Review by Andrew Bansal, video by Matt Nielson
November 3rd 2015, Complex, Glendale CA: Seattle-based atmospheric progressive sludge group He Whose Ox Is Gored released their new full-length album ‘The Camel, The Lion, The Child’ via Bleeding Light Records in October 2015, and straightaway embarked on a US headline tour. They arrived in the Los Angeles area last Tuesday November 3rd for a gig at Complex in Glendale presented by Church Of The 8th Day, and featuring support acts Caustic Casanova, Sisters Ov The Blackmoon and The Rare Breed. Known to turn heads and raise eyebrows with their eclectic brand of musicianship, He Whose Ox Is Gored were here to once again give the Los Angeles underground a taste of it.
Doors opened at 8 PM on this chilly Tuesday evening, just two days after many Los Angeles folks inexplicably celebrated the setting back of the clocks and the fact that it gets dark at 4 PM for no reason. The show began at around 9 o’ clock with the first local opening act The Rare Breed. The stoner rock trio played their hearts out on this stage for the next 40 minutes and put forth some sweet riff-worshipping jams filled with great clean singing and smoothly flowing instrumentation by all three members. A lot of local/upcoming stoner/doom bands often do not give enough importance to technical adeptness and sound sloppy as a result, but The Rare Breed focuses on a technically proficient approach to their Sabbath worship, which is what makes them sound a lot tighter than some of their peers. An excellent way to start this show.
The next and last local opener of the evening was Sisters Ov The Blackmoon, a band that shared this very stage with Electric Citizen and Red Wizard at a Church Of The 8th Day show not too long ago. Sisters returned to the scene of the crime for an even more powerful performance on this occasion. Through the four times I’ve now seen this band over the past seven months, they’ve progressed by leaps and bounds each time. Theirs is an instantly enjoyable style of slow, heavy doom, centered around highly catchy and memorable riffs, decorated with soaring female vocals and backed by a crushing rhythm section, and all these aspects are magnified greatly when this music is presented live. These kinds of performances make them a prime candidate to participate in shows of this nature, specially at this venue. The level, mix and balance of their sound was absolutely perfect, and credit also goes to the sound guy for it. Sisters played all four songs off of their 2014 ‘Blood Cauldron’ debut EP, along with a new, unreleased tune or two, and ended the set to an applause of approval from a majority of the audience. The headliner was the most compelling band of the night, but Sisters were right up there with them.
Next up was Caustic Casanova, a band from Washington, DC that was on its own North American headline tour and just so happened to cross paths with He Whose Ox Is Gored, so they were billed as main support for this show. They label their musical style as ‘regressive rock’, but in practical terms it is hard to describe, other than pointing out that it has post-hardcore, prog, punk and experimental elements. They were giving it their all on stage, but the music was in all a bit too busy and chaotic for this audience’s taste, and many attendees were seen retreating to the smoking patio outside. Caustic Casanova may create an altogether different impression on another occasion, but this simply wasn’t the right show or the right stage for them.
And finally at 00:35, He Whose Ox Is Gored took the stage and played a six-song set, opening with ‘Void Assault’ from their 2014 ‘Rumors’ 7-inch, and playing two tunes off of the aforementioned newest album. This set of eclectic sludge by HWOIG was as beautiful as it was heavy, as the earth-shattering riffs were met by the psychedelic melodies arising from keyboardist/vocalist Lisa Mungo’s exploits on stage. Besides the sheer dynamism of the musical arrangements, the most striking feature of the set was the incredible clarity of all the instruments even at such loud extremes. Stoner/sludge bands come through Los Angeles, and this venue in particular, on such a regular basis that looking back at the series of such shows makes it feel like a blur, but there was certainly a unique quality about what HWOIG were doing on this stage. For that reason they’ll probably be remembered for longer. It was quite a late start to their set, even by Complex standards, but those that stayed found it to be more than worth the wait. As for those that missed the show, an uninterrupted listening session of the latest HWOIG album, and attendance at their next LA show are both highly recommended activities.
Overall, another show that adds to the never-ending list of intriguing heavy rituals in Los Angeles’ church of the metal underground.
For full video coverage of the show, visit Arturo Gallegos’ YouTube channel.
Remaining Tour Dates:
11/05 - San Francisco, CA @ Thee Parkside
11/06 - Sacramento, CA @ Cafe Colonial
11/07 – Portland, OR @ The Know
11/08 – Olympia, WA @ Le Voyeur
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