Show Review: Sleepwell EP Release. February 9th, 2024.
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With roaring support from Shatter, Orphan, and Hard 2 Kill at Gold Sounds
February 10, 2024
Last night we were out in full force at Gold Sounds bar in Brooklyn to celebrate Sleepwell’s Buried Young EP release. Shatter, Orphan, and Hard 2 Kill supported the bill with their own monstrous sounds. The evening was pulverizing, like those hydraulic press videos where objects get obliterated by 100 tons of pressure.
Shatter started the night attempting to move science and humanity forward by playing at the speed of light. Guitar work was prodigious and squealing. Their drummer grit his teeth while blasting a double kick pedal. Bass wobbled and trembled under the weight of its own sound. Their vocalist held the microphone cable like a lasso as if preparing to rope an unsuspecting audience member into the fray. We couldn’t understand what was being said except for a line “You can’t control me, and I’m coming for you”, which was all we needed to hear.
Orphan kept the momentum going with their own blistering set. Early on their vocalist lept off stage and into the audience where we were close enough to touch their visceral sound. We counted seven cymbals on the drum kit and witnessed technical proficiency the likes of which we have never seen. A friend said that their riffs flowed like nitrate infused water. All we said during the set was “holy shit”.
Hard 2 Kill played like a captured wild animal that had finally been freed from its cage. The sweet stink of sweat permeated the room. One song was introduced with the description “This next one’s about how hard it is to hustle and be human”. We could feel that hustle, their songs were an unleashing of vibrations with guitars warping and bending. At some point we just let go and lost ourselves in the thrash of it all.
Lights dimmed low and red for Sleepwell’s opening notes. Darkness protected the audience from the harsh judgment of high wattage light. In this darkness Sleepwell unshackled their pummeling tunes, fully committing to the sonic mayhem they were crafting. A pit formed where bodies crashed and collided. Their guitarist/vocalist screamed “I PUT MY FAITH IN YOU” as we put our faith in Sleepwell’s ability to transcend us to a higher plane of auditory salvation.
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