A Shirt on Sunday: Cybernetic Witch Craft – HRH Doom Vs HRH Stoner – 29/9/2018

I'm back in Sheffield for another Hard Rock Hell 2-day event: "Doom Vs Stoner". Based on Bloodstock a couple of years back, I know I like Stoner (laid-back bluesy metal with psychedelic moments) but I'm not sure about Doom. Apart from the old computer game. That, I enjoyed. But not as much as Half-Life, now THAT was a game! But I digress.

There’s a much bigger crowd than there was for C.R.O.W.S. three weeks previously, and black t-shirts are de-rigeur. So I’m wearing a Jethro Tull tie-dye. It is though, a friendly crowd – in the whole weekend I see no unpleasantness; even the four drunken Spaniards (which sounds like the title of a folk song) on day 2 only manage to upset one person.

Sedulus are first up, representing Doom. A London 4-piece, with the requisite slowed-down-Sabbath sound. A couple of good songs and a quite bizarre cover of 'Born on the Bayou'.

Ancestors are also doom-laden, but in a bad way. 15 minutes after they were due to start, the guitarist is not happy. Bits of his kit aren't working. They've swapped the amp heads around (for no obvious reason as the speaker cabinets are identical), which seems to have killed half his pedals and now the working amp head is giving him electric shocks. When they do start, they are crushingly dull. Swirly keyboard sludge under self-indulgent guitar gurning, which occasionally goes quiet when he hits a duff pedal. Doom indeed.

And so it's time to head upstairs (all the good bands are on the second stage) for The Grudge. On record they didn't inspire, but in the flesh they're great fun. They sound like very early Sabbath with Iron Maiden riffs, except for when they sound like very early Maiden with Black Sabbath riffs. They have a great lead singer who brings the crowd along with them and they make an early and successful bid for band of the day. Next to me is a hard-core fan of the band who looks like a young Meat Loaf. I didn't hear him sing.

Downstairs, Desert Storm are disappointing. I really like their latest album, but live it's all a bit muddy and I wander back upstairs.

After a chat at the bar about how it's easier to get served these days, me and nice local bloke promptly fail to get served for AGES! But that's okay 'cos Ritual King haven't started yet. First proper Stoner set of the day - even the vocals go through an echoplex. Unfortunately I find myself obsessed by the snare drum being the loudest thing in the mix, otherwise I'd have had much more fun.

Dinner break. Outside, Ancestors are bemoaning their technical doom. I consider saying something, to them but figure I'd just make it worse. Three-bean-chilli pizza turns out to be much nicer than you'd think.

I'm back for the second half of Elephant Tree's set. They're from the Stoner side and rather good. A sense of humour, good tunes and well played.

However, I skip the last song as it's time to head upstairs for Cybernetic Witch Cult.

Now this is what I think of as Stoner metal. I saw them at Bloodstock and said... “Cybernetic Witch Cult started our day with awesome psychedelic space dinosaur rock and back projections from Ralph Bakshi’s ‘Lord of the Rings’.”
No projections this time, but still lots of 80’s sci-fi, including a new song about 'Dune' and the aforementioned corker about extra-terrestrial dinosaurs! They work for me because of the sci-fi samples in the songs and the laid-back humour. Tonight there's even a mad bloke in the audience who looks like Phil 'Animal' Taylor wearing a Barney the Dinosaur suit.
Faced with another technical hitch - all his pedals are without power (sound familiar?) the bass player does the sensible thing. Plug straight into the amp and keep going!

Thus the second stage ends its day in a blaze of glory.

I stagger out to the balcony and the tail end of Stoned Jesus. More Stoner, with a definite Rush bass line on the final number. Not bad, but Cybernetic were better.

Last up are Elder. More generic stoner rock. Gave them half an hour and then wandered off. Had my headliner for the night already.

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