Downtown Doom: Falls Of Rauros, Wayfarer & Skyeater Perform At The Lexington

Review by Andrew Bansal, photos by Andrew Hernandez

fallsofrauros

July 11th 2016, The Lexington, Los Angeles CA: Portland, Maine black/doom metal band Falls Of Rauros embarked on a two-week U.S. West Coast headline tour with Denver, Colorado atmospheric extreme metal group Wayfarer as support for the entire run, and plunged to the murkiest depths of the Los Angeles underground to perform at the Lexington bar in downtown LA last Monday July 11th 2016 with local openers Skyeater and Our Place Of Worship Is Silence for an event put together by tireless promoters Church Of The 8th Day and The Elegy Ensemble.

There seems to be a lot of unnecessary fuss about the location of this venue (and places like the Five Star Bar and The Smell a few blocks away, for that matter) and how it’s in a supposedly dangerous and unsafe part of town. There’s no denying its proximity to the infamous skid row of downtown Los Angeles, and no one can dismiss the fact that businesses around here, the handful that actually exist and operate, close very early in the evening purely for safety reasons. But, in Metal Assault’s experience, the Lexington is a smooth-run establishment that does not embody the characteristics of its neighborhood, and whether you’re in a band parking a van full of gear or simply a concertgoer, all it takes is to be aware of your surroundings.

With that PSA out of the way, here’s how the show transpired. At around 9:30, proceedings began with Skyeater taking the stage and giving it their own ritualistic fragrance by placing candles all over it. This Los Angeles-based band played a solid set of black metal that set the tone for the evening and was right up the alley for people that came to see the touring bands. The aforementioned promoters usually get their lineups right and excel at picking the right bands for the touring packages they take under their wing, and they sure hit the nail on the head by choosing Skyeater to open for Falls Of Rauros and Wayfarer. Skyeater’s music could be described as your standard black metal but with an atmospheric, doom-laden twist, and they executed it really well on this stage as the tiny Lexington got loud easily and quickly, engaging and compelling the audience to stand in silence and admire. Skyeater’s recent demo release does not even come close to doing them justice, and readers are honestly recommended to not seek or listen to it online, but rather see and hear the band live firsthand.

Skyeater
Skyeater

The order of bands in the lineup was moved around from what was advertised on the flyer, and local band Our Place Of Worship was placed last after the two touring bands. This happens sometimes, specially on school nights, and makes total sense, even though the local band ends up suffering as a result. After Skyeater came Wayfarer, bringing their monolithic brand of Rocky Mountain death doom. Having started out in 2011 and recently signed to Prosthetic Records, Wayfarer released their second full-length and label debut ‘Old Souls’ in June, and presented a decent chunk of it here as they well and truly stood out as the finest band of the night. Wayfarer’s set possessed and exuded heaviness aplenty but was decorated with a strong melodic element thanks to the dual-guitar interplay, which is what keeps the listener engrossed, and is an aspect many doom/extreme metal bands tend to ignore at their own peril. Besides, the tempo shifts and proggy passages kept the set interesting throughout. On the whole, this tremendous slab of melodic bleakness from Wayfarer was relentlessly intense and powerful, and came across as extreme in more ways than one.

Wayfarer
Wayfarer

Next, Portland, Maine’s Falls Of Rauros served as an apt follow-up to Wayfarer, playing music focussing on similar themes and elements, but carrying a decidedly more atmospheric black metal vibe. Falls Of Rauros have been around for a little longer, starting out in 2005 and having released three LPs since then. Their latest album ‘Believe In No Coming Shore’ came out in 2014 via Traverse City, Michigan underground label Bindrune Recordings, but last June, they also put out a remastered version of their 2008 full-length debut ‘Hail Wind And Hewn Oak’ on the same label. This new version offers a far better presentation of the songs on the album than its original release seven years ago, and the live renditions take it to an even higher level, as evident from this performance. The guitar harmonies are among the most notable features of this band’s musicianship, and add incredible depth and strength to the music. Long after the end of this set, these harmonies would definitely have stayed in the audience’s memory longer than anything else the band did on stage.

Falls Of Rauros
Falls Of Rauros

Unfortunately, neither the writer nor the photographer could stay to watch the last band Our Place Of Worship Is Silence, but it’s clear from past reviews of their shows on this site alone that they’re an extreme metal band worth experiencing live, and they’ll be playing in the LA area soon, opening for Barghest at Complex on Thursday July 21st.

The most striking aspect of such shows at a tiny, dingy venue like the Lexington is the surprisingly high-quality front-of-house sound, which is a combination of the room’s shape and layout, the competence of the sound engineer, the cooperation of musicians and the quality of the gear. With any one of these things going awry, the sound can suffer hugely, but much to the delight of one and all in attendance, that wasn’t the case here and this Monday night extreme metal outing turned out to be a very fruitful one for those that made the wise choice to attend.

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