Today's annual Doom Over London all day event is the fifth and largest of its kind, showcasing the varied doom metal subgenre in all its forms. Unfortunately a week before the show, Swedish doom/goth metallers Draconian had to pull out, upsetting a vocal core of attendees whose sole intention was to see them but the band and promoters have promised a consolation headlining date in the very near future. In spite of this absence, the line up still shoulders a bevy of homegrown and international bands – some of whom have never played the UK before.
Formed in 2012, Liverpool's Crypt Lurker are an act fusing black metal with doom, the sum being a dark and abrasive soundscape. The stage is adorned with a plethora of candles and the band's presence is shrouded in an element of mystery. The venue is particularly busy given how early the band is on and their ovations are enthusiastic at the end of each song. The highest point of the set is the claustrophobic cover of Beherit's classic 'Gates of Nanna', with a cavernous injection of doom metal.
Keeping with the extreme side of the genre is Uncoffined from Durham who infect their doom metal with death metal, echoing an Autopsy influence. Their slow but aggressive doom features drummer and vocalist Kat Shevil effortlessly handling double duty while guitars chase between the aforementioned Autopsy and a dose of Hellhammer to arm their Hammer Horror inspired sound. This is a promising avenue for such a young band and given the current predilection for classic death doom metal, Uncoffined is a name that could be manifesting in the metal underground consciousness more frequently.
And now for something a little different as English-Belgian horde Death Penalty take the stage, the latest band of Cathedral axe-man Gaz Jennings. Producing a traditional hybrid of doom metal and '70s heavy metal with vocalist Michelle Nocon striding across the stage, the result is overall unremarkable but contains moments of interest. Nocon's formidable voice is certainly a highlight although feels partially lost amongst the clamour of the other instruments. The aversion of new ground exploration makes it easier for the audience to thin out as their set hammers on.
Slowing proceedings to a crawl are France's Funeralium on their maiden voyage to the UK. With two lauded full-lengths, the quintet serves up a multi-faceted approach to funeral doom with extremely lengthy hymns of desolation. Their metal features dissonant droning, melancholy melodies and visceral vocals. Despite the long tracks, structures are cohesive and the audience definitely shows full support for the band. The set flies by quicker than the allocated half an hour and those present cheer relentlessly. Hopefully, these Frenchmen will return to the UK with the benefit of a longer set length.
Back in London after two years are epic doom merchants Isole. Their music is surprisingly varied, cycling through crawling and up-beat tempos, pairing the melodic with a keen heavy metal attitude. Songs such as 'The Lake' and 'Dead to Me (The Destroyer, Part I)' are outstanding modern doom metal efforts that take melodic nods married to classic traditional doom methodologies. There is little of a stage presence from these Swedes but the monolithic scope of the music substitutes for this and heads in the audience are moving. Well before the close of the set, Isole prove that they are one of the strongest bands on the bill tonight and the punters' reaction mirrors this.
Keeping with melodic doom metal is October Tide, celebrating their first show in the UK. Formed in 1994, they released two albums before disbanding in 1999 only to reunite a decade later. Splicing melodic death with doom metal often yields fascinating results and these Swedes are no exception to this. Rain-drenched atmospheres are evoked with cold guitar melodies while an insistent rhythm guitar supports. Frequently, the album lurks in early Katatonia (not overtly shocking considering their current line up includes former Katatonia members and brothers Mattias and Fredrik Norrman) and Anathema territory with satisfying results. Vocalist Alexander Högbom appears almost surprised at the spectators' overwhelmingly positive response to the likes of songs such as '12 Days of Rain'.
Proving that depressive metal does not just come from cold countries, one of the larger draws of tonight is Italy's Forgotten Tomb back in the capital after a successful headlining show in 2013. With a sizeable audience positioning their eyes on the quartet, they launch into their doom metal with nods towards the gothic side and the suicidal black metal origins. Selections from the setsuch as 'Deprived', 'Todestreib' and 'Negative Megalomania' afford the audience an excellent opportunity to headbang to punchy rhythms andabsorb the introspective passages. Possibly the most varied sound on the bill, Forgotten Tomb's adept ability at changing sound dramatically but still maintaining a high level of quality is an impressive feature rare in the metal world.
Asphyx were last seen in the UK in 2007 following their high profile reunion so a returning show is significantly over due. Far from a nostalgia act, their two post-reunion albums are brilliant slabs of doom-soaked death metal, among the most consistently listenable modern albums of classic death metal bands. The anticipation chokes the air of the Dome as they take the stage, effortlessly evoking a mosh pit to their belligerent sound. With an austere stage presence, these Dutchmen metaphorically march to war on the nation's capital, sparing no prisoners with their audio assault.
The caustic textures of the chainsaw-like riffs of their meat-and-potatoes old school death metal moments are juxtaposed against a skulking doom metal tempo with its heritage in Celtic Frost. Older songs including 'Vermin' and 'M S Bismarck' are a textbook exercise in classic death metal performed flawlessly while newer songs including 'Deathhammer', 'Death…The Brutal Way' and 'We Doom You to Death' obliterate just as harshly as their elder counterparts. Vocalist Martin van Drunen is indescribably likeable in his stage banter and his stage presence fits the twisted but brutal edge of his idiosyncratic vocal talent.
Time whips by frighteningly fast and before long, Asphyx have reached the tail end of their set. The unyielding audience demand more and soon, the four-piece return with an encore leading with the addictive 'Scorbutics' for an extension of their carnage to round the night off with an explosion, rather than a bang.
This year's Doom Over London was an incredible venture and the promoters should be congratulated for squeezing a wealth of varied acts into this day. Next year's edition will be a truly tough one to top but undoubtedly, it will be yet another day to remember that will draw out all the subscribers of the gloomier channels of metal.
FUTURE GIGS
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