Voyage to the foundations of human rust | Show Review, by: Yossi Ben Oz
>>This is a repost of Yossi Ben Oz's last show review especially uploaded for our English readers (Translated by: Yossi Ben Oz)
The human optimism of the late 17th century following the rise of the romantic-age of art and music, evolving on the background of the enlightenment-era, has borne fruit of what could years later be regarded as the most fascinating range of art and music works to date. This is a cultural and artistic movement that still affects us today. High hopes escorted humanity at its initial steps out of the long endured dark ages, and Europe commenced an endless colorful thriving.
However, high hopes quite soon began to fissure. The industrial revolution and the gradual global entrance into modernity – whose promise of a happy living slowly submerged into a belligerent world, alienated to all – alongside the atrocities of WWI and moreover WWII relentlessly cracked this chaste optimism. After almost a two-millennium long history what was dreamed off as the beginning of hope for a universal flourishing slowly took the form a cataclysm successfully arousing some of the most barbaric and selfish urges of the human dark-depths.
Brotherhood? Altered with wars, apocalyptic in both extent and magnitude; Freedom? Altered with infinite slavery, blind loyalty to a well-oiled political machine; Internal revolutions? These gave birth to no real change, but rather contrary sunk their instigators into new and far more extreme gloomy chasms than those they've revolted against in the first place; Goodwill? Altered with disillusion.
The promise of happiness and its break | Photo by: Yossi Ben Oz
Hence, as far back as the 60's and especially in the 70's a new wave of music took rise in Europe. Punk, Neo-folk, New-wave, Gothic, Metal out of which later on came Industrial, Noise and today the late waves of post-music: Post-rock, Post-metal all of those and more were born and raised on the lap of a disillusioned humanity. Modernism cleared off to Postmodernism, which generally expressed the moving afar from any confidence in human hope, optimism or goodwill.
If the Romantic-movement bloomed positivism, then this new and very general movement we have just described (I admit in a little over generalized manner, but solely to make a point) emphasized negativism. And perhaps not even a true 'negativism' but rather a sincere disappointment, gradually evolving into a disillusion in its deep and helpless sense, which in turn grew into cold-hearted apathy.
The crumpled artist's soul has asked to create from this newly acquainted dissonance. Some genres better express this vacuous and blurry feeling; that cold distant emotion towards this developed and advanced madness of a world in its exteriority, and lacking humanism in its inner depths. I'd say that within the Metal scene the good old industrial-metal subgenre of the early 90's beautifully articulated this tendency. Punk did the same especially text wise but also musically.
Nevertheless, there are genres that succeed in really caressing the beating heart of this decadent avant-garde. If you ask me then the coldest most estranged neighborhood that depicts this 'world' is the one of the Sludge / Doom-Industrial / Drone-Experimental.
I admit that as a metalist that grew up within the youth-life of the 90's with a metallistic diapason of Thrash-Death evolving unto Black and Doom metal, the experimental and more droned areas of metal were alien to me, now as in past times. Some of these styles are musical reduction in embodiment: a minimalistic voyage in tones and sounds close to almost scorching the borderlines of music that redefines what darkness is. Touching it with dirty hands.
On Thursday 5/19/16, out of a child's curiosity, I went to the pungent-sweet basement of the "Levontin 7" to enter myself into that journey in this cold neighborhood. Another fragment in the puzzle. Rusty scratches in the crappy race of existence. This journey makes the review you are about to read here to be more than just a standard review, at least for me. It's a kind of a personal observation emerging out of all that life offers you and out of what strikes me as the concrete floor of the musical work. To stand alongside the line of the end and peep out.
That night the Levontin 7 promised a live show by one British group that I never heard of before named Khost. The ensemble is a duo (Andy Swan and Damian Bennett) coming over from Birmingham-UK after releasing two full length albums to perform two live shows in Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem. Khost are doing something they themselves call "Experimental Metal" yet it's hard to avoid the sensation that what we have here is an experimental group combining drone with fairly deep and floor scratching sludge-guitars bordering Funeral-Doom only they do not sound like the classical Funeral-Doom but as said – much more the slowdown of the Funeral over the background an experimental work at its essence.
As a form of warm up the Israeli band vAv also performed that night (whom I also haven't met yet, till Ofir the drummer explained that their materials are yet to be found at least until they'll finish mixing soon) who also play what can be referred to as fundamental Industrial-Doom-Metal, which I will soon explain.
An additional "warm up" were the Israeli group Dukatalon whom are my special favorites and whom I've pleasantly reviewed awhile before, mind you, whilst including flattering smiles to Zafrir the vocalist and releasing some generalized sentences like "you are of the most important bands of the local heavy scene in Israel today" (but laughs aside – I meant every word of it. They are to my opinion a true promise, mainly a promise for a more interesting musical future in our stirring country).
I'm only saying that vAv and Dukatalon were crowned "warm-up" acts because the event is hosting the British artists which in fact headlined this evening. But I'm only saying that as a limited declaration: to me, the two Israeli groups were a significant and meaningful part of this evening not solely a warming act. This is the main reason why I decided to team them up within my heart with the British guests on account that all three groups are important.
First entered vAv. A truly intriguing ensemble that I must admit I personally couldn't entirely digest. Their work is a type of sludgy sounding guitars played at an almost cacophonic monotonousness on the background of drum escorting which gives very slow and metallic-like feel. The look at the lead singer's eyes almost freezes your blood. Highly contributed by the frightening intimate sensation of the Levontinian basement that you nearly grasp him looking deep into your eyes and beyond.
vAv. What do the eyes tell? | Photo by: Yossi Ben Oz
vAv capture your interest practically the second you encounter their logo. The relatively small amount of internet items about them turned me into a type of web mouse the week before the show. I dug and dug feverishly but gained little. From what they tell of themselves they are a Doom Metal band. But I heard here something far more fundamental than Doom. I think that if we connect the dots then it adds up to a comprehension that vAv is something quite new around here. The almost absolute lack of melody within these guys work in addition to their artwork minimalism is the blend that arouse the historiosophical thoughts I have opened with at the beginning of this article. It's a poem of human alienation played with metallic tunes practically bereft of any harmony.
A tiny recess. One stage undressing and wearing its new form. A pause for a drink or an ascent to breathe air devoid of basement-joy. And Dukatalon is up next. The friends from Duklatalon play something totally different. The sludgy neighborhood is still the common ground tonight, however they take you to a darkening ride via some more powerful aspects, rather than its alienated ones. Darkness has nuances, you slowly learn to realize. Zafrir once said they are playing 'happy music for sad people'. Here, it could just be that the inverse is the straight forward.
Dukatalon. Happy music for sad people. | Photo by: Yossi Ben Oz
Everyone gives a brief show. The hours of the night are small already and the stage is getting ready for the British duo that takes place with no special manners. Khost are doing a sample-filled and filthy ride that is experienced as a wall of sound in effect. Laughingly I told myself that this slightly reminds me of the Swans show I was at a few months ago, only at the more Metallic side of art. The amplifying equipment nearly gave in to the streak of low frequencies that cycled in it and you could feel the trembling excite your chest with intense shiver. The edges of my (little left) hair moved in tremble due to the blurry basses that the amplifying system was hardly able to enthuse. At some point you don't entirely understand if what you go through here is the physics of the amplifying system or that there's a cleansing of the heart in a kind of gloomy and serene catharsis.
Khost. An experiment of darkness | Photo by: Yossi Ben Oz
This way or the other – both Khost and vAv left me with the experience of a voyage that still goes on inside. Rough and nearly not digestible – this experimentalism is the rusty foundations of existence.
The rusty foundations of existence.