It was 9 PM and the streets were already deserted as I waited to gain entry to the venue ‘Bottom of the Hill’ in a somehow quieter part of San Francisco. It was an evening I had been waiting for, for a long time. After a number of missed chances, it was finally time for me to witness the mighty Ne Obliviscaris along with tech/prog death pioneers Allegaeon. I remember listening to both these bands for the first time at various points in my life and getting blown away by their unique forward-thinking brand of metal.
The evening’s proceedings began with local act Cormorant tearing up the venue with their crushing style of metal, which seemed to have taken inspirations from almost every subgenre of metal. The best of death, black, doom and heavy metal elements fused to create a raw sound, which was much more than just a warm-up for the almost capacity audience. The band is definitely worth listening to for lovers of traditional as well as modern metal.
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Beer had begun to flow, and the small venue was getting devoid of space as more people poured in. It was time for Allegaeon from Denver, Colorado to take the stage. Now pardon my language here, but holy shit! What a powerful set. Right from the moment they began, it was the ultimate display of what we call “bringing the house down”. The extremely technical and groovy rhythms, the guttural vocals, and the guitar work were indeed a ‘proponent for sentience’. The first mosh pit of the evening had opened up already, and it was impossible to not headbang to the monstrosity of the sound. And while doing so, I caught a glimpse of the drummer and the guitarist windmilling their heads in sync. Now, every gig you attend leaves an imprint in your mind – and for me in this gig, it was this very scene. It was that kind of set that impacts you and wakes every sleeping cell in your brain. All hail science!
Now just last week, Ne Obliviscaris released a mammoth of an album titled ‘Urn’. It was one of the most anticipated albums of the year, and it absolutely lives up to the hype. I had the opportunity to spin the album twice before the show, and was personally stoked to hear some of the new tracks being played live (of course along with their older material, which is forever gold).
To put the beauty of their set tonight in words is a daunting task for me. For it was what can be considered as the perfect alloy of serene atmospheres and mind-altering chaos. They have always been the band known for their out-of-the-box and absolutely genre-defining music. Their sound demonstrates extremely complex melodies, entwining clean and harsh vocals. All this just seems impossible to be recreated in a live setting, but this band just killed it. Every member was spot-on in their respective departments.
The moment they played “And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope” was a moment of pure emotion and nostalgia for me, because it was the first track of theirs I had ever heard. I could just remember how blown away I was that day around five years ago. And watching the same being played flawlessly live was a moment to cherish. I have seen lots of bands, and I could easily put them on the top tier list in terms of musical brilliance and their tight live performance.
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They went on to play a well-balanced mix of old and new material. The set consisted of other tracks such as “Libera (part 1)”, ”Intra Venus”, favorites “Forget Not”, “Urn”, “Devour Me Colossus”, and more. It was the first gig of their ‘Urn’ world tour, and the crowd reception was brilliant as expected. Personally, I felt the venue was too small and did not have the required live sound system to handle a band like Ne Obliviscaris; and in the future, I would like to see them perform in larger venues such as, say, The Warfield or The Fillmore.
Ne Obliviscaris are out to show the world that they are the flag-bearers of forward thought process and evolution in metal music. Make sure to check them out live when you can, along with Allegaeon, who wouldn’t think twice before ripping apart venues and melting your faces.