The Rosemount Hotel
Friday, September 5, 2014
Friday night brought Perth’s purveyors of all things doom. sludge, stoner rock and metal down to the Rosemount hotel for the second instalment of Armageddoom.
Wizard Sleeve’s fuzzed out tunes warmed the Rosemount stage nicely. Their frontman’s had a captivating stage presence, with Brandon Will never staying still as they launched their loud and grungy sound which was well received by the denim jacket wearers.
Up next were Bayou. With them they brought the first taste of dirty sludge for the night. Vocalist Dean Robertson’s face remained calm and almost expressionless as he unleashed his bloodcurdling screams. The five piece concluded the set with Magik Swamp Green, which brought a mix of clean vocals which was refreshing to my fried mind
Chainsaw Hookers are no strangers to the scene, having been regularly gigging and making heavy rock since 2005. Fronted by three beards, they changed the tone, bringing a less sludgy but still roaring and heavy sound. They played a number of favourites and a new song titled New York Ripper which was received well. “This song is about pussy,” Andrew Rowcroft proclaimed as they launched into Party Man. They absolutely thundered through their set, taking great pride of their huge harmonies, fulminating vocals and infectious hooks.
Like the Hookers, The Devil Rides Out were not unfamiliar to the scene. Their doom-riddled riffs brought the crowd a little closer in to stage. Vocalist Joey K had a deathlike grip on the microphone as he unleashed the brutality of the band’s songs. His presence was nothing short of captivating; absolutely oozing with confidence. In The Blood demonstrated they could do more than split eardrums with their heavy doom rock but they can also incorporate melodic rock. They relentlessly smashed out an impressive set that managed to completely keep my attention.
“Move forward or you are a target,” Anthony Von Grimm’s petrifying voice screamed over and over, creating fear as the crowd looked around trying to locate Ya nomamö’s lead singer. Obviously it worked as now the crowd was right up against the stage. Twenty seconds into the first song, a body accompanied by a foldback sailed off the stage, crashing to the floor. Self described as “sludge…ridden…doom” the four piece outfit thrashed around on stage, with Von Grimm jumping on the bar and screaming into people’s faces. The crowd was now heaving; absolutely lapping up every second. Paul Attard’s base tone was so fucking sludgy perfectly contributing to the band’s sedulous bold sound. The Sydney outfit left a wrecked crowd desperately wanting more.
Armageddoom 2 marked three piece UK band Conan’s first show in Australia. Tone is everything, it is worshiped and lusted after, and Conan have found it. Chris Fielding’s bass tone was wonderfully thick, the guitar were riddled with distortion while Paul O’Neil’s delivered punishing blows to the drums. The vocals were sparse but effective, acting more so a complementing sound to the music. The older metal heads finally got what they wanted, letting loose as they showed their appreciation for Conan’s suffocating heaviness. Each song was anywhere from six to fourteen minutes, despite their extended length punters remained engaged as their eardrums were torn apart by the excessive wall of sound.
RACHAEL BARRETT
