VenomFest II
May 12, 2012The Anvil, Bournemouth
Featuring: Nepalese Temple Bell/Skeleton/Caravan Of Whores/XII Boar/Desert Storm/Witch Sorrow
Bournemouth’s Doomheads had gathered at The Anvil on a Saturday night to pay homage to some of the best unsigned Stoner-Doom bands that Dorset and the surrounding counties have to offer. With six bands on the bill everyone was looking forward to an evening of good music and cheap drinks with a well laid back atmosphere. Nepalese Temple Ball were the first band on and started by saying that they were without a vocalist because he had had to go to a wedding, even sans singer they played a good set that was very atmospheric.
Skeleton got the party going, kicking out some splendid stoner doom and sounding very tight. They received a good crowd response with a circle pit starting and shouts for more at the end, not bad for a debut gig.
Caravan of Whores took the third spot treating us to some traditional doom two songs in and they have to stop because they have bust the bass drum. Some gaffa tape and cardboard and we are away again only for Mark Greenaway to come up for some vocal warbling shouting incoherently into the mic for the second from last song and grabbing the mic again for the last one and just repeating the line “What you want” over and over again until the band finished their set. A difficult situation for everyone as this was the guy who played on Electric Wizards Dopethrone, an album wildly regarded as one of the top Doom albums in the world and probably owned by everyone in the room.
XII Boar came out swinging. Playing hard & fast and forcing the Anvil to sit up and take notice. Riff followed riff and basically they tore it up. Pits formed and the crowd when mad for their grove laden stoner styling’s. Top set by a top notch band. Desert Storm took it up yet another level with a ‘Storming’ performance (ouch, that even made me wince) and were definitely the best band on the night, which is high praise after witnessing XII Boar’s set. Blasting through the majority of their Forked Tongues opus they played a new track which showed that their music is maturing and that the future looks very good for the Oxford band!
Rounding the night off, we got some solid all-out doom from Witchsorrow. The long riffs and funeral march like drone, wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea and a fair few punters disappeared upstairs for more beer and a happier vibe. Personally I thought they were great and at points in their set I was almost in a trance like state! Focusing on their repetitive style and just letting myself get carried away in the vibe! In the words of Neil from the Young Ones ‘Heavy man’!
Roll on VenomFest III!
Words and pictures by Dan O’Gara.