Gozer/Mastiff/Chapel Floods/Le Menhir –
Local Authority, Sheffield, Friday 15th July 2022
Setlist: Ritual (into)/Monstre/Nocturne/Fossile/Centenaire.
At the local authority stage (Part of the Corp'), it was nice for yet another night of extreme music.
Up first was Le Menhi who is a one man band with session musicians from Ba’al. His doomy and post metal vibe made for an extremely eclectic sound, truly a skilled musician.
The lyrics are dark, and the guitaring is amazing. The whole sound was like a wave, and he rocked the stage. “Nocturne” was what could be described as almost symphonic and it was powerful and strong.
Overall, an excellent musician and a great performer.
10/10
Setlist: Grief Mason/We’re all happy?/Time Servers/Crooked Noose.
Next up is Chapel Floods. Another Sheffield band and its great to see them perform in their homeland.
Chapel Floods are a sludgy post metal outfit. Their heavy riffs and slow tones make for an interesting vibe. The lead singer had good control of the crowd and had full attention in-between songs.
The bass player was on backing vocals and gave depth musically and vocally to the atmosphere. 'Time Servers' was an excellent song, the crowd loved it and so did I. The guitarring was amazing and the drums were insane.
Overall, they were an awesome band.
9.5/10
Setlist: Fail/Midnight/Beige Sabbath/Vermin/Acid/Endless/Scalped/Repulse.
The penultimate band, Mastiff had a lot of pressure on them but they smashed it! Their fast and heavy music warped the stage, changing the tempo of the evening.
The vocalist gave energy to the crowd and turned the heat up on the local authority stage. The guitar playing was on point, with the bass backing it up and the drums banging in the background. This wall of sound totally hit the folk in here tonight!
All in all, the band was excellent and I hope they play Steel City again soon!
9.5/10
Setlist: Into The Grey/Augur/A Fading Light/Desiderium/Wintercearig.
Finally, Gozer took the stage. They played 'An Endless Static' in its entirety (their new album). This really was immense: the atmosphere, the music - basically everything about it! From start to finish they impressed me more and more with each song. The vocals were bordering scary with the raw energy that makes the soul shudder.
The guitar-work/bass-work shook the drinks on the bar and the ceiling supports too. The drumming was played to precision yet had an untamed feel. 'Wintercearig' was insane. The talent behind this genius album is out of this world, as well as the creativity behind each track and its meanings.
Overall, Gozer are a force outside of what music is around at the moment and are completely unique.
10/10
By Alex 'Reaper' Holmes