Fresh from an April Monday that hinted at gorgeous summer weather, the hairiest, beardiest and most well formed of sludge fans flooded the Camden Underworld with their anticipation for a night of distortion, bass and the faint whiff of weed.
The first band to attempt musical titillation were Undersimile, a fourpiece which boasted two pretty girls in white lace dresses and guitars, wailing occasionally through a storm of bass, smudged makeup and cymbal crashes. Undersimile do their best to be atmospheric and compelling, however a lack of musical ideas and diversity in their sound does them no favours.
Desert Storm made 70% of the audience dance, a spontaneous breakdance was even executed by a particularly adept member of the crowd. The Oxfordshire stoner groove band blasted the Underworld with constant melodious energy that created a constant itch to salsa embarrassingly while soaking up their toffee rich bass. A wholly converted audience demanded an extra song at the end of their set, a rare occurrence for a support band so low on the bill. This is certainly a band to keep an eye on if you like an injection of groove with your stoner metal.
Zoroaster placed a monstrous drum kit inches away from the now tinnitus ridden fans in the front row. Drummer Dan Scanlon proceeded to use some incredibly powerful drumming to incite a vicious attack of distortion, feedback and desperate screaming from the rest of the band. A use of complex polyrhythms and melody down-tuned to the depths of hell make Zoroaster sound as ancient as their name suggests.
Finally, Weedeater emerged on stage with much cross eyed head-punching by the entertainingly insane bass thumping vocalist Dave ‘Dixie’ Collins. His Iron Monkey inspired shrieks were perfectly balanced by the thick, sludgy groove of the band. Vicious moshpits and dancers infiltrated the crowd and increased in intensity during songs from new album ‘Jason…the Dragon’.
An evening worthy of the tinnitus that followed was perfectly sealed by flawlessly dirty bass, heavy riffs and Weedeater at their intoxicating best.
