OneMetal.com LIVE REVIEW:
Katatonia, Swallow The Sun + Long Distance Calling

The Little Civic venue in Wolverhampton used to be a pokey little place – the downstairs served as both a pub and as the box office for events going down at the Wulfrun and Civic Halls next door, whilst the upstairs was a small gig venue. That all changed recently, however, when the Little Civic relocated to The Slade Rooms on Broad Street – now, the venue is larger, better equipped and far more professional-looking. This gig was my first visit to the new venue, and it couldn’t have been a better introduction.

Long Distance Calling

I had never heard of German progressive/experimental/ambient quintet Long Distance Calling before tonight, but after their three-song set, I’ll definitely be checking them out further. Using two guitars, bass, drums and ‘ambience’ courtesy of Reimut’s laptop wizardry, Long Distance Calling unspooled three tracks’ worth of ambient guitar rock reminiscent of a meeting of minds between Mogwai and Oceanic-era Isis. Layers of melody and sonic texture were gradually weaved in and out of the gradually-building arrangements, and the band’s keen sense of dynamics created some gorgeous crescendos and releases. The band don’t forget their metal credentials either, occasionally stepping back from the gauzy, ethereal soundscapes and just barrelling forward with a simple, groovy, punishing riff and flurries of double-kick drumming. The five-piece seemed to have a ball onstage, smiling and joking with one another throughout, and by the end of their short set, it was clear that a large number of the gathered crowd had been convincingly won over.

Swallow The Sun

Finnish death/doom sextet Swallow The Sun take the stage to low light and a long orchestral introduction, expressions of grim determination on their faces, before they launch into a storming set of misery-laden melody and crushing heaviness. The band matched the bleakness of their music with the seriousness of their onstage performance – keyboardist Aleksi Munter in particular staying heroically stony-faced throughout, only letting a small smile force its way through after the rapturous applause that came after each track’s closing moments. A crushing sound gave thunderous weight to the more death metal riffage, whilst also lettting the mournful leadwork shine through. Fan favourites like ‘Don’t Fall Asleep’ and ‘Falling World’ were greeted by cheers by a crowd who largely knew every word, and the set closer ‘Swallow’ made for a particularly powerful ending to a storming set.

Katatonia

Finally, the band that I was really here to see. Although, not quite the band they used to be – since in December of last year, guitarist and bassist Fredrik and Mattias Normann left the band after 15 years. Their temporary replacements, Bloodbath guitarist Per Eriksson and bassist Niklas Sandin performed admirably in their stead, however – Eriksson in particular joining Anders Nystrom in providing back-up vocal harmonies whilst tearing confidently through a set that included a couple of tracks that Katatonia have never played live before – namely, ‘Omerta’ from Viva Emptiness and ‘Saw You Drown’ from Discouraged Ones. The set was largely culled from Viva Emptiness, The Great Cold Distance and Night Is The New Day, although we were also treated to energetic renditions of ‘Dispossession’ and ‘Teargas’ from Last Fair Deal Gone Down and a rendition of ‘For My Demons’ from Tonight’s Decision. I have to admit to personally being slightly disappointed that we didn’t get to hear ‘Murder’ from Brave Murder Day, but that was a tiny niggle when you consider that the band’s most recent work is some of their strongest, and that in the live arena, some of their more muscular moments are given even more punch, and the more plaintive tracks rendered even more hypnotic. ‘Day And Then The Shades’ pummelling opening riffage inspired neck-damaging headbanging, whilst ‘Idle Blood’ got the audience swaying and singing along to every word. By the time the band left the stage for a second time after a two-song encore, the crowd were left more than satisfied by a fantastic show.

Long Distance Calling’s MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/longdistancecalling
Swallow The Sun’s MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/swallowthesundoom
Katatonia’s MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/katatonia

All photography by Philip Whitehouse except for the header pic, which was taken by Kerstin Rössler.

Bottom Line

Overall, this was a fantastic lineup, with sonically complementary bands each delivering confident, powerful sets to an appreciative crowd. A great night.

Date : Sunday, 14th March, 2010

Location : The Little Civic @ The Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton