It was disappointing to roll into Ace of Clubs and find out Valkyrie had pulled out of the show. It was a family emergency, so you couldn’t really hold it against them, and with no shortage of killer bands left on the bill, the night would be more than salvageable. Any evening that gets topped off with an Earthride live set is alright by me.

I was at Alkahest‘s first show, and I’ve seen them three or four times since, and every time I do I get something completely different out of it. This time the guitars were played up in the live mix and the post-metal aspects of their sound were what came through most, but what I think is really fascinating about Alkahest (aside from the complexity of their pedal board arrangements) is how the rhythm section refuses to just do the Isis beat — you know which one I’m talking about — and leave it at that. It brings something new to the sound and makes them less derivative than they’d otherwise be.

Performance-wise, they were more subdued, especially vocalist Chris, who stood still most of the set and seemed to let the music wash over him, allowing for only occasional flareups of turbulent energy. One thing that’s remained consistent about Alkahest these last several months is the drama in their music, so that covers a lot of ground other bands might leave to thrashing around on stage.

Fuckin’ Admiral Browning. I know I’ve seen them before, but this might have been the first time I was lucid enough to actually remember what they were like, and mein gott, they fucking killed. Heavy, technical, grooving, they did it all, and they did it instrumental, and they demolished the unsuspecting Manhattan crowd almost immediately, as though dispatching them with a wave of the hand. It was sick. I reviewed their Magic Elixir EP a while back, but I hereby revise my position: the recording doesn’t do them justice at all. You need to see this band.

Only thing was they went on a little long, but beyond that, they were a highlight of the night. It seems like blasphemy to say any band playing with Earthride might be heavier than they are — because how could such a thing be possible? — but Admiral Browning were the most potent power trio I’ve seen in a long time. Totally righteous, totally unpretentious, just blisteringly heavy and so loud my earplugs seemed to be rendered useless. Yes, yes sir.

It was The Resurrection Sorrow‘s show, and as per usual, they had the biggest crowd of the night. I don’t know where they find these people, or how they get them to come from whatever dance club they were previously at and see at least part of a doom show, but then, their sound borders on a kind of post-Pantera groove metal, so that might have something to do with it. Needless to say, if I knew how to draw people like that, I would be too busy doing so to figure out The Resurrection Sorrow‘s methods.

And what a magical world that would be.

You couldn’t even get close to the stage — hence the faraway picture — and I know I wasn’t about to elbow past the steroid dude with Spartan helmet tattooed all around his head, so I stayed in the back and watched from there as they covered Ozzy‘s “Believer” from Diary of a Madman, bassist Alex Coelho making the most of its stomping lines. They’re obviously not without their commercial aspirations, but The Resurrection Sorrow are good at what they do, and I’m not going to hold that against them just because I prefer bands no one else likes. They played to their crowd and their crowd ate it up.

Earthride vocalist and Maryland doom legend Dave “Sherm” Sherman (Spirit Caravan, Wretched) showed off his new Motörhead tattoo, and the band ran through a monstrously heavy set of tunes from their albums Earthride, Taming of the Demons (the title track was a highlight), Vampire Circus and the latest, Something Wicked. I took some video which you’ll find below. Sherm rode the riffs of Kyle Van Steinburg with his arms up, chopper-style, and indeed, it was the evening’s high point. Yeah, it still was a bummer Valkyrie had to pull out of the last two nights of the tour, but even with some technical problems midway into the set, Earthride more than justified the trip to the city.

How into Earthride was the audience that stuck around? Well, there was moshing, which you almost never see at a doom show (and I would argue rightly so). Chris from Alkahest was headbanging so hard I thought he’d give himself a concussion, and Alex Dementia from The Resurrection Sorrow jumped on stage several times. It was like it was a birthday party for The Riff, and we were all having our cake. Tired from a long day of driving, I didn’t think I’d make it through the whole set, but they kept me there right to the end, and when it over I was glad to have stayed.

Tags: Admiral Browning, Alkahest, Earthride, Maryland, Midnight Dreams, New York, New York City, The Resurrection Sorrow

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 10th, 2010 at 10:34 am and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.