Hull

Beyond the Lightless Sky (The End)

Hull twisted heads off at South by Southwest sampling the band’s moody, doomy, sometimes boisterous post-rock debut, 2009’s Sole Lord, best defined by its three titles: “Endless Obsidian Abyss,” “Wrath of the Sands,” and “Born From Flesh and Stone.” Everything’s doubly so for the Brooklyn fivepiece the second time around – longer (11-minute opener “Earth From Water”), heavier (the title track), subtler (“Just a Trace of Early Dawn”) – coming together on 10-minute centerpiece “Fire Vein,” sandblasted desert folk. Lightless Sky‘s monochromatic metal erosion could use a tonal infusion, but the vocal excoriation of “False Priest” testifies these brutal ruins. (FFF Nite: Thu., 11:45pm, Red 7)

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This article appears in November 4 • 2011.

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San Francisco native Raoul Hernandez crossed the border into Texas on July 2, 1992, and began writing about music for the Chronicle that fall, debuting with an album review of Keith Richards’ Main Offender. By virtue of local show previews – first “Recommendeds,” now calendar picks – his writing’s appeared in almost every issue since 1993.