Yorkshire earthquake to hit Dalston – Black Moth @ the Shacklewell Arms

Leeds has always had a strong DIY music scene; between the ever-changing student population, the local network of towns and cities a short drive or train away, the independent bars and the welcoming basements just large enough to fit in band and amp, a thriving scene has developed without much outside help.

Being a largely self-sustaining network as it is, there is no time for inter-genre rivalries and for the most part, the scene is characterised by acceptance and support. The first time I saw Black Moth, if I remember correctly, was at a Halloween gig at a tiny venue in Leeds town centre; I was immediately hooked. They were playing heavy rock, infused with stoner and doom elements and forced home by driving vocals and riffs built like a brick shithouse.

These guys clearly knew how to pay homage to the greats, while still forging ahead with their own ear pummelling sound and vision. A sleazy, Stooges style edge to their sound added a dirtier element to their music. The noodling favoured by many heavy metal bands eschewed in favour of straightforward, aural pummelling and definite hint of psychedelia was found swirling out of the sludgy groove as well.

Between these sounds, a sense is captured of both the NWOBHM of the 70s and the hallucinogen-influenced Americana of the 60s. The two are fused by more modern elements into something new and intrinsically exciting.

On Monday the 26th of January the band will be hitting the Shacklewell Arms in Dalston, which I imagine will have the locals shaking in their winkle pickers…damaged hipster eardrums aside though, this one is guaranteed to go the fuck off!

With no support as yet announced, it looks like it may just be a one band night but trust me when I tell you that this will be enough – once the visible part of your ears have been stripped from the sides of your head by a wall of sound and you look like a skinny Chopper, the only way things can go next are your eardrums prolapsing from your skull and sliding down the side of your face, like those corks that Australian tourist shops sell…

Anyway, what I’m getting at is that this will be loud and this will be heavy. It will make you want to take off on a road trip with Hunter S. Thompson’s bulging suitcase in the backseat. If you can’t do that, at least you can spend an evening finding out what that trip would sound like thanks to Black Moth.

By Jono Coote

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