ARMAGEDDOOM FESTIVAL BLACK COBRA / JUCIFER
Rosemount Hotel - Perth, Australia
July 17th 2015
Doom metal is a bit of a niche genre in the metal and rock world and while it's not for everyone, those who love it are definitely passionate about it. As a celebration of the genre and now into it's 3rd year, the 2015 Armageddoom Festival in Perth kicked off on a wet Friday night with a cast of Perth's finest doom metal bands as well as special guest headliners Black Cobra and Jucifer who came over from the U.S. as part of their Twins Of Evil tour in Australia. With a few surprises through-out the night, it was overall a great night of heavy music.
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Starting the night was local doomers Stone Lotus who did a great job kicking things off. Stoner/doom rockers Puck who followed was great to watch, their groove focused style with a clear sound was a definite highlight of the night. Cursed Earth was the more different band of the night with a punkier/hardcore sound that seperated their set from the rest of the bands. By this time the crowd was starting to fill the place a little more despite being a fairly small crowd the entire night as Sydney sludgers Yanomamo hit the stage with their crazy antics. The frontman known as Von Grimm hit the bar early on and proceeded to perform on top while looking down on the somewhat surprised crowd. Those who have seen the band before may not be as surprised as things like this with Yanomamo are common. Show stealer of the night had to be local Perth band Bayou who sounded on fire tonight. Having seen these guys several times before, tonight's performance was top level stuff and really gave every other band on the night a run for their money. It's always great to see a local band put in 110% and give great energy for the crowd. A huge winner of the night!
First of the twins of evil tonight was Jucifer who hail from the southern U.S. state of Georgia, a wife and husband combo featuring a guitar and drums only. Marking their first tour in Australia ever and reputed to be one of the loudest bands on earth, they certaintly proved it tonight with a wall of sound emmenating from guitarist and vocalist Gazelle Amber Valentine that can only be described as crushingly heavy. The wall of amplifiers behind the band spoke for itself as the duo proceeded to belt out a set that was unrelentless from start to finish, no gaps, no talking and just pure, in your face doom of the heaviest of it's kind. The blast beats/thrashier parts were somewhat indecipherable amongst the wall of noise but when the band rolled into those pockets of groove and hooks, it was fantastic stuff. Extreme slow parts were thrown in to make those heavier riffs even heavier and while the music was not for everyone, those who got it were entranced by the whole thing, myself included. If you love wall of noise stuff, this is a band that needs to seriously be checked out.
Black Cobra on the other hand who previously opened for Fu Manchu in Australia in 2012 are a far different band and more accessible for the mainstream pallette, though Black Cobra are far from mainstream. Another 2 person group, their style is more stoner rock oriented with flashes of doom. The pair belted out a fine set from their back catalogue including "Negative Reversal" which has a cool, catchy riff as the duo from San Francisco rounded out the night. Despite a comparatively less energetic set from their last time in Perth judging by the crowd's response, it was still a great performance and something that is pretty cool to see between only 2 people blasting out riffy tunes on stage. Let's hope they make another trek to our part of the world again in the future.
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Review by Andrew "Schizodeluxe" Massie
Photos by Beez Le Bub Rockpit
