Down The Barrel Photography, for www.overdrive.ie © 2020. All Rights Reserved.
As the doors open and the punters pile in making their way to the treasure cove merch area, it doesn’ take very long before both floors of the venue are well-populated prior to the mighty Conjurer’s entrance.
Having already performed in Ireland last year for the first time, the UK-based four-piece waste no time in cracking open tonight’s proceedings with their trade-mark, non-specific brand of hefty gargantuan riffs and intense sonic presence.
With their astounding debut ‘Mire‘ (Holy Roar Records 2018) approaching its second birthday this coming March, the rise and ‘rise’ of Conjuror has been the stuff of dreams. Two US tours, one headline UK tour, announced for Bloodstock Open Air on the main stage and signing with Nuclear Blast, not bad eh?
Down The Barrel Photography, for www.overdrive.ie © 2020. All Rights Reserved.
Anyway, tonight is no different from any other Conjurer show and by that I mean they just tear into it regardless of where they are and who is in front of them.
From start to finish, the band punish Whelan’s with their visceral performance, all the while shrouded in momentary blasts of bright, white-backlighting with occasional waves of greens and blues making bassist Conor Marshall’s (also in Sylosis) rampant headbanging all the more dramatic.
Much like Code Orange, Conjurer are superb at redefining and blurring genres. They wander between elements of Hardcore, Doom, Prog with no-fucks given and we say “more power to them”. Conjurer will be performing at Bloodstock Open Air on Saturday 8th August in the UK. 4/5
Conjurer gallery can be accessed below;
Overdrive spoke to Conjurer’s Conor Marshall, keep an eye on www.overdrive.ie for the feature in the coming days.
With the venue now packed to capacity and the heat levels increasing by the minute, Finnish purveyors of misery and melancholy, INSOMNIUM wastes no time in turning Whelan’s into a melting pot of swirling bodies and front row windmilling with the commanding opener – ‘Valediction‘.
What follows is ‘Through the Shadows‘ and ‘Into the Woods‘ which sees glorious twin-guitar action from Jani (Liimatainen) and Markus (Vanhala) who give it nothing less than 100% throughout the duration of the show.
With limited space on the Whelan’s stage, vocalist/bassist Niilo Sevänen commands the atmosphere with his quirky Finnish sense of humour and goads the sold-out venue with talk of their UK shows and asking “Can you do better than the English?“, to a mixture of boo’s and laughing.
Down The Barrel Photography, for www.overdrive.ie © 2020. All Rights Reserved.
‘Neverlast’ explodes like a powder keg, followed by the exhilarating ‘Pale Morning Star‘ followed by ‘Change of Heart‘ and it has to be noted how crystal-clear the sound is tonight. Every phrase, guitar lick and cymbal bell is impeccably balanced adding, making Insomnium that more captivating, if that could be possible!
“Heart Like a Grave” has been an album that saw the band evolve with regards to their ability to craft inspiring and momentous compositions, case in point with ‘And Bells, They Toll‘ which is their own rendition of a very old Finnish folk song; and is executed with pinpoint precision tonight.
The balance of tonight’s setlist is simply perfect, as we are treated to moments from, ‘Above The Weeping World‘ (2006), ‘Across The Dark‘ (2009) ‘One For Sorrow‘ (2012), and ‘Shadows of the Dying Sun‘ (2014) with all the intensity and fury one could hope for in a live setting. Sublime performance and a great start to the year. 4.5/5
Keep an eye on www.overdrive.ie for a feature interview with Niilo Sevänen, coming soon.
Insomnium Gallery by Down The Barrel Photography, exclusively for www.overdrive.ie 2020
Insomnium Dublin Setlist 22.01.20
Catch Insomnium and Conjurer on tour via the dates listed below;
Oran O’Beirne
www.overdrive.ie 2020. All Rights Reserved.
