Liturgy & Chelsea Wolfe live in San Francisco

The internet has been exploding in the recent months in regards to Brooklyn-based black metal band Liturgy. There has been much arguing about Liturgy since their debut album Renihilation dropped last year, but it was the bands’ notorious Scion AV interview that resurfaced, was circulated, and subsequently drove the metal world into a frenzy. Chris Grigg of black metal band Woe even sat down to write an exhaustive and thoughtful response to Liturgy frontman Hunter Hunt-Hendrix.

It’s easy to see why people are so upset, but the behavior of some people and the personal verbal attacks on Hunter are embarrassing to me as a part of the metal community. I don’t agree with a lot of what Hunter has to say. I don’t care how he or his band dresses. I openly admit I own a copy of Renihilation on cd. I went to see Liturgy and Chelsea Wolfe at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco, and I had a great time. Read the rest of the review and see photos of both bands after the jump.

I had planned to attend this show a couple months ago before support was announced. When I saw that singer-songwriter Chelsea Wolfe would be direct support, I got very excited. I have been listening to her The Grime and the Glow album fairly consistently since the end of May, and I was looking forward to seeing those songs come to life. Chelsea and her band took the stage and she lowered a black veil over her face. The band were all dressed in black button ups and black pants, with Chelsea radiating in white center stage. The show opened with the thudding bassline of album opener “Advice and Vices” which quickly got heads nodding and bodies moving. The dual microphone setup helped recreate the signature eerie reverberated tone from her recordings. Chelsea Wolfe has an impressive vocal range and sounds like no one but herself. She had no problem matching and expanding upon her vocal performances on record. The band played other selections from Grime such as “Noorus” and my personal favorite “Moses.” I was particularly impressed by guitarist Kevin Dockter. He was able to take the relatively simple and straightforward guitar parts and contort them into the jagged and noisy soundscapes found on the record. His use of slide on electric guitar was especially intriguing. Dylan Fujioka did an excellent job of providing meticulous drumming, and bassist/keyboardist Ben Chisholm (who celebrated his birthday that day) helped fill out the songs and bring them to their full potential.

I could tell that Chelsea Wolfe was definitely a big draw, so I was worried that people would clear out before Liturgy. I was pleased to see that the majority of the sizable crowd stuck around for Liturgy’s distinct brand of mathy, ecstatic metal. After a brief, soft spoken introduction from Hunter, the band leapt into “Pagan Dawn” the blistering leadoff track from the Renihilation album. I was genuinely impressed with the musicianship of all the band members of Liturgy. The instrumental song “Generation” from this years Aesthethica (Thrill Jockey) was captivating. It’s a seven minute long math metal exercise in timing, precision and stamina. All three of those words describe Liturgy’s drummer, Greg Fox, who was an absolute pleasure to watch. His drumming is powerful and he has great control, allowing for the speed of his blasts to fluctuate up and down. An issue I have with Liturgy is a serious lack of low end. The guitars and bass are usually played past the 12th fret, and Hunter’s scream is definitely in the higher register. I found myself craving some deep rounded tones to counterbalance Liturgy’s squealing highs. I’m glad I got to experience this band live. I can appreciate the fact that they stand behind their music despite all the negative feedback they’ve gotten. I feel like more people would accept Liturgy were it not for their pretension. Like I said, I had a great time. Liturgy are a band with incredible potential, though I’m afraid the damage caused by Hunter’s manifesto can never be undone.

All live photos provided by SF Sludge