(((O))) Live: Of Spire and Throne – Banshee Labyrinth, Edinburgh

There’s a new promoter in town. EERIE EIDOLON¹, Edinburgh based and offering “bespoke gigs in multiple genres within the alt/metal scene”, and their first outing is this absolute beast. I’m somewhat concerned for the structural integrity of my internal organs, as I’m familiar with both OF SPIRE AND THRONE and TELEOST, and I know how loud they can be. Also, the BANSHEE LABYRINTH is very small². It seems likely that FALL OF THE GATEKEEPERS will be similarly loud. Anyway, it’s always good to see new promoters throwing their hats into the ring, and it will be interesting to find out how they get on. If tonight’s gig fails, it certainly won’t be down to lack of promotional effort, as the socials have been hit HARD over the last few weeks. Let’s see, shall we?

First up, we have the aforementioned FALL OF THE GATEKEEPERS, the new project of STUART HALL, singer of local post-hardcore/post-metal combo SOMAESTHESIA³, and about whom I know nothing. You should, incidentally, be aware that Stuart is the man behind Eerie Eidolon, so it’s maybe no surprise that his band is here tonight for what I believe is their first ever gig. Glancing down at their setlist, I’m guessing that there will be a black metal vibe – ‘Prophecy in Black’, ‘In Servitude to the Ancient Ones’, etc. – and so it proves, albeit somewhat tongue in cheek. Sturdy, blackened post-metal is what they do. “This song is about a void”, says Stuart, “and an emissary that comes out of that void. This is EMISSARY FROM THE VOID!”

Bearing in mind that this is their first ever gig, they’re very good, very tight and confident, despite a fairly catastrophic technical issue that kills one song, and much of their momentum, stone dead. Still, things are fixed and they batter on. Stuart’s singing is robust, more post- than black, as might be expected with his history. Guitarist James Macdonald looks like he should be in Pantera with his enormous shorts and heavy metal BC Rich Warlock, but widdly fretwanking is kept to a minimum. Their bassman stands like a statue for the entire set, never moving except when he takes a few steps to glance down at that errant pedalboard. They have a drummer⁵.

Fall of the Gatekeepers. Photos: Bruce Cowie

They end with a new song⁶ ‘Hydra’, written only a couple of weeks ago. It’s a long one, but it’s executed flawlessly, as far as I can tell. If they fuck it up, nobody notices and they’re not telling.

First gig and, tech issues notwithstanding, pretty much a win.

And so to TELEOST, a relatively new guitar/drums doomsludge duo from Glasgow⁷ who seem to be everywhere at the moment. And why not?

They’re very young, a boy and a girl, with a second-year-uni-student look about them, and they are colossally loud. Holy Fuck, are they loud. They do a minimalist hypno-riff style of sludgy doom, slow and dense and relentless. LEO HANCILL’s guitar drives three separate amps, all at the same time. CAT REDFERN’s drumming is unfussy, no nonsense, and as precise as an industrial stamping machine⁹. The pace rarely shifts from that tarry churn that gets right into my head and my lungs, only occasionally breaking into a different shade of slow. I have no idea what songs they play, but that doesn’t matter. I just let myself be absorbed by the noise. It’s glorious and I love it¹⁰.

Teleost. Photos: Bruce Cowie

I have seen them before, in Bannerman’s just down the hill from here, and they were even louder there. Too loud, perhaps. But here in the Banshee, the sound is controlled and clean, for which my microphone will thank me later. A big thumbs-up to the soundman.

And now to our headliners. OF SPIRE AND THRONE were a fixture on the mid-2010s Scottish extreme metal scene but have been keeping a low profile for some years. They never really went away, but front-man ALI LAUDER has been busy with other projects – post-metallers VOID OF LIGHT, black metallers ENUCLEATE, a fun little JUDAS PRIEST homage, etc – and now they’re back. I feel that their time-out has been good for them, and they sound revitalised. Still crushingly heavy, of course, but somehow… fresher?  Perhaps it’s their new bass player – STUART BENDIKS of ACIDSAURUS BONG, playing only his second gig with them tonight – or perhaps it’s the new songs. Maybe they’re just happy to be back. Maybe I’m just imagining it.

Anyway. Here they are. Our Ali is a big lad. Imposing. His guitar looks like a toy. One might consider him intimidating if one didn’t know that he is a dead nice fellow. Likes cats. He has an impressively versatile voice, producing abyssal growls, tortured screams, and softer cleans with equal ease. Like Teleost before them, Of Spire and Throne are slow and sludgy and crushingly heavy, grinding away like the shifting of tectonic plates. Mostly. Those shifting plates slip now and again, things get choppy, and buildings are levelled. Drummer DONNA STEWART hits like a hammer, and often actually WITH a hammer. Her kit includes a chunky brass bell and a thick metal plate, both of which get the treatment from the builder’s tool as she sprawls over the more standard pots ’n’ pans, glaring out with an unsettling intensity.  She is NOT a normal drummer.

Of Spire and Throne. Photos: Bruce Cowie

Once again, individual songs are of lesser significance than the full on sensory overload of the gig, the intensity and relentlessness. The heat, the sweat, and the brutal volume. New songs and old are inseparable. In a good way. It has always seemed to me that OSaT songs, when performed live, are “works in progress” and evolve from gig to gig, so even the oldest favourites remain vital and interesting. Having said that, though, there are a couple of new songs – one of which is so new that it doesn’t even have a proper title yet¹¹ – that promise exciting times ahead.

So, dear reader, a summary. Three bands – one brand new, one new-ish and building a solid reputation, and one revitalised old favourite. Three sets of the highest quality. One brand new promoter of alternative heavy music. One excellent and well-filled little venue. One happy crowd. Let’s call that a win, shall we? Not too shabby for a Tuesday in Edinburgh.

Finally, a few more words about the promoter, because without people like them there would be no gigs. Stuart says that his intention is to put on at least three shows a year, offering slots to new and/or interesting bands, limited to three bands a night so everybody gets a good go. Any and all revenue is to be ploughed back into the next show to keep ticket prices as low as possible. Admirable aims. Let’s wish him every success, and may all of his gigs be as good as this one.

FOOTNOTES:

1. EIDOLON – a phantom, a spectre, a shadowy image. Ooooh, spooky.
2. 60, I believe, and “the most haunted pub in Edinburgh”. Ooooh, spooky.
3. Are they still a thing? Haven’t heard from them in aaaaages⁴. Ooooh, spo… wait, no. That’s not spooky.
4. I asked. No, they’re gone. Killed by Covid.
5. And very good he is too, despite being a bass player and this being his first gig as a drummer.
6. To be fair, they’re ALL new, but this one is newer that the rest.
7. Not actually FROM Glasgow, but just based there. They’re really from Yorkshire, or Newcastle or something. But then, if you’re English, even Glasgow might seem like a step up⁸.
8. Ha ha. Joke.
9. She is also wearing a rather fine KURNEL FIST t-shirt, of which I am slightly envious.
10. A Teleost, by the way, is pretty much any fish that’s not a sturgeon, a lamprey, or a shark. If you need to know more, Google it.
11. Interested readers may find a video of that very song on YouTube. It’s really good.