Do Division 2016

Another year, another Do Division. I went this year to see local post-metal collective Bloodiest and sludge metal masters The Body. I only got to see Bloodiest, but I'll get to that in a minute...

Bloodiest blew me away unsurprisingly as their new record is one of my favorites this year. Post-metal is a very unorthodox subgenre and Bloodiest embody this. Musically they are very much like Swans and their live performance proved this. Singer Bruce Lamont commanded the stage like Michael Gira; his howls and wails hypnotizing all who watched. The guitars, bass, and drums created an equally harsh and visceral experience. I really hope to see them again.

The Body meanwhile...First of all, they were 15 minutes late. Rule of thumb: When playing a festival, you start on time and end on time. Don't be a dick and cut into other bands' set times. Second of all, I'm not gonna lie, I lasted about two minutes in front of the stage before I felt like I was going to a. Permanently lose my hearing and b. Puke my guts out. These guys were so fucking loud it was ridiculous. This is coming from someone who's been to nearly 100 shows and has been right up front to see High on Fire 3 times. I couldn't take it anymore and decided to leave. I know Nugent once famously proclaimed, “If it's too loud, you're too old.”, but this wasn't just loud, this was deafening. Oh well.