Rainbows in the dark: Early Moods, Castle Rat, and Magenta unleashed a full spectrum of heavy doom at The Echo
As the shadows stretched long over Sunset, tendrils of darkness crept silently into the hallowed calls of The Echo, clad in leather and denim to consecrate Sabbath Sunday with monumental sermons of sound from Early Moods, Castle Rat, and Magenta each preaching the gospel of the riff in their own unique accents of doom.
Magenta are masters of mystery, enveloped in a hazy purple aura of otherworldly doom and icy demeanor. Casting their spell behind an nearly impenetrable barrier of metallic riffs and deep, groovy rhythms Magenta drew upon a storied history of the genre to summon a powerful presence that swept through the audience like disembodied spectres carried aloft on reverberating currents of sound. Informed by Windhand, Lucifer, and Fleetwood Mac the band’s rolling, metallic thunder rose like an ancient ziggurat from dense miasma. Ethereal vocals crystalline and beguiling glittered behind prismatic echoes that cast a dizzying glamour over the room, enrapturing the gathered masses at the foot of the priestesses arrayed alongside their wild-eyed axe-wielding barbarian. The heady set intoxicated like clouds of smoke, opening the minds of all those who bore witness to a witchy new religion of sound, bedecked in inviting robes of velvet Magenta.
Experience Magenta’s live sets on YouTube and stream their latest single on Spotify. Follow the band on Instagram.
Castle Rat’s debut LP, Into The Realm, shook the foundations of heavy music upon release in early 2024. Possessed of a magnetic aesthetic that transmutes Heavy Metal animation, pulpy Frazetta illustrations, and Conan The Barbarian-ism, Castle Rat present themselves like an acid soaked episode of He-Man come to thrilling life beyond the static surface of the cathode ray tube.
Into The Realm succeeded because Castle Rat positioned the costumes and pageantry as second to their unwavering commitment to making a killer doom record. Having already established their bona fides on wax, the band’s live show is free to gleefully embrace Ren Faire-by-way-of-Elder Scrolls absurdity supported by impressive technical chops and a double dose of winking self awareness. Riffs as brilliant as blades flashed in the stage lights and pummeling percussion broke upon the audience like cannon fire with impunity as Castle Rat powered through their setlist, breaking in between songs to expand upon the band’s lore and develop the sordid backstories of their motley crew that reframes Into The Realm as a full-on fantasy concept album.
From the opening notes to the climactic final clash, Castle Rat have unabashedly created something new and exciting, ending on a cliffhanger that opens the catacombs to the continued saga of the Rat Queen and her disciples. As great as they are on record, this is a band that absolutely needs to be experienced in the flesh!
Stream Castle Rat on Spotify and follow the band on Instagram.
Castle Rat’s set is a tough act to follow, but the headliners were more than up to the task. Early Moods launched into their performance with the squealing ferocity of a drag-tuned GTO exploding with forward momentum across the starting line. The band’s wild-eyed blitzkrieg unleashed absolute mayhem, instituting a sonic scorched earth policy that leveled the audience and offered no quarter in the face of their sheer technical prowess and and prehistoric enormity. Like a feral homunculus of The Mars Volta, Iron Maiden, MC5, and Motörhead jolted to life on a lethal injection of pure adrenaline, Early Moods’ onslaught left the entirety of The Echo breathless and sweaty in the aftermath of an evening that covered the full spectrum of heavy music from a trio of bands leading the new charge headlong into the future of the genre.
Stream Early Moods on Spotify and follow the band on Instagram.