Mouth Of The Architect / Braveyoung / A Cosmonaut’s Ruin

above: A Cosmonaut’s Ruin

I caught an earful of metal and drone last night at Random Row Books in Charlottesville. Post-metal heavyweights Mouth Of The Architect stopped in town and delivered one hell of a heavy show.

Charlottesville-local band, A Cosmonaut’s Ruin opened the show with a powerful show with grinding guitars, heavy drums, and plenty of growling. The stage at Random Row Books is pretty small, forcing the two guitars and bass onto the floor in order for drums to set up comfortably. Pair that with the three cans providing light and there’s going to be some visual issues somewhere. I rocked my 17-70mm for most of the set, but crouched down in front with my 50mm f/1.8 near the end to catch some screamy vocal shots.

Braveyoung finished off their recent 12-day tour in last night. I was lucky enough to see them last week as well. Their live show is less of a show than it is an experience. A life-changing, moving one at that. Many of us in the crowd were a little teary eyed near the end of their powerfully undulating performance. Unfortunately, their harsh lighting set up, all two light bulbs of it, could use a little work.

Also forced to play mostly on the floor (due to the immense drum kit they brought along), Braveyoung were entirely back lit by a bright yellow light. I think I spent the entire set at ISO 1600 and shooting somewhere around 1/6-1/12. It’s pretty rough and grainy. If you get a chance to see them live, however, do everything you can to see them.

Mouth Of The Architect finished out the late show with heavy, post-metal. Featuring two guitarists, three sets of vocals, and some keys, the band bounces around the entire sound spectrum, filling Random Row Books with large, booming and echoing resonance. And of course, the band was split up between stage and floor, forcing the front men to stand in darkness while drums and bass were washed in bright, glorious light:

Click here to view the rest of the photos from the show.

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