vÔDûN
ThE hYENA KILLS
OSLO, LONDON
Ritualistic rocks terraform and transfix east London
COMPARED TO THE THE HYENA KILL’S [7]
headliners, dirty QOTSA-meets-Nirvana racket would seem onedimensional if they didn’t have stonking tracks like Still Sick in their locker. VÔDÛN [8] have already hung bright, Africa-inspired prints from the walls and draped them across the stage monitors, and the decorations personify the band’s music and live show perfectly; like watching vibrant, ever-shifting patterns fall and rearrange through a kaleidoscope, evoking a spiritual connection of drums, dance and riffs. Singer Oya, drummer Marassa and guitarist Ogoun are launching their second album, Ascend, and although they open their set with the Afro-psych crunch of Mawu, a belter from their debut album, Possession, it’s the new material that holds our attention. Bathed in purple light, this is heavy music steeped in magic and imbued with fiery catharsis. On Elusive Freedom, fat and fizzy grooves underpin Oya’s powerhouse, gospel vocals and Ogoun’s often proggy riffs. Providence Of Ancestors and New Doom are easily the band’s most metal tracks to date, the former riding in on a thrash riff accompanied by African percussion, and Started From is frenzied enough to summon ancestral spirits. The band have done everything to transform their show into an experience; a barefoot dancer writhes onstage to Bloodstones and Oya’s mother reads spoken passages about “culture” and “the alchemy of rituals” between songs. With a unique aesthetic and sound, there’s no one else like Vôdûn right now.