Khemmis, Un, Witch Ripper, and Eye of Nix at The Highline

I haven’t been to a concert in a while, and I almost prioritized a good night’s sleep over this one as well. But even jetlag from a 14-hour time change couldn’t keep me away from a lineup this strong. On December 8, I saw Khemmis, Un, Witch Ripper, and Eye of Nix at the Highline. I’m still recovering, and not just from the jetlag. We hadn’t even unpacked the camera from our trip, though, so apologies for the cell phone photos.

Highline Bar

I know the Highline is not a new venue, but when I was still going to shows on the regular, there was an overpriced Mexican restaurant in the upstairs space of that building on Broadway. So this was only my second time seeing a show at Highline Bar. The first was to see Zhrine, but I don’t remember what year it was, because I didn’t blog about it.

Anyway, I should go there more often, because I really like this venue. They host great bands and have pretty decent sound. They have a good beer selection and a metal band-themed cocktail menu. I’m a sucker for themed cocktails. Plus, the food is all vegan. That seems to be a thing for metal venues around here, but I’m not complaining. And even though parking sucks on Capitol Hill, we snagged a free spot on the street since the show was on a Sunday night.  

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Eye of Nix

I was not familiar with opener Eye of Nix before this show. But I’m glad I know about this Seattle band now. Vocalist Joy von Spain excels at both clean singing and hideous banshee wails (supported with death growls from the bass player). Veering precipitously between black metal and witchy death rock, their music is a veritable grab bag of things Gemma likes.

It’s a testament to the strength of this lineup that with so much going for them, Eye of Nix was the band I connected with least. I’m still going to keep an eye out for them in the future, though.

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Witch Ripper

There are a lot of bands with “witch” in their name these days, so I can’t say for certain that I’d never heard of Witch Ripper before this show. But I’m pretty sure that I hadn’t, because I think I would remember this Witch. Seattle-based Witch Ripper wear their Mastodon on their sleeves and that’s a very good thing, in my opinion.

I love that kind of noodling through sludge sound. Despite sonic similarities, strong songwriting earns Witch Ripper their own space at the table. They’re definitely moving into rotation on the speakers at my house.

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Un

Un I already knew about. In fact, I could swear I remember blogging about them and cracking a joke about their being “Un-googleable.” But if I did, they are also Un-searchable on my blog, because I can’t find any reference to them. Anyway, I’m blogging about them now because I love these guys so much.

The pace of their music takes “glacial” to hyperbolic heights. Seriously, you could die waiting for the next note to fall. I’ve never heard another band this slow that was still listenable. But Un’s music drips out like an opiate IV. Such a plodding pace should be laughable, but Un has the same sense of grandeur and majesty as Wolves in the Throne Room. Too slow for headbanging, the audience at the Highline swayed like captive hattifatteners anticipating the next lighting strike. Is there such a thing as Cascadian Doom? Un is it.

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Khemmis

I feel like there is no need to introduce Khemmis. Surely everyone already knows who they are? They join bands like Gojira, Of Monsters and Men, Solstafir, and Amorphis as “most likely to be playing if you show up at my house.” But I can also remember reading about them on some blog a few years ago and feeling like I’d discovered something. So maybe there are people who aren’t familiar with the Denver band’s sludgy doom with album art by Sam Turner in the tradition of Boris Vallejo.

I dragged myself out of the house to see them early last year, and was glad I did. That time they were the opening act; this time they headlined. Then I heard distortion and heavy, doomy riffs.

But this time, following Un, Khemmis felt like a shredding party band. This time I heard catchy melodies and a galloping chug. I was also much closer to the stage than last time, so I actually got to see the band. Lots of bands play their music on stage, but some of them put on a show. I can’t wait to find out how they’ll sound to me next time.