A cathartic, quality night out with two brilliant heavy-hitting bands @ Kavka Zappa

At the end of last month, UK band Heriot kicked off their set right off the bat with ‘Commander of Pain’, an ominous gem that immediately set the tone, creating an intensely heavy atmosphere filled with raw, distorted dual vocals, hefty basslines, plenty of satisfying pinch harmonics, and thunderous kick drums, to mention but a few. Despite a rather tough crowd that seemed to be eagerly awaiting the hardcore veterans headlining the night, as well as a few technical issues, Heriot truly delivered.

The band set the bar pretty high, bringing together an intricate blend of doom, hardcore, shoegaze and groovier influences that merged seamlessly into a very unique sound signature. The entire set felt as though each member had contributed their favourite heavy elements and influences, leading to very distinctive genre-bending melodies combined with lead singer Debbie Gough‘s harsh and moody vocals.

Next up : Converge.

30 seconds. That’s the time it took them to send the entire crowd into a frenzy with their abrasive and relentless sound, driven by a whole bunch of cathartic shrieks and crushing kick drums once they set foot on stage. Suddenly, stage divers, crowd surfers and moshers appeared here and there, as if summoned, feeding off the band’s energy and multiplying quick interactions with the frontman song after song, oftentimes sharing the microphone with him.

With high-gain amps cranked to the absolute max, the 15-track set kept resonating through the night almost without pause, as Converge never seems to stand still and has no interest in theatricality. That no-fuss approach and their constant interactions with the audience has become one of the defining traits of their identity, and that is exactly the path they chose to ride on that night.

Expectations were exceeded at every turn!