GIG REVIEW: Crowbar, Voidlurker and Tumanduumband bring the riffs to Birmingham

Crowbar are celebrating thirty years of their legendary debut album on the road. On 2nd April, they stopped off at The Asylum in the Home of Metal for a bowel-shakingly heavy night of sludgy riffs and sheer sonic power.

First up are Stourbridge horror doomers Tumanduumband, who have established their name on the live circuit through hard work and dedication to bringing their riff-tual up and down the country. After anointing a few at the front with a bloodied, inverted cross, they start with the dark, psychedelic intro to Throne of Grief, before the mountains of fuzz are engaged and they launch into a masterclass of doom metal worship. Their sound is absolutely massive in the Asylum's main room; it's probably the darkest, loudest and most powerful I've seen Tumanduumband. With their two faithful skeletons flanking the pair of them, their visuals are stark, adding an important extra dimension to their performances, as musically, they strip doom down to its bare bones, with solely bass and drums to carry the songs. Nevertheless, the likes of the glorious Dread Lord or Thou Shall Burn are full to the brim of evolving ideas, musical ebb and flow, and - importantly - killer riffs.

Next are Birmingham's Voidlurker. I've seen Voidlurker many a time by now, so I largely know what to expect, but again, the huge sound on such a large stage makes today's set really stand out, not to mention who they're supporting today. Opening with the stoner metal glory of Rotten Seed, their bass-heavy sonic power really attacks the audience as soon as they go up to maximum overdrive. Vocally the shrieks are nice and crisp, and the drums are locked in nicely with the riffs with quite a loose feel that really suits their sound. In return, the first moshpits of the night come out for some of Voidlurker's faster moments. Most of their set is taken from 2020's Industrial Nightmare EP, though new track Sob goes down well and gets the heads bobbing and the sludgy Green Ghost always brings a bit of dirt into their performances. Ending with the beers-in-the-air Bitchcraft and Misery, they leave to a huge cheer for a well-deserved support slot here tonight.

Crowbar - Chemical Godz (live in Birmingham, Apr 2023)

Tonight's main attraction is Crowbar, the New Orleans sludge lords - around six months shy of the anniversary of their self-titled record, they show they're not here to fuck around by launching into a brutal one-two of Self-Inflicted and High Rate Extinction. With that said, there's clearly a lot of life left in the tank, as the likes of It's Always Worth the Gain or Chemical Godz from last year's Zero and Below demonstrate. The (relatively) recent The Cemetery Angels always goes down an absolute treat live too, with a slow groove at the end that never fails to turn a room of drunken, rowdy metalheads into their most primal, feral states. 'This is how you do a proper breakdown', shouts Kirk beforehand, 'New Orleans style!'. Though Kirk's status within sludge and doom circles is rightly one of a legend, he's very easygoing in person, and is happy to stand at the merch table before their set and have his picture taken with anyone that asks. Kirk has always shown a sense of down-to-earth-ness that many musicians much further down the ladder wouldn't bother with, and he deserves all the credit due for this.

Kirk's style, sound and presence at the front is inimitable, instantly recognisable, and completely his own. I remember speaking to bassist Shane Wesley a few months ago about new track It's Always Worth The Gain - though in its bare bones form, it sounds pretty unique for Crowbar, home to some excellent rocking grooves and ripping drum fills - but with Kirk's vocals, it becomes unmistakably a Crowbar song. Shane, Matt Brunson and Tommy Buckley command the tracks either side of Kirk, despite not having played on the bulk of the classic material that their set is comprised of. All I Had (I Gave) is an indisputable set highlight, engaging more wild moshpits, and the melodic Planets Collide is superb - with a pretty brutal off-the-cuff scream from Kirk at one point. They close on their cover of No Quarter, also from the self-titled record, with the crowd joining in for a final singalong. The room is absolutely packed out for them, and plenty leave the room with freshly bought 30th-anniversary Crowbar tees. 

If, like me, they left you wanting more, they'll be back in the UK for Desertfest and Bloodstock.

'We are Crowbar, from New Orleans!'

MN