LIVE REVIEW: Conjurer @ The Star & Garter, Manchester

It seems that CONJURER are on the lips of everyone in the UK metal scene. Ever since the Midlands-based quartet released their debut album, Mire, last year, the band have gone from strength to strength thanks to a sound that defies genres and an incendiary live reputation to boot. Now, after what has felt like an eternity, the band arrive in Manchester to a sold out crowd at The Star & Garter to capitalise on their monumental hype.

Given that tonight’s show is sold out, for ARMED FOR APOCALYPSE, they hit the stage to a nicely populated room and for those who showed up early, they benefit from an aural battering as the Californian trio unleash a musical maelstrom where the intensity rarely lets up. Dense riffs, oozing with sludge influences, from Nate Burman and Charlie Fischer act as the focal point for the trio’s destructive sound whilst Nick Harris proceeds to beat the drums within an inch of their life. Burman‘s vocals hold their own in the destructive aural chaos, with every guttural snarl and blast making their mark, it’s a monstrously heavy set and the band do a solid job of setting the stage for tonight’s headliners and even though the band suffer with minor technical gremlins in the set’s latter stages, it is but a blemish on a performance that will certainly help the band establish a foothold on our shores.

Rating: 7/10

Whilst ARMED FOR APOCALYPSE and tonight’s headliners CONJURER intend on demolishing the foundations of the venue with their respective brands of musical heaviness, EARTH MOVES are somewhat a different beast. A combination of post-metal, shoegaze and black metal all intertwine in their expansive sound and live, it works an utter treat. Guitar-play from Sam Ricketts combines wonderfully well with bassist Mark Portnoi and drummer Gary Marsden‘s fluid rhythms, switching from moments of sheer musical savagery to passages of delicate tranquillity so seamlessly, it’s astonishing. Frontman Jordan Hills acts as the centrepiece for EARTH MOVES‘ shape-shifting musicality, and he embodies their cross-pollinating sound as he dispatching manic shrieks twisted with pain with absolute ease to hair-raising clean vocal lines that stuns the room into silence, so much so you could hear a pin drop. It’s a performance of sheer brilliance and a cameo from CONJURER‘s Dan Nightingale in the set’s latter stages helps add an extra dimension to their firepower when they up the ante to their more heavier-leaning side. With their second album, Human Intricacy, looming on the horizon and judging from the transfixed looks from the crowd, it seems that the future is certainly bright for EARTH MOVES.

Rating: 9/10

For most bands, trying to one up what EARTH MOVES achieved would be deemed an impossible task but CONJURER aren’t like most bands. In fact, from the moment the earth-shattering opening barrage of set opener Thankless hits the crowd, CONJURER look set to reward the now swelling room of The Star & Garter. And boy do they do just that. In an intense and gripping performance, the quartet never dip in quality.

Charging through their entire discography at breakneck space, CONJURER present a performance that only serves a fitting reminder to just how sensational Mire is as a record and live, the material comes across even heavier, if that is even possible to comprehend. The monstrous Retch incites chaos down the front, Hadal whips up a surge of adrenaline in the closing moments of the set and the intricate guitar licks and crushing riffing found in Hollow is one of the best moments of the entire set as CONJURER never break their stride. Whilst their execution of material of Mire is superb, with tonight seeing the band perform their entire discography, new life is breathed into 2016’s I EP. Perhaps once overlooked as the band were establishing a name for themselves, here, the band’s execution of songs such as Behold The Swine and Scorn are performed so brilliantly, it only helps cement them nicely compared to the material from Mire. A nice moment for fans who have been following CONJURER since their inception.

Brady Deeprose, Dan Nightingale and Conor Marshall act as a three-pronged unit to lead the band’s musical assault backed by a tight and solid backing from drummer Jan Krause. Sludge-driven riffing hits the crowd like a freight train and Deeprose and Nightingale‘s dual vocal barrages hold their own in the chaotic mix. The audio mixing here is simply superb, allowing CONJURER‘s expansive and overtly heavy sound to come across crystal clear, even more impressive given the intimate confines of The Star & Garter and the frenzied crowd eat up every single moment of their time on stage. This is best seen right at the end as screams for “one more song!” are gladly answered and the band unleash a tearing cover of the MASTODON classic Blood and Thunder that ends the night on a enormous high. From start to finish, CONJURER gave a performance of sheer quality, one in which will only certainly enhance their swelling hype and cement the band as the frontrunner to dominate UK heavy music for years to come.

Rating: 10/10

Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Manchester from Connor Morris Photography here: