The intimacy and faded grandeur of this theatre suits the eerie, sepulchral quality of the headliner’s songs as Bloodmoon. Viscera Of Man’s opening salvo of hardcore riffing and the joint howls of Chelsea Wolfe and Jacob Bannon feel as exposed as the venue’s worn plaster. And while the ornate wall decorations and seating plan might seem odd at any other Converge show, it works perfectly to witness the band slowly build Coil and Crimson Stone to their roaring, apocalyptic climaxes.
What quickly becomes clear is the different energies each performer brings to the stage. Jacob is always a dramatic presence, wringing his hands in the air or pawing his face like a conductor for the music in the most literal sense. Chelsea is a more ethereal personality, swaying in black garbs. Her voice may not always project as much as you would like amid the doomy chaos, but her cool charisma is essential to the bluesy Scorpion’s Sting. Meanwhile, Steve Brodsky is every bit the full-blooded guitar hero, striking power poses and ripping solos left of stage.
The way these partners in crime work together as they move in and out of the spotlight and smoke is also apparent when they tackle each other’s songs. Chelsea’s spiralling doom anthem Vex is given an extra edge by Ben Koller’s titanic drumming and a triple guitar attack. Wretched World – from Converge’s 2009 album Axe To Fall – sounds rich and otherworldly, Kurt Ballou’s stabbed guitar harmonics echoing around the venue as Chelsea and Steve join Jacob’s dissociated croon.
The night closes with the eponymous Blood Moon, raising hairs on the back of the neck as Chelsea screams bent double into her microphone, the band locked into a grinding, heathen groove behind her. If these musicians only convene once in a blue moon, we can only keep our fingers crossed for another one soon.