NAPALM DEATH | PRIMITIVE MAN| ETHEREAL TOMB | YETI ON HORSEBACK

YETI ON HORSEBACK

It’s been a handful of years since London, Ontario-based sludge/doom lords Yeti On Horseback last took to the stage. Tonight, the Yeti once again hopped back into the saddle and galloped over every cranium packed into the London Music Hall. This performance marks a sort of rebirth of the band, which really hasn’t been active since their 2016 album, The Great Dying. That album, if you haven’t heard, is a massive-sounding slab of crushing, throbbing doom that perfectly encapsulates the sonic destructiveness of their legendary live performances. Tonight’s performance comes on the heels of their sophomore effort, Traditional Addictions, which is set to drop on July 24th. If what was witnessed this evening is any indication, we are in for one helluva ride that combines the best parts of legends such as Sleep, Electric Wizard, Yob, and the Melvins, spitting out their very own brand of misanthropic sludge. With a proper PR team now behind them, I predict big things coming for the return of YOH.

ETHEREAL TOMB

Formed in 2021 during the pandemic lockdowns, Toronto/Barrie area band Ethereal Tomb is a crushing, feedback-drenched sludge and stoner-doom band that oozes a DIY ethos. For this reason alone, they are the absolute perfect band to rouse the hungry punters into a feeding frenzy for the mighty Napalm Death. Though they are firmly rooted in the sounds of Eyehategod, Crowbar, and Black Sabbath, there exists a raw, abrasive framework that perfectly compliments Napalm‘s staunchly leftist, anti-fascist, and socio-politically driven grindcore. They eschew hyper-technicality in favour of a slow, agonizing crush that is steeped in the dissonant, street-smart volatility of hardcore, which was absolutely reciprocated by the windmilling and stomping antics of the frenzied pit.

PRIMITIVE MAN

I’ve heard these guys referred to as the heaviest band on the planet. Not being at all familiar with their music, I was, of course, curious. So, instead of seeking out their music to prep myself for this show, I chose instead to let their performance be my first introduction. I can safely say that, yes, these Denver, Colorado death/doom/noise/sludgesters are, if not the heaviest, the loudest band on the planet. If you didn’t wear hearing protection, well, I’m certain you are still deaf. I can sum it all up with a single descriptor: a sonic wall of mesmerizing grief. This is achieved through a ludicrously down-tuned, low-end assault that splits every atom in your mortal frame, effectively triggering an inward nuclear meltdown. Songs such as ‘Social Contract,’ a ten-minute ode to crushing oppression, and the eleven-minute, trance-like psychological nightmare of ‘Natural Law’ anchored their performance in a bleak, feedback-soaked reality from which there was absolutely no escape. If you were there, you know. You felt it. You hurt.

SETLIST
‘Social Contract’, ‘Victim’, ‘Seer’, ‘Natural Law’

NAPALM DEATH

Where do we start? Well, firstly, I gotta mention Napalm Death‘s long-standing relationship with London, Ontario, Canada. Over the last few decades, the UK grind legends have torn through London on multiple occasions, leaving a trail of destruction and death that still reverberates today. Typically, they would serve their destruction up from the stage of London’s legendary club, Call The Office, a quaint little joint that served them well through the 90s and early 2000s. To witness their calamity on the state-of-the-art stage and sound system of the London Music Hall was a whole different beast. Finally, they had the tools to deliver their harrowing, unforgiving sonic assault in truly epic fashion. Purists could argue the pristine setup stripped away a fraction of their dirty, DIY vibe, but what we gained in musical masochism was a beautifully suffocating masterclass of grindcore grit that poured out of the house system like the flow of thick, coagulated blood from a necrotized artery.

If you were paying attention, you might have noticed the absence of long-time bassist Shane Embury, who chose to sit out this current run of North America. In his stead was the more than capable four-string fretster, Adam Clarkson. Unique to this performance in London was guitarist John Cooke’s birthday. To celebrate, his bandmates presented him with a birthday cake midway through the set, and fans also joined in the celebration. This was the perfect way to cap off Napalm Death‘s return to London. Let’s hope they get back sooner than later!

SETLIST
‘Instinct Of Survival’, ‘Strong-Arm’, ‘Smash A Single Digit, ‘Contagion’, ‘Inside The Torn Apart’, ‘Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism’, ‘Amoral’, ‘Suffer The Children’, ‘How The Years Condemn’, ‘Unchallenged Hate’, ‘Lucid Fairytale’, ‘Dead’, ‘Politicians’, ‘Thanks For Nothing’, ‘Diatribes’, ‘Scum’, ‘Conservative Shithead.’, ‘You Suffer’, ‘Nazi Punks Fuck Off’, ‘Adversarial / Copulating Snakes’