The Lunar Effect / Duskwood / Borehead – Helgi’s, London - 13.01.2024

After a calm December, concert-wise, January wasn’t too busy as well!! Only had a couple under surveillance and went to both!!! First, a return to one the coolest places in London, HELGI'S!! If you have been there, you know what I’m talking about!! If you haven’t, it’s time for you to change that!! I went alone this time as Inês was doing other stuff. So, after an ok journey to Hackney, got to Helgi’s, got a Satan’s Juice lager and prepared myself for a good night!!

First band to go on was BOREHEAD, a South London instrumental Stoner Doom trio, which started the night with some heavy bass lines! I love when a bass is well heard and, on these guys, the bass is right up on your face!! They played, I think 3 songs that lasted for half-an hour, being the last one the most long one!! Sometimes I struggle to connect with these instrumental bands (I miss some vocals, although bad vocals can ruin the music so, you never know) but these guys were not boring at all and I ended up nodding to their heavy sound!!

After one more Satan’s Juice, it was time to go and watch DUSKWOOD, a four Desert Rock piece from Yeovil, Somerset. They started delivering some groovy fuzzed tunes, with an excellent work by their drummer, and their music had this grungy vibe!! Like I said to Inês, after, it was a bit like a mix of Alice in Chains with Soundgarden and Queens of the Stone Age. They were showcasing their 2023 album “The Last Voyage” and they were a very nice warm-up for what would come next!!!

In the meantime, my friend Rui arrived, just in time to see the main attraction, THE LUNAR EFFECT, but before hitting the concert room, we still had time for one more Satan’s Juice!! First surprise was they were playing as a quintet, with two guitars, which I don’t think I ever saw them playing like that!! Second surprise was that they were playing some tracks from the new album, which is coming out in April through Svart Records. Including the new single “Pulling Daisies”. I love their laidback, fuzzyish Doom with plenty of melody, classic Rock riffs and Blues, and the new songs sounded very good, making from this new album a must buy!! Although, starting to show off their new album, they did not forget some of their early works like my favourite tune from these guys: “Woman”!! After quite a bit of fun and a very good set, they were done but not before unleashing on us their Black Sabbath medley which is always the cherry on top of the cake!! I know that with a new album, probably that will become less and less but at least I was able to see it a couple of times eheh!!! It’s a trip to the 70’s but still with a glimpse of the present!!

With the concerts done, we still had time for a couple of more beers before heading home (by bus which is a long journey) for some rest!!!