The crowd might not have been quite ready for the bombastic and experimental sounds of an avant-garde group like the Time of Assassins. Booked on an oddly mismatched bill, they were bound to create a stir once they took the stage.

Both brutal and atmospheric, this band picks the listener up by the britches to offer up a swift sonic kick. Stunning chanteuse-bassist Carisa Bianca Mellado is a she-devil siren, singing a gentle and eerie lullaby one moment then soaring to tortured limits the next, a woman possessed and shrieking.

Guitarist-vocalist Aspen Michael Taylor pushes the logical limits of his instrument’s duties, slamming his pedals with his fists and creating loops of incomprehensible feedback. It might sound like music for the inferno, indeed, in their song “Bones,” Mellado croons “All aboard! We are going to hell!”

However, their music demonstrates unique skill and originality, passion and intensity. Having played only a handful of songs to this bewildered audience, they managed to effectively level the room.