Black Mountain

With all the bands out there trying to reinterpret the psychedelic rock style of the 1960’s and ‘70s, Black Mountain manages to grasp the audience’s attention with a new take on the style.
Black Mountain’s strong points seem to take place in their sense of dynamics. They are able to make beautiful, atmospheric sounds similar to a Jefferson Airplane song like “White Rabbit” and then turn it into a heavy metal extravaganza like a Black Sabbath song. Black Mountain uses a myriad of different effects such as vibrato to make classic psychedelic sounds. They often play their guitars through wah-wah pedals and run their vocals through heavy reverb and delay to attain a droning sound that entrances their audience in their sonic wave of sound. The bass playing is the driving force behind the music that keeps their sound stabilized while the clamor of guitars are wavering back and forth throughout the songs. They often incorporate synthesizers into their music, which is a unique addition to the psychedelic rock they are trying to emulate. Their keyboardist sounds like he is playing a Moog with the kind of spacey sounds he is able to synthesize.
The band’s songs are often very long and have been known to reach past the ten minute mark. Songs like “Mary Lou” drone off into long jam sessions, but every moment of it is unique and interesting. Amber Webber has proven herself to be an important member of the band as she provides beautiful vocal harmonies, which really help refine the often harsh tones that the band produces. Black Mountain’s performances are also visually appealing to see as they incorporate interesting psychedelic artwork as the backdrop to their shows. They also have dim, macabre lighting on stage that help enhances the band’s eerie vibe.
If Black Mountain ever comes through town, you should definitely give them the opportunity to let them suck you up in their psychedelic whirlwind of goodness.

Wednesday 10th May. 100 Club. Black Mountain. It’s a balmy June night and after a couple in the Jack Horner on Tottenham Court Road Graham and I make our way to the 100 club. An iconic venue with a fantastic musical heritage it’s just a shame that there’s a bloody great pillar in the middle of the room in front of the stage that doesn’t help sight lines.

Black Mountain are a Canadian rock band celebrating ten years since the release of their mighty fine eponymous debut album. The set tonight draws heavily from this album and they play all of it sequentially from track 2 apart from my personal favourite ‘Faulty Times’ which is a shame, and then after requests from the audience play track one Modern Music as the set closer.

They’re essentially a groove band in the mould of War on Drugs with a touch of Endless Boogie, although that’s really doing them a disservice as the there’s some great songs in there. The musicianship of the five piece cannot be questioned and the distinct vocal styles of band leader Stephen McBean and Amber Webber complement each other perfectly.

There’s a lot of light and shade tonight but the band come into their fore with the extended guitar jams and the crowd are swept away by the wall of noise. Difficult to pick a highlight but ‘No Hits’ and ‘Stormy High’ really hit the spot.

2015 has really seen me hit a run of great heavy rock gigs and this just adds to the list.

I for one am pleased to be part of the Black Mountain Army. Keep on rockin y’all

Canadian five piece Black Mountain have been active as a band since 2004 and with each album they see their chart places increase steadily however what is expanding at a far faster and larger rate is the fanbase on both sides of the Atlantic.

They are still something of an anomaly in the rock world as the reaction gaged at the mention of their name is one of either utter obliviousness or total adoration. 'Wilderness Heart' made great gains on the UK charts so therefore a large amount of the setlist is lifted from this album which keeps the audience engaged. The older fans are catered for too with an airing of 'No Hits' which includes an extended instrumental breakdown that has the whole room applauding and cheering even if they were previously unaware of the song. The band has worked hard and take a deserved encore in the form of 'Mothers' and 'Modern Music'.

Saw Black Mountain first time in Thessaloniki Greece in 2011 and again in The Garage, London UK in October 2019. The band was awesome then and grew even better since then. The sound was perfect, the performance was breathtaking. The old hits were played amazingly and the new ones created new paths but never leaving the old feeling. The passing from classic rock sound, hard-rocking stoner riffs to pink floyd parts were exemplary and the initially low profile mild audience grew wilder and wilder. Perfect band, great venue, perfect gig.