Anhedonist Turns Five Star Bar Into Shrine Of Doom

By Andrew Bansal

June 5th 2013, Five Star Bar, Los Angeles CA: Seattle-based doom metal outfit Anhedonist have been around for five years now, releasing a demo called ‘Drear’ in 2010 and their debut full-length ‘Netherwards’ last year, amidst a moderate number of live performances. I remember seeing them and enjoying their set when they opened for Australian funeral doom masters Mournful Congregation in late 2011 at the Five Star Bar, and coming to the final rites of their current US touring run, they visited the same venue last night, this time for a headline gig of their own. In support were local openers Harassor, Invocation War and Agowilt. The Five Star bar has this quality to it, a unique atmosphere that has always attracted me to attend shows there at every possible opportunity. So, as soon as I caught wind of the occurrence of this show, I immediately decided to make an outing to the Five Star, anticipating another interesting evening of live music.

I got there at around 8.30, and things were slow to begin with as the first band didn’t start till 9.15. But it was incredible how time started flying as soon as the show did get going, with Agowilt hitting the stage. They played what I would describe as a straight-up doom set with raw, crushing heaviness. The mentally draining nature of the music is hard to get into for first timers and casual onlookers, but would have certainly pleased any hardcore fans of the genre in this crowd. The next band Invocation War totally changed things up and brought forth a contrasting style of musicianship that consisted of varying elements ebbing and flowing throughout the set. More often than not, local opening acts play a certain style and all their songs sound similar, based on that one general idea. But this one was different in that regard, as each song varied from relentlessly fast black thrash metal to slower, melodic segments and everything in between. Props to them for keeping things interesting from song to song and not repeating themselves.

Harassor was the third band of the night, a band I was much looking forward to seeing. They were also part of that Mournful Congregation show I mentioned earlier, and that was the last time I saw them before last night. On that occasion, vocalist Pete Majors hadn’t put on his stage blood because he wasn’t sure the band would even end up performing at that show. He didn’t have the stage blood on for last night’s show either, but according to my understanding, this time it was done on purpose. Apparently, he mixes it up and goes back and forth on the stage blood thing, depending on the circumstances of the show. I think it made a positive impact on the band’s performance and the manner in which they were being received by the crowd. Instead of staring at the bloodied vocalist the entire while, this time the crowd could listen to the actual music because of the absence of the ‘theatre’ element. I was digging their music that boasted of Pete’s piercing vocals and solid musicianship from the guitarist and drummer. I still feel that a live bassist, or even a second guitarist, would add great depth to their on-stage sound, but Harassor certainly weren’t bad in the current 3-piece incarnation. It was amusing to hear Pete talk in a normal voice in between songs too, something he didn’t do in the past. It looks like they’ve finally moved on from the ‘black metal spinal-tap’ band to becoming a more serious group of musicians. As long as we have Gravehill, I’d be fine with Harassor playing blood-less on stage.

harassor.com
facebook.com/Harassorband
twitter.com/doomdeath

And after a short interlude, Anhedonist took the stage and began the process of mesmerizing this small but very gratified crowd. Doom metal is often characterized by its raw, organic nature and sheer earth-shattering loudness, and many bands achieve success employing exactly that style, but it takes a great level of skill and creativity to be able to play a more somber, melodic variety of doom and still make an equally powerful impact on a listening audience. Anhedonist definitely triumphed at doing the latter last night, as they played an incredibly expressive 30-minute set. The manner in which they were channeling their own expressions into their music was spellbinding for one and all in the audience. Very seldom have I taken pleasure in listening to music that’s as depressing and downcast as what Anhedonist played last night. Without seeming to make even an iota of effort, they turned this venue into their shrine, their temple of doom, and with no stage props or makeup, no fog machines, and no external assistance, their sound came across as very ritualistic, as was evident from the slowly swaying heads in the audience. People looked entranced and enchanted by this Anhedonist set, and this might well be the best performance by a doom metal band I’ve witnessed in my life thus far.

There must be something distinct about states like Washington and Oregon, judging by the number of doom bands they produce. Anhedonist do the Seattle doom scene extremely proud with gigs like the one last night, but in addition I think they’ve also succeeded in carving out their own niché and create a musical entity uniquely powerful. Major hails and horns to Hate War Productions for bringing these guys down for a headline gig. If you’re even remotely into doom, you need to check out Anhedonist as soon as possible. It was indeed an otherworldly performance by this highly talented group.

anhedonist.blogspot.com
facebook.com/pages/Anhedonist/224249847597688
darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com/album/netherwards

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