Mastodon/Bloodsimple/Withered
Wednesday December 5th, Barfly, Cardiff
By Sam Brokenshaw
Due to the unfortunate effects of touring wear and tear High on Fire were forced to cancel their appearance, but in the true Floydian sense, the show must go on. So without further delay...
Starting off with a band I'd not previously heard much of, I wasn't sure what to expect from Withered, In the event I was pleasantly surprised by a set ratcheted so tight you'd wonder how it didn't tear at the seams. One thing that was torn clean in two, was the crowd in early at Cardiff's favourite dive, the barfly. Withered's material comes from a very different angle to that of Mastodon and Bloodsimple, but it still scored results in spades, the mix of death metal, grind core, doom and sludge really winning over a crowd anxious to see the headliners. Withered proved themselves to be no slouches in terms of either songwriting or in the delivery of monstrously epic, doomy numbers such as the excellent "Within Your Grief". It's not often that I find myself impressed so much by a band I'd previously not really engaged with, but I think it's safe to say that Withered have a lot to offer and their future looks bright.
Bloodsimple lived up to their colourful moniker somewhat ironically, by provided a more formulaic but no less effective batch of material. Thundering full sail ahead on the good ship groove, Bloodsimple win no points for subtly assailing the audience but they more than make up for it in sheer velocity and violence. A neat stop-gap between the more diverse acts on the bill, Bloodsimple hold their own admirably and entertain a crowd already baying for the headliners.
When thinking of Mastodon, rugged warriors of the road (ala Mad Max?) is a term that springs straight to mind. Having had no time off for good behaviour in quite a while one would maybe expect a somewhat jaded live incarnation to exist, but the band still have the charm to woo a crowd and go straight for the jugular opening with the regular "Hearts Alive". The light and shade flow of the 14 odd minute long opener evokes the general feeling of their most recent outing "Leviathan" and sets the scene well. The band move on through a lot of material from their sophomore effort, occasionally punctuating the flow with tracks from "Remission" which are duly noted and lapped up by a rabidly adoring crowd who remain rammed right up to the barriers until the ominous, twisted opening bars of "March of the Fire Ants" slam in. At this point the venue goes three shades of ape shit, drinks are thrown and fists are raised in salute. Job done and on to Greece for one of the hardest working bands in the current music scene.
Wednesday December 5th, Barfly, Cardiff
By Sam Brokenshaw
Due to the unfortunate effects of touring wear and tear High on Fire were forced to cancel their appearance, but in the true Floydian sense, the show must go on. So without further delay...
Starting off with a band I'd not previously heard much of, I wasn't sure what to expect from Withered, In the event I was pleasantly surprised by a set ratcheted so tight you'd wonder how it didn't tear at the seams. One thing that was torn clean in two, was the crowd in early at Cardiff's favourite dive, the barfly. Withered's material comes from a very different angle to that of Mastodon and Bloodsimple, but it still scored results in spades, the mix of death metal, grind core, doom and sludge really winning over a crowd anxious to see the headliners. Withered proved themselves to be no slouches in terms of either songwriting or in the delivery of monstrously epic, doomy numbers such as the excellent "Within Your Grief". It's not often that I find myself impressed so much by a band I'd previously not really engaged with, but I think it's safe to say that Withered have a lot to offer and their future looks bright.
Bloodsimple lived up to their colourful moniker somewhat ironically, by provided a more formulaic but no less effective batch of material. Thundering full sail ahead on the good ship groove, Bloodsimple win no points for subtly assailing the audience but they more than make up for it in sheer velocity and violence. A neat stop-gap between the more diverse acts on the bill, Bloodsimple hold their own admirably and entertain a crowd already baying for the headliners.
When thinking of Mastodon, rugged warriors of the road (ala Mad Max?) is a term that springs straight to mind. Having had no time off for good behaviour in quite a while one would maybe expect a somewhat jaded live incarnation to exist, but the band still have the charm to woo a crowd and go straight for the jugular opening with the regular "Hearts Alive". The light and shade flow of the 14 odd minute long opener evokes the general feeling of their most recent outing "Leviathan" and sets the scene well. The band move on through a lot of material from their sophomore effort, occasionally punctuating the flow with tracks from "Remission" which are duly noted and lapped up by a rabidly adoring crowd who remain rammed right up to the barriers until the ominous, twisted opening bars of "March of the Fire Ants" slam in. At this point the venue goes three shades of ape shit, drinks are thrown and fists are raised in salute. Job done and on to Greece for one of the hardest working bands in the current music scene.
