The Heavy
Elysium, Thursday, March 13Donning black suit, white v-neck, and crisp red Pumas, Heavy frontman Swaby emerged to the sound of fire engines ringing and a band riding one dirty-ass bump. From there, full speed ahead as Britain’s most otherworldly act laced feedbacked guitars and a torch-fueled drum rig with an amped-up Curtis Mayfield croon, “big bad wolves” howling at the moonlight by band and crowd alike. Tonight, we were all wolves in a feeding frenzy for any filth and swagger we could get from the Heavy’s guilty, unforgiving trance and horn-laden samples. Already in fifth gear from gems “That Kind of Man” and “Coleen,” lead guitarist Dan T dialed up Hendrix tonality and plugged in his Les Paul, “In the Morning” chugging while Swaby jumped into a crowd of newfound believers. The singer first lost his jacket then microphone before leading his followers in one hell of another howl at the moon. Music done right can often flirt with dark forces, and tonight the Heavy summoned that demonic swagger and lived up to their name. There’s nothing left to say but that they absolutely brought the house down.
This article appears in March 14 • 2008.