Trends and scenes come and go with metronomic regularity like the waxing and waning of the moon – one minute the light side, in full view of the world and worshipped from afar, the next out of sight and ignored along with the inhabitants that dwell there. And thus the procession of shallow *cores or death/black/hardcore crossovers becomes a footnote in the history of metal only to be resurrected in 20 or 30 years as the new big thing.

As the bright face of the Death Metal and Trad revivals seem to be waning, the new school are already lined up to take it’s place in the hearts and minds of the kids. So what will come next, and will it really go nuclear and become the next HUGE thing (like NWOBHM, Thrash, Grunge, Emo)?

There seems to be emerging 2 real growth areas under the metal banner that could make the transition to mainstream: Doom/Stoner and Grindcore. On the surface, these two genres couldn’t be more different – slow, monolithic, gloomy, subdued against fast, frenetic, angry, complex – but there are similarities, if not so much musically. The denizens of these genres are generally un-metal (in the traditional sense) and are neither flamboyant or posturing (unlike much of the current crop of trendies) displaying more Alt-like characteristics. There’s no clear fashion other than jeans+t-shirt+tats. They both descend from a very clear ancestor (Black Sabbath and Napalm Death respectively) and have a old school DIY ethic.

The key here is that both genres are opposed to the brash and showy incumbent scenes and have a very ‘anti’ feel about them – they are primed for insurrection. Both genres are enjoying an upsurge in popularity and visibility (witness High on Fire ransacking the US albums chart) which could see them hit a critical mass to swells them into the mainstream. Finally, both genres are offensive/parent baiting enough to have teenagers the world over slathering with delight. The effect this may have on the scene and culture is a subject for another post, but there’s a conversation happening here on the subject to whet your appetite.

And the players in these surging genres? Here are a few, that are indicative rather than representative.

Grindcore

Landmine Marathon

Fuck the Facts

Rotten Sound

Doom/Stoner

Electric Wizard

Dozer

Church of Misery

Some bands are amazing on record, but can’t pull it off live while others are spectacular live, but don’t manage to capture this magic on record. Electric Wizard tend towards the latter category – somehow their bass laden, toxic cacophony never packs the punch it should on record. Live, on the other hand, they’re simply stunning.

Last night’s double dose of doom begun with label-mates Blood Ceremony from Canada. Basically Sabbath, if you swapped Tony Iommi with a flautist and Ozzy with a fit bird, they played an entertaining set of old school psychedelic doom. Singer Alia O’Brien dominates proceedings with her sultry pagan chants and multi-instrumentalism, although the band deliver some convincing old school noise, albeit with some Jethro Tull style jazzy flute. Blood Ceremony delivered a great performance, and the crowd really seemed to appreciate it, but it would be difficult to not be somewhat squished by what came next.

Electric Wizard don’t play live very often, and it’s not hard to see why. This short set of bludgeoning noise is delivered with immense amount of energy and conviction – with portly singer/guitarist Justin Oborn playing like his life depended on it and the commanding presence of sumptuous second guitarist Liz Buckingham adding a touch of class to the overall sweaty dingefest. Their music, hernia inducing on record, really comes alive on stage, and wow, that bass – I think it may have triggered the onset of osteoporosis for those in this little hall. The noise these guys create with their instruments is magnificent – the feedback they generate alone is worth turning up to hear – and where they can sometimes be ponderous on record, I found myself wishing these songs wouldn’t end.

This is a pretty big venue for the Wizard, but they dominated it like a band used to arenas. Strangely, the Scala is well lit, which  distracted from the overall ambience, and the folks enjoying the show the most were doing so with their eyes closed. The show ended after a hour and a quarter with (apparently typicaly) no encore – with the amount of energy they put into their performance it’s not hard to see why. Being left wanting more is better than being bored shitless, and although I left feeling slightly short changed, it’s hard to complain after seeing such an awesome show.

Never having seen the Wizard live before, they provided an amusing, but not essential, diversion on record, but having seen this show you now find me a convert. All hail the Wizard!