Jarhead Fertilizer

Denver’s Primitive Man is on the road with Mortiferum, Jarhead Fertilizer, Body Void, and Elizabeth Colour Wheel. Spirit Possession joins in July for several dates as well.

The show at The Monkey House featured the first five bands, beginning with Elizabeth Colour Wheel. It takes a lot to describe Elizabeth Colour Wheel. They are a doom band, I would say, but their approach is unique. The lead singer wanders through the crowd during the performance some of the time – at other times she is playing the keyboard or lying on the ground. There is a great deal of stomping on stage, and shrieking can often be heard. I could go on, but you really need to see the performance live to appreciate it fully. There isn’t much like it out there.

Body Void is well known in Vermont. They are a doom duo, performing as a trio. Teetering on the funeral doom edge some of the time, slow ponderous riffs are abundant in their performance. Their latest album is Bury Me Beneath This Rotting Earth, housing four long tracks all running over twelve minutes each. Their live performance maintains the ambience of the studio recording.

The first thing you notice about Jarhead Fertilizer is the overwhelming assault of percussion that lands hard from the beginning to the end and at all points in between. Their music is a death metal / hardcore / grindcore slam that will shake you fillings loose. This was my first hearing of them and I was left wanting more.

Just when you think you can take a breath, Mortiferum hits the stage and really pins your ears back. Their newest album is Preserved In Torment, and it is a death/doom metal manifesto. I first heard this band on the split they did with Hyperdontia a couple years ago and I have been waiting anxiously to see them live ever since. They were incredible in every aspect. They have made my list of bands I will see whenever possible, and it is a short list.

The headliner stood in posture of contemplation. Primitive Man, touring their Insurmountable album, lived up to what the press has been saying about them. The new EP is exceptional (link to review below), and their doubtless execution of doom leaves you speechless when you witness it. The music seems to emanate from them as a primal force of nature; their instruments are as creatures themselves. Put yourself in their path and you will be changed.