Live Review: Conan - Devil's Dog, Birmingham
17th March 2024
Support: Wallowing, Bile Caster, Voidlurker
Words: Matt Noble
Photos: Martin Hingley
First on the bill for Conan's Birmingham date are local boys Voidlurker, fresh from recording an EP with Conan's very own Chris Fielding last month and supporting Crowbar a couple of weeks prior to tonight. They open with a couple of tracks which we may see on the new release, playing apocalyptically slow renditions of both. It's certainly heavy, and the instrumental tone is great, though they've got some stoner leanings that stop them from completely falling off into the abyss, meaning it's a fun first half hour of the night. By the time the well-established closing duo of 'Jeffrey Doomer' and 'Bitchcraft and Misery' come around, the crowd can be seen nodding away to the grooves and clearly enjoying themselves. It's a solid set from the doom trio, who continue to ascend through the ranks.
On the other hand, when Bile Caster come on, they seem to suck all of the positivity out of the room. Their crushing, claustrophobic three song set brings a tangible sense of misery into the room, with all the fun elements that Voidlurker bring to the table swept away for a grim, swampy and overall far more extreme performance. Their use of samples from horror movies only serves to make their set even scarier. Joe's vocal performance is very crisp, and the unrelenting riffs amid songs that stretch to around the ten minute mark really worm their way into our heads. The snare really reverberates in a nasty way during some of the slower breaks and drills in the sense of atmosphere. By the time Leicester's 'negative sludge metallers' salute the crowd at the end of the set, it takes a moment before we all remember how to cheer for them. Excellent as always.
Wallowing take things a step further still. Dressed anonymously as some kind of Satanic beekeepers, and shrouded with a smoky fog amid wild green lasers, their melting pot of sludge, doom, noise and grind has gained serious traction in the last couple of years and on tonight's stage they prove why. With a punishing dual vocal rasp and morose guitar lines that weave sections from one to the next, it's really quite a scary experience if you're not ready for it. So much of Wallowing and their appeal is to do with their sci-fi-inspired lore, though, and with spacey special effects and an almost constant industrial whirring, it's no gimmick, very much part of the product. The atmospheric, twenty-minute 'Earth Reaper' opens the set, which captures the attention of everyone in the venue very quickly, and by the time they're done, again, it takes a moment for everyone to get back to earth and applaud them as they deserve. A worthy tour support.
Eventually, it's time for Conan to take the stage as tonight's main attraction, and the atmospheric, drawn out intro to 'Equilibrium of Mankind' lulls us into their trance. A track from their most recent full length, 2022's 'Evidence of Immortality', it's hardly an immediate album to the untrained ear but as an album shows how Conan have refined their sound over the years and boast a wide ranging, varied sound compared to a decade ago. This track, however, is gloriously low and slow - it's the ideal scene-setter for this kind of headline slot. After a storming rendition of 'Hawk as Weapon', they pick up the pace for 'Satsumo', which definitely brings the up the atmosphere and sees heads bobbing with energy. 'Levitation Hoax', another new-ish track, keeps it going amongst the crowd, particularly with its blasts and fist-pumping chorus. Along with the groovy 'Ritual of Anonymity' from the same album it's a clear example of how Conan have evolved their sound over the years, far from a one trick pony.
In terms of evolution for Conan, the future will see change yet. It's long term bassist/vocalist Chris Fielding's last run of shows with the trio, though he'll be staying on in his production role. Ex-Fudge Tunnel bassist David Ryley (who's filled in for Fielding many times up to now) will be filling his shoes going forward, which offers all sorts of possibilities for the future sound. In terms of the present, rather than the future, tonight (and this run) sees the band's booking agent and Tuskar drummer Tyler Hodges fill in on the drum stool. He handles the set with ease and grace, staying faithful to the existing parts but with a somewhat more aggressive feel and bringing his own flair into some of the drum fills. Jon Davis, the band's ever present frontman, sounds spacey and somewhat psychedelic with his guitar tone and vocal style, but more from the perspective of the crushing inside of a black hole than a Hawkwind-style space journey.
After the blast of 'Paincantation' Conan close out with the swinging, upbeat 'Invinciblade', one of their newest tracks that sounds distinctly stoner-infused and upbeat for their standards, showing how they're continuing to redefine themselves and push widely in 2024. It draws the curtain on a triumphant night for the band; though the future will surely be different, it's hard not to see them continue to shine brightly as one of the UK's best (and heaviest) exports. Ace.
Photo credits: Martin Hingley Photography
