Enslaved, YOB and John Baizley of Baroness
Enslaved, YOB, Ecstatic Vision and Witch Mountain collectively laid waste to Philly’s Union Transfer venue with BTS’s Senior Photographer Dante Torrieri on hand to deliver a massive set of photos for our viewing pleasure, showcased below the fold.
Commenting ecstatically on the events, Dante explains, “Holy shit this was a great night for music in Philly. Oregon’s Witch Mountain opened with a bang. This being their first US tour with their new singer- they didn’t miss a beat. They fucking killed.”
Witch Mountain is currently supporting a 2014 effort, Mobile Of Angels, released via Profound Lore Records, the last with former singer Uta Plotkin. Pitchfork commenting on the band’s latest work, stating, “As modestly masterful as Mobile of Angels is, it comes with a bitter aftertaste. Plotkin recently announced her departure from the group, and while it appears to be on good terms, it’s a blow to a longstanding band that didn’t truly catch fire until Plotkin joined in 2009. Her next musical move, as well as Witch Mountain’s, can only be guessed at; whatever they turn out to be, Mobile of Angels will stand as a crumbling monument to their way of making doom feel both ancient and new.”
Philly’s own Ecstatic Vision feature former members of now defunct metal band A Life Once Lost, but sound nothing like their musical predecessor. Stereogum aptly describes the band as “tripped-out, sun-baked, cloud-high psychedelic jams drawing from free jazz, Krautrock, and Afrobeat.” Ecstatic Vision‘s debut album Sonic Praise is scheduled to hit streets on June 30th via Relapse Records with listen samples featured below the fold.
Dante continues, “Yob came out and melted brain stems, so fucking loud and so good. They played a nice splattering from their discography. And for many in the audience it was a spiritual experience.” In 2014, YOB released the best doom metal album of the year. Universally praised, Clearing The Path To Ascend topped Rolling Stone’s list of the best metal albums and was critically lauded by everyone from Pitchfork to The New York Times. Never has doom metal been at the forefront of the public consciousness like this, and it’s easy to see why: though it’s come almost two decades into their existence, YOB has made not just the best album of their career – they’ve made what will come to be regarded as one of the defining records in the pantheon of doom metal.
The Norwegian progressive extreme metallers, Enslaved released a thirteenth studio album, In Times, in March via Nuclear Blast Records. Loudwire commented in a recent review, “With successive listens it becomes quite evident that In Times is written to be listened to as a whole. Each song flows into the next so seamlessly that it can be easy to forget where one song ends and another begins. Certain songs will always stand out more than others, but that isn’t what this album is about. The ever-consistent Enslaved have churned out another album to cement their legendary status in a style the continue to call their own.”
Dante concludes, “Enslaved was up next to to slay eardrums playing for a solid 90-minute-plus set featuring songs pulled from various stops along a long career. Fans were treated to John Baizley of Baroness playing the final song ‘ESA’ with members of YOB also joining them. It was a hell of an awesome night.”
All photos by Blow The Scene Senior Staff Photographer Dante Torrieri (Useless Rebel Imaging)
Witch Mountain
Ecstatic Vision
YOB
Enslaved
John Baizley with Enslaved
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