There is a bit of a buzz about the all female doom trio Faetooth and this is definitely reflected in the healthy turnout. Like Green Lung or Castle Rat, they seem to draw more than a typical doom crowd and there are a large number of women here too.
Coltaine's set starts off with a lone ethereal female voice. Eastern tinged and ancient sounding, it seems like it has echoed down the ages. When the music starts, it takes its time to get to its destination. 'Mogila' is slow, almost languid, doom which has a nice crawling riff when it finally gets going. The vocals are the element which stop you in your tracks, harsh with a blackened edge and a total contrast to the vocals during the introduction although Julia does switch back and forth between the two styles. 'Memories Of Ice' is more dynamic but still has some laborious passages. The third track has a bit more pace and, as such, is much more impactful although I don't think the blasting blackened section is as tight as it could be. Julia's blackened howl is mightily impressive but her clean vocals are nowhere near as good. 'Dans Un Noveau Monde' is another eastern tinged track. It's all decent enough but nothing more than that, and the vocals are definitely more interesting than the music. They get a good reaction from the audience though.
Faetooth's opener 'Iron Gate' is heavy enough, and bassist Jenna's howls are savage but it just isn't connecting with me like they do on record. It is lacking that hypnotic, bewitching quality of the studio recording. The dense bass tone of 'Death Of Day' is more like it and the swirling vocals combine to hypnotic effect. 'It Washes Over' is lumbering but in a good way I suppose. It is slow moving and heavy footed yet still has purpose. 'Hole' has a doomy blackgaze feel and the crawling chorus is pretty crushing. The shimmering guitar line in 'Remains' is excellent and adds a nice melodic counterpoint to the low end heaviness. 'Mater Dolorosa' is slow motion elegance which ebbs and flows like the tide before climaxing like waves crashing against a rugged coastline. 'White Noise' is like a dangerous undercurrent which drags you under and threatens to keep you there forever. All of this sounds excellent but it isn't. There is much to like about Faetooth yet oddly, something still seems to be missing and it always feels like they are playing well within themselves. It isn't until the penultimate 'Meet Your Maker' that I feel the bass in my chest and experience the emotional pull and, to be honest, it shouldn't have taken this long. Regardless, they get a terrific reaction from the crowd. The final track gets what has been a static yet vocal crowd finally moving. The final couple of tracks seem much more powerful but overall, I'm not quite sold. In this case, don't believe the hype.
Faetooth ***
Coltaine ***
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