Windhand at the Riot Room: photos and setlist
Windhand at the Riot Room: photos and setlist
Windhand, with Satan's SatyrsThe Riot Room Wednesday, October 24 When the people at Riot Room says it's a midnight metal show, they mean it. This show ki...
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High on Fire / Kvelertak / Windhand at the Granada
In what seems to be unanimous agreement from all of the friends who were at Friday night's show with me, High on Fire was one of the loudest fucking concerts most of us have ever seen. Given that this is a crowd of musicians, mostly, that's not a small thing about which to quibble. For as loud as it was, and as much of a concrete box the Granada is, it sounded amazing. Every band was crystal clear, yet ear-splittingly loud.
Indeed, though: High on Fire blew some hair back at the Granada. It's always wonderful when a an act's not touring in support of a new album. I mean, yes -- High on Fire released the two live EPs, Spitting Fire volumes 1 and 2, earlier this year, but it's not like they had an album of all-new tunes to flog. This meant they were able to play whatever, and it made for a set full of blazing rock 'n' roll.
Setlist
Fertile Green
Razor Hoof
Fury Whip
Madness of an Architect
Cometh Down Hessian
Eyes and Teeth
Fireface
Rumors of War
Baghdad
Serums of Liao
Slave the Hive
Snakes for the Divine
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This show was the third visit for Norway's Kvelertak in the past year, and I can't quite figure out if they live up to the hype to which I've been subjected. The group's three-guitar attack presents a wall of sound, and their drummer knocks out death metal blast beats. Kvelertak have some serious punk rock fury going on, but halfway through their set, I kept getting confused, because it seemed like the rhythm section and singer were one band, while the guitarists were another, and they never quite figured out a way to marry them properly.
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However, Richmond's Windhand completely lived up to the hype. Obviously, I'm a big fan of their latest, Soma, but live, they're just astonishing. When they kicked on their amps and started ther wall of sound for their first song, I was knocked back, literally moved back a couple steps by pure sonic shock. Watching the band get into the groove of their songs was a serious pleasure, and it was a shame to only get to listen for half an hour. Seriously, though -- what a half hour.
[gallery ids="17361,17362,17363,17364,17365,17360"] Windhand guitarist Garrett Morris on the band’s new album and current tour
Windhand's latest full-length, Soma, is their first for Relapse Records. It's a selection of massive tunes that both soar and plumb the depths, and some tracks are monumental works. The group's currently on tour, opening for High on Fire, and they play the Granada in Lawrence on Friday, November 29. We were lucky enough to get guitarist Garrett Morris to answer a few questions for us via e-mail.
This is Windhand's second time through the area in as many months. What makes Kansas City and Lawrence so lucky?
It's just a coincidence, honestly. We already had the previous U.S. Tour last September booked for months when we got asked to do the High on Fire tour. There's actually a number of cities we're lucky enough to be revisiting.
Soma is getting rave reviews across the board. Was the process of making the record as epic as the tracks themselves?
We just recorded it ourselves at our leisure. The same way we recorded the first LP, in all honesty. It really didn't feel like we were doing anything any different than normal really.
What's involved in recording a track like "Boleskine" -- specifically, how do you track a 31-minute song?
It really wasn't any different than the others songs. It's still just a verse, chorus, verse song structure. Honestly, mixing it was more of a challenge. Mainly due to it being all analog. If we got to the end and made a mistake, we had to start the mix all over again from scratch.
This is your first full-length with Relapse, although you released a split with Cough earlier this year. When did you decided to go with them as a label?
After we recorded the split, we met with them in person and they were interested in doing a full length. It just seemed like the right fit for us.
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It seems that the band is attempting to shape or reshape its identity, lately -- you were saying in Spin that you "don't want to get pigeonholed as a 'doom' band," and Dorthia Cottrell, your singer, is quoted as wanting to make sure Windhand is thought of as "a good band instead of a good band with a girl singer." Is there a perception Windhand wants people to have?
There's definitely no deliberate attempt to reshape the sound. You're always changing based on life events, etc., so the songs will always reflect where we're at in our lives at that particular moment in time.