Concert Review of Graves At Sea, Ludicra and Wolves In The Throne Room at Slim’s In San Francisco October 2nd 2007

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Graves At Sea

Graves At Sea were crushing eardrums and intestines with subsonic bass - guitars grinding with sludge tempos, ebbing and flowing until one’s spine was tied to the music and dangling on every note.

Graves At Sea are one of my favorite doom metal bands. I was really looking forward to hearing them play, its been a few years since I saw them live in SF. Unfortunately I heard most of their set from the sidewalk, but even from there you could feel the heavy rhythms and deep, pulsing feedback. They were crushing eardrums and intestines with subsonic bass - guitars grinding with sludge tempos, ebbing and flowing until one’s spine was tied to the music and dangling on every note. When I finally got inside, it sounded phenomenal! (Partly due to the heavy use of multiple Orange amps - drooooool….) So heavy, so thick and sludgy, I wanted it to continue for another hour. Curse you SFMuni for making me miss the beginning! I really hope that this show is a signal that they are interested in playing live shows again and that they will schedule more SF appearances. When I was speaking to Nathan of WITTR earlier in the day, we agreed that it seemed strange for Graves At Sea to be opening the show. They are veteran metal heads - they should be headlining shows or opening for a band like ISIS or Neurosis. Those are my wishes for Graves At Sea - play in SF more often, and hook up with other heavy bands. What a great show that would be - Graves At Sea with Neurosis! Yes Please!

Well, lucky for everyone in Slim’s that night, Graves At Sea weren’t opening for ISIS or Neurosis. They were opening for Ludicra and Wolves In The Throne Room. All three bands attracted their own following to this show and it was a great mixture of different heads in the audience. I’m sure that each band won some new fans that night.

Ludicra

Ludicra stole the show! I’d seen them before in punk warehouses in the East Bay, but now they are more fierce, more together and more beautiful to behold. On the stage at Slim’s, they thrashed, screamed and tossed many meters of luxurious hair to and fro. The singer, Laurie, has become more confident on stage while Christy, the guitarist, has become more relaxed. I wanted their set to never end, at the same time that I wanted to run home and play guitar. I would have done just that, if I was not so excited about seeing Wolves In The Throne Room play next…

Click on photo to start the slideshow:

Wolves In The Throne Room

Wolves In The Throne Room communicate their songs so deeply that the musicians themselves appear transformed by the music.

I’ve been lucky enough to hear Wolves In The Throne Room play in many different environments and for that I am truly spoiled. I’d say the best was AMF 2006 on the Katabatik soundsystem - deep in the forest and under the stars (yet still packed to capacity!) There’s nothing like hearing WITTR’s special forest metal in the forest. But I have also seen them a few times in urban venues and they bring the fierceness of the wilderness on stage with them. A summer of touring with Sunn O))), Earth and now Jesu has developed into a super tight set. Wolves In The Throne Room communicate their songs so deeply that the musicians themselves appear transformed by the music. You’ll notice in the pictures of Nathan that he looks like a woodland creature while playing! The trio - Nathan, Rick and Aaron - play from their hearts and infuse raw emotion into each song. Rick, one of the guitarists, just keeps his head down and hides behind long blond hair. He looks focused on the music and delivers heavy riffs that build the energy of the song. Aaron tortures the drums with fierce beatings and keeps everyone on time. Nathan pours his soul into the microphone at the same time that he navigates the sonic journey with guitar melodies and distorted feedback. For a beautiful example of how this all comes together, listen to “I Will Lay Down My Bones Among the Rocks and Roots” from their newest album Two Hunters on the Southern Lord label.

Wolves In The Throne Room impress me more and more every year. It started as a forest based friendship and a professional relationship. This led to my band, T113, opening for WITTR in Oakland after sharing the stage with them at AMF the same summer. But as they hone their craft and rise into the spotlight of bigger and bigger venues, I find more and more reasons to recommend them to other metal fans. If you have any opportunity to see them live, definitely go. If you have a chance to see them play live in a forest setting, drop everything and go! Whether or not you catch them live, their studio recordings are worth every penny. It’s the kind of music you want to play in a dark room with some candles lit and nothing to distract you. Just sit back, relax, and let the music take you on a dark journey through nether worlds. I don’t own Two Hunters yet because I am holding out for my opportunity to get it on vinyl, but if that’s not important to you, I suggest getting a copy of it asap. Southern Lord also reissued their debut album, Diadem of 12 Stars so you might want to scoop that up too while it’s still available.

Metal Links

Wolves In The Throne Room official site
Wolves In The Throne Room music
Wolves In The Throne Room on Southern Lord

Ludicra official site
Ludicra music

Graves At Sea music

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