By: Elena Mart
On a dark and gloomy night in Portland, OR, I found my way to the Coffin Club. The Coffin Club is a goth, industrial, and horror-themed bar and music venue located at 421 SE Grand Ave in Portland. It is an LGBTQ-friendly establishment that formerly operated under the name Lovecraft Bar. The venue is known for its darkly decadent atmosphere, with two levels, multiple dance floors, a large patio, and themed décor. From the moment I stepped inside, the flicker of candlelight and the pulse of industrial beats set the tone for the night. It was my first time here and won’t be my last. Quite the perfect setting to see a night of blackened electro. We have Aggrotech inventors, Suicide Commando and Doom-Bass trail blazers, Antania.
A pioneer of the electro-industrial, EBM, and aggrotech music scene, Belgium-based Suicide Commando has been commanding darkened dance floors since its debut in 1986. Spearheaded by vocalist Johan Van Roy, his trio brought their floor-stomping intensity to the Coffin Club along with Doom Bass project Antania, who have created a buzz opening for Combichrist, Marduk, Funker Vogt, Psyclon Nine, Prong, Doyle, Otep, and Eva O since they formed a short time ago.
Those who have been frequenting the dark and gothic club scenes within Portland are no strangers to Antania, as they have been here a few times in the last year or so. Antania is a Joshua Tree, California-based genre-defying blackened act that blends elements of black, death metal, doom, industrial, and experimental bass music. I was actually shocked by how good they were. They reminded me of a cross between Ministry and early Deicide, with an extremely dark, nefarious sound. They have some of the heaviest bass lines I have ever heard, and it is done in a super unique way. Kali Morten has a raspy, venomous, aggressive singing style, and Dr Luna sits behind a custom facade with machines of his own creation, with a goat mask. Highly original and will probably go far. They sell their live show by their fierce sound, and with masks and theatrics, they stand still and pound a sound out that you have never heard before. A must-see act if you like the dark side. They are also getting ready to tour Japan with the Black Metal band Marduk.
Photo Courtesy: Alison Stransbugh
When Suicide Commando took to the stage, the crowd was ready for a performance like no other. They delivered with a set filled with an imposing, almost militant precision, in its aggressive auditory assault. When people refer to the term ‘dance floor stomping’, they are usually referring to Suicide Commando. Van Roy’s vocals, delivered with that unique robotic filter, are iconic and demand attention, as in “Kill All Humanity”, “Die Motherfucker Die”, “Jesus Freak”, “Cause of Death: Suicide”, and “God Is In The Rain”. There is no better way to vent and dance out built-up frustration and anger than to Suicide Commando; this is therapy on the dance floor. Van Roy loves the crowd he plays for, and it shows in his interactions —from reaching out to grab hands at any given moment to hopping right into the crowd to perform amongst them and even crowd-surfing.
Photo Courtesy: Alison Stransbugh
This wildly thrilling and unforgettable performance, filled with one of the more new ‘up and coming’ names in Antania, will go down as one of the premier live shows that this city has seen in a while within the gothic club scene. It’s also very appropriate that this performance happened at Coffin Club in Portland, OR, a standout goth club, and that the Portland scene needed this show for personal release.
