Photos & Review: Deafheaven, Baroness, Zeal & Ardor, Mar 27, 2019, Ogden Theatre, Denver, CO

Baroness and Deafheaven, midway through a co-headlining US Tour, rolled into Denver for a highly anticipated (at least by me!) mid-week stop at Denver’s Ogden Theatre. Along with openers Zeal & Ardor, this was destined to be one of the best metal shows to hit Denver this spring. Check out our photos and review below.

Zeal & Ardor

Many openers, especially the first of three bands on the bill, play to a sparse crowd slowly trickling in for the headliners. Not Zeal & Ardor, Manuel Gagneux’s avant black metal project, who have quickly earned a dedicated following thanks to their intense live performances. The room was filled in before the five piece (sans bass player, Mia Rafaela Dieu) took the stage for their ten song set. If you’re a fan of Wolves in the Throne Room, Myrkur, or Deafheaven, you need to see this band. I know I’ll make every effort to catch them when they return to Denver.

Baroness

You know that show that’s circled on your calendar? The one you’ve been looking forward to more than any other since it was announced. This Baroness set was that show for me. The Baroness discography has been in heavy rotation for me the last few years, but I’ve been unable to catch them live until this show. To say I’d been looking forward to this set would be a drastic understatement.

Greeted with a thunderous roar from the mostly full room, it was clear that a good portion of people at this mid-week show were here to see Baroness. John Baizley and crew did not disappoint, barging through a high energy 14-song set that covered at least one song from each of their chromatic-themed albums, including favorites like “March to the Sea”, “Chlorine & Wine”, “Eula”, and set closer “Take My Bones Away.” Recently released “Borderlines”, the first single from their upcoming studio long player, Gold & Grey (out June 14 via Abraxan Hymns) was a mid-set treat, reminding us that we have a new batch of songs to look forward to hearing soon.Tight and intense, this was exactly the performance I expected.

Baroness, Mar 27, 2019, Ogden Theatre, Denver, CO

Deafheaven

This was the third time I’ve seen San Francisco’s Deafheaven. While I don’t turn to their albums all that often, I’ve always enjoyed seeing them live. Front man George Clarke prowls the stage with a unique intensity, and the band is always tight. Easily the highlight of their set for me was the recently released “Black Brick“, a particularly raw track that sounds different than much of their other material. The remainder of their set leaned heavily on songs from their recently released Ordinary Corrupt Human Love LP and was topped off with that one-two of “Sunbather” and “Dream House.”