Culture: Beautiful & Wild - The Decibel Magazine Tour 2018 @ Irving Plaza New York

(Drivebycuriosity) - I am a connoisseur of heavy metal. I really enjoy atmospheric rock music with very heavy riffs. Fortunately my wife shares this taste. Yesterday we went to  Irving Plaza in Midtown Manhattan to enjoy the "Decibel Magazine Tour 2018", a kind of traveling heavy metal festival (decibelmagazine).  The organizers declared that their "ambitious curation has unified artists from around the extreme universe who would otherwise never have the opportunity to tour North America together".

Watching the concert was pure bliss. 4 groups showed what heavy metal can do today. Around 7pm  Khemmis started, a young doom metal band from Denver, Colorado (formed in 2012) who played virtuous & heavy. I believe we will hear more from this promising combo.

Khemmis was succeeded by Myrkur, a medieval-metal band around Amalie Bruun, a Danish musician and actress. I was impressed by Amalie´s voice, she sang partly with an angelic voice, which reminded me a bit of Kate Bush, and switched suddenly to the metal typical heavy growls and then back to melodic. She appeared like a powerful witch, getting her audience under her spell. Her band, dressed like torturers of the Catholic Inquisition, assisted her with heavy doom metal riffs. Gorgeous! I have seen Myrkur already at last year`s Psycho Las Vegas show (here my report driveby) and I was again enchanted.


                                                                        Attacking Civilization

Then Wolves In The Throne Room overtook the stage. This was the third gig we saw by them. Their concert was beautiful & wild again. The stage was kept in very low light and the band  created intense & hypnotizing atmospheric passages which suddenly turned into fierce explosions. Massive base riffs culminated into annihilating assaults shaking the hall. The tsunamis of the sound got intensified by the roars of the two vocalists. It looked like the "Wolves" attacked the civilization and ripped it apart.

The Norwegian doom metal band Enslaved crowned the gig. The huge Scandinavians already impressed by their physical appearance.  It looked like the vikings were on a raid again. Their majestic performance fulfilled these expectations and shook the room with hefty riffs & violent growls. The Enslaved gig was like a Wagner opera projected into a sinister alternate world.

Thanks to curators & bands for this great experience. I am looking forward to next year`s Decibel Magazine Tour.