Words and Photos: Will Carr
If you’re the kind of person whose Saturday night plans involve drinking and headbanging so hard your neck sounds like a cement mixer, The Outpost shouldn’t be a stranger.
Personally I like listening to metal in dirty, disgusting bars. The kind of place where the toilet is a brick wall outside and you’re careful not to drop anything on the floor in case you pick up an ear by mistake. Situated on Renshaw Street, The Outpost isn’t that, but it is somewhat of a Jack of all trades, featuring new stand up comedy acts as well as live music. For years it’s been acting as a beacon for anyone looking to sing, laugh or be filled with vegan pizza.
There are only a few places left in the city that really pull back the veil of pretentiousness and allow you to get completely swallowed by the art. Far from the blaring lights and screaming of concert square, The Outpost is the only place I’d want to go to experience some metal bands for the first time.
Tonight I was going to see Unmother, Nemorous, Burial and Technicullis and for some reason, I made the social faux pas of wearing a blue checkered shirt. This wouldn’t do in this crowd and so I made a silent bet with each band. The most impressive act will win not only my love, but I’ll also purchase one of their shirts. The pressure was on.
The first band of the evening was Technicullis, an experimental music project created by DZEU. As DZEU took to the stage, terror wasn’t far behind. It began with thumping drums. Working like a mad scientist, this was accompanied by howling white noise. Electrical zaps blended with screams until it sounded like we were living next door to a serial killer with an old modem. We’d found Aphex Twin’s evil twin. The next song incorporated a keyboard that sounded like the dark choir you’d find at a goth’s wedding and finished with a jingle from a haunted theme park. It was the soundtrack to a nightmare.
When I’d heard of Technicullis, I didn’t fully understand his intentions and was initially skeptical. I suppose I’m a purist who believes metal without a guitar in your hand is not metal worth listening to. And with the emergence of AI and the lack of real people playing real instruments, the essential human element of music is at risk and this should be fought against at every opportunity. However, this metal DJ transcends simple electronic music and has created something sublime, terrifying and I found myself becoming strangely absorbed.
Burial were on next and I was not ready for what they had to offer. The larger-than-life Manchester- based black metal trio are veterans to the area and came out swinging like a hoard of vikings who had found instruments and were going to play them to death. Actively avoiding the post-modern reinterpretations of the genre, the band is known for having dug their nails deep into the primal, misanthropic roots of metal and refusing to let go.
As they started blasting out ‘Rejoice in Sin,’ I found myself becoming entranced by the chugging, hypnotic riffs. Somewhat uniquely, the band features a drummer, guitarist and a bass player who acts as the singer and front man. With the ferocity of a man escaping a house fire, he slammed on his guitar and belted out a bassline so dirty the stage needed scrubbing with hot bleach, and despite the sweltering heat, managed to lead the crowd in a war cry. I was starting to fall in love and not just because of the wonderful song titles like, ‘Bastards of Christ.’ Although my favourite will always be ‘Black Metal Cunt.’
The next band more than made up the former’s lack of members. Nemorous, featuring a drummer, two guitarists, a bass player, a keyboardist and a singer, is an atmospheric, black metal band that formed from the ashes of Wodenstone, which disbanded in 2016. Known for their pagan and folk influences, Nemorous has shifted away from its predecessor towards more melancholic and introspective themes.
Each song began with a slow meditation. The calm before the storm. Like a warrior psyching himself up before going into battle, Nick Craggs bides his time. Then, like a rumbling earthquake, creating an undeniable sense of foreboding, building to a powerful crescendo, their performance explodes with raw, metallic aggression.
Nick really is something special. Giving every ounce of energy he has into every song, he screams and worked himself up into such an impassioned frenzy that it’s impossible to take your eyes off him. I thanked God that the charismatic musician followed the path he did, or he’d surely be at the head of his own cult by now, which everyone in the room would have joined in an instant. As Nick set fire to the stage, the rest of the band caught my attention. Playing like hell’s orchestra, I could not be more impressed with their timing and Iron Maiden-levels of precision.
Last but definitely not the least, Unmother took their place on stage. Unmother, unlike the other acts have traded in their black metal, naturalistic roots to hold up a grimy mirror to modern social issues. Their aggressive, vicious, experimental style of post-black metal has been described as dense and claustrophobic and their emphasis on urban alienation, dystopian dehumanisation and anti-fascism, to me, made them one of the most interesting on tonight’s bill.
By this point, the crowd was sweating and ready to submit and Unmother made it so. Heads banged as they began their relentless hammering of guitars. The turn away from traditional metal themes is instantly noticeable as the guitars challenged each other in ferocious battle. Vangelis screamed his lungs into the microphone and with each movement, acted as a malevolent and cruel conductor to the audience that had been thrashed into a state of musical ecstasy.
When it was all said and done I couldn’t help but admire the eclectic melange of performances. Each was an entirely different spectacular showcase that celebrated the infinitely wide spectrum that metal has to offer.
I was looking forward to getting out of my soaking shirt and crowning one band the winner. In the end there could only be one. However, there was no loser, except maybe my ear drums, but that is the price of admission in metal. Buy the ticket, take the ride.
Links:
Technicullis: INSTAGRAM