Vitus Bar in New York City -- including performances by Domkraft, Horsehunter, Elephant Tree, and Summoner. Coming at in individual CD and vinyl renditions, as well as a four-CD artbook (pre-order here). Today, Doomed & Stoned gives you a window into last year's epic gathering with "The Rift" from Domkraft's monstrous full-length debut, The End of Electricity.
Singer and bassist Martin Wegeland had this to share with Doomed & Stoned about the 11-minute monolith:
"There's a manic touch to this song that I still really like. Some kind of melancholic desperation on top of a good pummeling. I think we've played it at almost every show, and it has a pretty unique quality since it fits almost anywhere in a set, which is not usually the case with longer songs."
Domkraft - The Rift (live)
Bassist/singer Martin Wegeland, guitarist Martin Widholm and drummer Anders Dahlgren came together in Stockholm, bonding over the likes of Spacemen 3, Monster Magnet, Sleep and Hawkwind, plus a fascination with trudging, 10-minute epics.
The band drew from the heaviest of their combined influences to craft a sound that blended towering dirges, mindbending psychedelia and hypnotic minimalism, embodied on their monolithic self-released debut EP in 2015.
Domkraft's full-length 'The End of Electricity' followed in 2016 on Magnetic Eye Records, landing on many year-end lists and leading to festival appearances at Desertfest and Psycho Las Vegas. Their sophomore LP 'Flood' arrived in October 2018, earning an 8/10 from Metal Hammer, 8.5/10 from Rock Hard, and 8/10 from Deaf Forever.
The band also provided tracks for Magnetic Eye’s Pink Floyd Redux albums alongside Scott Reeder, ASG, Pallbearer, Ruby the Hatchet and The Melvins. 2019 saw the release of the 3-song Slow Fidelity EP, which included a 13-minute epic with guest vocals from Lea of Besvarjelsen, Marty of Slomatics and the legendary Mark Lanegan.
Domkraft has performed at Desertfests Belgium and Berlin, Blow Up in Helsinki, Northern Discomfort in Copenhagen, Psycho Las Vegas, Hostsabbat in Oslo, Fall of Man in Munich, Sonic Whip in Nijmegen and closed out the 2019 Sonic Blast Moledo Fest behind OM.
Their 'Day of Doom' (2020) live LP on the MER label will feature the following songs:
1. The Rift (live)
2. Through the Ashes (live)
3. The Watchers (live)
4. Meltdown of the Orb (live)
5. Flood (live)
6. Landslide (live)
