Black Mountain
Black Mountain primed fans for their new album Destroyer at Brick by Brick.
With this show being my first time at this venue, I wasn’t sure what to expect. As I walked in I suddenly knew exactly what kind of night it was going to be. The type of crowd that Black Mountain and opening bands Desert Suns and Drug Hunt draw, have a cloak of mystery to them and I felt pulled in immediately. The crowd slowly, yet nonchalantly shuffled to the floor from the bar with casual anticipation.
Desert Suns brought the phrase ‘metal meets San Diego’ to my mind. Cranking out loud, raucous melodies, they began carving the path down the road we would be traveling for the remainder of the night. Drug Hunt took it to another level with their hypnotic tribal beats; psychedelic rock through and through, the keyboard-centric tunes permeated our ears, and got our feet moving. A solid band that I would definitely want to see again.
At long last, the members of Black Mountain creeped onto the stage. New female lead, Rachel Fannan slinked to the front clothed all in black with black platform shoes. Stephen McBean donned his guitar and set his pedals at the ready. I am front row, center stage and ready for that first note. “Mothers….of the sun…” sings Fannan, in her soft, operatic voice, coaxing us towards her, laying a blanket of gentle waves before crashing through the glass of groove-driven bass, drums, keyboards and guitar. We found our way through the dark, murky waters of each song, while discovering spaced out rock sessions, like when the band blasted out “Florian Saucer Attack,” a fast paced, all out track that sends you dancing high into the atmosphere. Band members stayed steady and cool while delivering song after song with deliberate intention, with McBean and Fannan’s voices harmonizing, displaying a silver lining on the grey cloud of mystery.
The night journeyed on as we ventured upon dripping guitar tones and far-out synth sounds that only McBean and keyboardist, Jeremy Schmidt can hand over. With new drummer, Adam Bulgasem and renewed bassist Arjan Miranda, Black Mountain’s rhythm section built each song a vehicle from which Fannan, McBean and Schmidt could sit behind the steering wheel and careen us through the sludgy, fuzzy sounds. With their new album Destroyer coming out the end of May, I know that I am looking forward to hearing what the newly refurbished band has to offer. Single “Future Shade” has a promising sound reminiscent of that pivotal moment in life where you feel invincible, free and ready to take on the world. If you are looking for a sound that is never short on the addictive fuzz of guitars and voices of the synthesizer, combined with lyrics delivered from spaces of the mind we are lucky to have entered, then I implore you to join the Black Mountain Army. May 24th. The new album Destroyer will arrive.