By Cesar Villatoro
December 10th 2016, Complex, Glendale CA: A few weeks after a successful North American tour supporting French-Canadian death metal titans Gorguts, post-prog masters Intronaut decided to perform a special one-off hometown show at Complex in Glendale, courtesy of Church of the 8th Day Promotions, to mark their final performance of the year. With an impressive mixture of bands whose sounds can be described anywhere from monstrously heavy to atmospheric and textural, this show promised to be a definite crowd-pleaser for fans of underground extreme metal, and it delivered on that promise.
Wovoka started the night off ferociously, unleashing an onslaught of slow-paced, immensely heavy riffs that stole and held on to the crowds attention. Bringing with them a live sound consisting of roaring vocals, floor-shaking bass riffs, and hard-hitting drumming, the four-piece post/sludge metal band played a crushing set consisting of songs from their 2015 debut full-length album ‘Saros’. With no talking between songs except for the loud sonic assault of amp feedback, Wovoka played a flawless set that set the mood for the night and gave the crowd a glimpse of what was to come.
Following up a great performance is never an easy task, but Colombian Necktie managed to pull it off with their signature, self-described “raucous metallic hardcore” sound. The Los Angeles natives played a heavy, unrelenting, chaotic, yet groove-oriented set that was a clear contrast from the previous band’s sound. Being the only frontman out of the all the bands playing that night, vocalist Scott Werren delivered with great stage presence and piercing vocals with assistance from guitarist Juan Hernandez. The band just released their latest full-length album ‘All Paths Lead to Nowhere’ in September 2016, which should definitely be on everyone’s radar.
Continuing the tradition of offering something new in sound but consistent in quality was Mustard Gas and Roses, which graced the audience with 30 minutes of atmospheric and ambient riffage that was reminiscent at times of the legendary post-metal band Isis, guitarist/vocalist Mike Gallagher’s former band. A mostly instrumental band, MGR’s live set was departure from the abrasive, in-your-face sound that was given from the earlier bands. Yet they were able to maintain the focus and attention from a packed crowd, mesmerizing them with beautifully composed songs that were both sonically pleasing and emotionally encompassing. The band recently played a show at Complex back in November but as an opener to Tombs (Wovoka was on that line-up as well), so it was nice to see them come back as direct support. Ending their set with a great response from the crowd, MGR perfectly set the mood for the headliners.
Amid a thick blanket of fog and smoke which encompassed the entire room, along with a truly impressive one-of-a-kind light show and display monitor behind the drum kit, progressive sludge masters Intronaut finally took to stage and went straight into their first song. Playing their latest album ‘The Direction of Last Things’ in its entirety, as well as crowd favorite song ‘Core Relations’ from their second album ‘Valley of Smoke’, Intronaut blazed through their set with syncopated and jazz-influenced metal riffs, smooth yet growling fretless bass lines, and intense polyrhythmic drum beats that bombarded the audience. After six amazing songs the band walked off stage only to be summoned once more by the chants of fans clearly wanting more, and they answered that call with ‘The Welding’ from the ‘Habitual Levitations’ album.
A fitting end to an impressive night that contained no filler bands or dead moments. Maybe it was the fact that every band was a Los Angeles based band? Maybe it was because this was yet another Church of the 8th Day presented gig? All I know is that all the bands who played tonight gave amazing performances, making it a perfect way to end a Saturday night.
Intronaut set list:
01. Fast Worms
02. Digital Gerrymandering
03. The Pleasant Surprise
04. The Unlikely Event Of A Water Landing
05. Sul Ponticello
06. The Direction Of Last Things
07. Core Relations
08. City Hymnal
Encore
09. The Welding
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