Written by:	Abattoir
Published:	June 20, 2014
Event:	Worship & Loss (USA): Co-Headlining European Tour 2014
Location:	MC Pekarna - Gustaf Hall, Maribor, Slovenia

Worship, Loss (USA) and an unusually cold, windy middle-weak evening in May. A double "funerary" excitement was getting closer and I have been fully prepared for this show, since doom packages of this proportion don't come our way that often. So of course, the opportunity to catch these guys live was inevitable. This was also the first appearance for both groups in our country.

From the initial announcement and confirmation of this date, the city/venue was moved twice in less than a couple of weeks before the gig (I don't know the exact reasons). Personally I wasn't bothered with the choice of the final venue in such short notice, but this had certainly affected the possibility of a bigger promotion through the social network media, despite the fact that the doom scene generally doesn't bring much attention in our area. Nevertheless, leaving this aside, a small faithful horde of us gathered (approx. 20-25 people), to be part of the strongly oppressive, yet relaxed ambience.




With a slight delay, the mighty Worship were up first. From the first couple of beats it could be felt that the overall sound managed to be very solid, even a bit above my expectations. Obviously, giving enough time at the sound-check and instrument tuning before the show helped a lot. Worship presented themselves with an exquisite, emotional and purely focused performance that encompassed a diverse repertoire of five tracks from their Last Tape Before Doomsday demo to their latest product, Terranean Wake. Rare things that bothered me during their performance was the a bit less audible bass and vocals from time to time.

Anyway, with a sovereign leadership of the band's mainman, Daniel "The Doommonger" Varoß, they left a strong impact. The around an hour-long set was certainly a memorable adventure in which the band conveyed their epic and slowly crushing funeral doom. Worship introduced in all their greatness.

Setlist: 01. All I Ever Knew Is Dead, 02. Zorn A Rust-Red Scythe, 03. Whispering Gloom, 04. Graveyard Horizon, 05. End Of An Aeviturne




After a 30 minute break, Nashville based doom quartet Loss (USA) were up on the stage, continuing to provide the massive impressions that Worship have left. The majority of their set included tracks from, for now, their one and only full-length album, Despond. The band also performed "Depression's Hammer" which is their latest new track from A View From The Rope, the split with Hooded Menace.

Comparing them to their predecessor, their funeral doom possesses occasional turns from regular slow-paced tempo to faster (death metal) passages, which definitely brought some beneficial freshness to their sound and performance. The general execution was on the expected level and these guys did their best to satisfy our needs, just as Worship did.




Setlist: 01. An Ill Body Seats My Sinking Sight, 02. Depression's Hammer, 03. Shallow Pulse, 04. (To Pass Away) Death March Towards My Ruin, 05. Open Veins To A Curtain Closed, 06. Cut-Up, Depressed And Alone




Aural devastation was crawling and penetrating through my head while listening to both bands. They managed to create an extraordinary atmosphere, filled with passionate performances, where you can feel that they are exposing themselves with a true dedication to the work of art they express so well. And above all, members of both bands have a straight, down to earth attitude, communicating and having drinks with the crowd before and after the show.

The grounds were shaking in slow heavy bursts and humble echoing sounds of extreme doom were left all over the place. Without a doubt, this was for sure one of the best concert experiences in my books.