Ελληνικά
Around 21.30, Athenian sludgers Tugdam took the difficult job to open the gig for almost a nonexistent crowd in the venue at that time. I consider as an amazing advantage, especially for a band so young, to be able to beat the awkwardness of playing for a few people and still give your best. So, Tugdam earned a new fan yesterday and I was not the only one since more and more people came in the venue during their set. Steady, dark and big are the best three words that come in my mind trying to describe their performance, with interesting outbursts now and then. Their biggest plus was their drummer with his precise playing, impeccable dynamics and excellent ideas, while the vocals’ big contribution and variety gave much to their compositions. They’ll undoubtedly have mine/our attention in the future.
Next in line came the next guests of 3 Shades of Black, Uniform from the US, to a visibly more filled venue. As a part of Sacred Bones Records’ roster, I had a pretty good idea of what we were about to witness. To my surprise, the duo I remembered became a trio with the addition of Greg Fox, drummer from Liturgy. As a result, the highly rhythmic industrial noise rock of Uniform evolved a bit differently before our eyes, as they reminded me enough of Godflesh’s industrial, if they were on speed. In a few words, they were huge and rabid. The highly deranged on stage persona of their frontman definitely added more to their performance when he tirelessly danced in frenzy while scream with microphone or without. Even at points where the levels lowered, he stared intensely to all directions, channeling his unrest to the audience. Their whole set was marked by a perfect flow, making it seem like an extremely weird play. One of their highlights was their cover of the Black Sabbath classic, “Symptom of the Universe”, in which they truly made a unique take.
It was time now for the headliners, also from the US. The Body’s duo is of course famous for their painfully cathartic soundcapes and that’s what we got. The sound level went high and from start a massive wave of noise came at us. The setlist they chose reminded me of their older era where they existed in their most raw form. Chip King’s screaming are still imprinted on my mind and that’s when I understood that a recording could not stand enough to mirror the despair and need to escape they contain. All that combined with a strange flow between the changes of songs and some peculiar samples that were heard at points, created a nightmarish atmosphere. The monolithically twisted wall of noise they created around this bad dream was interrupted only by Chip’s effort to stabilize his glasses at points, giving birth to the question of how an experience so out of this world is human at the same time.
