Performing on Valentine’s Day is a bold move for any band, but Kirk Windstein and company delivered exactly what the sold-out crowd wanted: pure, downtuned misery and massive riffs, holding on to their title as the ‘Kings of Sludge’ for the foreseeable.
Opium’s layout can sometimes feel a bit tight for metal shows, but the wall of sound Crowbar brings suited the low ceilings and packed floor perfectly.
The setlist was a career-spanning masterclass. They opened with the crushing “High Rate Extinction” (which caused an immediate swelling of the crowd that almost crushed my ribs) and didn’t let up. Highlights included the melodic gloom of “The Lasting Dose” and, of course, the mandatory closer “All I Had (I Gave)” which saw the biggest pit of the night.
Legions of Doom (the stoner-metal supergroup) provided a perfect bridge from the opening energy of Silverburn to the main event.
Kirk’s vocals are as gravelly and soul-piercing as ever, and the packed venue shows that Crowbar are as relevant, or arguably perhaps more so, than they have always been. It wasn’t “romantic,” by any means, but for Dublin’s metalheads it was the perfect February night and, judging by the reaction of the crowd, there was a lot of love in the room.
Crowbar photos & setlist:
Set-list:
High Rate Extinction
The Lasting Dose
I Feel the Burning Sun
Chemical Godz
To Build a Mountain
The Cemetery Angels
Repulsive in Its Splendid Beauty
To Carry the Load
…And Suffer as One
Thru the Ashes (I’ve Watched You Burn)
Planets Collide
Existence Is Punishment
Like Broken Glass
All I Had (I Gave)
Photos & Words – David McEneaney @experimentzero