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| See the black sun rise in the solar lodge. (FUJIFILM X-T4 ƒ/2.8 1/125 55mm ISO6400) |
Since becoming interested in heavier and harsher music about 15 years ago, I have slowly gravitated towards its weirder and more unorthodox fringes. I credit the drone metal band Locrian as one of the bands that introduced me to the more experimental side of the metal landscape with their unique combination of brooding drones, beautiful post-rock guitar passages, electronics, and harsh noise. I came upon the band with their 2010 album The Crystal World, named after the J.G. Ballard novel of the same name in which a physician travels to Central Africa to treat leprosy, only to find the jungle there slowly turning to crystal, enveloping everything in its path. The album convinced me to read the novel, and I was amazed how well the album fit the tone of the novel, one of bleak desolation, but a strangely beautiful and hopeful desolation. I have been enthusiastically following the band since, watching them continue to explore the themes of urban decay and humanity’s slow march towards extinction. The band released a new album in April of 2024, End Terrain, and I was very excited to see they had a string of tour dates to accompany the release. I was fortunate to see them play at the Metro Gallery in Baltimore on July 19, 2024. My brother Eric and I were able to take a bunch of pictures of the event, and want to share some of them.
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| The stage is set for an enthralling journey towards mankind’s obsolescence. (FUJIFILM X-T4 ƒ/2.8 1/15 16mm ISO2500) |
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| Otherworldly tones spill from Terence Hannum’s synthesizers, punctuated by his deathly howls. (FUJIFILM X-T4 ƒ/2.8 1/125 16mm ISO6400) |
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| An echoing shriek and the yawning vacantness of empty sockets. (FUJIFILM X-T4 ƒ/2.8 1/125 55mm ISO6400) |
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| André Foisy mesmerizes with a shimmering guitar line, finding beauty even amidst the inhospitable. (FUJIFILM X-T4 ƒ/2.8 1/125 55mm ISO6400) |
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| Steven Hess beckons our encroaching doom with the militant pounding of his drum kit. (NIKON Zf ƒ/2.8 1/250 50mm ISO3200) |
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| André Foisy harnesses a seething malevolence from his pedalboard. (NIKON Zf ƒ/1.8 1/250 50mm ISO2000) |
Buy Locrian’s music here.
This was an amazing show; it was great to see them live again. Nice to see you getting into concert photography too!
ReplyDeleteThis was a great write up! I could already hear the sense of tone in their music in my head from your photograph's descriptions, even though drone metal is not typically my thing.
ReplyDelete