A confluence of three high-caliber metal bands initiated a supernova at Emo’s in Austin, Texas on Saturday March 9th, outshining the myriad of SXSW popups, activations and secret shows twinkling around the city. Progressive and black metal fans were treated to a pairing of two titanic bands, Deafheaven and Baroness, playing back-to-back sets that imbued a DNA-altering intensity, leaving the audience in various stages of both shock and ecstasy. While both bands are certainly capable of wildly successful tours without co-headliners, allowing their fans to enjoy both, in addition to the incredible opener, Zeal & Ardor, was a generosity that has not gone unnoticed.
Zeal and Ardor is an avant-garde metal outfit that is led by, Manuel Gagneux, a Swiss-American who sings negro spirituals that are accompanied by fits of black metal. As an opening band, Zeal and Ardor received a great response from a crowd that was as intrigued as they were moved by the atypical sound, and they primed the room for another aberrant sounding band taking the stage after them.
‘Atmosphere metal’, ‘blackgaze’ and ‘hipster metal’ are all genres slapped on the band Deafheaven, sometimes in a derogatory manner. While metal purists love to attack the group, there is no denying that the group has magnetic charisma which reaches peak potency during live sets. The band’s opening song, “Brought to the Water”, was an adrenaline bomb that virulently spread through the mass of head-banging bodies while “Black Brick”, a newly released and purist-approved black metal track, followed up with unrelenting brutality. The next two songs, “Honeycomb” and “Canary Yellow”, would eat up the next 25 minutes as they ebbed and flowed with pensive interludes and invigorating epochs. Singer, George Clark, seemed to be taunting his critics by splicing in cheesy hair metal poses and fay caricatures with his signature wild-eyed intensity, but the music, thankfully, made up for this. Ending the set with mega-hit “Dreamhouse” was the send-off the crowd needed to remind themselves this is a rare live act that is as innovative as they are galvanizing.
While there was certainly a lot of enthusiasm for Deafheaven, the majorityof attendees seemed to be of the Baroness contingent. Lead singer, John Baizley, is the only remaining member of the original lineup but replacement members like Gina Gleason and Sebastian Thomson have only amplified the group’s appeal. Opening with the riveting “A Horse Called Golgotha”, Baizley makes it clear with his fiery passion why he’s continued on playing, despite a debilitating bus crash and substance abuse issues. Playing “Chlorine and Wine” was the quintessence of Baroness, a song that bleeds with melancholy and then explodes with a rapturous catharsis, had the crowd singing along to every word. A brand new track, “Borderlines”, was followed by the rumbling anthem, “Shock Me”, and the aggression quickly descended with “Fugue”. Finishing as strong as Baizley’s resolve, Baroness would end with “Eula” and “Take My Bones Away” which are crowd favorites and earth-shattering in their intensity.
Having had a taste of three distinct styles of metal, fans would be inattentive to not realize the significance of each band’s journey to define their own sound. This was a showcase of misfits and rebels, who grew outside of their influences to inhabit a space that they can claim as their own. Growth is begot by hardship and pain which perforates each of these band’s story. The fact that each of these bands continues to do well and work with each other, is a testament to the hollowness of the critics on the sideline.
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Need an updated band photo of Baroness with Gina!