Gate of Slumber, Hour of 13, Disma
Union Pool
October 16, 2010
Brooklyn, New York
The night began with Disma, local New Jersey death metalers recently signed to Profound Lord (keep your ears peeled for their upcoming release!), who pummeled through about a forty minute set of brutal early 90’s style death metal, fitting their image, to a surprisingly pretty packed room. The band’s performance was pretty lackluster, about as entertaining as watching a practice, except for one guitar player, who if I didn’t know any better, I would guess wrote all the songs and was the only one hella stoked to play them. That being said, the focus was not on performance, but on simply DEATH METAL! The lead growler barely moved or opened his eyes and it was hard to tell if he was in pain from the death grunts literally ripping apart his vocal chords or was truly possessed providing brutal as I would ever want to hear my death vocals. Live movement aside, these guys had a punishing and tight rhythm section and very catchy head bang worthy riffs, definitely not-in-modern-slam-death metal/core way. Very brutal, serious, New York DM.
Next up was occult doom masters Hour of 13. Wow! I was not prepared for what was such a great set or crowd response! They had an early Judas Priest feel to some of the songs with the slower harmonies added to the classic power riffing and a Witchfinder General-esque vocals. Guess what kids? No screaming! And you know why? It’s because they don’t need to. The off pitch howls of vocalist Phil Swanson felt grueling, painful and haunting. It was nice to hear a band that digs to the core of hard rock and metal’s roots. The crowd stayed from the first to the last note only lowering their raised horns to reach for another cold one, head banging and swaying to the every bit classic sounding doom this Carolina five piece had to offer. If you like your metal old school, sinister and in the vein of the first generation of Sabbath-worship bands, look no further. These dudes are legit as they come and oh yeah, they just signed to the legendary Earache Records. Fuck yeah!
After seeing the band members pacing and jamming out passionately to Hour of 13’s set right up front, I could see that The Gates of Slumber guys were just itching to get onstage and get to ripping. Karl Simon, vocalist/guitarist, looks like the David Crosby of heavy metal. This guy spoke to and joked to the crowd like friends, even demanding a round of applause several times during their set for the opening bands, giving mad props; however, don’t let the hippie love vibes cloud your vision you, Simon was there for one reason only: to kill it! These guys had the one-ton sludge rock riffs down. Only letting up when they would pound beers or squeeze little jokes in between the Big Muff fuzz overload and sizzling solos where Simon looked like the wah pedal was sending electric currents up his Gibson SG and through spine causing him to convulse. Jason McCash shreds, an incredible bass player, who would stare into and beyond the crowd with such conviction that made it look like he was actually looking into his own future. I didn’t catch the name, but they appear to have a new drummer and I can’t imagine a better fit for the bill. These guys were doom to the core, but they didn’t always stay in the territory too long, which I must admit can be refreshing. Coupled with a Motorhead meets Leslie West style thunder riffing, the even rock mixture kept the heads banging and (ultimately for me) the cold beers flowing. I will be back for more GoS in the future for sure they mentioned much more touring (one with Cathedral I believe) and a new record soon.
www.myspace.com/dismadeathmetal
www.myspace.com/hourof13doom
www.myspace.com/thegatesofslumber
-Nick Emde, ARN/CCG
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