Cruciform, The Veil, Magma One, Amammoth at the Vanguard, Newtown. 15 October, 2022
The Vanguard is closing in on its twentieth year as a venue and there’s some special stuff coming up to celebrate that milestone in the near future. Tonight, however, it was the setting for the live return of one of Sydney’s metal legends and the resurrection of another long-serving band, returning in a much-stripped down configuration.
Amammoth project a super-heavy, super-loud fuzzed out sludgy doom that sounds like Motörhead’s Inferno album played at half speed, with craggy, murky vocals coming up from the bottom of a prehistoric tar pit. The enormous and repetitive riffing is so ponderous that they seem to warp time in such a way that the set feels like it’s much longer than it actually is while hooking into some deep Sabbath-esque grooves and crawling stoner grind. There could be fewer better ways to start things rolling for the night of doom to follow.
Blue Mountains four piece Magma One battled some bad sound at one show recently and then almost all got electrocuted at an open air gig during a heavy downpour but each time they rose above it. Tonight they delivered another strong set of epic, exploratory doom kicked off by a moderately-paced instrumental track. With shades of the 70s in their solid mix of lingering riffs, jazz-inflected drumming, jangling, finger-picked bass lines, extended soloing, folky elements and scathing vocals, Magma One were perfectly at home here at the Vanguard tonight.
Following them was The Veil, recently reformed after disbanding in 2021 when various members departed for different parts of the country. Now a basic three piece, the sound was more stripped back, focusing on the dark minor chord melodies from Che deBoehmler’s guitar accompanying his melodious baritone, new drummer PK keeping things tight. Their style leans towards an elaborate and evocative Gothic approach than the otherwise doom-flavoured acts on the bill so their position on the night offered a slight respite from the crushing riffs but their songs have sadness and darkness at their heart.
To close the night it was the return of the mighty Cruciform, one of the pioneering acts of the Sydney extreme metal scene. Lack of keyboards player Sam Kempster was no hurdle as the walls of the venue shook with the first wave of immense riffing so unleashed. Monolithic death-doom consumed the Vanguard from that point. Michael Lenton’s deep raspy growl cut through as he kept time with thundering drums. On each side of the stage, Tony Mulhearn and Leon Kelly threw up massive walls of mesmerising riffs that got heads nodding, then slashed them with languid melodies and lead guitar. Bodies swayed to the slow rhythmic drive but it all seemed over too soon with voices from the crowd calling out for Sanctuary as the final notes continued to bounce off the walls. Cruciform was the first band of their kind from this city and almost thirty years since Atavism they have lost none of their hypnotic power. There’s more music from this band hiding away. We can only hope it will be released sometime soon.
