Concert Review: AGALLOCH and OBSIDIAN TONGUE in Minneapolis

Agalloch, Obsidian Tongue

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis, MN

Click on the picture to see additional photos of Obsidian Tongue (11).

Upon arrival at the Triple Rock for this greatly anticipated show, Obsidian Tongue was wrapping up their first song and the club was packed near capacity. Obsidian Tongue is a two-piece black metal band from Massachusetts, and their guitar and drums combination packs a surprisingly strong punch. Being that their songs hover around ten minutes each, they were only able to play four songs, two from each of their albums. Their set was good, but the constant barrage of primitive, chainsaw guitar riffs and howling, screeching vocals made for difficult listening.

Click on any of the pictures to see more photos of Agalloch (32).

This was Agalloch’s first show in the area, and the place seemed abuzz with anticipation as the band took the stage to the strains of the introduction, “(Serpens Caput)”, and began the set with “The Astral Dialogue” and “Vales Beyond Dimension”. Agalloch is American black metal at its finest, and the band stayed focused on their playing while on stage and maintained little interaction with the crowd, even between songs. Half of the ten-song, nearly 100-minute set was drawn from the latest album, The Serpent & The Sphere, with the remainder a representative selection from each of the previous four albums. Slower, moodier songs such as “Limbs” and “The Melancholy Spirit” offered no respite from the intensity of the show, and the audience treated the band as welcoming heroes. The whole affair was exhausting for everyone in the room, and the band looked drained by the time the show ended with “Into The Painted Grey” from 2010’s Marrow Of The Spirit. Everyone wanted more, and the band obliged with an amazing 16-minute version of “Plateau Of The Ages” for the encore.

As a live band, Agalloch more than delivers on the promise of their recorded output, and everyone at the show seemed to feel like they had witnessed something special. Adding to the unique atmosphere of this show was the one-time availability at the bar of Serpensblod, a smoked red ale inspired by Agalloch, and brewed especially for this show by Hammerheart Brewing (yes, it’s named in honor of the Bathory album!). I snagged one pint before the tap went dry and I was blown away by the smooth intense aroma and flavors. Hammerheart has a Nordic-inspired lodge-type taproom just north of the Cities in Lino Lakes, and if Serpensblod and the Hokan’s Brown Ale I also imbibed that night are any indication, the short jaunt to the brewery would be well worth it!

In Concert This Week - June 17, 2014

Tonight, Wednesday, June 18, doom/folk band Agalloch from Portland will play Minneapolis at the Triple Rock Social Club in support of their new album The Serpent & The Sphere. Joining them will be psychedelic black metal band Obsidian Tongue from Massachusetts and Blood And Sun. Local brewery HammerHeart (yes, named in honor of the Bathory album!) will also release Serpensblod tomorrow, an ale inspired by Agalloch and described as “a dry, smoked red ale, including beechwood, cherry wood, and oak smoked malts, chocolate malt and a generous portion of rye with a mild hop presence, 8.34% alcohol by volume.” Tickets are $15 at the door, and it’s an 18+ show with doors at 8:00.

Fargo’s Egypt plays the Triple Rock Social Club on Thursday, June 19 with Witchden, Wicked Inquisition, and Flintlock. This is an 18+ show that starts around 8:00, and it’s $8 at the door.

Things then get insane over the weekend with a ton of shows in all manner of heavy musical styles. First, Extreme Noise Records in Minneapolis is celebrating their 20th anniversary with the second of three weekend’s worth of shows. The events start Friday, June 20 with a Twin Cities punk art show at the store, and Teenage Moods, Animal Lover, Miami Dolphins, and Rabbit Holes playing a free show at the Hexagon Bar in Minneapolis. Saturday, June 21 and Sunday, June 22 Extreme Noise takes over Memory Lanes in Minneapolis for record swaps that run from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, followed by all ages shows in the parking lot at 3:00 pm for $5 each day. Playing Saturday afternoon are Los Crudos, Organism (from Japan), Cleveland Bound Death Sentence, Mean Jeans, Banner Pilot, and Kontrasekt, and Sunday afternoon has Iron Lung, Lebenden Toten, Radioactivity, Frozen Teens, and Condominium. Saturday night (10:00 pm), Question, Gas Rag, Pillage, and Varix play a free show in the bowling alley. As if that’s not enough, Extreme Noise also has free shows at the Hexagon Bar Saturday and Sunday with Arms Aloft, Boilerman, The Crash Bandits, and The Okerlunds on Saturday, and Bad Sports, Real Numbers, Joust, and Hot Rash on Sunday.

Friday, June 20 also has Impaler, Exiles, The Regenerators, and Fatal Kaliber playing at the Amsterdam Ball & Hall, Lockgnar, Plagued Insanity, Invidiosus, and Time Destroyer at Big V’s Saloon in St. Paul, The Rope, Maledicere, Prostate, The Funeral And The Twilight, and Begrime Exemious at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis, and Mommy Sez No and Jolly Roger Bandits at the Red Carpet Keller Bar in St. Cloud.

On Saturday, June 21, the Terminal Bar in Minneapolis has a night of underground black metal billed as The Devil’s Coven II with Nyogthaeblisz and Hellvetron from Texas along with locals Masshu, Bestial Whore, and Volkeinblucht. This starts around 7:00, and it’s a 21+ show that’s $15 at the door. Also on Saturday, you can catch Nuisance, Dead Horse Trauma, Gabriel And The Apocalypse, and Ghost Hook at the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis, and 32Headshots, Left In The Lurch, and Dark Side at the Red Carpet Keller Bar in St. Cloud.