Torpor & Host Body @ The Peer Hat, Manchester, 18th November 2024
With the first drops of snow forecast for mid-November, it’s a cold and dark night as I head up to The Peer Hat in Manchester’s city centre, for a show, hosted by the High Peak based label and promoter Gizeh Records, that promises to deliver the type of music that reflects the weather; grim and miserable.
In September, Bristol sludge doom metal outfit Torpor announced that this would be their final tour as guitarist/vocalist Jon Taylor has decided that after 12 years he no longer wanted to be part of a touring band, so this was the final chance for me to see them in the flesh. As they headed out one last time, they brought along fellow Bristol heavies Host Body with them on tour, so the intensity was never going to be anything less than chaotic.
The Peer Hat isn’t a big venue, so you’ve got a good view wherever you stand, and there’s a decent amount of people inside when the quintet Host Body take to the stage. Well, to be fair, two of the band, Josh on guitar and Sam on bass, spend more time on the floor in front of the crowd, whilst the former also likes to stand on top of the bass drum whilst thrashing his guitar all over the place, which his entertaining to watch.
The set is short but sweet, five songs, starting with The Mountain which has a tense opening, before they explode into life. Vocalist Steve is like a man possessed at times, as he is immersed in his own world with the keyboard/synth, whilst emitting a powerful scream at will. The drum beat intro for Swarmer sees heads bopping and the fearsome bass sound upping the intensity. A rapid beginning to Ratt sees Josh almost knock over the speaker in front of him as he’s going crazy with his guitar.
‘We are Host Body from Bristol’ comments Steve, ‘and it’s great to be on tour with Torpor, please show them some love’ and they get a richly deserved round of applause. With two more songs left, they dive straight into the stupendous Mouth armed with more unreal sounds from the synth, and finish with the slow starting Sanguine which sounds darker and is full of melodies to end a quite engrossing set.
And then it’s time for the main event, one final show of appreciation for a band who probably deserved more recognition than they received. As they begin their slow and heavy start to the majestic Interior Gestures there’s a noticeable smile and nod between Jon and bassist/vocalist Lauren Mason, and the dramatic song seems more emotive than on record, more personal and is fully appreciated by those gathered.
They bounce straight into the crushing As Shadow Follows Body and it gives you a sense of what it must be like to be slowly suffocated, such is the intensity and ferocity of the music. We had a short break due to a few monitor/sound issues, but as the feedback flows through the PA, we are all reminded of what Torpor are all about with the punishing noise of Accidie. This is such a brutal song, they mix the tempos up so well and have the whole crowd swaying as one.
With drummer/official noise maker Simon Mason programming all sorts of crazy heaviness, the droning din circulates around the room, with the blistering Benign Circle and its yet another huge sounding song, leading into the final instalment of the show, Island Of Abandonment. The potency of which feels like a slow and cumbersome death, the end of an era that has enthralled many people and the perfect way to finish off.
‘We’d like to thank so many people’ says Simon as he steps up to the mic, ‘but thanks to all to you for coming out on a Monday night, we appreciate it’. Loud cheers and applause greet the end of something spectacular and with that, I head off back into the now snow filled streets, glowing with dreary sludgy wonderment to keep me warm.
Torpor
Host Body
Scribed by: Matthew Williams
Photos by: Lee Edwards
