Bongzilla
20th May 2019
Whammy! Bar, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review and photography by Sarah Kidd.
Last night was one that was particularly sludgy at Auckland’s Whammy! Bar as Wisconsin natives Bongzilla brought their green inspired sounds down to New Zealand for the first time. Providing support were two exceptional kiwi bands who many of the regulars at Whammy will have instantly recognised; the first a five piece all the way from Christchurch who were beyond stoked to be playing their first ever international support slot.
Yarnspinner, who pride themselves on bringing ‘big riffs and even bigger spliffs’ are led by vocalist Thomas Brand, whose vocals are as deep as they are grinding – and no not in the annoying way – but in the ‘gnaw on your limbs til the teeth grind down to the bone and you’re lost in a doom metal haze’ kinda way.
The set began strong with one of their newer tracks ‘Hair of the Tooth’, a track that will hopefully feature on their debut album that was mixed late last year (fingers crossed for an official release date soon), as it’s a damn good one. With fellow members Josh, Brigitt and Tim on drums, Yarnspinner laid down almost half a dozen tracks that at times called for respecting weed and even included a guest singer in the form of Doug McHardlane from Auckland’s own Bloodnut; Yarnspinner finishing the set with the exhilarating ‘Nightwitch’ which saw guitarist Nick join Tom on vocal duties while a deluge of riffs rained down to soothe the soul.
Up next a band that has a serious legacy around the New Zealand music scene thanks to their hedonistic brand of stoner rock that will transport you to another realm with the greatest of ease. Formed in 2008, the Hamilton trio of Arc of Ascent has recently changed somewhat with the departure of Mark McGready on drums; however last night Jared Green proved that he definitely has the skills to step into the role.
Arc of Ascent know how to command a room, the vocals and heavy bass lines of vocalist Craig Williamson at the forefront of the performance. It has been noted previously that Williamsons work with both Datura and Lamp of the Universe has infiltrated Arc of Ascent – in a good way of course! – this is not just straight stoner rock; there are wisps of psychedelic that caress the edges of songs, celestial movements that have guided notes into position and pits of acid which sizzle on the skin of it’s admirers who dive in for a closer look.
Beginning with ‘Benediction Moon’ from their last album Realms of the Metaphysical, fans immediately submit themselves to the music, their heads nodding in hypnotic submission to the all-consuming riffs as Williamsons vocals fill both the room and minds with visions of higher places. On guitar Matt Cole-Baker almost looks as if he is in his own world, cutting an imposing figure on stage due to his height, he becomes one with his instrument, elements of Sabbath, Sleep and far off Eastern places colouring his strings as his fingers etched out their voice.
Arc of Ascent are old hands at the International support thing now, Samsara Blues Experiment and Pallbearer already on the impressive list of bands that they have played with. Last night’s set pulling from albums The Higher Key and 2010 release Circle of the Sun with the epic ‘Redemption’ taking the set out on a high that was rowdily applauded by an appreciative audience.
Those with a sharp eye would already have spied some of the members of Bongzilla earlier in the evening as they moved periodically through the audience, checking out the performances by both Yarnspinner and Arc of Ascent which was nice to see. Arranging themselves on stage the four-piece led by Mike ‘Muleboy’ Makela, joked around with the audience who were now facing them toe to toe, Makela showing off his skills of a steady hand as he balanced a bottle of beer atop his head.
Having formed in 1995, many of their followers thought that the end had come when the band went on hiatus in 2009; disappointment only turning to elation when Bongzilla reformed in 2015, both Australian and New Zealand fans never daring to dream they would ever head this far down.
As made rather clear by their name, Bongzilla love the green and will happily partake of it at any given opportunity, bassist Cooter ‘Black Bong’ Brown at times looking like he had had a little too much as he learned against the infamous central stage pillar with his eyes closed. To his credit however his fingers were still strumming away at the top string, droplets of bass dripping into the delicious bowl of stoner sludge soup being served up. Behind him on drums Mike ‘Magma’ Henry looked to be having a couple of technical difficulties in the first half of the show, however these soon seemed to come right with a little tweaking as he threw himself into some serious skin pummelling; to his left Jeff ‘Spanky’ Schultz who for the majority of the show held down his side of the stage with barely a verbal peep.
If you came looking for a tight well executed set, you would have been left wanting; however, if you craved a performance that was infested with so much sludge and doom that the reverberations of it alone rearranged your intestines, than this was the show for you. Drone style riffs that were like walking through a field of blackened treacle filled the room and weighted feet to the floor, Makela coming in over the top with almost demonic hoarsely screamed lyrics that made your toes curl.
Tracks such as ‘Salvation’ from their Apogee album released almost twenty years ago saw fans rejoice, the room less of a mosh pit and more a single body with multiple heads that kept in time with the beat as Makela dedicated a track to Dixie Dave (Dave Collins) of Weedeater fame who was also a member of Bongzilla from 2005-2009.
Not only were Auckland fans lucky enough to see Bongzilla live in their own backyard – Makela stating in a recent interview that they don’t often travel to places they haven’t been before – but they were also gifted new music. With Bongzilla planning on releasing an album soon entitled Weedsconsin, last night’s attendees were treated to tracks ‘Space Rock’ and ‘Smoked’ the latter a re-working of a previous song by the name of ‘Smoke’.
As the seventy-minute set began to draw to a close Makela announced that their last song of the night would be ‘H.P. Keefmaker’ again from the Apogee album; what would follow was bowel-quaking bass that literally had a few people looking up to check that the roof wasn’t about to cave in.
Bongzilla are hands down a bucket list band for any fan of the stoner/doom metal genre, the unique combination of both the instrumental and Makela’s insanely addictive vocals making for a fully immersive experience within which one can burrow themselves inside.
Were you there at Whammy! Bar for this epic stoner doom metal gig? Or have you seen Bongzilla perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
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