Formed in 2005 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne as a crushingly heavy doom metal three-piece, Bong have spent the last eight years carefully and gradually evolving their sound and growing into a legitimate force in a fuzzed out, hazy sub-genre of lengthy, trip-inducing stoner jams. As they embark on what will be their third trip to the Superbowl of all things psychedelic and heavy, Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, Netherlands, along with the likes of Candlemass, Comus, Buzz*ven, Crowbar, The Heads, Yob and Opeth, the rewards of their hard work, frequent gigging and prolific issuing of new and live material are clear for all to see.
I attended what was only the bands second ever gig, as I was frustratingly stuck at work for their first. You see, at the time I was working in a crappy tech support job, along with guitarist Mike Vest and bassist/vocalist Dave Terry, and theres a very real chance that going to see their band was more of a courtesy and/or an excuse to have a few pints after work. However attending local Bong shows became somewhat of a ritual, and over the next few years I was able to bear witness to their evolution from three-piece doom metal to a quartet of hypnotic, trance-doom jams.
I have a very clear recollection of a show back in the bands early days where me and friends packed ourselves into a tiny basement gig room, climbed up to sit on the back of the venues sofas where I was able to rest my back and my head against the cold, brick wall and, as the lights were completely cut, close my eyes and take in an hour and fifteen minute set of gloomy, mesmeric trance-doom hymns played in total darkness. With the addition of Benjamin Freeth (sitar, later Shahi Baaja) to their ranks, in a line-up completed by Mike Smith on drums, the band have only gone on to craft an even more sleep-inducing, narcotic blend of minimalist psychedelica.
The fact of the matter is that the gigs can still be just as alluring and captivating now as they ever were, several years and several records down the line. The only difference now is the venues arent quite as small or cramped, the band may have just come back from supporting Sunn O))) in Glasgow, or be providing support for White Hills, Brant Bjork or Acid Mothers Temple, or I may have to cut short an Ufomammut set to go and see them, as I did this past April at Desert Fest in Camden Town, London.
A word of warning. never go to see Ufomammut and then Bong. It does twisted things to your mind.
Selective Discography:
Bong (2009)
Beyond Ancient Space (2011)
Live at Roadburn 2010 (2011)
Mana-Yood-Sushai (2012)