CHURCH ROAD RECORDS’ 5TH BIRTHDAY SHOW
THE BLACK HEART, LONDON
Tonight, The Black Heart plays host to the celebration of half a decade of one of the most consistently brilliant underground labels in the UK. Employed To Serve’s Justine Jones and Sammy Urwin have spent those years scouring the globe for its finest new talent, and the breadth and brilliance of this evening’s bill is irrefutable proof of just how great their Church Road Records imprint is.
Due to a stacked bill it’s an early start, which means many can’t actually make it in for Candescent A.D – apologies to them – but BURNER kick the rest of the night off in sublime style. The London four-piece nail their hardcore/death metal mash-up, with waves of big bouncing grooves and boisterous two-step punch coalescing expertly. They also happen to have a guitar tone sharper than the molars of a shark with private dental care, and sound a lot like much-loved, crusty Belgian hardcore legends Rise And Fall.
Justine is wearing a My Bloody Valentine t-shirt, so perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised to learn she wanted to sign GRAYWAVE, who steal the entire night with their gargantuan shoegaze-meets-post-rock vibes. They manage to turn a small room above a bar into a transcendental experience, the chiming, climbing compositions feeling like rarified air among the chaos of the rest of the evening. They also have a guitarist who has the same unusual style and approach to his instrument that made both Killing Joke’s Geordie Walker and Siouxsie And The Banshees’ John Mcgeoch such revered characters. They might just be one of the best new bands in the country.
The brutality comes back when NOCTULE, the side-project of Svalbard’s Serena Cherry, take to the stage. Playing black metal inspired by the videogame Skyrim is certainly niche, but it adds something personal and unique to the genre and, as you can see from the grin on Serena’s face, is clearly inspired by pure passion.
Headliners TUSKAR should come with a health warning. They are inhumanly loud, with a guitar tone so heavy it would make Atlas’ knees buckle. The duo’s noise rock-inspired take on Remission
era Mastodon sludge is truly something to behold, and, maybe most impressively, they don’t seem to have forgotten to write song actual songs to go along with the sadistic savagery of their music. It’s a fitting close to a evening celebrating some of metal’s most exciting prospects. Great label, great night.