It had been five years (according to them) since Hell graced NYC and the Saint Vitus stage with their masterful mix of sludgy doom and shrieking otherworldly vocals -- far too long, and though frontman and creative force behind the band M.S.W. claimed that the packed in crowd was probably there to see headliners Evoken, it was actually Hell who had the most packed and most enthusiastic crowd of the evening. They also played the most memorable set of the evening -- complete with one half of the two-track Hell III (a very important album in their discography), and the sampled recordings from TV and movies you hear on their records. You can now see and hear for yourself, as Max Volume Silence have posted the entire show to YouTube:

The show (which happened to fall during Rosh Hashanah) was the NYC stop of the Hell / Mizmor tour, a pair of extreme Oregon extreme metal bands who are also close friends and collaborators. In fact, it was opener Mizmor who had the most buzz going into this tour. Hell released an amazing split this year with the great Primitive Man, but it's been a couple years since they last released a proper album. And though 2017's self-titled Hell effort was another very great one, it is Mizmor's new Cairn that is inescapable on the blogs over the past few months (guilty). And for good reason. If you haven't yet, familiarize yourself with the story and dig into Mizmor's new doom mixed with black metal masterpiece that deals with A.L.N. newfound acceptance of atheism.

A.L.N. is the moniker of the man behind Mizmor, and his own highly anticipated set (and first-ever NYC show) was also impressive, so it was even more impressive that he then became the very competent drummer of Hell just one set later (drums were his original instrument), and vice versa -- Hell's M.S.W. drummed for Mizmor. Watch Mizmor's set:

Evoken -- the local band on the bill (they're from NJ) -- are funeral doom legends that influenced both of the touring bands, and A.L.N. (who may have missed all or some of their set while he manned his own merch booth) pointed out he was honored to be playing with them. Back in action (and with a great 2018 album), Evoken shows have become less of a rarity lately. That, and the fact that they had to follow such intense sets, and on a Monday (9/30) night even, meant it felt a bit wrong for Evoken to be playing, and the room did thin a bit, but it didn't stop them from punishing the crowd with crushing slow noise, growls and keyboards (also the only band on the bill with one of those). Here is Evoken's set:

Hell and Mizmor still have a couple of shows left together.