Body Void & Bismuth @ Nice N Sleazy, Glasgow (14th January 2020)

with: Cartilage
Hosted by: COG Promotions

Starting off the new year in the heaviest of fashions, it was over to Nice N Sleazy to check out the doomy offerings of Body Void and Bismuth in this co-headline set. Accompanied by local noise-punk doomsters, the show promised to deliver crushing slabs of doom to everyone who made their way there on a cold winter night. And it certainly did all of that and more...

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WORDS: Ray Mondo

The first band on of the evening was, as previously advertised on previous gig posters (and which always proves to be an accurate description of these guys), Glasgow's very own heavyweight champions of sludge punk - Cartilage. Comprised of bassist/vocalist Vickie and drummer Dean, they have been making waves in Glasgow's local scene for quite some time- having previously more than proved their worth with support slots for bands such as Big Business and the like. Fortunately there are no signs of the band slowing down or putting out anything less than undeniably doomy and infinitely crushing.

Cartilage's raw and visceral sound does more than enough talking - at any gig they play, you just need to see the eager attendees all gather closer to the stage to watch with interest and have their faces melted off. And this particular gig was no exception. The sludge-and-doom-drenched bass riffs came relentlessly one after the other, backed up by the furiously rhythmic sound of a drum kit being battered close to death, topped off with some impressively guttural vocals.

Playing both a mix of earlier material and newer songs from their more recent Lung Butter EP, the band, as usual, did not disappoint and definitely set the high-water mark for the night's proceedings. If you're unfortunate enough to have not seen Cartilage live yet, you'll without a doubt be in for an experience when you eventually come to your senses and correct that.

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WORDS: Joanne Gray

Following this wonderfully noisy introduction to the evening, it was then over to the Nottingham based duo Bismuth to further amp up the volume. Pun somewhat intended, as it became immediately clear upon seeing the aptly named and aptly monstrous looking "Nom O)))" amp plugged in alongside a chunky Orange stack that this was going to be a loud one. Enough to compete with the likes of Sunn O)))? Almost, actually!

It would take a little while to receive the sort of all-encompassing volume that we're talking about here though. Starting things off with the incredibly ambitious 32 minute track 'The Slow Dying of the Great Barrier Reef', the duo spent around the first third of the song slowly building a gentle sense of eerie atmosphere. Drummer Joe Rawlings evoked the ebb and flow of a threatening tide by brushing the cymbals with muffled sticks. Meanwhile bassist and frontwoman Tanya Byrne provided some soft vocals over some pulsing echoing tones. Although the vocals here were a touch on the side of being too quiet, the room was prompted into silence nonetheless. And this only increased the sense of eeriness that underpinned the band's sound.

Utilising a combination of different effects pedals and a feedback loop from the amps, the epic song gradually swelled into an intense doom-laden dirge; the likes of which bands like Electric Wizard and of course, Sunn O))) come to mind. Byrne began to screech like she was exorcising the devil itself. The true sense of the word 'doom' was fully realised. Totally enveloping the room in the claustrophobic sound coming from the amps, you could feel the weight of the noise blasting out into the air. Even with earplugs in, I could feel that this was a loud performance. In the best way possible of course.

Managing to make this ginormous song never felt like it actually lasted over half an hour due to the subtle sense of progression and anticipation that came with each note is an incredible skill in itself. What was even more impressive though was the duo's sheer ability to stay so in sync with one another in order to keep the sound flawlessly unbroken throughout. So much so that when the closing notes would see the song fade out once more, the crowd was left in awe for a few seconds before the immense silence that followed prompted appreciative applause. 

Not allowing the silence to linger for too long though, it was over to the slightly faster and shorter (for doom metal anyway), 'Weltschmerz', to really get heads bopping in enthusiastic fashion. As with the previous track, it felt like no time at all before the song would come to an end after 6 and a half minutes. But Byrne would certainly make her mark at the end of this particular one. Leaving her bass against the amp stacks to drone continuously in the background, she was then free to take the mic into the unsuspecting crowd. Reminding me somewhat of the insane live vocal performance of Oathbreaker's Caro, Byrne kneeled onto the floor and shrieked with such ferocious energy that it was looked almost as painful and as uncomfortable as it was sonically impressive, forcing those around her to simply look on with incredulous expressions. By the time she ended on one final scream, it was clear that the band had won over the entire crowd. 

This will certainly not be a performance I forget any time soon. Just wow.

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WORDS: Joanne Gray

As if the pummelling received from Bismuth wasn't enough to contend with though, we still had Body Void to keep the crushing heaviness swirling through the air. Presenting the first and only band of the night to have more than two members, there was certainly a heft to the New England doom/crust trio that ensured that the band would bring some of the most aggressive sounds to the venue that night. 

Sounding a bit like if Conjurer decided to inject a bit more of an icy edge to their sound, Body Void combined the most dirgy and extreme elements of doom metal with a crusty punk sense of aggression. Almost black metal-like shrieks from vocalist Will Ryan played off against Edward Holgerson's powerful drumming and Parker Ryan's lumbering bass lines to provide an initial anvil heavy sound that could please doom-merchants, punks and extreme metal fiends alike.

Seemingly playing some material from last year's You Will Know The Fear You Forced Upon Us, things were going well for the first few songs which saw the crowd warm slowly to the slight change in style and pace presented by this band. 

Unfortunately things seemed to go a bit wrong after the first ten minutes or so. Unimpressed by the high level of feedback coming from his rig, guitarist Will Ryan took a few minutes to fiddle about with settings on his amp. As had been the case with previous bands that night, there was a dramatic silence from the half-full venue that solidified a sense of awkwardness as the crowd waited for the issues to be resolved. After a minute or so, it became clear that more time would be needed, so it was a relief to have bassist Parker Ryan break things up with a bit of self-deprecating banter between the band and the crowd. The rather jovial back and forth here thankfully seemed to push the guitarist, who had looked rather downtrodden up until that point, to continue with the set rather than keep trying to fix the problem without success.

And so they thankfully continued. Even though it became quickly clear that the squealing feedback wasn't going to go away anytime soon, Body Void did their best to incorporate the sound into their set. Although it did seem like it took a few songs for the interruption to vanish from the minds of the band, it was admirable that they just went and powered through the rest of the songs the best they could rather than let it defeat them entirely. Without any prior knowledge to such issues, one would maybe not even notice the presence of too much feedback in this style of music compared to other genres anyway. 

So with this in mind, I felt that Body Void still gave a musically impressive set that showcased a raw sensibility which can be further refined with time. Particularly memorable was the performance of the 14 minute long 'Androgyne' (featured on their split with Keeper), which suggests that there is much more to come from Body Void over the coming years. 

Sure, this probably wasn't the ideal first show for Body Void in Glasgow, but it was clear from the audience's reaction to the band as they finished that there was plenty of appreciation for their efforts anyway. I know that I and plenty of others in the room would be keen to check out Body Void again when they hopefully come back to the UK again.

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Thanks to Ray for his words about Cartilage and for providing the photos for this post. Thanks to you for reading this as well. Feel free to leave a comment below or help support RWEI by giving a like/follow/share on the socials, if you like. As always, get in touch if you would like to submit or contribute in any way as well. 

Cheers!