Adam Vallely
LLNN’s new label mates at Pelagic Records, Bristol noisy nuisance crew Sugar Horse, are probably one of only a few bands who could equal if not exceed the volumes of the Danish post metal group. So, what better way to warm up the audience’s auditory nerves than a bit of doomgazey riffs.
If those in attendance have been following Ashley Tubb and co for a while they will notice and appreciate the continued fine tuning of their live sound. As they kick into opener ‘Slam Dancing in a Burning Building’ the balance between the softer moments and the pure racket is on point. Warmer tones are heard through the disgusting distortion and Ash’s piercing shout balanced with his more melodious moments are outstanding. New track ‘Sleep Paralysis Demon’ which features on their split with the Danes is weaved effortlessly into their winding set of noise with its discordant ways making the floor reverberate into the audience’s lower halves.
‘Shouting Judas at Bob Dylan’ gets heads bobbing to the deep bass groove and all falls silent as Ash is basically at a whisper in the bridge. Everyone respective of the build into almost euphoric levels of explosion. Closing out with last year’s ‘Mexico’ and a wall of resonance most are left with fear if they can withhold another set of this level.
Terrifying doom-laden noise seeps into the cold drizzly night on London, something epic awaits in the darkness. Frontperson Victor takes the stage first to set the scene with newly released single ‘The Horror’ twisting and contorting his voice and body. The intensity beams are set to high as the rest of the space odyssey crew join him onstage launching into the otherworldly riffs of ‘Imperial’. Cymbals are destroyed for days such as are any unprotected eardrums, or the remnants of, after Sugar Horse’s level of decibels which surely will be deemed illegal in Switzerland when they play there.
LLNN brutally present some of their best tracks across their discography with selections from 2018’s Deads and 2016’s Loss as well their highly rated Unmaker. All four are deep within the performance and using every ounce of energy and pushing their instruments to the extremes from Rasmus’ thunderous drumming to some of the cavernous guitar and bass sounds you have ever heard, accompanied by ominous and extra layers of synths, it is an aural battering of the darkest degree. Backed by a light show that takes you from hellish reds to moon laden blues you feel like you are being launched from the depths of hell into space in a secret NASA earth core ripping rocket.
But it is all not all about solid walls of noise and terror. Part of LLNN’s intricacies is to create moments of serence silence and tension between bars and notes such as in ‘Parallels’ and ‘Scion’ all to set up the next assault.
Heading into the final two tracks ‘Division’ and ‘Obsidian’ the already rowdy crowd get moving. Joining Victor in screaming back ‘From the oblivion. We emerge as one!’ And this couldn’t ring truer. The audience and band sheltering from the chaos of the world outside in this dark room in north London a place of musical sanctity and joy through a lens heavier than Orion III’s total mass.