LIVE REVIEW: Mono @ The Fleece, Bristol

Ah, October. Halloween, autumn leaves and, as made clear tonight, the cue for the weather to drop by a few degrees because it’s damn chilly in Bristol this evening, a fact being prolonged by The Fleece opening doors a full twenty-five minutes later than advertised for MONO tonight. The time is made up impressively so a late finish on a Monday night is thankfully avoided and once within the venue’s walls, it warms up very well indeed.

The biggest loser to the late start is Jo Quail, who sees her set truncated to a meagre three songs in order to keep everything in check. It matters little once she starts though; armed with a cello and a loop pedal, she crafts her trio of compositions so beautifully and expertly that the entire room is captivated into complete silence, only breaking to applaud and cheer her talents profusely. From running her fingernails across the strings to produce a haunting, grating foundation for Gold or her palm muted thuds to mimic a heartbeat in Cantus, it’s a delight to behold and will certainly see some of those in attendance return in a couple of months when Jo opens for MYRKUR at the same venue – and she’ll probably play a few more songs too.

Rating: 7/10

Within ten minutes the stage is set for A STORM OF LIGHT who bring an entirely different vibe to proceedings, their post metal sparkling with gothic doom credentials to please fans of both TYPE O NEGATIVE and SOLSTAFIR in equal measure. It’s a shaky start with feedback overriding the speakers for large portions of opening track Rosebud, but once the sound gremlins have been safely exiled, the foursome from New York set about stamping their own mark on the show. Backed by some impressive projections, the likes of Soothsayer and new single Prime Time are huge slabs of sludgy, heavy goodness that don’t quite garner the reactions they probably deserve, but are not shot down in flames either. Speaking little, A STORM OF LIGHT let their music do the talking so that by the time they finish with Collapse there’s are certainly a few disappointed faces that wish they could have played for longer.

Rating: 7/10

How MONO have been going for nearly two decades to almost no fanfare seems an utter travesty, especially when the strains of closing song Ashes in the Snow die away and the room begins to come round from the sonic extravaganza they’ve been handed. Technically brilliant and boasting a seriously impressive light show, the Japanese four-piece are true masters in how to hold the attention of an audience when there’s very little going on in terms of the music; the best example tonight comes from Nowhere, Now Here, which builds wonderfully to a crescendo from nothing more than a simple bass line; they also turn out a truly world-class rendition of Death in Rebirth just two songs in which sets the tone for the rest of their 70-minute set. The highlight however is the ethereal and mystical Breathe, which has bassist Tamaki in her own personal spotlight as she provides the only vocals of the whole performance. It’s not a perfect show, with Night Ends falling a little flat compared to the rest, but it doesn’t detract much away from what is overall a glimmering performance from a band that have flown under the radar for far, FAR too long.

Rating: 8/10

Check out our photo gallery from the night’s action in Bristol from Normandy Photography here: