Wednesday 21 July 2010

Converge and Kylesa, live at Manchester Academy 2, 15th July 2010

Despite missing the first two acts, this was well worth a 6 hour return trip to Manchester for. The two main bands, Kylesa and Converge, were hardly natural partners in crime, but it certainly seems like its going to work throughout the long tour they are doing together.

Kylesa are a special act. They have managed to forge their own unique brand of heavy, with a hypnotic groove that both bewilders and pleases the listener, with the otherworldly heavyness of Electric Wizard and the more technical/psychadelic elements of Mastodon mixed to beautiful perfection. If this doesn't make you want take drugs, no heavy music will. Watching the two drummers at work is pretty mesmerising stuff, and frontwoman Laura Pleasants has a nice dirty roar on her which compliments the music, and its refreshing to have a female in a band who isnt the selling point of the music *cougharchenemycough*. Although like many members of the crowd I wasn't that acquainted with the bands discography, the nature of the music induces involuntary headbanging, and it was a great shame they only had a half hour set.

Converge confirm the diversity of this evening. The songs are short, relentless, incredibly tight and, erm, pretty hardcore. The bundle of energy that is singer Jacob Bannon is to hyperactivity what Mike Williams is to narcotic induced numbness - one wonders how it is humanely possible to maintain such levels of enthusiasm throughout an entire tour. The set features quite a few songs off Jane Doe, the seminal album ranked as the 4th best album of the 00's by Terrorizer, and as the best by Decibal, which were always going to have the crowd in raptures.

Jack

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