Apotheosis:
A Laudanum, Destroy Judas, and Behold! The Monolith
Photo Essay

Tucked away in a quaint, unobtrusive corner of Los Angeles’ Chinatown, CVLT Nation and Ear/Splitters managed to squeeze three absolutely devastating doom groups into the very personal Mountain Bar: Laudanum, Destroy Judas, and Behold! The Monolith tore this place to the fucking ground. The cozy venue provided an intimate way to slip into that specific breed of drone-facilitated catharsis that we find ourselves seeking so often. I cannot emphasize enough the sheer emotional engagement the bands themselves brought to the table, and the close proximity of the bar allowed for. Each band showcased their own unique and welcomed spin on the genre, from Behold! The Monolith‘s droning stoner rock, to drowning in Destroy Judas’ powerful, shoegaze-esque desolation, to Laudanum’s guided tour to the unnerving depths of the human mind – this was not your typical doom lineup. Check out the photos and read the full show writeup after the jump!00

Behold! The Monolith started off the night with a set that tread somewhere between throwback 90s stoner metal, soft melodic passages and dense, encompassing drone portions – all while managing to remain interesting.

Clearly well-oiled and in-synch with one another, these dudes have a knack for blending modern doom stylings with awesome sludgey, toe-tapping psychedelic trappings. Having no prior experience with the group I had no clue what to expect, but the genre blending, old-school vibe rockin’ Los Angeles trio have made a fan out of me. B!TM has a new album (produced by Billy Anderson) coming out sometime in January of 2012. You can stream their LP in its entirety here.

Destroy Judas’ set began with dim lights, delayed guitar, and the distant cries of coastal gulls; a video backdrop of the tide slowly rolling in silhouetting the Long Beach, CA based five piece against a screen setup behind them. Lulled into peace by the soothing atmosphere, the audience’s anticipation of the coming aural barrage was as thick as the bass lines and crushing guitar that soon followed. The visual accompaniment now spewed brilliant distorted colors and shapes onto the screen, interspersed with footage of piers, violent waves and scenes of unending beaches – matching perfectly the music’s turn towards obliteration and solitude.

Destroy Judas managed to create on of the most wholly stimulating, moving and entrancing sets I’ve ever attended – this is raw, emotional and powerful extreme music showcasing its finest. You can stream and download their release from earlier this year for your own price here.

Oakland, CA’s Laudanum is quite possibly the most eerie and unsettling doom apparition I’ve had the privilege of experiencing live. The band manages to sound sort of like what I’d imagine slowly losing your fucking mind inside a dilapidated industrial building rife with cluttered, rusted machinery feels like. This is harsh, engrossing and thoroughly terrifying music that explores the dark, gritty recesses of an enfeebled and ill mind. From the get go, vocalist Nathan Misterek set the mood with haunted, tortured rasps that took on an ethereal life of their own under the weight of the roiling effects pedals beneath his feet. Bassist Salvador Reya and guitarist Judd Hawk added to the growing cacophony with low, rumbling feedback loops and spacey, distressing notes respectively; if Silent Hill was a blackened doom entity from the Bay Area, you can bet your ass this is what it’d sound like.

Finally, after conjuring an oppressive wall of sound that resonates somewhere deep down inside the collective consciousness of the audience, the entire thing ruptures into a ploddingly slow doom march led by Becky Hawk’s pounding drum beat that manages to be both precise, technical, and overwhelmingly powerful.

The band crushed its way through an hour long set that filled the tiny bar with an incredible weight – this is heavy, evil sounding music. Standing as a stark contrast against the long, droning buildup, the band finished their final song and quietly began disassembling their kit – the room now noticeably lighter. Laudanum fucking killed it.