Gig Review: SAINT VITUS/MOS GENERATOR – The Cathouse, Glasgow, 14 March 2013

Not sure what it says about me, but I do love a bit of doom/ stoner rock. This bill then looked like a good night with the godfathers of doom, Saint Vitus, paired with the excellent Mos Generator. Let the chugging riffs commence!

Just rounding off their set when I arrived were the night’s openers, Edinburgh doomsters, Atragon. I just managed to catch the band’s closing number but, judging by the cheers at the end of their set, their Sabbath style rock had gone down well.

Once Atragon had cleared, the Mos Generator guys wandered on stage to set up their gear and soundcheck. What was surprising though, and it’s something I haven’t witnessed before, was how the guys managed to turn the soundcheck into an intro of sorts which built up a buzz within the crowd. By the time frontman / guitarist Tony Reed launched into the first number they already had the crowd on their side and success was ensured. I don’t know if it was planned or not but it worked!

Playing a couple of older numbers and tracks from their latest album ‘Nomads’, released on the excellent Ripple Records, the band went down a storm. Heavy stoner rock with a groove the size of the Grand Canyon is the band’s forte.

Tony is a fantastic guitarist and singer who had a great rapport with the crowd. The rhythm section is comprised of Shawn Johnson on drums and Scooter Haslip on bass who laid down a huge bassline which shook you from your head to your feet.

By the time the guys reached the end of their all too brief set they had won over the crowd completely. As the last riffs of ‘This Is The Gift Of Nature’ rang out they were drowned out by the loud cheers from the crowd. Job done gentlemen, can we have a longer set next time please?

With The Cathouse now at near capacity Saint Vitus took to the stage. Led on by the man with possibly the best facial hair in rock, Dave Chandler, the band kicked off with ’Blessed Night’ and the crowd responded with headbanging aplenty.

It was a bit of a false start though as frontman Wino Weinrich’s mike refused to play ball. It was a temporary glitch though that was soon dealt with and the rocking commenced once again.

Dave Chandler’s guitar work is the key to the Saint Vitus sound, a loud, detuned, fuzzed up wall of sound that carries you along on a sonic wave. Although the band have a great back catalogue the older numbers didn’t have it all their own way with a few songs aired from the band’s latest album ‘Lillie: F65’ which went down well.

It was the older numbers though that the faithful had turned out to hear and with the likes of ‘I Bleed Black’ and ‘War Is Our Destiny’ they got what they came for, first class doom metal. The set was rounded off with ‘Dying Inside’ and ‘Born Too Late’ which topped off a loud and heavy night perfectly and left a happy crowd calling for more . Ironic how doom metal can raise so many smiles !

Review and Photos by David Wilson.

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SEVEN BLOOD To The Unknown (indie)
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