Review & photos by Andrew Bansal
March 6th 2015, El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles CA: Whilst several bands that have been in existence for two decades or more struggle to find inspiration to write new material as compelling and successful as their older albums and often find themselves at war with their own back catalog, two bands that have not put a foot wrong with their creative efforts in recent years are Norwegian progressive black metal veterans Enslaved and Eugene, Oregon doom lords Yob. With Enslaved as the headline act and Yob as main support, the two bands embarked on a three-week North American journey to present their latest albums on stage, along with Philadelphia’s Ecstatic Vision as the opening act. The tour began in San Diego on March 5th, and arrived at the El Rey Theatre immediately after, on a gloriously warm Friday in Los Angeles. Fans have been anticipating this gig ever since it was announced, and expectations were sky-high.
Doors opened at 7, and the show began at 7:45 as Ecstatic Vision took the stage in front of a smallish but slowly thickening turnout. The trio put forth a set of fuzzed-out psychedelic jams boasting of some world music elements through the usage of customized pieces in the drum kit and additional percussion. Until the last song, vocals were few and far between, and Ecstatic Vision mainly relied upon repetitive, trance-like passages of heavy psych. Judging by the crowd’s response, they certainly weren’t everyone’s cup of tea but they brought forth enough to be appreciated at least to some extent by fans of Enslaved and Yob. It’s always interesting from my perspective to explore and discover new hidden talent through these touring lineups, and Ecstatic Vision come across as a suitable opener for a show of this nature.
Shortly after, as the El Rey got considerably more densely populated, the three members of Yob took their respective positions on stage to deliver a masterclass in doom. Their seventh full-length effort ‘Clearing The Path To Ascend’ has been garnering high praise, has occupied the playlists and headspaces of doom fans all over the world since its summer 2014 release, and much of it was expected to be played in this set. Sure enough, Yob played three out of the four tracks that constitute the album, and that was undoubtedly only because of the time constraint. Given that the new material is the pinnacle of the band’s career thus far, in their own opinion as well as that of the fans, to hear anything other than these tunes in this set might have even been considered as a disappointment. Positioned on stage-right, guitarist and mastermind Mike Scheidt laid down both the heavy and the quiet segments on his instrument in equally powerful manner, and the audience held their collective breath with complete, undivided attention. There were loud roars of approval from fans and first-timers alike between songs, but in contrast, the entire building was engulfed by pin-drop silence while the songs were being played, specially during the quieter parts, as attendees attempted to absorb each and every note emanating from the stage. An incredibly beautiful performance that exceeded all expectations and left the audience speechless and already awaiting Yob’s return to town.
Set List:
01. In Our Blood
02. Nothing To Win
03. Marrow
At 10 PM, by the time everyone had just about recovered from the Yob set, the curtains drew apart and the five gents in Enslaved appeared on stage. Following an intro piece played on the PA, they went straight into the opening track of the upcoming thirteenth studio album ‘In Times’, slated to release next Tuesday March 10th, and took the audience through a smoothly traveled path of contrasting sonic landscapes that included three selections from the masterful new album and several others from past creations. The push-and-pull between the ferally aggressive black metal segments and the pristine proggy interludes has been so quintessential of Enslaved for the past few years, and it was evident none more so than in the renditions of the three ‘In Times’ tunes chosen for this set, ‘Thurisaz Dreaming’, ‘Building With Fire’, and the title track which was truly the centerpiece of the 11-song, 90-minute performance in every way imaginable. With that said, as someone who’s had ‘In Times’ for a month and has been listening to it exclusively for the entire duration, I must say that ‘One Thousand Years Of Rain’ is an indispensable tune and must be included in the set sooner rather than later.
All five members of Enslaved were at the peak of their powers, a peak that only heightens further every time they make a visit, and in addition to his expertise on growling vocals and bass, frontman Grutle Kjellson also excelled in crowd banter and his deliberately unfunny jokes, while guitarist and songwriter extraordinaire Ivar Bjørnson was effortlessly setting an example in progressive extreme metal guitar playing. Besides, his introduction to ‘Death In The Eyes Of Dawn’ off of ‘RIITIIR’ as a song he put in the set to express sadness of his weight gain was hilarious. On the whole, every item in the set was met with a strong reaction from the audience. The initial portion of the set cast a spell on most in the crowd and held them captive, and this spell was only broken by a mosh pit that started during ‘Ethica Odini’. The older tunes expectedly induced violent pits on the floor, even for parts of the music that one wouldn’t consider mosh-worthy. The excellent response from the audience largely justified the greatness of the performance and this was perhaps the best crowd Enslaved has played in front of in Los Angeles. The El Rey Theatre, one of the very few LA venues (and may be the only one) where the sound is so clean and balanced that even earplugs aren’t necessary, proved to be the most ideal setting for the show.
This Enslaved set will not disappoint anyone, and folks all over the continent are in for quite a treat through the next three weeks. If anything, Enslaved should add more new songs in the set, may be even the entirety of the new album. It’s rare and special for a band with a 25-year career to create such high-quality music even after all these years and I would not have any complaints whatsoever if they were to take every opportunity to play as much of it as they possibly can.
Overall, Enslaved and Yob combined to cause an infinite number of mind explosions through this evening, and the show will forever resonate in memory.
Related – Interview: Enslaved Guitarist Discusses New Album ‘In Times’ + More
Set List:
01. Thurisaz Dreaming
02. Ruun
03. Death In The Eyes of Dawn
04. Building With Fire
05. Ethica Odini
06. The Watcher
07. In Times
08. Convoys To Nothingness
Encore
09. As Fire Swept Clean The Earth
10. Fenris
11. Isa
Remaining Tour Dates:
3/07 – Slim’s – San Francisco, CA
3/09 – Hawthorne Theater – Portland, OR
3/10 – Rickshaw Theatre – Vancouver B.C. – CANADA
3/11 – El Corazon – Seattle, WA
3/13 – Bar Deluxe – Salt Lake City, UT
3/14 – Summit Music Hall – Denver, CO
3/16 – Mill City Nights – Minneapolis, MN
3/17 – Thalia Hall – Chicago, IL
3/19 – Opera House – Toronto, ON – CANADA
3/20 – Les Foufounes Électriques – Montreal, QC – CANADA
3/21 – Gramercy Theatre – New York, NY
3/22 – Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA
3/23 – Baltimore Soundstage – Baltimore, MD
3/24 – Sinclair – Boston, MA