DÖ Post ‘Transmissiön From the Cult Vessel’ Live Video
Posted in Bootleg Theater on September 29th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Standing astride the galactic neutral zone between heavy rock riffing and harsher-biting sludge fare, Finnish three-piece DÖ offer up the live set ‘Transmissiön From the Cult Vessel’ as they look to shift from their second full-length, 2019’s Astral Death Cult, toward a new EP release. Running just under 50 minutes, the clip was presumably shot in their rehearsal space — maybe a cargo container or some other kind of vessel? — and it features the three-piece crowded around each other, but for that, it’s shot with surprising professionalism. I count at least five different cameras at work, and transitions between one shot, title cards for the songs and the next are laced with intermittent effects that bring color and personality to the proceedings. Add to that the sound of the thing is full and seems to have been captured to a board and properly mixed, and for falling into the category of “band in rehearsal room” videos, it’s got quite a bit to offer someone bold enough to take it on.
Their new EP is to be called Black Hole Mass, fitting with the band’s we’re-a-death-cult aesthetic (fair enough; what doesn’t feel like a death cult these days, amirite?), and will according to the info below see release sometime before the next two months finally bring an end to this wretched year and push us inexorably into the next one. Take it whenever it comes. They give a taste of Black Hole Mass by airing “Gravity Sacrifice” near the end of the set. The track starts out with a duly moody float and builds with thudding toms over its first couple minutes. The line “Let us begin!” brings the crushing riffery that feels inevitable by the time they get there, and as it unfurls with a lumber that sounds like the charred resin of Bongzilla, “Gravity Sacrifice” both fits in with the older material that surrounds — earlier, they destroy “Kylmä” from 2016’s Tuho, and they finish with the feedback-and-sample-plus-raw-bludgeon that is “Beyond the Cosmic Horizon,” which also closed out Astral Death Cult — and serves as a highlight unto itself. I won’t profess to know the release plan for Black Hole Mass, but “Gravity Sacrifice” would seem to make their intention toward spatial destruction plain to hear.
It goes without saying that the actual-universe is currently awash in virtual performances, and I recognize that not everybody has 50 minutes to spare in their busy day/life to sit down and watch a trio plunder through a set — sad as a fact like that is to acknowledge. Still, if you get the chance to check out any or all of ‘Transmissiön From the Cult Vessel,’ which was put up two days ago, I don’t think you’ll regret it. And that is exactly why I’m posting it here.
Please enjoy:
DÖ, ‘Transmissiön From the Cult Vessel’
At the end of September 2020 a mysterious signal was detected all around the world. The source of the signal was revealed to be the astral death cult DÖ.
The content of the signal was a live performance recording called “Transmissiön from the Cult Vessel”. It includes songs from various releases, some of which the band haven’t played at gigs in ages, and naturally ever with this lineup.
But the most interesting part is the new eerie song called “Gravity Sacrifice”, one of the three songs that will be unleashed on an EP called “Black Hole Mass” later this year. For the astral death cult i.e. the band, the EP will be a passage ritual to a new level of consciousness, as they have begun to gravitate towards more evolved expression and higher spheres with the new lineup. More info about the EP will follow.
But now, dive into darkness with this cosmos rumbling performance.
Setlist:
-Cosmic Communion
-Kylmä
-For the Worms
-Atmosfear
-Astral Death
-Gravity Sacrifice – Song premiere
-Beyond the Cosmic Horizon
DÖ is:
Big Dog (Guitar)
Deaf Hank (Vox & Bass)
Joe E. Deliverance (‘E’ stands for ‘Epic’) (Drums & Vox)
