First on the bill were Manatees, treating us to some very sludgy stoner metal. Although only a three piece Manatees managed to create a sound as large as the sea mammal that they are named after. Throwing out some nice grooves and large amount of chugging. The bass had a bit of a filthy tone, complement of some nice effects. This gave Manatees a beefy sound, which never saw them lacking that fourth member but did at some points make the sound a little bit too inaudible. The guitarist and bassist shared singing duties and both filled the roll well although the bassist was a slightly better. Not a bad start to the night at all.
Second up were Latitudes. Devoid of vocals or even any in between song banter, this was solely an instrumental affair. Reminiscent of Cult of Luna, *Shels and Pelican, Latitudes have the makings of a very band. But unfortunately I found that they over cooked it. Playing in an obligatory low tuning they were able to play some very tasty grooves but they were few and far between. They managed to play some really nice clean riffs and throw in some very interesting time signatures, the problem was that they threw in too many. I was standing there happily nodding my head and then the beat would change in to something quite disjointed. I have by no means any problem with throwing in time signature changes, but I felt it took away from what was on offer. I was sucked in at the first note but sadly they lost me. For me stoner progressive metal is about tasty licks and big grooves, I don’t want to be counting beats in a bar. I haven’t been put off completely but I think they could’ve been better.
Last on were Baroness, whose vocalist has one of the biggest mouths in metal, which is very reflective of the sound that comes out of it. He has such a great voice, which sounds even better when it is backed up. Very rarely do you hear metal bands using vocal harmonies in a shouting/growling style. And if you take the general make up of each of the songs it would appear that harmonies are one of the key parts of Baroness’ sound, vocally and instrumentally. Baroness cover a varied range of songs from across their catalogue and also threw in a few new tracks, which didn’t sound as good as their other stuff, on first listen, but will probably sound better after a few plays. It was really great to watch the intricacies of some of the riffs actually being played live, the knowledge of the tracks showed via the ease in which they were played. The song structures are brilliant, creating a wide range of dynamics and grooves but moving through riffs swiftly enough that they never become tedious or repetitious. Baroness, for me are the next Mastodon and definitely a band to watch out for in the future. In a few years time I can picture myself going to Brixton Academy to see Baroness and remembering seeing them at the Underworld, all those years before.
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Baroness, Latitudes and Manatees - The underworld Camden - 13/04/09
