year-of-no-light

Year of No Light playing first-ever US shows at Saint Vitus w/ Geryon, Sannhet, Psalm Zero, Oneirogen, Gnaw, more

by Ian Chainey

yonl

France’s Year of No Light have been around for over a decade now and, jeeze, how they’ve grown. Starting off as a sludgy post-metal thumper, the band has matured considerably, culminating in last year’s Tocsin, a weighty slab of atmospheric experimentalism. They paired that mighty wallop with Vampyr, an instrumental “soundtrack” to the 1932 movie of the same name. Yet, while their ambition is appreciated, and their Rolodex large (check out some of their splits), their sheer sonic density has been and will remain their calling card. They’re a sextet you know can create a cacophony live, the kind of subsonic prayers to the amplifier that gets doomers giddy.

So, enough foreshadowing: Year of No Light are heading to the East Coast for the first time. The band will play two back-to-back shows at NYC’s Saint Vitus on November 13 and November 14. The November 13 date has a bill of Oneirogen, Geryon, and Psalm Zero. Tickets are available now. November 14 has Sannhet, Gnaw, and Vilkacis. Tickets are also available now. These are their only East Coast shows before they begin a US tour on Halloween in LA (dates TBA).

Mario Diaz de Leon’s Oneirogen, a guitar-based drone project of epic proportions, is also playing with Father Murphy at the Acheron on October 9 and they just played with Falls of Rauros. The busy — and busy for a good reason — Geryon are also on the Bastard Sapling bill at the Acheron on September 28, along with Virus at Saint Vitus on October 25. Sannhet will play with Virus at Saint Vitus the night before on October 24. They also play the NYC stop of the Whirr / Cloakroom tour on Tuesday (9/16). Psalm Zero — post Castevet break-up — have also been making the rounds, appearing on recent shows with KEN mode and Black Anvil. Meanwhile Vilkacis, the newish blackened ripper on Psychic Violence Records, have logged some impressive stage time with Ash Borer, Hell, and Thou & the Body. Finally, Gnaw, the project of Khanate/O.L.D.’s Alan Dubin, are maybe in the studio. Says their Facebook, “recording / making / smashing.” Huh. Either expect an album or expect some crazy Vines.

Check out streams from Year of No Light along with the snazzy flyer for the Saint Vitus shows, and full list of dates (others in Europe), below…

flyer

Year of No Light — 2014 Tour Dates
Sep 19 – Magasin 4 – Brussels, Belgium w/ Lento and Adrift
Nov 13 – Saint Vitus – Brooklyn, NY w/ Oneirogen, Geryon, Psalm Zero
Nov 14 – Saint Vitus – Brooklyn, NY w/ Sannhet, Gnaw, Vilkacis
Nov 20 – Le Ferrailleur – Nantes, France
Nov 21 – L’Atabal – Biarritz, France
Dec 10 – Le Confort Moderne – Poitiers, France
Dec 12 – La Laiterie – Strasbourg, France
Dec 13 – Le Marché Gare – Lyon, France