And thus beginneth the 14-hour marathon that is Day Two of Days of the Doomed–I was there for every minute of it! Hey, I probably couldn’t run 42.195 km, but sticking my ass in front of a stage for over half a day, well, that’s something I can handle, maybe, once a year. On that note, I’ll hafta find a place to park my behind around this time next year…NXNE requires too much walking. ;)
The day began with Vega, who, much like last year’s Saturday openers Whaler, started things off nice and sludgy with some Sleepy stoner doom. They also handed out these crazy glasses that made you see all sorts of swirling lights when you put them on, and the lights would rotate when you’d nod your head to the music… Twas some trippy shit!
T-shirt of the Day: “Bro Do You Even Loud?”
Bro, Do You Even Feedback?
Moon Curse was the second local band of the day, one that actually scored the opening slot for Earthless in Milwaukee earlier this year. Despite some technical difficulties, I still liked what I heard enough to buy their record…and was offered a complimentary poster from that Earthless gig in return. (Somebody bring Earthless back to Toronto already!!!!!) That said, they don’t really sound like Earthless–more like a mish-mash of the hypnotic riffs of OM and the vocal histrionics of Ogre. Nothing wrong with that at all!
After Venomous Maximus tore it up at last year’s fest, Sanctus Bellum followed in their footsteps, repping Houston and the Lone Star State. But more importantly, they were representing Jason McCash, covering the TGOS tune “Trapped in the Web” and donating all their merch sales to the McCash family. Good on y’all!
Hey, this dude can actually pull off the cowboy-hat-and-sunglasses look–he’s from Texas!
I gotta say, Brimstone Coven was the revelation of this year’s fest (doom pun not intended). Hailing from West Virgina of all places, this fearsome foursome blew me away with their brand of vintage, 70’s style occult rock, complete with three-part vocal harmonies! While the band name hinted at something sinister, I was not expecting that at all when these guys took the stage… Somebody get ‘em some spooky robes, and the Rise Above Records contract’s in the mail!
Granted, their guitarist does look a little bit like Anton LaVey already…
Spillage was one of two returnees from last year’s fest (although several other bands had played previous editions), but it would seem they’ve undergone a couple lineup changes in the interim. For one, there’s no more keyboard player…and man, if that’s still Bruce Franklin on the left, then he’s really aged poorly in the past 12 months! ;)
Stone Magnum hails from Indy, though they lean a little more towards trad metal than some of their Hoosier brethren on the bill. Not that there’s anything wrong with that… Their singer also boasts the most evil mic stand I’ve seen, though I’m not sure I got a decent pic of it before I had to literally recharge my batteries (or at least swap out my battery pack).
OK, you can sorta see what I’m talking about here:
I was definitely looking forward to seeing Egpyt, and they didn’t disappoint! Despite hearing rumours that their new album was some sorta Pentagram/Motorhead hybrid, they still delivered a whole bunch of the heavy stoner jams I remembered from their debut EP. Granted, I spent most of their set ordering and/or eating pizza–hey, they went on at 6:20!–but I was nodding my head to the grooves while doing so.
(As if there was any doubt as to who their major influence was…)
Devil to Pay has been doing this for over a decade, although it was the first time I’ve seen ‘em live. (Frankly, I’m a little disappointed they don’t play “Tractor Fuckin’ Trailer” anymore.) Good to hear some of the new tunes from their last record, Fate is Your Muse, and I gotta say, they take the title for most evil bass drum of doom…
Somewhere, Walt Disney’s rolling in his grave!
(Hey, didn’t I see that guy yesterday?)
Beelzefuzz was one of the afternoon show-stealers last year, what with their shots, their boxes…and most importantly, their tunes. This year, they were much higher on the bill, taking the stage around 8:30. Just as good as I remembered, if not better!
Man, what can I say about Jex Thoth? Watching some concert clips on YouTube gave me some idea of what to expect, but seeing her in person was a whole ‘nother matter. Jex was among the first of this new wave of female “occult rock” singers, but most of the other ones out there couldn’t carry her cape! Not content to simply stand on stage and look spooky, she really puts on a performance, and even if you don’t know any of the words to the songs, you can’t help but get lost in the moment. Put it this way; I now find myself strangely compelled to go to that Agalloch show in a week or so…and I don’t even like Agalloch! (It won’t be nearly as intimate a performance at The Opera House, mind you.)
(Evidently, she spends a lotta time in Europe…)
Age of Taurus was the first (and only?) band to ever cross the pond for DOTD. Granted, they squeezed in a few tour dates with Pilgrim–who weren’t playing the fest–but I’m pretty sure this was their prime reason for being in America. And safe to say America appreciated them, as they were all sold out of CDs and vinyl by the time I made my way back to their merch table!
Holy disembodied fist, Batman!
Finally, some 13 hours later, Trouble took the stage for a set mostly culled both from Psalm 9 and their latest record, The Distortion Field. Of course, it’s current mouthpiece Kyle Thomas who sings on the latter, and I gotta say, he’s a major improvement over his immediate predecessor. Dude can actually hit the same notes as Eric Wagner, and he showed a lot more enthusiasm than Wagner did in his last stint fronting the band–no Beatles shirts or dark sunglasses here! Unfortunately, at this point in the evening, my photographic skills seem to have dropped off considerably…
(Guess he didn’t age 15 years in one after all!)
My DOTD IV haul included a lighter, a beer coozy, a cassette tape, a DVD and a pair of 3D glasses…
…you could say I’m diversifying my doom-metal portfolio!
