Sinister Haze, Backwoods Payback, Batillus, Mensroom
Saturday, March 23 at Strange Matter
It was the weekend after St. Patrick’s Day, and after a wild holiday (not necessarily involving fisticuffs), everyone was getting back into party mode. Meanwhile, at Strange Matter, an excellent night of tunes was set to pop in honor of Joe Dillon’s birthday.
Sinister Haze, Backwoods Payback, Batillus, Mensroom
Saturday, March 23 at Strange Matter
It was the weekend after St. Patrick’s Day, and after a wild holiday (not necessarily involving fisticuffs), everyone was getting back into party mode. Meanwhile, at Strange Matter, an excellent night of tunes was set to pop in honor of Joe Dillon’s birthday. Joe, who plays drums for hometown heroes Balaclava, would be headlining the show behind the drum kit for his new band, Sinister Haze. But first, a full night of sounds from local and touring bands awaited us.
First up were the locals in Mensroom. They set up on the floor in front of the stage. Their sound was a bit uneven due to being so loud. A constant shrill, thin noise came from the guitars along with a mountain of feedback that made it hard to distinguish what was being played. Vocals were inaudible and the only things heard from the drums were cymbals. The one exception was when they played a slow doomy song that stood out a lot. Overall the sound issues were unfortunate, because the demo I heard on bandcamp.com sounded promising. It had a noisy old school garage punk vibe. With a more even sound I am sure it would’ve sounded great.
Next up was Brooklyn’s own Batillus. The name of their new record, Concrete Sustain, is very fitting. Think ugly fucking sludge metal, not blues-based but informed by the crushing city-bred bleakness of Godflesh. Like, the bottoming out of every decent quality a human could have due to the overwhelming overdrive of imperialistic impulses….uh, I’m getting off track, I know. Think massively thick guitar sound. It seemed similar to the tone Salome (defunct NoVa sludge band featuring members of Agoraphobic Nosebleed) got. The singer doubled as the samples/electronics guy. He kept the proceedings wrapped in blankets of harsh noise and atonal static. Their set featured most of their new album. I highly recommend checking them out, especially the opening salvo of “Concrete” and “Cast,” from the new record.
Bringing me back from the brink of city dweller’s madness was Backwoods Payback, from West Chester, PA. They have an immediately likeability to them. They possess a magical quality that worms its way into your subconscious like a style called Americana Stoner Rock should. There is also something very satisfyingly uplifting about these guys. I call it The Undeniable Groove(TM). Clutch has it. Sabbath has it. Backwoods Payback has it. They seem to tour everywhere, so do yourself a favor and catch them on the road.
Closing out the proceedings was a new band of old pros–Sinister Haze has members of Fire Faithful, Cough, and Balaclava. Sinister Haze had their own take on doom metal, which they achieved by adding in heaping amounts of blues-based riffs, played in varying degrees of slow and slower. Weedeater would be a good reference for the overall guitar tone; a blown-out, putrid thing that totally crushes. The highlight for me was the incredible vocal interplay between lead singer Brandon Malone and guitarist Brandon Marcy. The former worked through his signature smooth croon, while the latter delivered a gruff yell. Together, it blended into the call that must be heeded by everyone looking for the perfect doom/sludge anthems. I can’t wait to buy shit from them when they get it out. Don’t sleep on them, Richmonders.
This show mainly focused on slow, heavy sounds, but it never got boring. It is amazing how three bands playing the same show can interpret The Doom in so many different ways, from noisy sludge to rural grooves and crushing blues. Keep an eye out for these bands–their live sets are all worth your time.
Words by Turtle
Joe Dillon photo by Fred Pessaro
Mensroom photo by Tony Lynch
