Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on October 2012
Prepare yourself for a mind-blowing smorgasbord of ‘experi-metal’ music, whose central theme seems to be sounds that are felt as much as heard. Bands from Japan, the US, and Britain will be represented at this one-of-a-kind, two-day music festival.
Day one features headliners SUNN O))). The group slows thunderous guitars and basses down to minimal wavelengths that rattle your teeth right out of their sockets. Seminal Japanese experimentalists Boris will perform their album Flood, a one-hour washing of wave after wave of hypnotic guitars, in its entirety. Also on the bill are Chelsea Wolfe, avant-goth experimentalists whose séances forebode one of metal’s weirder and more interesting tangents, and Ai Aso, whose whispering voice and ambient guitars seduce you into submission.
Day two sees the pace pick up a bit. Headlining are British industrial metal pioneers Godflesh. Japanese post-hardcore band Envy will present their 2001 album all the footprints you’ve ever left and the fear expecting ahead, and sets are also in the cards from critically acclaimed American newcomers Deafheaven and Kyoto grindcore stalwarts Mortalized. Don’t get left behind—the future of metal is upon us!
