The Green Door Store is a characterful little venue hiding under the arches of Brighton Railway Station and I have seen some interesting up-and-coming acts play in its industrial surrounds over the years (including Missouri punkers Radkey, no less). The first thing to comment on is the fantastic quality of the sound mix this evening. I gather that the headliners brought over a guy from Finland to do the honours! That may seem a bit extravagant at first but… well, it certainly did the trick. The second thing to note was the impressive amount of dry ice/stage fog that was generated to welcome the audience for the opening band, it really added to the atmosphere.
The band tonight was Crowgod, which I have now found out was yet another of the bands I managed to miss on the New Blood Stage at Bloodstock this year, having progressed through the Metal 2 The Masses competition to some acclaim. The promo blurb describes the Brighton-based four-piece as a place where “…creation and destruction cross paths… always playing from the bottom of their black hearts” and that is a pretty good description.
The band comprise Alana Rose Martin on vocals, Mellisa Dylan on bass, Tom Hyatt on drums and Mateusz Głuszniewski on guitar and vocals and, in a nutshell, they play progressive sludge/doom metal. Crowgod are clearly ionate about their art, filling our headspace with meaty Sabbath riffs one minute, evolving into eerily unnerving de-tuned witchery the next. All of these doom-ridden sounds are accompanied by Alana’s expressive dancing and hand-weaving, as if beckoning the Crowgod down to pick at our slowly rotting bodies as we nod and sway to the bones of tracks excavated from their album: “Shitfacer”, “Crackhouse Blues” and “Graveyard Planet” to name but a few. I really enjoyed their performance and hope to catch them again.
If you like what we do, consider ing us on Patreon for as little as £1 per month!
Tonight’s festivities were mainly performing the function of an album release show for Crimson Veil’s debut album Hex. Once performing under the intriguing moniker Birdeatsbaby, Crimson Veil’s unveiling (sorry) represents something of a post-COVID refocussing of style and concept (that’s my interpretation of events anyway). Not to be confused with the Texan metalcore band from the 2010s, Brighton’s Crimson Veil are Mishkin Fitzgerald (vocals), Garry Mitchell (guitar), Hana Piranha (electroviolin, cello and harp), and Anna Mylee (drums). Their alt-metal vibe revels in a heady mix of prog-rock and cinematic metal, with satisfying witchy, ethereal twists throughout and a sense of ceremony at times too. The latter phenomenon played out towards the end of tonight’s set with the nice procession of an incense burner onto the stage, held aloft by Mishkin to herald the album’s title track.
Opening the set with a non-album song, “Painkiller”, they then proceeded to lure us in to their alternative world of dark sounds and esoteric lyrics, Mishkin’s clear angelic vocals periodically diving into darker territory with a harsher aural attack:
‘I’ll be the hammer that falls / I’ll be the hammer that falls / And when you’re shattered and torn / With nothing to mourn / I’ll be the hammer that falls’ – “Shift”
The rest of the band are skilled multi-instrumentalists, creating sinister soundscapes upon which the dystopian songs are hung and providing additional vocals where required, particularly Hana. ittedly, there seemed to be a backing track playing out under the main performance but this, presumably, allowed for the additional harmonic vocals required for some of the songs, in addition to some of the more unusual sounds.
Years of experience playing live with previous bands/incarnations were evident, however, and they showed a calm and commanding confidence on stage. They played most of the tracks from the album, with the exception of the final track “Task”, due to the fact that it’s a bit of an epic at 12 minutes long and a tricky composition for a live setting. “Hex” is probably my favourite track, with its ominous electro-intro, gorgeous vocals, whispered chorus, syncopated drums and rumbling bass accompanied by dark visual aesthetics throughout.
The Veil don’t scrimp on their costumes either, with most of the band bedecked in flowing gowns and ‘Sweet Tooth’ style headgear and Garry playing the set in a hooded monk’s robe. This was not so much a musical set as an exploration into performance art. A very enjoyable spectacle and fair play to them for graciously g the set list I managed to purloin after the show.
