From DOK makers: How was grim Spring Solitude Evening held in Kyiv
The thematic event Spring Solitude Evening, organized for fans of heavy atmospheric music by the founders of a series of Doom Over Kiev festivals, took place last Friday, on May 4, at the Volume Club in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Within a pretty rich program, which easily could amount to several-hour festival, 6 Ukrainian bands performed their sets.
OwlCraft
The evening was opened by the Cherkasy-based one-man black metal band OwlCraft, whose raw and cold sound created endless forest trails in imagination, and the manner of execution of one musician with partial use of the phonogram turned out to be an entertaining feature of the performance.
N•O
Subsequent 30-plus minutes after the change of instruments and a short soundcheck, the audience watched with interest the set of Kyiv-based post-metallers N•O. Last October, a fresh collaboration, featuring members of Cantabile Wind, Vin de Mia Trix, and other bands, released the first full-length disc "Adrestia", tracks of which were performed on the scene of Spring Solitude Evening.
Kasu Weri
"Written for 8 years, recorded in 8 hours". This is how the Kyiv’s act Kasu Weri describes on Bandcamp its 4-track debut album "From Soil To Ashes", which greatly whipped up a crowd near the scene. Four sludge big fellows unloaded into the hall a ton of solid heavy melodies. At the same time, the band played a new song that did not differ much from the general rather monotonous repertoire, but was perceived by the audience "with a bang".
Mother Witch & Dead Water Ghosts
The evening continued with the lovers of occult motives, the Odesa-based band Mother Witch & Dead Water Ghosts. The frontwoman Maria Teplitskaya's shrill vocals, emotions, and artistry, backed up by gloomy riffs, created a special atmosphere on the stage. Recovering from the magnetic influence of the group, the audience immediately demanded an encore.
Odradek Room
The set of the Mariupol-based formation Odradek Room was quite turbid and raw. The band’s guitars and keys motifs sometimes formed a very peculiar sound, balancing at the junction of the doom and progressive parts. The mix of English and Russian lyrics also occasionally caused confusion, but the eccentricity and a noticeable desire of the musicians to break out from the masses were noticed by the audience, which contributed to a no less warm reception of the band.
Sleep In Heads
After 23:00 came the turn of some bonus chapter of Spring Solitude Evening with the Kyiv-based Sleep In Heads and melodious tracks of their successful debut LP "On the Air". The live and catching charisma of musicians in tandem with lively riffs of progressive metal leaves few people unimpressed. It’s worth noting that not all people could "survive" to the evening’s final, but the most persistent did not allow the group to leave without an encore.
In general, Spring Solitude Evening was not so much a concert or festival as a pleasant and serene Friday get-together for fans of the above genres. Without slam or headbanging near the stage, but, instead, with communication, lively conversations around the little table with a merch, glasses of cool drinks, and a rich music program of the evening.
Review by Yuri Somov
Photos by Yuri Somov and Abrisad Photographer