Spring Break
MADE OF METAL: Another concert at the Palladium massacres minds via metal
by Daniel D. Snyder
Associate Editor
Arts | 9/23/08
Posted online at 7:22 PM EST on 9/22/08
Having endured more than enough sonic bludgeoning during the course of my last trip to the Palladium, I was ready for something a little more cerebral and engaging. Last Friday night's lineup, composed of Nachtmystium, High On Fire and Opeth, was more of a penetrating deep-tissue massage, whereas Sept. 5's Carcass, Dying Fetus and Suffocation were more like a traumatizing rape.
The eternal curse of Massachusetts highway traffic delayed me and my metal-brother-in-arms Dave "Only the weak use up one parking space" Goldstein '09, but we arrived just in time to hear Nachtmystium strum the opening strains of "One of These Nights" from their controversial new LP, Assassins: Black Meddle, Part 1. Some haters claim that the 'myst have ventured too far into experimental realms and abandoned their primal lo-fi black metal origins, but I say there's enough tr00 kvlt acts out there to satisfy your Darkthrone bone if that's your bag. I'd rather stick with something a little more interesting.
Now, knowing full well the shortcomings of the Palladium's sound quality, I was expecting Nachtmystium's black fuzz riffs to get lost in a sea of cavernous echoes, but-much to my surprise and delight-they sounded pretty darn good. Someone must have finally taken a look at the venue's soundboard and realized they'd had the "suck" knob turned all the way up for the last three years.
Emphasizing the experimental elements of their sound, Nachtmystium's set list went only as far back as Eulogy IV. "Assassins" was a serviceable opener, but it was "Ghosts of Grace" that really caught people's attention with its hypnotic, pendulous riffs during the song's final minutes. Bathed in red lights, the band cut an intense profile on stage while blasting through half an hour of trippy, fuzzed-up black metal that included chart-topping hits like the raucous "A Seed for Suffering." I was also pleased to see them joined on stage by Jon Necromancer, bassist for the tragically underrated and now defunct Chicago death-thrash unit Usurper. Closing the set with "My Vengeance" from Eulogy IV (which I bought from guitarist Jeff Wilson himself after the set), Nachtmystium left the stage with more than a few new fans nestled under their black demon wings.
The eternal curse of Massachusetts highway traffic delayed me and my metal-brother-in-arms Dave "Only the weak use up one parking space" Goldstein '09, but we arrived just in time to hear Nachtmystium strum the opening strains of "One of These Nights" from their controversial new LP, Assassins: Black Meddle, Part 1. Some haters claim that the 'myst have ventured too far into experimental realms and abandoned their primal lo-fi black metal origins, but I say there's enough tr00 kvlt acts out there to satisfy your Darkthrone bone if that's your bag. I'd rather stick with something a little more interesting.
Now, knowing full well the shortcomings of the Palladium's sound quality, I was expecting Nachtmystium's black fuzz riffs to get lost in a sea of cavernous echoes, but-much to my surprise and delight-they sounded pretty darn good. Someone must have finally taken a look at the venue's soundboard and realized they'd had the "suck" knob turned all the way up for the last three years.
Emphasizing the experimental elements of their sound, Nachtmystium's set list went only as far back as Eulogy IV. "Assassins" was a serviceable opener, but it was "Ghosts of Grace" that really caught people's attention with its hypnotic, pendulous riffs during the song's final minutes. Bathed in red lights, the band cut an intense profile on stage while blasting through half an hour of trippy, fuzzed-up black metal that included chart-topping hits like the raucous "A Seed for Suffering." I was also pleased to see them joined on stage by Jon Necromancer, bassist for the tragically underrated and now defunct Chicago death-thrash unit Usurper. Closing the set with "My Vengeance" from Eulogy IV (which I bought from guitarist Jeff Wilson himself after the set), Nachtmystium left the stage with more than a few new fans nestled under their black demon wings.
Be the first to comment on this story