Conan / Volition – Manchester 27/07/11

Future Noise Summer Sessions Vol 2

Tonight’s proceedings are part of the Future Noise Summer Sessions in which the company give local talent a platform to see how much they can lay waste to the already weakened foundations of Manchester residential doom venue The Star and Garter.

Unfortunately tonight see’s the opening band Pine Barrens have to pull out due to an injured wrist of their drummer Cal Cox, this means Volition open tonight with some extremely crushing doom with blackened vocals provided by an energetic Paul Gibson. The Band sometimes fluctuates between faster and slower tempo’s creating a sense of unease and despair.

2011-07-27-Volition-01

Volition are not new to the game and they are a band who have perfected their craft over the years and now can put you exactly where they want to with their blend of dirge like riffs and well placed solos that simply just secrete hatred.

Headlining are the quickly rising mob Conan who impressed last year with their Debut album “Horseback Battle Hammer”. They also made an impact when they played their first ever show in this very same venue little over a year earlier supporting fuzz bastards Charger. Since then they have become one of the most talked about up and coming doom acts from the UK, creating some of the most heavy and immersive music within the scene.

2011-07-27-Conan-01

As they take the stage the trio submerge the audience in a thick wall of sound as vocalist and guitarist Jon Davis lets forth his screams, sounding uncannily like a man trapped in an everlasting void with no way out. Cans and glasses placed around the venue inevitably are pushed to the ground by the vibration expelled by the band.

2011-07-27-Conan-02

As with all great doom bands the material causes a great deal of the audience to sink into a trance in which they seem to resemble slavering Neanderthals than humans, but this is expected when music with this much weight is forced through your ears at uncompromisingly loud volumes. Conan recently signed to Burning World records promising to deliver a brand new Full Length next year which seems certain to cement them at the forefront of the British doom underground.

Scribed by: Drian Nash
Photos by: Lee Edwards