Nestled in between industrial complexes and a quick hop and skip away from Manhattan (assuming the subways are at least reasonably on schedule), The Kingsland is a welcoming stage for all things unique and underground. Such was the case as the eclectic, and electric, brigade known as Folterkammer rolled into Brooklyn to conclude their nine day tour.
Joined on the road by rising blackened doom metal stars Witching, Folterkammer's homecoming show was rounded out with support coming from local favorites Sarmat and Viserion. With friends and fans eager for the night ahead, the tour truly brought out the best of The Kingsland as a center for good music and good times.
Starting the night off with razor sharp black metal, Queens based Viserion is a tour de force of icy riffs and pummeling drums sure to appeal to fans of Uada, Dark Funeral and Gorgoroth.
Formed in 2019, Viserion currently holds one full length album, an EP, and several singles under their belts, including the song "Fathers" featuring vocalist extraordinaire Protagony, who joined the band onstage for the song's performance.
Captivating and enchanting in both music and vocals, Viserion is a band that demands attention from black metal fans - don't be surprised to see this band on bigger New York stages in the neart future.
Fans of extreme metal might have noticed in recent years a surge within the black metal genre into the realm of abstract, avant-garde tones. Arguably one of the heads of this movement is the enigmatic group Imperial Triumphant, who have made their signature sound that of blast beats and dissonant orchestral music.
It's no surprise then that Sarmat, which features Imperial Triumphant's own Steve Blanco on bass, would take this concept and push it even further to the limits. Swapping out black metal for technical death metal meets mathcore, while maintaining elements of free jazz, even Suffocation and The Dillinger Escape Plan would be hard pressed to keep up.
With their latest offering, Determined to Strike released last year, Sarmat has been busy beefing up their resume of shows, which includes sharing the stage with Decrepit Birth, Pathology, and Abiotic. Hailing from a city that knows no limits or boundaries, Sarmat is an exciting act sure to rise from the underground to join the ranks of other incredible genre defying bands.
While metal as a whole is built on intensity and brutality, there is something different when one locks eyes with Witching vocalist Jacqui Powell - a powerful feeling of fear and lament as every word cast from the microphone hits the soul with immense force. Curiously, that sensation only intensifies when Powell switches from stellar screams to haunting cleans in songs such as "Incendium" and "Eschaton".
Releasing two full length albums since their formation in 2017, most recently last year's Incendium, the Philadelphia based unit is quickly becoming an underground sensation blowing away fans of sludge, doom, and black metal.
Outlining show dates in Europe and with fans around the world longing for a show in their cities, those in attendance at The Kingsland should consider themselves fortunate to have been able to witness a band destined for huge stages in such an intimate environment.
Emerging as one of the most exciting experimental concepts in black metal, Folterkammer has challenged the status quo of the sub-genre since their debut album, Die Lederpredigt, was released in 2020. While operatic elements have been a part of metal for many years, even establishing their own breed of power/melodic metal with bands such as Nightwish and Epica, Folterkammer flawlessly tailors the same elements into far more extreme music.
Indeed, their mergence of gothic infused black metal combined with vocalist Andromeda Anarchia's impressive rasps and jaw dropping soprano cleans stands to be the most ambitious project of its kind since the rise of Cradle of Filth in the early 1990s.
With expectations set high for their sophomore album, Weibermacht, out 19 April, the walls of the Kingsland rumbled from the might of newer songs "Anno Domina", "Die Peitschengedicht" and closer "Leck mich!". Combined with cuts off the band's debut, the venue was simply in awe of the quintet's massive presence.
Even before the set, it was common to overhear fans discussing throughout the night how lucky they were to welcome Folterkammer to The Kingsland, and who they hope to see them tour with. Throwing out names like Batushka, Rotting Christ, Gaerea, and Moonspell to name a few, all would agree that this was a band on its way out of the underground and onto big stages and tours, and this was indeed a night to remember as Folterkammer only continues to take the metal world by storm.
Ticket and photo pass courtesy of Suspiria PR