Conjurer @ The Garage Attic, Glasgow (26th October 2019)

with: Earth Moves and Armed For Apocalypse

Hosted by: Triple G Music

Words and Photos: 

Joanne Gray

Since forming back in 2014, it seems that the Rugby based metallers Conjurer have achieved a hell of a lot. On the back of last year's excellent Mire, the band have relentlessly toured at home and abroad, have played just about every major festival in the country, and have somehow managed to fit in a collaborative album (Curse These Metal Hands) amongst this. With another covers split coming in the next few months with the mighty Palm Reader, it really is quite impressive that the band managed to fit in a UK tour to see out the end of the year in style. After being utterly blown away by the band's Download performance earlier this summer, I was more than keen to finally check them out in a more intimate venue.

And that's exactly what this gig at Glasgow's 150-cap venue The Attic promised. Safe to say, I was pretty stoked for this one from the beginning, but the fact that the band had managed to sell out the venue was all the more exciting as well. 

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Up first to a (slightly) emptier room however, was the Portland based Armed For Apocalypse, who formed back in 2008. Made up of previous members of Will Haven, Abominable Iron Sloth and Ghostride, this was a band who clearly had a lot of experience playing heavy shows during their time.

Fitting in very well on the bill then, the band's mixture of sludge, doom, hardcore and extreme metal elements got heads bopping pretty quickly. With the two person attack of anvil-heavy riffing which accompanied appropriately chunky basslines- Cayle Hunter, Nate Burman and Charlie Fischer provided a wicked low end chug to the songs here. Particular shout out though has to go to drummer Nick Harris for his hard hitting delivery that was as powerful as it was incredibly joyful to watch. It almost felt like the man was going to punch through the kit with the level of intensity on show here. Cayle Hunter's powerful, but relatively understandable death growls then gave the whole performance a sense of  extremity that set them apart from most bands of a similar type. Although I did feel that the vocals were ever so slightly too low within the mix, it was still clear that this was a technically excellent and engaging performance from the vocalist.

All of these elements therefore combined to give the band a sound that was reminiscent of progressive metal bands like Mastodon and Gojira, with an effective pulverising bounce that you get from bands like Knocked Loose and Code Orange. There was more than a little hint of a Lamb of God-esque groove in the material as well, which is always a winner for me. 

Although I never managed to get a setlist for their performance, the band have very few releases so I imagine that a good chunk of their set came from last year's EP Palm Reader, with a few more tunes from 2009's Defeat to round things off. Due to the members being involved in different projects over the last few years, I would like to think that these shows are the start of a return of focus on such material. Judging by what I saw during this set, and from the reaction of the people who came out early, they'd have no problems swaying people if they did release more material. 

Great start to this head meltingly heavy evening.  

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Moving some of this heaviness into more ethereal territory however, it was then over to the Brighton/London based band Earth Moves. Influenced by bands like Mono, Deafheaven, Slowdive and Deftones, Earth Moves brought their brand of screamo-infused-post-metal to the table to calm things down slightly for half an hour or so. 

There was still a good amount of variety and heaviness to this sound though, as could be seen from the material selected during the band's set. 'The Absurd Man', from last year's similarly titled EP, was a pretty doom-laden affair which saw chugging, fuzzed up guitars from Sam Ricketts and Mark Portnoj open things nicely before dropping away to provide some quieter, clean moments of reflection. For most support slots, a song like this featuring very little vocals would usually see the audience chattering away, but all credit to Conjurer fans for providing the band with the silence they needed for such intricacy within the latter parts here. 

This was something which carried over into the gentler moments throughout this set. But it wasn't really needed with the newer track 'Into The Ether'. Placing the screamo elements of the band right at the front of proceedings, Jordan Hills' vocals went between throat shredding, Touche Amore-like higher pitched screams, and more gentle melodic lines that sat nicely within the woozy, shoegazing instrumentals. Throwing in some technical flair, drummer Gary Marsden provided some blast beats and off kilter fills to give some nice blackgaze vibes that I'm always happy to hear when done well. 

Getting to the track 'There Was An Apple Orchard Here' (from 2016's The Truth in Our Bodies), there was a clear sense that this was an emotional sort of band who displayed their flirtations with different musical styles with a morose sense of delicate angst that matched the music nicely. Hills would contort his face while he gripped onto the microphone, seeming to push out every last sense of sentiment from his body. When his vocal sections were finished, he would stare out to the crowd in a poe-faced manner, with very little stage interaction or banter. In fact, you only really knew when the song was ending by the brief "cheers" that would come from the singer. Again, this lack of interactivity could be viewed as offputting for other crowds, but the now filling up room around me seemed to be quietly intrigued by what was in front of them here.  

If there were to be any doubts about the longevity of the attention given to the band though, the new tracks 'Other Voices, Other Rooms' and 'Catatonic' were there to pick up the pace and slap the audience with some post-hardcore. This saw the band become the most energetic and heavy that they would throughout the entire set. Although the latter track is not currently available on streaming services, I do remember it being a highlight of the band's performance and it also managed to get some audience members jumping about in the process. Keep an eye out for that one when the band release their new material in the near future. 

Not letting the energy drop for the end of the set though, the nearly 10-minute epic 'Pia Mater' once again saw the band tip into heavier, more extreme territories. Giving Hills a bit of extra punch in his vocal delivery to compete with the more Deafheaven-esque black metal elements, guitarist Sam Ricketts provided some more gutteral, low end screams that really solidified the intensity of the sound effectively. Although I do think that Hills did a good job on his own (particularly towards the middle of the song where he was screaming at the top of his lungs with very minimal instrumentation), the interplay between the two vocalists here was a pleasant change and I would like to see more of this from the band in future performances. As the final, more atmospheric, bass heavy minutes lead out to Hills screaming out almost alone once more though, the emotion of the entire performance became clearer than ever to everyone who witnessed the set. 

This integrity was rewarded by the crowd as they applauded enthusiastically while the final clean notes rang out. Although Earth Moves were a more subtle live band than the one that was on previously, the level of craft from such a young band was just as evident here. Although this type of music is not quite so much my sort of thing, I'd definitely be interested in hearing more of Earth Moves whenever their new release is out. It's bands like these that really made that recent Deafheaven/Touche Amore co-headline tour make a lot more sense to me. 

If you're into emotionally charged screamo that isn't afraid to move into diverse musical territories, then be sure to check this band out as well. 

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After two successful opening acts, it was still only when waiting for Conjurer to come on that it really became clear just how busy this sold out gig would be. With The Attic's stage looking directly onto the bar and the floor space snaking off to the side beyond sight, there was a clear sense that people were trying to squeeze as closely to the middle as humanly possible. Ending up quite near the back of the room, I could barely see a thing but the glimpse of the letters displayed on the banner onstage. With the venue's characteristically low stage limiting my view even further, I could only tell that the band were onstage when the crowd erupted in applause and cheered around me. That and the progressively troll-worthy music of the likes of Katy Perry and the like. Because of course... it's Conjurer after all...

However, any fears one might have of the band coming out playing a pop banger, or not being able to see, were immediately vanquished once the the opening hardcore riffing of Mire's 'Thankless' punched out amongst frantic blast beats from drummer Jan Krause. Barely giving the audience time to get over the scale of the sound here, the band would then expertly move between tempos and musical styles in the way that they have really perfected over this album cycle. Sludgy grooves saw main vocalist Brady Deeprose's gutteral screams utterly command the intense music around him, before bringing in some soaring cleans amongst more ambient, ominous clean notes. Further giving the band a sense of power, fellow guitarist Dan Nightingale would provide extra gang vocals screams every now and then, while bassist Conor Marshall screamed wide-eyed out to the audience without a mic. One song in, and things were already sounding simultaneously apocalyptic and life affirming. 

And this would only continue with further material from Mire. The self-titled track lulled the crowd in with some lingering clean tones before becoming a twisting and turning thrashy mosh starter. Speaking of which, the pit was already in full swing, and looking around me, there was barely a body that wasn't swaying or headbanging to some degree. Adding to that, the intense flashing white lights meant that you especially felt like you had a band here that ought to be playing a far bigger room. This was solidified with 'Of Flesh Weaker Than Ash' , a song which had a Mastodon-esque sense of heft that really got fists raised and bodies moving around. Shout out to that simply thunderous bass tone that lumbered away towards the middle of the track. Gloriously heavy stuff. 

Moving away from Mire material briefly, it was then over to the 2016 EP I for 'Behold the Swine': a cluster of dissonant intertwining notes which erupted into earth shattering low tones that convulsed up and down the guitar neck. Slowing things down again once more, there was a more shimmering section where shoegazy lead guitars provided a ray of optimism for a few seconds. Then another set of riffs would crush into this in the wonderful way few bands can do as well as Conjurer. Although it is clear upon listening to the material on record that this earlier EP is comparatively less multi-layered and intricate than their later output, the tight performance here made you almost forget you weren't listening to something from Mire. 

And with that, it was back to this newer material for the next few songs. Bringing forth the album's first song 'Choke', the utterly pummelling doomy opening lingered for maximum effectiveness before unfurling into the progressively minded, time-signature-hopping fast section. I distinctly remember the mosh pit kicking off particularly during this song. And with the almost black-metal break in the middle which is accompanied by heart racing blast beats, this wasn't hard to argue with. As the face melting sections moved into more groovy pick scraping and breezy clean lead lines, I felt myself staring on in awe at the sheer fluidity of the band I was watching.

And this was only emphasised when the band moved into the following track 'Hollow', which saw doomy punches interject Rivers of Nihil-esque arpeggio chords seamlessly. As with the performance I saw at Download this year, guitarist/vocalist Dan Nightingale screamed out into the crowd a minute or so in alongside minimal instrumentation. Unlike that performance where he was clearly having to bellow at full pelt to be heard, this wasn't quite as necessary in this smaller room. In saying that, the screaming along from those standing at the front of the stage did make it a bit harder to hear him. Not that this was a problem of course. It was very clear that the band were chuffed to have such a response. 

Approaching the midway point of the set, it was back over to I for the triple hit of 'Scorn', 'A Chasm Forged in Dread and Disarray' and 'Frail'. The former song very much evoked Code Orange, but upped the sense of heaviness and eroded some of the sense of chaos that is brought with that band in the live environment. Shout out to the utterly filthy break section towards the end of the track in particular. Monstrous... The second track in comparison was slightly more trebly, and actually brought to mind some of the material for the Curse These Metal Hands EP. It's certainly cool to see that such diverse influences the band has have been evident in their material for several years. This was particularly clear with 'Frail', a track that opens with gentle, bittersweet clean chords before erupting with a sense of soaring euphoria. Although the band wouldn't play any CTMH material that night, this was pretty damn close to receiving that.

With the song ending in throat ripping growls however, the move back into more brutal territory in the form of 'Retch' was not entirely surprising. Back into frantic terrain, the mosh pit was whipped back and forward as the jagged riffage sped along. Then with what was one of the greatest moments of the set, the "There is no shelter" line prompted a mass rush forward and the crowd screamed the words into the band's faces. Bassist Conor Marshall then flooded onto the audience floor for the world-spinning breakdown during the middle of the song. Crowd and musician were one in their full body throwdowns. Running back onto the stage to finish the song, it was then over to the Electric Wizard-esque doom-meets-hardcore-fest that is 'Hadal' to slow things down in a way which felt like a satisfying and colossal set closer. Feedback squealed as the last notes screamed out of the guitars, punctuated by the double-pronged attack of Deeprose and Nightingale's growls. 

Before the band even had a chance to consider leaving the stage however, the crowd was already shouting for one more song in conventional Glaswegian fashion. In a rare moment of light humour and interaction between the band and crowd, Deeprose laughed that they didn't know any more songs to play. 

Of their own, that is...

And so with a cheeky grin from the band, out came Mastodon's 'Blood and Thunder'- a song that is due to appear on the upcoming covers split. I'll admit that it didn't instantly click to me which song they were playing. You'll need to forgive me for not listening to Mastodon all that much. To be fair though, Conjurer made this a far more heavy and intense song than I'm used to hearing from that band. Needless to say though, this was an absolute belter of a cover and I especially can't wait to hear the split later on in the year now. Really fun way to close their set, and the crowd and band were very much in agreement as they jumped about joyously. 

And that ended this punishingly awesome set from one of the UK's best live acts at the moment. As seen by the fact that this relatively underground band played and sold out (what felt like at the time) such an incredibly undersized room speaks volumes about their ability and potential for the future. I simply cannot wait to see what Conjurer have planned around the corner, and I hope to be able to see them continue to dominate the UK metal scene. If there's any justice in the world, this band will be playing to far more people in the coming years. 

For those of you who are into heavy music of any sort, you need to check out Conjurer if you haven't already. While you're at it, you could just put the covers split on your Xmas List as well, yeah? I know I will be... 

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Thanks to you for reading this review of Conjurer at The Garage Attic, Glasgow. If you want, you can leave a comment below or you can support RWEI by liking/following us over on the socials or get in touch for any submissions/collaborations. 

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