[The Black Angels]

[The Black Angels]

The Raveonettes and the Black Angels both brought their dense, layered wall of sound to First Avenue on Monday night with spirited, incredibly loud sets by both bands, culminating in the Black Angels joining the Raveonettes for their last song of the night, in a celebratory sendoff on their last night of touring together. Going into the evening, I wasn’t quite sure how each band’s sound would mesh with the other, because while the Raveonettes often thread dark subject matter through their songs, their sound is actually quite buoyant and uplifting, while the Black Angels sound is thick and grimy, with layers of guitars and driving percussion crashing like waves over the audience. But after their respective sets, I found that the bands actually have quite a few musical similarities that go far beyond being extremely, extremely loud, and their sounds and style fit together splendidly on a late and deafening Monday night in the Mainroom.

[The Black Angels]

[The Black Angels]

As the opening band on this tour, the Black Angels didn’t have their customary films playing on a screen behind them that they’ve used to augment their live performances in the past, but the Austin, Texas five-piece still got the night off to a rousing and noisy start with a taut 50 minute set that featured three brand new songs as well as their highly regarded classics. The band eased into their set with the simmering intensity of “You On The Run,” from 2008’s Directions To See A Ghost. Their music is really driven along by the steady, propulsive drumming of Stephanie Bailey, which amplifies the enormous guitar sound created by the other four members of the band, who often traded off instruments as the set progressed. Singer Alex Mass’ vocals were a bit buried in the murky mix, with the racket the band was producing often overshadowing his lyrics. That seemed to be the sound the band was after, with Mass’ voice just forming another dark melody that only added to their brooding, mercurial music. “Manipulation” was a dark, heavy flood of sound, with guitarist Christian Bland and Mass trading off vocal duties while the song chugged along mightily. And the band kept the momentum going with another older song from Passover, the dynamic call-to-arms of “Young Men Dead,” which was so loud the floor was shaking where I was standing. This song has an intensity and a temper to it that really resonated well on this evening, and served to add to the ominous mood of the Black Angels set.

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