Somergloom at ONCE Somerville – 8/21
ONCE’s outdoor summer space hosted a daylong celebration of all things gloom and doom last Saturday.
I bailed early on making it out to Psycho Las Vegas this year, but as it turned out, a smaller-scale but no-less-heavy east coast answer to the Vegas bacchanal was in the works over at ONCE the very same weekend. I’ve been psyched about Somergloom ever since it was announced in the first wave of shows for the 2021 outdoor space, and that excitement only grew as the lineup expanded in the ensuing months. The final spread of eight acts boasted some of my favorite heavy Boston bands and some new-to-me faces, making for a wonderfully grim Saturday in the literal Heavy Metal Parking Lot.
Joseph Allred kicked things off with the only acoustic guitar in sight all day, spinning mournful folk tunes and instrumental explorations that served as a perfect prelude for the eardrum reckoning to come. The Infinity Ring, who sported a sort of gothic folk vibe at Nice Fest last month, pulled off a thrilling left turn into a brooding and ominous cloud of noise. Kira McSpice‘s operatic performance was pure, arresting spectacle. Sevan and Lunar Ark channeled ultra-heavy sludge metal of the barreling and slow-creeping variety, respectively. Glacier‘s pummeling instrumentals beckoned down the sun, before Body Void delivered the most unrelentingly massive tones of the day in their crushing, pitch-black doom. (That their drummer was sporting a Primitive Man shirt made a good deal of sense). Finally, local favorites Seed closed out the day in the singularly eerie fashion of deconstructed heaviness that’s become their signature.
That New England’s modern heavy music scene is world-class has never been a secret for those paying attention, but especially after a year and a half away, it felt great to be reminded of that fact with the conviction brought by this entire bill. It was one of my favorite live music days of the summer, and another home-run for the ONCE concert series I really wish didn’t have to end in the fall.
Check out a gallery of the whole day below.
Joseph Allred:
Lunar Ark:
The Infinity Ring:
Kira McSpice:
Sevan:
Glacier:
Body Void:
Seed:
