It takes a lot to get me out of the house these days, this is the first tour of the year to inspire that . It brings together three projects that share enough common ground for this to make sense while occupying different sonic spaces. Of the three I would implore you to get there early to catch the act I feel is the most essential, Emma Ruth Rundle.
Emma Ruth Rundle’s "Marked For Death " album topped my best of indie rock list last year. Her solo work away from her band Marriages is not the sort of singer songwriter affair you might expect. Dark but not goth. Emotive but not emo. She takes ugly feelings and bears then with an honesty that makes them beautiful. Much like Deafheaven whose music encompasses a wide range of feelings, Rundle does this in a manner that is every bit as emotionally charged and heavy as Deafheaven , where Deafheavens guitar's have to compensate for the more aggressive vocal styling of lead screamer. The guitar be it strummed or slicking with feed back is merely the swathes of sonic backdrop to Emma's voice that rightfully earns the spot light. There were times on the last Marriages album where I thought "If you ever wondered what Tori Amos sounded like if she played guitar instead of piano this is it. There is less of that influence on her last album, but she still holds a similar visceral soul baring nakedness to her work
The two acts after Rundle share more common ground sonically. This Will Destroy You comes from the same post-rock scene as their peers Russian Circles , but there is less of a metallic under current and more experimentation when it comes to the sonic landscape they paint with their instruments. They are touring to support the 10th anniversary of their “Young Mountain” album, so if you have wanted to hear more of their older work, then this is the gig for you, some shows they have even played the album in it’s entirety.
The secret to Deafheaven's success is that the California band was able to sell black metal to hip suburban kids by stripping away the scandinavian roots and by forgoing the corpse paint and satanic imagery, wrap it up in a more indie rock feeling package. Last time I saw them at the Masquerade the crowd look more like what I would expect at a Mumford and sons show. Strange considering how "New Bermuda" was their most metal album yet, they have toured with the likes of Anthrax and Lamb of God, so we shall see if that inspired a more metal crowd crossing over into this tuesday's gig.I have seen this band three times, already and eager to catch them again, so fact alone speaks to their lived experience.
Be sure to grab your tickets to this show coming to Atlanta at the Masquerade March 7th. https://www.facebook.com/events/845501618926190/