I’ve been waiting to catch He Whose Ox Is Gored (OX) live for some time now. Ever since I discovered the bands Nightshade EP I have been straight up addicted to OX and I have been wanting to see the band translate their brand of post metal doom gaze action live. There were a few rumors floating around in the summer of last year that the band was supposed to play Crucial Fest 2, but to my disappointment these rumors turned out to be false. So you can imagine my shear excitement to discover that the band was for sure playing this year’s Crucial Fest ( if you aren’t aware of what Salt Lake City’s Crucial Fest is click here).
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I was even more stoked to find out that OX got a Friday night slot at the best all ages spot in Utah, better known as The Shred Shed. The band took the stage after a quick set up and immediately jumped into a new song called “Oathbreaker” which should be on their upcoming full length that will hopefully be out some time by the end of the year. Now the thing for me that sets He Whose Ox Is Gored a part from most heavy progressive bands is the quality and structure of their songs, unlike most bands in the post metal doom gaze noise genre (whatever), OX doesn’t try and bore the listener with a bunch of droning and slow boring build ups. Nope, this band gets right to the point and they are ferocious about it. Their rhythm section consisting of bass player Mike Sparks and drummer John O’Connell were absolute beasts and accompanied by guitarist Brian McClelland’s thick technical playing, who also occasionally shouted vocals into the air without a mic. The highlight of OX’s sound though is the keys and sound effects done by Lisa Mungo, the extra noises give the bands tunes more of an ethereal moody vibe and add an element not normally heard in heavier music.
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OX’s set was short and sweet and only consisted of four songs, but all four songs were new jams, which was a total treat because I have been anxiously awaiting some fresh material from the band for sometime now. The song that sounded the most killer from their performance was the second song the band played “Omega”, this song some how ended up being even heavier and more intense than the already fairly intense set the band was playing.
So suffice to say my expectations for He Whose Ox Is Gored’s live show were met if not exceeded and getting to experience all their new songs during the show made me even more stoked to hear the bands new album, which I hope the band will hurry up and release already…
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