Remember your metal phase? Sure you do, it’s why you cover your photo on your driver’s license when you have to show it to somebody, it’s why there’s a box of black shirts that say “Black Dahlia Murder” in your mom’s closet. If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably grown out of your society-hating, “I think-I’m-gonna-die-my-hair-black“ phase, and moved on to music that isn’t about murder, dragons, and murdering dragons. You don’t need metal anymore. It’s not you, metal, it’s us.
Problem is, Detroit-based electronic-metal group Phuture Doom refuses to take that lying down.
Phuture Doom is the embodiment of all the best parts of your old metal phase; their intense, rage-face inducing double bass rhythms, deep, gritty guitar riffs, and head-banging breakdowns bring you right back to your friend’s mom’s basement. In a good way.
Their recent performance at HARD Day of the Dead was their first ever live performance, and as we’ve been following the mysteriously eerie trio for a bit, we were excited to see just what Phuture Doom is all about.
I saw a drum kit. Guitars. No one knew quite what to expect. The guy next to me leaned over and belted “DUDE. I heard that one of these dudes is Kill the Noise!” At that point, the show hadn’t started and his yelling into my ear was pretty unjustified, and as I turned to give him a sarcastic “Oh really?”,three people (Guys? Girls? Who knows?) walked onto stage in black cloaks, and this happened:
So, iphone-quality video doesn’t quite do their performance justice, but believe me, it was awesome. I think I even threw up the devil horns a couple times.
Seeing a live band playing alongside a DJ was one of the most fresh and exhilarating experiences; instead of a repetitive drum track, some nameless badass behind a kit ushered in the drops. Instead of the “press play” type of sets that we’ve been growing accustom to, three live musicians tore it up for a crowd that was unjustifiably small.
Phuture Doom, as it seems, is on to something completely new. Their perplexing visuals, genre-defying sound, and cryptic outfits are unlike anything we’re seen previously in the EDM scene, and, by the looks of the crowd after their 30-minute set, it seems like these guys are on their way to the top.
Phuture Doom is your metal phase grown up a bit, matured, and refined. Hopefully, their originality in their sound will inspire other artists to follow suit.
In the meantime, Phuture Doom’s first (and self-titled) EP is out on OWSLA Records. Give it a listen, and, if you’re up for it, try to decode the crazy hieroglyphics all over their webpage. We haven’t quite cracked it yet, but I’m sure there’s something awesome in there.
Phuture Doom: Facebook // Twitter // SoundCloud
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