On a surprisingly not-hot-as-all-hell summer night, I sat outside with a friend of mine while chatting with Fred. Fred is the drummer of Sadgiqacea. I like Fred, he’s a cool guy. His bandmate and co-conspirator, Evan (guitars/speaker stack of destruction), is as well. Upon shaking hands and introducing ourselves, I grilled Fred and Hivelords bassist, Tyler Butler, about how the road had been treating them. Transmission blown in New York City, over $1500 to fix it, two weeks of shows and driving and possibly some swimming and beers, and there we were. Nice guys and in good spirits, having a good time. Now then, the show!!
Sadgiqacea and Hivelords were sharing backline in order to (I’m assuming) save time, space and gas. When Sadgiqacea hit the stage, well, they really hit the damn thing. Over the course of three songs (long enough to fill 30 minutes or so) Sadgiqacea not only delivered on an emotional level, playing in total sync with one another, but they also played so damn loud that by the end of their second song, the police showed up because of a noise complaint. Had to turn it down just a bit, but it made no difference; the utter heft and weight of their live performance was enough to make the room more than shake and get hot as all fuck. Watching Evan play his mix of blackened-doom guitar and Fred go from tribal drumming to making a fairly small drum kit sound huge, it was like watching them exorcise their own demons and baring themselves to onlookers. Sharing vocal duties they both mixed in well and, as on their new album, used vocals almost as another instrument, tying it all together. It left my body feeling like it was being assaulted. Without a doubt, hearing them play ‘False Segments’ (from new album False Prism) left me moved, and with a bit more of an understanding of just what Sadgiqacea is all about.
Hivelords took over the stage next, and attacked the crowd with a vicious set of blackened-doom. Vocalist Kevin North and guitarist Will Rollem opened up the set together with the demented howls and echoing guitars of ‘Atavus Lich’ before Tyler Butler and drummer Jason Jenigen fell in with an absolutely crushing rhythm section. Over the course of three songs (again, 30 minutes-ish) Hivelords did not miss a single beat, sounding as close as humanly possible to their newly released Cavern Apothecary. Like their labelmates before them, Hivelords engulfed the crowd with their eerie guitar lines, and the absolutely enthralling stage presence of their singer was felt by all. Closing out with ‘The Auraglyph’ was a great choice, and it pleased me to see the song live. They delivered a performance that was great to be heard, but to see and feel it, that was the real deal sealer.
Both bands live are truly an amazing show, and touring together is without a doubt an amazing idea. Both bands bring their respective elements and feelings to the stage and perfectly compliment one another, make for a show that you cannot, and should not, go without seeing. You can catch Hivelords and Sadgiqacea on tour for the rest of July and well into August, throughout the US. Go out and see two amazing bands and buy a damn t-shirt, help keep these guys on the road so they can get out and tour again soon. Support artists and musicians you enjoy. Long live the Werewolf!!!
Thank you to Dave and Liz at EarSplit, Kim at Catharsis, and Shannon at Anthropic. A thank you as well to both bands for hanging out and being a trip to bullshit with. And(!), extra special thanks to my friend Emily for accompanying me and taking photos (check her out here).
