It’s been a while since I’ve ventured into the dungeons and treated myself to some good ol’ psychedelia and doom. So, this is exactly what I did!
Last Friday night at Sognage Room 2, Mad God finally released their third album, An Age of Ash, in front of an eager crowd of warlocks, witches, and other explorers of sonic realms. The crowd had to be warmed up first, of course, and we had three other collectives to facilitate such initiations.
First to burst forth was Double Sun; a band I had not had the privilege and pleasure of experiencing prior to that night. This quintet of psyche travelling practitioners absolutely blew my mind! Greeting the crowd with their blues infused spell of psychedelic rock, these gents put on a fantastic show! There were some tiny technical difficulties early on, which they handled remarkably well with some spontaneous trippy tunes, keeping the crowd captivated, and activating some dormant dimensions of our minds. Before long, things were sorted again and they played a truly impressive set.
Zondo Commission was up next; a band I had heard of, but wasn’t familiar with their music. These punk rocking rebels put on a good show and definitely got the crowd moving with their songs of high energy injection. I believe they can up their game a bit and refine their craft, but as their confidence and cohesion increases, they could become a colossal influence in the scene.
Third on the lineup, and making sure we were absolutely saturated with sanity swirling sounds, were Acid Magus. Now, what to say about these gents? Their sorcery is legendary, their presence is immense, and their delivery is interdimensional. The quality of everything this quintet delivers is impeccable and quenches the senses of psychonauts with every drop.
Certainly sufficiently lathered up by this point, we were looking forward to the main event! The crowd was preparing themselves for a descent into dark and dissonant soundscapes. Mad God welcomed us with Limerance, a classic fan favourite from their debut; mighty in our memory, monoliths crumbled and monsters emerged. A new age was upon us and they proceeded to introduce the new album. The slow savagery was heavy and immersive. It was groovy. It was good!
After what felt like an eternity, we had survived An Age of Ash and emerged from the fuzz and heavy haze; heads bewildered and hearts in hand. Though this was not the end; more madness from the catalogues of old were sent forth, which continued to the point where Tim took to his knees, bending our brains with signals from another system. Finally, silence ensued. We were alive, but forever changed.
Dwell in Darkness. Live in Light.
-Lunis Voidbright
Purchase/Stream → https://madgodza.bandcamp.com/album/an-age-of-ash