BeatRoute Magazine [AB] print e-edition - [May 2018]

livereviews
King Woman, Russian Circles
Dickens Pub (Calgary)
April 4
Rolling into town (just two days after Chelsea Wolfe and Ministry
held court at The Palace), Bay Area black swans King Woman took
over the Dickens stage and served up profound cocktail of brains and
brawn. Draped in a red silk kimono, onyx-tressed chanteuse Kristina
Esfandiari launched into a battery of heart-wrenching tunes that
wandered a rocky path between pleasing and painful. Conjuring evil
spirits and primal emotions with a black-booted foot up on the monitor
and a turgid mic firmly in her grasp, Esfandiari used her voice as
a blunt weapon; her beefy wails overriding a frenetic fray of stroking
strings and striking sticks. Afterall, as their album title declares, like
human existence — this empathetic dark wave narrative was Created
in the Image of Suffering.
Flipping the script, Russian Circles glided into place with a slick
proficiency that’s come to define their mute yet highly-technical
style. Named for the hockey drill guitarist Mike Sullivan and
drummer Dave Turncrantz practiced as children, Russian Circles
immediately settled in and began building their sonic towers. Percussionist
Brian Cook, who has performed as a member of Botch,
These Arms Are Snakes and Sumac, was feeling the wind in his hair
and beneath his wings as the Chicago-based trio opened with two
tracks that share the names of their respective albums, “Station”
and “Geneva,” before moving into “Afrika” from their most recent
album, Guidance (2016 Sargent House). Another offering from that
LP, “Vorel,” popped up a few songs later. Spreading their six album
back catalogue of mathy metal across the evening in equal portions,
the instrumental three-piece presented the capacity crowd
with a blistering display of post-hardcore musical geometry that
was as captivating as it was convoluted.
• Christine Leonard
photo: Mario Montes
Yamantaka // Sonic Titan, DRI
HIEV, Ghostkeeper
The Palomino Smokehouse and
Social Club (Calgary)
April 6, 2018
On March 23 ears were gifted with the
official release of the third full-length LP
from Canada’s premiere experimental rock
band, Yamantaka // Sonic Titan. Having said
that, “experimental” is certainly too simplistic
a descriptor for the band’s sound, which
exists somewhere between the worlds
of anime soundtrack epics, noh-wave
psychedelia and power-metal operas. The
melange known as Dirt (Paper Bag Records)
follows two albums from YT // ST that both
secured positions on the Polaris Music Prize
shortlist for their creative genius, and this
latest offering is no exception.
The Palomino has a celebrated ability to
pair local talent with the best from beyond
the city’s limits and this evening was no
exception. DRI HIEV and Ghostkeeper
did an admirable job of setting the tone
prior to the headliner’s grand barrage. DRI
HIEV incited a heavy-as-lead dance party
60 | MAY 2018 • BEATROUTE
through industrial noise and beats. Likewise,
Ghostkeeper had the whole room swaying
their hips and headbang in unison with
speed-varied licks.
This live performance was undoubtedly
a treat for those who have consumed YT
// ST’s Dirt in all its celestial glory as the
ensemble moved through the majority of
the album in chronological order. Joint
vocalists, Ange Loft and Joanna Delos
Reyes, captivated the crowd with their
awe-inspiring range. The powerful Alaska
B drove the metal epic forward with full
control of the drum kit; Brendan Swanson
delivered synth-solos from the stars while
dystopian warriors, Brandon Lim and Hiroki
Tanaka, passionately shredded away
on their electric strings.
By the end of the night, it took genuine
effort to realize you were still in downtown
Calgary’s most rockin’ basement, and not
fighting the good fight in an astral apocalypse.
Yamantaka // Sonic Titan is welcome
to transport Calgary to another dimension
any time.
• Matty Hume
photo: Michael Grondin