Dormah

Youngsters Muck were already in full swing by the time I arrived at the tiny room on the second level of Bar 11, which somebody had sadly mistaken as a suitable venue for a live rock show. Although I only caught two songs from their set, Muck impressed me with a youthful take on metal-core with a bit of atmospheric Isis and generous distortion thrown in for good measure. Promising stuff and I’ll be sure to make a point of seeing them play a full set in the near future. They also had the nights biggest following obviously. About half the audience left the room when they finished.

There was none of the usual wait-30-minutes-while-the-guitar-player-tunes-his-delicate-instrument-and-the-drummer-realignes-the-kit intermission between sets. Gordon Riots plugged in and off they went. By now an established act in Icelandic metal, the band used the occasion to try out some new material, most of it heavy as… a four-letter word not fit for print…and a little less up the beaten–core path they have hitherto trodden. They played a short set, but seemed hellbent on destruction.

This was my virgin experience with the night’s headliners, Dormah, and I must confess, as deflowerings come, this one was a violation. This fistful of veteran rockers is fronted by the ex-Changer frontman Egill, who is the voice to beat in this business. Despite some line-up changes in recent months, Dormah’s sludge metal sounds brutal, but still oddly melodic, while manifesting the all the evil sounds of slow doom metal. Filling in on bass guitar was Þórir of My Summer as a Salvation Soldier and Gavin Portland. He was right at home with this bunch, so here’s hoping he makes this a permanent post.