Once in a great while you go out to see a show, a band you love, and you are given a special and lasting gift - the opening band! Now it is indeed rare in this day and age, but when that opening band you have never heard of in your life comes out on stage and utterly burns the place down, you can only fall to your knees and give thanks to the rock and roll gods below. Boy was I thankful when Subarachnoid Space took the stage Saturday night at the ol' Gilman in Berkeley. This band simply blew me away. The most epic passages of drone and doom swept through the room in tidal waves of sonic bliss. Violent as it was graceful, explosive as it was deliberate, these guys (and girls) play as though they've been playing together for centuries. The familiar and comforting sounds of classic heavy metal were woven into complex, angular symphonic arrangements. Drawing upon the crushing sensibilities of Sabbath and the like, weaving through seemingly endless post-Neurosis lyrical sagas, the band offered something entirely new and fiercely inspired. The interplay between guitars, on top of the interlocked drums and bass held my complete undevided attention at every moment. It's not often that I am so taken back by a band. And that's saying a lot.
