Review by ÆRæder
Venue
https://first-avenue.com/venue/turf-club/ – 1601 University Ave W, St Paul, MN 55104
Quick Take
This event on my calendar. That is, until I heard they brought Sunless on to open in support. I love it when they add a local band as the opener for a national touring act. This is something that needs to happen more often at more venues! And we all need to promote when it happens and show up to send the message that it is important and valued. I always seem to have a scheduling conflict when a Sunless show pops up and I needed to make this one! So, I rearranged Father’s Day plans at home to be able to attend. It was definitely not disappointing.
SUNLESS
https://sunlessband.bandcamp.com/album/ylem
- Minneapolis
- 3 Piece (Vox/guitar, bass, drums)
- Bandcamp tags: avant-garde metal, colin marston, death metal, dissonant, dissonant death metal, metal, progressive death metal, sunless, tech-death, technical death metal, twin cities, Minneapolis
A few years ago I was first introduced to Sunless as a “Dissonant Extreme Metal” band, and I think this somewhat vague descriptor best captures what this band is all about. It’s hard to put them in a box. They just hit so many styles while incorporating a variety of different techniques and approaches. The best part is they can pull off all that complexity with speed, absolute precision and synchronization. This is apparent on the album, but what surprised me at the show was how much MORE apparent it is live. They play with technical precision; light in some areas, heavy in others.
Standing in front of them and feeling the air being moved, seeing the visual dynamic and communication between the group, it was truly impressive. The music isn’t necessarily built to mosh around, and the variety of time and tempo changes make it difficult to headbang. HOWEVER, it’s not something you just sit and relax to. Their music is heavy, aggressive stuff that can be engaging to the point of being hypnotic, while still making you want to move and bang your head on some of the down beats. They did a great job kicking things off and building up some heavy, loud, and energetic momentum. Word is Sunless is currently focused on writing a third album; very much looking forward to reviewing this and checking out any shows related to its release!
KRUELTY
– https://kruelty666.bandcamp.com/
- Tokyo, Japan
- 4 Piece (Vox/guitar, guitar, bass, drums/vox)
- Bandcamp tags: metal, death metal, doom metal, hardcore, hardcore punk, Tokyo
Where Sunless is more of a contemplative experience, every single one of Kruelty’s tunes was able to get the circle spinning and promoted consistent heavy headbanging. Super heavy, doomy, mid-tempo death metal. I checked out the album Untopia following the show. Some of those roars in Japanese = Tokyo Style metal!
CREEPING DEATH
– https://creepingdeathtx.bandcamp.com/album/boundless-domain
- Dallas, TX
- 5 Piece (Vox, guitar, guitar, bass, drums/vox)
- Bandcamp tags: death metal, hardcore, metal, texas death metal, thrash metal, Dallas
Creeping Death capped out a great lineup. And they built on the crowd energy and aggression let loose by Kruelty. A band I had heard some good things about, but hadn’t listened to too much. I came away impressed and wanting to look more into them. Some intense moments of guitar shred on a couple of the tunes on top of the heavy osdm style rhythm was a live performance highlight!
I want to give kudos to the Turf Club, Creeping Death, Kruelty, and the managers/promoters involved in getting this lineup set! Again, it would be great to see more promoters and booking agents tapping in to the MN scene to bring in local bands and their following.