By Andrew Bansal
Dec. 5th 2011, Five Star Bar, Los Angeles CA: After the relentless, apocalyptic extreme metal I got treated to at this venue two nights ago, I was back here, this time for a doom metal show featuring another Australian band Mournful Congregation, along with Anhedonist and Aldebaran who are the support bands on the Aussies’ West Coast tour, and local support from Destroy Judas, Harassor and Pendulus. I was very pleasantly surprised by the sudden influx of Australian underground metal in the US West Coast, and after the brutality of Saturday night, I was very curious to see how this particular show was going to pan out.
The show was promptly started off by Pendulous at 8.15, and I was pretty impressed with their set. Their music was largely doom metal but the combination of a distinct melodic element with harsh vocals resulted in a pretty powerful sound. The music exuded passion and emotion, and I really dug it. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for this band, and if you’re into doom metal at all, take this band as a recommendation from me.
Next up was Harassor, who almost didn’t play. Five minutes before their scheduled time, I saw their vocalist Pete standing outside the venue and stressing out because his band mates weren’t even there yet. They showed up at the last moment, and the band went on at their scheduled time, albeit having to shorten their set. There was a bit of spinal tap to it all. Pete didn’t even do his usual on-stage getup because I guess he wasn’t sure if he was going to perform, so he didn’t get ready the way he usually does. It was like seeing KISS without makeup. Honestly though, I enjoyed this Harassor performance more than any of the previous times I’ve seen them. I think the intensity of the music was translated that much more, due to the shorter-than-usual set length. It was almost like they released the pre-show stress and tension through the music and that’s what made it sound more aggressive, specially in the case of Pete. All in all, a great Harassor performance that came about due to unusual circumstances.
Destroy Judas took the stage next. Well, not exactly the stage, because they moved their setup below the stage to make room for the projection screen which was placed on the stage. They are a band that blow my mind every time I see them, and this time was no exception. Their music is just a complete trip, and this happens without any use of marijuana-related products. Who knows what would happen if weed was involved. Now that, and the music would together make things a little too trippy. Anyway, their set was excellent, and the visuals complemented the music to perfection. I could describe what the visuals were all about, but then that would ruin it for people who are yet to see the band. So all I would say is, go see Destroy Judas whenever you get a chance. A band that’s an absolute must-see for every LA-based music lover.
The next band, Aldebaran took forever to set up. More than an hour. Destroy Judas was done by 10.20, and this band didn’t go on till 11.25. And based on the music they played, it really wasn’t turning out to be worth that much of a wait. But thankfully, this place serves $3 tall cans of beer, so the bar was where I headed to find some solace. They were done soon after, and Anhedonist took the stage. I dug their music a lot more than Aldebaran. They had more melody and structure in their tunes, yet the ‘doom’ feeling translated across very well through their sound. I’d be inclined to check them out again whenever they come to town. But finally, all the support bands were done, and it was now time to wait for the Australian funeral doom experts Mournful Congregation to blow us away.
The wait wasn’t long, and the first thing about Mournful Congregation that caught my attention and pleased me was the three-guitar combination. They had two guitarists up there, along with the singer also playing guitar. It created such a strong and rich sound that this aspect alone made them stand out far and above all of the bands that played the show last night, and to be quite honest, far and above most, if not all doom metal bands I’ve heard. It was incredibly dark, draining, and as the band’s name suggests, mournful. These incredible musicians ended their set at around 1.35 AM, and even though it was already late, people still wanted more from them, but sadly that did not happen. The house lights came on and that signaled the end of the night.
Not to sound super cheesy, but the fact that they travelled halfway round the globe to come and play these West Coast shows exemplifies the sheer passion and dedication they have towards their music, and it was great to be part of it. I hope for their return to our city in the near future.
All in all, an epic night filled with great music, spinal tap moments and cheap beers.
Rating: 8.5/10
551 Replies to “Mournful Congregation’s Funeral Doom Invades Five Star Bar”
Comments are closed.