What can truly set a dubstep show apart from the rest of the pack? Dope visuals? Of course. Heavy bass? Kinda hard to leave that out. A grocery list of VIPs and IDs? One cannot create a bass face without them. But what about something not every producer/DJ is comfortable bringing to the table? What about mixing the dubstep and heavy bass we love with a genre that people 10 years ago would never expect to hear at a rave; Death Metal. Two spectrums of heavy combined to create one massive black hole.
PhaseOne showcased this exact combo this past Saturday at Believe Music Hall in Atlanta. If you haven’t heard the name, I’m sure you’ve heard his tracks. You cannot attend a dubstep show in 2019 without hearing some sort of edit of “Open up the gates, welcome to mayhem.” A simple line screamed with intensity by crowds across the entire globe ever since its release back in early 2017. He opens his set with the line into an ID that’s pure headbanger heaven.
The set plows through with the face melting bass you expect, but with double drops and VIPs that leave you with a disgusted (in the best way) look on your face, trying to figure out what the hell is melting it. Throwing down tracks from Marauda(formerly Mastadon), Virtual Riot, and Midnight T just to name a few. It’s riddim or bust for most of the set, choppin tracks together like only a true musician could master. His love for Deathcore and Djent is shown perfectly through his original tracks with Thy Art is Murder and Northlane and the intensity brings almost the entire crowd to a mosh pit with every drop.
A drum n bass-fueled bridge till one last drop (an insanely heavy VIP of “Welcome to Mayhem”) and PhaseOne’s encore comes to an end. A truly unique and just plain awesome show all around. With Hydraulix as the support before PhaseOne, bassheads got every fix they could possibly need in one night. And while most people started their voyages home, some of us slipped down to the basement and vibed to Wax Motiff, who brought his own, completely different world just below where we were standing moments before. Believe Music Hall is truly a unique venue, there is always something for everyone, and it is always a good time.
