Art

CVLT Nation Captures: Buried at Sea in Vancouver!

Published

December 10, 2015

Text and Photos: Colton Bills / Marrow Photography

I had been waiting for three months for this show. When the day finally came, with it with came Portland doom crew Shrine of The Serpent, local doom troupe Haggatha, along with Portland’s own funeral-doom bringers Usnea, New York’s Unearthly Trance and underground doom-dirge bearers Buried at Sea to cap it all off. I was ecstatic.

Shrine of the Serpent was great; despite not having a bass player present they worked really well as a two-piece. They brought huge riffs, awesome sound, great drumming.

Local doom bringers Haggatha were a treat – you could hear the pain and anguish and hopelessness in every scream. I ate that shit up, super cool, very tight, monolithic riffage and hopeless screams.

Usnea was when things started to get even better (or maybe I was just starting to get really drunk). This was the third time I have seen the Portland funeral doom band, and it was also the best.

I got caught up discussing their music with my boss and their guitar player-vocalist Justin. I realized that my boss and I like their music for the same reason – because it’s a part of each of them, not just because they are trying to be heavy. “It’s soul music. It’s heavy but your soul is in it.” Now, I’m not saying there is anything wrong with playing heavy for the sake of being heavy – I really love music that is about being heavy or dark just for the sake of being heavy or dark; but I also like music that is really personal along with music that is heavy for heaviness’ sake.

Unearthly Trance’s New York Doom was different altogether than the west coast doom that the earlier three bands played. They are a classic doom band with a titanic sound. Straightforward doom, throw in some black metal, a little sludge and you get the beast that is Unearthly Trance.

Buried at Sea I think might’ve been my favorite performance that night. I refrained from listening to them for a long time before the show to keep my virgin ears sacred and untouched. The vocals grabbed me by something deep within my soul and dragged me down to the abyss. The guitars and bass sounded giant, like waves crashing on a cliff-face with mountains of feedback and fuzz. The indecipherable lyrics sounded like the Sanford was buried 6 feet under and was trying to get out (a la Kill Bill vol. 2) One of my favorite performances I’ve seen. I feel lucky I got to see them, a privilege awarded to so few. Also, a big thank you to Sanford for giving me my poster; I also had a great time talking camera gear with you, and I hope you enjoy the photos.

SHRINE OF THE SERPENT

_DSC0020 _DSC0021 _DSC0025 _DSC0028 _DSC0030 _DSC0038 _DSC0047 _DSC0052 _DSC0062 _DSC0067 _DSC0069 _DSC0070

HAGGATHA

_DSC0091 _DSC0112 _DSC0115 _DSC0129 _DSC0152 _DSC0163 _DSC0196 _DSC0206 _DSC0207 _DSC0214 _DSC0217 _DSC0222 _DSC0227 _DSC0231-2 _DSC0252 _DSC0258 _DSC0263 _DSC0264

USNEA

_DSC0312 _DSC0313 _DSC0332 _DSC0337 _DSC0338 _DSC0341 _DSC0343 _DSC0345 _DSC0359 _DSC0362 _DSC0363 _DSC0368 _DSC0371 _DSC0378 _DSC0388 _DSC0392 _DSC0396 _DSC0401-2 _DSC0402 _DSC0403 _DSC0404 _DSC0410 _DSC0416 _DSC0423-2 _DSC0424 _DSC0425 _DSC0426 _DSC0446 _DSC0481 _DSC0488 _DSC0489 _DSC0494 _DSC0495 _DSC0508 _DSC0509 _DSC0512 _DSC0519 _DSC0524 _DSC0553 _DSC0568 _DSC0573 _DSC0574 _DSC0580 _DSC0615 _DSC0622 _DSC0623

UNEARTHLY TRANCE

_DSC0636 _DSC0641 _DSC0643 _DSC0653 _DSC0654 _DSC0659 _DSC0661 _DSC0662 _DSC0664 _DSC0669 _DSC0676 _DSC0709 _DSC0710 _DSC0723 _DSC0758

BURIED AT SEA

_DSC0777 _DSC0779 _DSC0791 _DSC0792 _DSC0793 _DSC0799 _DSC0806 _DSC0808 _DSC0809 _DSC0811 _DSC0812 _DSC0829 _DSC0843 _DSC0845 _DSC0859 _DSC0862 _DSC0869 _DSC0871 _DSC0872 _DSC0875 _DSC0881 _DSC0885 _DSC0898 _DSC0905 _DSC0912 _DSC0913 _DSC0916 _DSC0917 _DSC0935 _DSC0938 _DSC0944 _DSC0950 _DSC0952 _DSC0953 _DSC0958 _DSC0974