California’s Neurosis have nurtured their ear-splitting noise for over 30 years, gradually transitioning from roots in hardcore punk to the complex post metal beast they’re now recognised as. They’ve crept along the murky outskirts of the heavy music spectrum with a sound too challenging for mainstream ears. 2016 birthed their eleventh studio album, Fires Within Fires, which saw the band continue to mould monolithic slabs of drone into beautiful slow burners. On record, Neurosis are imposing– but live, they completely engulf.
With an international act so high in calibre, it could be difficult to find an opener that carried the same weight. However, from the moment Dispossessed exploded upon the stage, it was clear the right choice had been made. The three-piece encompassed a sound that ascended beyond their members, with each hard hit driving home a snarl of discontent and a refusal to be silenced. It’s impossible to talk about Dispossessed without acknowledging the wider narrative that surrounds them, and all of us. As a stoic and unflinching indigenous collective, Disposssed are far from just a noisy punk band to idly enjoy. Vocalist and guitarist Birrugan Dunn-Velasco interrupted the thrashing set abruptly, and addressed the bloody means by which this land was stolen. With words that spat and bristled, he compelled the audience to shut the fuck up, relinquish their complacency and look inside their minds. The crowd was left to consider themselves in earnest, before Dispossessed tore through the remainder of their set and left the stage in silence.
Keeping the lineup short but sweet, Neurosis then stepped up to the plate. For two hours, they painted the belly of the Croxton with their signature post metal, smearing suffocating pitch-black doom against moments of shimmering ambience. Even with sound-cancelling earplugs in, they were simply overwhelming at times – not My Bloody Valentine Tinnitus-for-life loud, but getting close. Nevertheless, the deafening volume aided the emotional weight of the whole experience: tonight’s crowd wasn’t there for the usual metal bravado and tomfoolery – this was a show focused on shared cathartic release. Vocalists Scott Kelly and Steve Von Till’s harrowing screams and caustic riffs crashed like waves over the bodies of A Shadow Memory and Bending Light. During those fleeting moments of respite, keyboardist Noah Landis amplified the eeriness with textural overlays that served to complement the chaos.
yousharknotpass
2087
ellievsbear
vaporwave
gracieabrams
blakekathryn