After nearly missing this show because I thought it was last Saturday and not Friday, I showed up early to NYC‘s Irving Plaza to be sure to catch Anathema‘s set. I know they’ve traveled a great distance from their doomly beginnings as one of the “Peaceville three” — the other two being My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost — but hell, I’ve wanted to see them for at least 14 years now, so yeah, you’re god damned right I’m showing up before doors.

It was just the two bands on the bill, Anathema and Blackfield, which is the kind of high-minded pop project of Porcupine Tree‘s Steven Wilson and Israeli singer-songwriter Aviv Geffen, and that suited me just fine. As a veteran of Porcupine Tree‘s many prog indulgences (some might call them “albums”) and someone who saw Blackfield on their first American run — when most of the band couldn’t get their visas in time to tour and it was just Wilson and Geffen accompanied by Dream Theater‘s Jordan Rudess on keys — it was interesting to see him tackle what’s ostensibly a simpler band with simpler material in a live, full-band setting.

Coincidentally, it was Anathema this time who couldn’t get the whole band into the country — doubtless they were detained at the border and profiled for all their melancholy — so it was just vocalist/guitarist Vincent Cavanagh and guitarist/vocalist Daniel Cavanagh playing acoustically (Rudess was at the show, but didn’t join in). For what Anathema lacked in lineup, however, they more than made up for with excitement and gladness to be where they were. Granted, Daniel had some technical problems before the set got going, but I don’t think they’d have been able to start the set anyway for the cheering and back-and-forthing with the crowd. One guy bragged loudly that he’d seen them the last time they were in the US, for the 2000 Milwaukee Metalfest, impressing Vincent a bit but probably not as much as himself.

Their set was short, woefully short (which is appropriate in a way, given the mood of the bulk of their material), but they made the most of it nonetheless. They started with some newer songs from the most recent release, We’re Here Because We’re Here, opening with “Thin Air,” the first song off the album, and including “Angels Walk Among Us” as well with “Deep” from 1999′s Judgement between. These were well received, but the big guns came out later into their time, when they hit up 1998′s Alternative 4 — as far back as they could feasibly go — for “Lost Control” and “Fragile Dreams,” both of which were subject to epic sing-alongs.

With the crowd sufficiently melted already, “One Last Goodbye” and set finale “Flying” — from Judgement and 2003′s A Natural Disaster, respectively – more or less laid waste to everything around. Amazing to think of a performance with two dudes and acoustic guitars doing that, but it happened nonetheless. Vincent promised they’d be back with the full band (hopefully that happens before another 11 years are gone), and the vibe was thrilling all around. Irving Plaza was pretty packed, and everyone just seemed so happy to be seeing Anathema, and Anathema, likewise, seemed so happy to be there. It was a great time.

The room thinned out somewhat for Blackfield, who took the stage in speedy fashion and opened with “Here Comes the Blood” from their latest album, Welcome to My DNA, which was even more of a sufficient attention-grabber than Geffen‘s jacket, which had rope lights intertwined with the fabric. Fancy costuming aside, Blackfield is essentially a pop act, so that’s what they were. Champion songwriters both, Wilson and Geffen ran through a long setlist of highlights from their three albums, working in tandem on stage as well as they do on the records.

It wasn’t empty by the time they were through, but the night had clearly taken a toll on the audience, and as much of Blackfield‘s material is moody and on the quieter end — despite being unrepentantly pretty — it was a subdued feel, though closing with “Cloudy Now” from the first album did provide a genuine apex, that song’s ending being a high point of the band’s catalog. The crowd was an interesting mix of proggers, metallers, patient girlfriends and sundry other nerds, but those who stayed left happy.

Hard for Blackfield to compete with the event that seeing Anathema was, though. Just by showing up, them Cavanaghs killed, and it would have been hard for any act to follow that. I left Irving Plaza vindicated in my fanboy stubbornness, still wanting very much to see the whole of Anathema at work, and wanting also to revisit Welcome to My DNA to see if I could get a better sense of Blackfield‘s development from album to album. Wilson‘s always been more of a studio presence — his reliance on layering being pivotal in much of his work — but he gave a decent representation live, and that was more than enough for the mass of fans in attendance to see him.

More pics after the jump.

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It’s a hell of a way to kick off 2011, and I know I’m looking forward to catching Pentagram‘s set tomorrow night at Europa in Brooklyn. If you’re going, look for me. I’ll be the fat dude with a beard and a black t-shirt, probably by the bar. Have fun narrowing it down.

That joke never gets old. Not for me, anyway.

Brooklyn natives Hull sent comment about their supporting slot via the PR wire:

Triple guitar-led sludge metallers Hull are pleased to announce their appearance on a very special show this Thursday opening for doom legends Pentagram. The performance will take place at Brooklyn‘s Club Europa this Thursday, Jan. 6, 2011. Additional support will come from Judas Priestess and Bezoar.

Commented the band: “If anything, come out for the mere comedic value of Bobby Liebling‘s onstage antics! We are excited to be sharing the stage with Pentagram, Judas Priestess, and of course, the mighty Bezoar. Big thanks to Joanne Fillipone and Osiris Presents for the opportunity! Party with us!”

The headline pretty much says it all. This was recorded at Public Assembly in Brooklyn, where Hull played a secret show with Kylesa as Kylesa swung through town with High on Fire and Torche. Nifty times and heavy as hell from the look of it. See for yourself:

Says the PR wire:

Hull have been holed up at an undisclosed location working on the follow-up to their Sole Lord debut, issued via The End Records in 2009.

Hull‘s sophomore full-length will be co-produced by Brett Romnes (who played drums on the band’s long coveted Viking Funeral EP, initially self-released in 2007) and mixed by Billy Anderson (Sleep, High on Fire, Neurosis, Melvins et al). A May 2011 street date is expected.

Astonishingly, it’s been 22 years since Danzig released their first, Rick Rubin-produced self-titled album through Def American Recordings. The band at this point is basically frontman Glenn Danzig and whoever he gets to play with him, but on the latest Danzig outing, Deth Red Sabaoth (The End Records/Evilive), we see some familiar faces from past tours. Type O Negative drummer Johnny Kelly is present and accounted for, as is Prong’s Tommy Victor on guitar. Danzig himself handled bass in addition to his trademark animalistic howling vocals, without which, frankly, this just wouldn’t be a Danzig record.

Much has been made of Deth Red Sabaoth’s organic vibe, as Danzig himself has highlighted the ‘70s amps the guitars and bass were run through in search of a more natural sound. Fine, but there’s no getting around how compressed the mix of the album is. Even at ridiculous volumes, the songs feel condensed sonically, and that’s across the board, from guitars, to bass, drums and even Danzig’s vocals, which as he says the song titles during several choruses – “Left Hand Rise Above,” “On a Wicked Night” and “Deth Red Moon” – are charmingly and characteristically indiscernible. The compression doesn’t ruin the listening experience by any means, but it is an example of how modern professional recording is at a crossroads and, I think, a little directionless. A discussion for another time.

Danzig is credited with having written all the songs on Deth Red Sabaoth himself (he even plays drums on “Black Candy”), so I suppose the blame for the pinch harmonics that flat-out ruin the riff of “The Revengeful” – the otherwise perfectly serviceable second track – have to be laid at his feet. Even as Victor lays down a shredding solo, they’re there, multi-tracked just beneath. I’m not a fan of the riff-riff-squee in the first place, but these seem especially annoying, and they come back during “Black Candy,” which, along with “On a Wicked Night” is one of Danzig’s many “this one’s for the ladies” cuts. “Deth Red Moon” reminds a bit of “Mother” in its main riff, but I far prefer the southbound bent of “Ju Ju Bone,” which has a swampy vibe in both guitar and Danzig’s vocals, and the doomed acrobatics of “Night Star Hel.” The latter is my pick of the album.

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Though I?ve followed Brooklyn doomers Hull since their humble beginnings paralleling the demise of other loud-as-fuck amp-mongers Reservoir, from whence several members came, and was glad to see them clearly making a run for it (whatever ?it? is in this genre) with their Viking Funeral demo in 2007, my initial impression of their The End Records debut, Sole Lord, was far from favorable. In contrast to their earlier work?s penchant for riding out heavy grooves and grinding listeners into $7 guacamole, the album seemed meandering and over-thought. A sonic diversity played out over the 10 tracks that, instead of holding my attention, only annoyed me at how hard the five-piece was trying to fit into the modern thinky thinky set of metallers.

It was really only out of some sense of allegiance/courtesy to the band (impartiality is a farce) that I bothered with another listen, and having heard accolades for Sole Lord since its release in May from sources whose opinions I respect, I tried to listen for something missed the first time around. Sometimes it?s just a mood. You hear a record under a given set of circumstances — feel shitty, don?t want to listen, are tired, distracted, whatever — and it ruins the whole thing. After another few times through, I still feel as though Hull spent too much time on the other stuff (Josh Graham artwork, narrative linking together the lyrics in the liner notes) and that their drive to vary their sound takes away from the heaviness of which they?re capable, rather than enhancing it via contrast. Structurally, the album follows a pattern of two larger pieces broken into individual tracks with an interlude between, and though it works, the concept overburdens the music, and with some awkward sub-technical transitions, comes off disjointed where it should flow openly.

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Novembers Doom have always been the American champions of a predominantly European sound. Formed in a tandem timeline with the likes of Paradise Lost, Katatonia and My Dying Bride, the Chicago outfit didn?t release a full-length until 1995?s Amid its Hallowed Mirth, when the Euro scene was already well established, and never really got their full due of credit or influence. Having of late adopted a less lavish, more immediate death metal sound, the band complete their second decade of existence with their seventh LP, Into Night?s Requiem Infernal (The End Records).

Even those who heard 2007?s The Novella Reservoir will be surprised at how much Novembers Doom have upped their deathly approach. The first two minutes or so of the opening title track are virtually indistinguishable from Amon Amarth, such is the thickened weight of Larry Roberts? and Vito Marchese?s guitars. Only when vocalist and lone original member Paul Kuhr switches from growls to his clean approach can they be told apart. There are two solid, weepy doom ballads on Into Night?s Requiem Infernal — ?The Fifth Day of March? and closer ?When Desperation Fills the Void? (the latter gets heavy at the finish) — but the larger portion of the record is geared toward a classic US death metal sound with flourishes of melancholic ambience. Sonically, it?s more Opeth than Anathema, though of course Novembers Doom was a band before either of them, so take that for what it?s worth.

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These are good dudes and a good band. All the best to Hull for their first release on The End Records, Sole Lord. The press release says:

May 26 has been set for the release of Sole Lord, the band’s first official full-length effort. The album’s 10 tracks are designed to play straight through as one 44-minute slab of epic, dynamic metal. “Hull?s three guitar attack achieves maximum sludgery, bashing your skull into the wall with a sledgehammer and smearing your brains across the floor,” MetalSucks.net has said of the band and Metal Maniacs described them as having “all the crush of early Mastodon met with the ambient fire of Neurosis, but somehow [Hull] avoids sounding like either one of them.”

Sole Lord features artwork by Josh Graham (Neurosis, A Storm of Light)

Sole Lord Tracklisting:

01. Innocence
02. Transition
03. Immortal
04. Deliverance
05. Wrath Of The Sands
06. Wanderer
07. Healer
08. Aesthetic
09. Architect
10. Vessel

Hmm, whatever happened to Metal Maniacs? In all seriousness, I think quote might be one of mine, but I can’t remember for sure. Sounds like something I’d say, though even if I did, I’m not sure if I want to take credit for the phrase “ambient fire.” What a cornball I am about bands I dig.