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Destroyer 666 ¤ Revenge Reign Of Erebus
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The Electrowerkz (Slimelight), London (UK) - 31 Mar 2006 -
review by Pete Woods.
It has been a while since I last caught Hampshire’s finest Reign Of Erebus
in action. Stripped down
to a 3 piece with guitarist Ewchymlaen now handling vocal duties, he purposefully strode onto a stage
bathed in green light and dry ice and growled at us with evil intent. This was backed by some nice
ambient sounds but the might of new song Vae Victus was suddenly unleashed in all its fury and
any acoustic melody was decimated in a gruesome onslaught of noise. I had been handed a promo
of this track a while ago and thought it ambitious in its annihilating approach and it was interesting
to see it pulled off with finesse in front of me. With Xael’s battery flying out the blastbeats and guitars
scything away hell for leather this was a heady brew and left the audience standing there watching rather
than attempting to match its fury on the dance floor. Following this with The Storm, this was an assault
that was pretty much unrelenting and RoE seemed to have burst back onto the live arena with a
hunger that needed to be fed. With strobe lighting going crazy and floor lights beaming out like they
were shining up from the depths of hell this was certainly a wake up call for those wondering into
the rapidly filling up Underworld. Comparisons to the greatness of Nightside Eclipse era Emperor were
at times evident and as homage to the greats, a cover of Zyklon B’s Warfare certainly hit the spot.
As furious as they may have been, Revenge
was the sound of total unremitting attack. Those of us who
had been lucky enough to catch Angel Corpse at this venue before their demise would certainly have
recognised the tattooed singer Pete Helmkamp leading these troops into battle. Surprisingly the first
number started up fairly slowly but this sedate pace did not last for long at all. Basically this was nasty
as fuck and the coruscating guitar work really flew out the monitor I was standing next to as this dirty
punked up stew of fist banging torment went to full throttle. Annoyingly the vocals were too damn low
in the mix but perhaps it was the force behind the instrumentation which was too loud for us to hear them
over. Traitor Crucifixion hit us like a bullet belt round the head and as Atrocity March followed, the sound
engineer was given a wake up call and told to turn the vocals up. The weird thing was that despite the level
of sonic abuse I actually found Revenge more accessible here than I had done on album. The groove shone
through admirably here and the guitar riffing sounded excellent but as others complained about it being
lost in the mix it could have been due to my position, one I was not moving from for the entire set.
The audience behind me was also getting into the spirit of things fists were being punched into the
air and as Decimation Antichrist tore into us Revenge
were proving themselves one intense rollercoaster ride of a band.
Aussie reprobates Destroyer 666 were
more of a drunken fun prospect and certainly most people here
were pissed by now. This somewhat more underground band had got a lot more people through the doors
than countrymen The Bezerker earlier in the week. It was also amusing to note that they were probably
sporting more studs and leather than Judas Priest who were also in town tonight. It was time for a black
thrash assault and boy did we get one. Hedge trimming axe scythes reigned down on us like a massacre
in a garden centre as the spirit of German thrash was unleashed by the Australians. Tracks such as Genesis
To Genocide and Black City, Black Fire flew along with a speedy mentalist fervour. At times they invoked
images of a cold war nightmare, the fall out of a nuclear winter as they took in a paranoid Voivod or
Destruction modus operandi. Spiralling riffs contaminated our very souls and the odd trooper stormed
the stage and dived off. The pit was a dangerous place to be now and as the thrash attack continued
fists were flying all over the shop. Singer K.K.Warslut commandeered the action and even at one point
started howling like a wolf, no doubt as the band were playing Lone Wolf next. Giving the audience what
I believe was a Bathory cover at the end they certainly went down as well as all the booze we consumed tonight.
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Inquisition ¤ The Belonging Irony Of Christ ¤ The One
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The Electrowerkz (Slimelight), London (UK) - 22 Jan 2006 -
review and photos by Pete Woods.
“There can be only one!” Well actually there were two as The One had a drummer helping
along with his art tonight. Wearing a black cloak of utter doom the grim man strode out on
stage and annihilated with buzz saw guitars and tortured vox. Well the vocals would have been
tortured if we could hear them properly in the mix. This was a primitive ritual and one that
had the singer putting on a psychotically institutionalised performance, clutching his head in
pain and treading the boards in a Shakespearian fashion. Musically I enjoyed The One more
than The One (sorry) time I had caught him before, flailing away a brew akin to Judas Iscariot
in places the savage momentum was impressive. I just did not know whether The One was being
100% serious with all the gesticulations or was having a bit of a laugh with an audience
who were seeming to love it all. By the 3rd track the vocals were soaring through the mix
but all of a sudden that was it and 20 minutes after starting the kvlt ritual was over and The One
strode into the audience and promptly vanished in a puff of dry ice.
Moving out of the black and into the death came Irony Of Christ
a band that no matter how many
times I see, always manage to impress me. Indeed from the opening feudal stomp of Jester we
were thrown headlong into a progression of dynamic fretwork, fluid mid paced and intricate,
hair-flailing metal. Jeremiad at times shone with the wretched flail of My Dying Bride.
Tinged in a doom fuelled persuasion and a slow crunch oozing forth, before raring up and
galloping off with a desperation that practically tore heads clean off. Long and involving songs
had the audience transfixed, looking around during Words Of The Forgotten, there was little movement,
and people seemed mesmerised by the slow epic tones and sudden immense heaviosity,
which struck me as inherently British to the core. As new track Betrayal shot off like a cannon
it was evident that Irony Of Christ had done
the job and picked up a fair few new supporters tonight.
As should have been the case with The Belonging
another up and coming UK band, but alas
they simply didn’t do it at all for me. The main problem was despite their somewhat derivative
name they simply did not seem to, “belong” at all. They had a fast and furious assault as they
tore into the oddly entitled The Shell Documentary but the frenzy of the pace just didn’t seem
to gel. Coming across on stage this sounded like a mix of death, black, thrash; jack of all trades,
master of none. Even the sudden slowdown left me cold and I just couldn’t work this lot out.
The large amount of space at the front of the stage and the packed bar area suggested
I wasn’t alone. By last song Black Sun Rising I felt like I was still very much in the dark and
was glad when they left the stage.
This was the first ever time on UK shores for the much revered Colombians Inquisition
and to put it plainly, from the second Dagon & Incubus sorted their make up out and got on stage,
they stole the show supremely. There had been a palpable air of expectation about this and when
the music started, to say the crowd behind me exploded would be an understatement. Inquisition
are not all about out and out brutality in the slightest and this is probably why I enjoyed this hour
long set so much. The guitar saw is omnipresent and always there behind them but there is also
an incredible doom laden dirge filled funereal modus operandi about the instrumentation.
I loved the trance like tones but behind me others were not content and were kicking up a shit
storm in the pit. Having grabbed a few photos I backed off to enjoy this more without being hemmed
in and flattened. At times the music induced an almost shamanic state (could have been the beer
but I’m putting it down to the music) and it had that oft overlooked and all important atmosphere
in it which a lot of BM simply casts aside these days. One particular track (and sadly no I didn’t get
any titles) swaggered in with a style akin to the likes of old Burzum, Drudkh and even a splash of
Falkenbach. I think they certainly set about Invoking The Majestic Throne Of Satan, well Dagon
had beseeched his might with the words, “Lucifer enlighten us with your wisdom.” Thrash Till Death
saw in the last song and although it may not have killed us off, no doubt it caused some whiplash.
An excellent show and lets hope they don’t leave it another decade before they come back again.
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Archgoat ¤ Behexen ¤ Diabolicum Necros Christos ¤ Goat Molestor
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The Electrowerkz (Slimelight), London (UK) - 22 Oct 2005 -
review and photos by Pete Woods.
Gigs such as this one are not a common occurrence round these parts.
England doesn’t really get many underground black metal shows of this calibre
and this was actually the first I can remember in ages since Krieg passed through
here for the first and final time with Demoncy. The queue twisting round the bleak
alleyway where this dilapidated venue is tucked away was testament to the dedicated,
hungry for something true and kult! Mind you, at £12 a pop was this really as underground
a show, as people would like to believe?
First up were local band Goat Molestor funny name, yes, either that or a work of illiteracy.
Decking the stage with a goat’s skull and candles they set about tearing a nasty gash through
the venue with their brand of old school worship. They had a faithful following down at the front,
as this is a band who rarely even play in their own country. The vocals were pretty much lost in the
mix and the instrumentation was muddy and coarse but all this did was add to the grim arcane
ritual of the performance. Musically they were more than proficient and many are saying that
they were the band of the night. The slow and grandiose pummelling ploughed ever onward and
bathed in blood red light they had the presence to pull things off. At times the buzz saw guitar
passages had a trance inducing discourse that were all consuming. Goat Molestors predominantly
Jewish heritage no doubt caught a few of the NSBM crowd off guard here tonight as well.
Necros Christos from Berlin
must have been sweating like hell as they took the stage wearing hoodies
that would have got them banned from English shopping centres. Combined with shades, they looked frankly kind of daft rather than menacing but it was the music, which was important. This trio of
individuals assaulted us with a sound that was acerbic and noisy as well as the stench of some of the
foulest incense I have ever smelled. Curse Of The Necromantical Sabbath got people drunkenly cheering
but it was as though the band were determined never to change pace from a mid paced dirge. If I hadn’t
been equally drunk I think that this would have quickly left me pretty damn bored. Emanating pretty much
a doom filled structure, Black Mass Desecration was full of menace and as evil and cloying as the foul incense
burning the back of my throat. Impure Burials Prevail finished off what I can only really say was a pretty uninspired set
I had high hopes for the electronic persuasion that Diabolicum
are renowned for and expected the
Swedish industrialists to thrash us about good and proper. As expected they were a bit like a clash
of Skinny Puppy and Aborym but fell way short of both bands as far as the atrocious sound mix was concerned.
Starting off at full throttle I was also kind of reminded of Bile but the real annoyance was lack of a drummer
and reliance on a drum machine. The skinny frame of singer Kvarforth commanded the stage and it looked like
he was seriously into bloodletting noticing the state of the cuts up and down his arms. I’m sure he shouted out
“praise god” and “hallelujah” at one point but in a sarcastic sense for sure. It was evident though that there was a
spark missing here and although the likes of Panic DHH and Red Harvest at times transcend genres and border
on black metal territories, Diabolicum
were just not doing it for the crowd. The Song Of Suffering and One Man’s War
were cyber industrial and at times even dropped into EBM realms that were as mechanical as the machine providing
the beats. I believe this was their first ever gig so perhaps they will improve if they do another in the next decade.
It was time for the Finnish hordes to impress and they certainly did that in the dress department.
Behexen
were not going to screw about. Lead singer Torog had the biggest spikes on his arms and inverted cross round
his neck that I had ever seen (mind you that was only till the headliners came on). Luckily they also had the songs
to back this preposterous over the top imagery, although it was no surprise that things were definitely going
to translate in the mix and deliver the destructive raptures with the power they deserved. With drums thudding
and guitars scything away hell for leather there may have been little in the way of finesse and at first it seemed
like the band were not only trying to get in our faces but were intent on ripping them off. “It’s time for war,”
we were told just in case we weren’t quite sure as they unleashed an unholy and utterly totalitarian barrage at us.
When not at full throttle they do exude a twisting and complex sound that overpowers in its dark excesses.
The feral intonations left us with ringing in the ears as they left the stage the Fist Of The Satanist had definitely left its mark.
Organisers Stratanael had done a brilliant job getting 5 bands on a bill like this and getting running times
go off like clockwork. Finally it was time for Archgoat
to pillage our senses, which had already been decimated
by 4 bands and copious amounts of alcohol. Having disappeared from sight for almost a decade this was
definitely the first time many here would have caught the band (some may have problems remembering the
event in the wake of next days hangover). What one will remember are the spikes! Lead singer and bassist
Angelslayer’s were big enough to impale the front row of the audience but guitarist Ritual Butcherer’s were so
damn big and on both arms, it’s a wonder how he managed t even play his axe of the black mass. Blazing in
with the likes of Thrice Damned Sodomizer and Death and Necromancy it was evident that this was far from
subtle stuff and was literally a riotous hellish brew designed to wake the very evil dead. It wasn’t just the audience
that were a mess it was the sound as well, the drums sounded like wet farts being unleashed and to tell the
truth Archgoat pretty much bored me to death
but for some reason I couldn’t help standing there head
banging away to their barbaric discourse. The songs were difficult to distinguish from each other and pretty much
sounded like one long continuous barrage. Titles such as Penis Perversor and Jesus Spawn pretty much summed up
the mood and were evil and craggy, sounding like they had crawled out of the bowels of the fetid earth.
Finishing us off with a cover of Blasphemy’s Ritual. It ended a night, which saw the toilets,
covered in both vomit and blood and an audience that went to the train station looking like they were going on a one-way trip to hell.
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
The London gig, first of the tour, went terrifically great. And strangely enough , though it did not feature any
grunting 'death' metal act, The Slimelight was absolutely packed!! GOAT MOLESTOR was Ok, and their mix of
traditional elements (Low BM vox -brillant- churning with the usual Blasphemic UGNecroBMetal riffs
à la NAKED WHIPPER on fast / slow/ fast beats) really went well with a crowd.
After the Molestors, in a cloud of thick incense NECROS CHRISTOS
arrived. NECROS CHRISTOS was absolutely
EVIL, heavy and intense, their pounding riffs crashing and crushing the audience into submission.
Incantatory and Slow, Whipping and unstoppable, embracing both the essence of Death and the
mysticism of Blackness, NECROS CHRISTOS
reigns. A drum-driven mastodon of authentic SataNic darkness
passed through the audience. The cognoscenti could discern here the distinct presence of a very special act.
More than just a band, maybe a form of Art.
From the opposite side of the SataNic sphere, DIABOLICUM
with their Industrial BlackMetal was another
sensation who attracted many of the Underground rats from abroad who had turned up to this concert
on this miserable (music wise) island. As it was their first gig ever, and due to an avalanche of glitches,
mistakes, errors and fuck ups, the band was probably as stressed as you could imagine.
Kvarforth (also singing in SHINING) arrived from ItaLy 20mn before they were due to play and most of the
instruments had been -in case- previously saved in a box. Rather than playing with a simple beatbox behind,
Sasrof brought the entire bank of sounds on various independant tracks including the samples, keys, drums,
effects, guitars, bass... mixed the desired elements adequately with the live sound of the guitars, voices
in the venue during the soundcheck and ... and the machinery known as DIABOLICUM
was ready
(with 3 members from the original quintet)! The set was good, esp. for a first gig though members could
have been a bit more 'aggressive' stage wise. The clear voices from Dark Blood Rising for instance were
far too clear and nice for the battlefield atmosphere expected from a live performance. War Tide,
for instance, was immense but Niklas/Kvarforth, though having obviously some kinda stage attitude on/off stage,
lacked a bit of 'teeth', and hatred, though his performance was far from static. Another problem, if the sound
was perfectly mixed, it lacked volume or power. But as a first gig, it was a milestone!
After DIABOLICUM
, BEHEXEN invaded the stage, shrouded in this traditionnal approach so frequent to modern
Finnish Orthodox SataNic Metal: candles burning, chants and robes, inverted crosses and flames, disgusting
corpse paint and rusty chains, shrilling BlackMetal rabid voices, razor sharp riffs, violence, hatred, terror...
BEHEXEN was abrasive as hell and
furious as every band should be, showing to everyone that integrity
and orthodoxy can indeed go hand in hand with showmanship and professionalism. And indeed where
to look for intensity, dedication and a true underground spirit if not in Finland (ok, Sweden..)?
The great thing on this night was opportunity ot see the 'old masters'
ARCHGOAT finally live on stage.
And Hell, it was worth it!!!!!!! Perfectly set as the headliners of the night after the fast rabid beats of
BEHEXEN the Heavy Sadistic
heaviness of ARCHGOAT was perfect. Smeared
with (rein-!!) blood from head to toe, a cyclone of decibels, incantations, words and blood, inverted crosses and
studs ARCHGOAT
was the embodiement of a band definitely not 'Buried by Time & Dust'.
After 45mn of Sonic Devastation, ARCHGOAT
finished, the walls were echoing at the sound the -usually moody-
London crowd screaming for more. Track after track, one after another, classic after classic,
riffs of ARCHGOAT
are red-hot on stage and their music is even better live than on any of the inferiors formats
(vinyl, tape, CD, Mp3...): wherever ARCHGOAT
play, whenever ARCHGOAT play: GO!
After that, everybody ran in the various rooms of the playground offered to the numerous visitors,
and it was great to see so many 'known' / 'famous' faces not seen for a while on these shores...
from Belgium or Finland (Immu even had 2 legs on his famous trousers as he left!), Holland and Sweden,
Greece and Germany... Around 07.30 am , having finally found back Perversifier from MERRIMACK -who
had been busy all night licking stillettos-, we were all chucked out of the venue, unsober and buzzing
with words, testosterone, alcohol, ideas and sparks.
Please get in tch if you have ANY photos of the gig: including those of fuckheads, that's what also make a gig,
who cares about 100s of live shots.
- Next StrataNael gig: Do not miss it, you would seriously regret it. Planned for Feb.05 Details /Headliner confirmed VERY soon
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Dismember ¤ Watain ¤ Arkhon Infaustus Antaeus ¤ Kaamos ¤ Nox ¤ Hell Militia
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Baroeg, Rotterdam (NL) - 28 May 2005 -
(Find the venue on a map)
The venue was packed, hot and sweaty.
And smelly, thanx to WataiN. We could
have done with 30-50 people more, that's all.
A decent amount of international people turned up but it seems Dutch people
were not really a force to be reckoned with. The weather was fantastic,
everybody was trading tapes/stuff inside-outside all day, organisation-wise,
Tyrants Festival Netherlands = no glitch at all. Organising means running
everywhere, thus I missed some performances.
HellMilitia, was dirty, filthy -under their totemic crucified pig on a cross
-real one- and delivered a great performance for MasterChaos.
NoX proved they could play on stage the incandescent Krisiun-like SataNic
Metal they can bring on CD, maybe more catchy (members are pro:
musicianship, stage presence, dynamism).
Antaeus was a furious rollercoaster
lead by a team of rabid testosterone junkies, hordes of fans responded VERY
positively, and the pit was very energetic.
Kaamos gathered far more people
than I thought, their Death Metal was very appealing to the Dutch crowd and
they had a very strong response too. Unfortunately, I had to miss most of
it.
I was compelled to see WataiN, whose beginning was theatral, and as
usual, they were far, far, from us. A lot of smoke, huge metal inverted
crosses, the horrible STENCH of pigs blood they were covered with, the warm,
orange, dusty smell of their candles and torches-lit stage.That's for the
setting. Performance-wise WataiN was not the best WataiN ever, maybe. But it
is still WataiN!: way superior to most acts today.! A lot of bands were
great that night, but no track can go as near as being a classic as "I am
the Earth". Maybe 'torn apart' from Dismember.
Due to logistics/venue /org. I completely missed ArkhonInfaustus and did not
come back until Dismember were on stage, very powerful, very catchy, very
pro, with a crowd far more enthusiastic than I would have thought, as they
were the only band not sharing the same SataNic ethos as the crowd / other
acts. They played a fairly long set, due to popular demand / encore and it
was after WataiN a very different shampoo-smelling headbanging celebration.
Concluding the night, SimoN from Captain Howdy -get in tch here for his
contact- did a short performance. Red atmosphere/ InSlaughterNatives
ordering 'Gimme your Flesh'/ smoke. Simon & his partner Quentin set up a
couple of trix 'to get themselves in the mood', debasing the Flesh.
Accessing the world of spirit. Piercing their faces with syringes, stapling
themselves on the face, tongues etc, nailing pins all over their bodies etc,
they started a thug-of-war with meathooks in their backs. Though SimoN had
clearly a double disadvantage, (being smaller than his counterpart, and..
well, having 4 butchers hooks through his knees already!!!), SimoN, with a
pervert distorted smile went as far as he could, pulled, and pulled again,
longed for the floor, stretching his back to extreme proportions, .. until,
well, one hook broke!!! (that's for those who thought it was fake). The hook
flew in the air as people gasped in disbelief, with even someone passing out
in the first row! It kept on, until SimoN, smiling, on the floor, was
carried upwards by the knees, in an inverted Christic pose.
The height of the beams in the venue prevented him to be carried higher and
higher but people were well aware of the tension on the flesh, the mental
resistance over matter and pain, the awareness of the symbol of it all,
closing the Night under the "Hail SataN" 's of the crowd as the stage faded
back to Darkness.
From 00.30 to 04.00 people stayed in and out, embracing the Nightspirit,
sharing heavy doses of narcotics and powerful debates. Extremely gratifying,
after a gig to hear interesting people talking about "the meaning of pain",
"their own limits", "a necessary return to the flesh and concrete for modern
BlackMetal", "Clinamen and Ataraxia", "faith and fashion",.. at the bar
rather than over-hearing people talking about ..Nargaroth or about that
Dutch guy with big fingers. It was just a performance. What matters is what
you could see through it.
A great great hail to you all who travelled, it was great to see so many
commited faces coming from sometimes very far like Italy, Sweden, UK, Poland,
Germania, Belgium, Portugal, or even Finland and every corner of France (not
that bad for a gig in the Baroeg). Learning from our little mistakes next
Tyrants NetherLands year is going to be even more intense. Next year, we'll
have someone giving BIRTH on stage.
Be there.
Maieutically.
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Enthroned ¤ Decayed ¤ Razor of Occam ¤ Niroth
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Elektrowerkz (Slimelight), London - 05 May 2005 -
(Find the venue on a map)
The evening started with London's Blacksters of Niroth whose heterodox
approach surprised more than one: dreadlocks, large baggy blue jean shorts,
large T-Shirts which were not even black and hardly featured any inverted
crosses and/or pentagram. Shocking? On the music side, their black Metal was
featuring all the orthodox elements, oversaturated sound, buzzing bass,
scorching vox, fast drumming etc, . and their performance was more than
decent, though maybe some tracks could have been a bit shorter. It sounds a
bit like Ulver (Madrigal..) for the furious, unabashed, permanent flowing BM
effect.
It was interesting to start the night with typical UG BlackMetal played by
trailer trash pixies. Check out their
page for more info and
bookings. After the deluge of furious decibels from Niroth came Razor of
Occam. After an LP distributed exclusively in 2 villages in Peru and on
Ebay, it is probable you missed this album in 200&somethin'. What a miss!!
Razor Of Occam actually has it all. All the most seducing typical elements
of Australian metal: a Bourbon-corroded throat, destructive riffing, clever
structures, catchy Metal breaks, and this general je-ne-sais-quoi which
stands between authentic Metal tradition, rabid instinctive madness and
well-trained craftmanship. A sort of permanence of valid eternal metal
references, from Destruction to Sodom, Razor to Darkness, it kicks, it goes,
it blasts, fast again or heavily-paced, it always hits, and you can feel
these tracks have been polished by time. That's for the music. You could get
it on the vinyl/CD. But as any honest band, the sheer power of RazorOfOccam
is to be understood on stage, and nowhere could you understand it so well:
the 3 Ozzies (Matt ex-Agatus/ Shrapnel from Destroyer666/ Pete) and Chris
(the Irish Adorior Maniac) deliver with such precision, showmanship and
energy it beggars belief how come they are still so unknown! Not for long.
razorwielder@yahoo.com
Decayed, the Portuguese legends were finally there: after years of
inconstant line-up, here they were, even with a drummer! The beginning was
difficult for them: having only 1 guitar and playing heavy just after the
double-guitared hyperspeed trash metal of Razor would have been a challenge
for any band. Contrarily to Razor of O., who electrified everybody on the
spot, it is progressively that Decayed imposed their style and their vision:
track after track, this Bathorish sound was growing stronger and stronger,
the repetitive rythms were stronger and stronger, more and more hypnotic,
more and more in your face, and after 2 or 3 tracks the effect was total,
and, even if I love it personally with the drum machine, I must say the
stage highly benefits from the real drums. Decayed is now hungry, you should
all immediately get in tch with them for dates, they play like no one can, a
traditionnal, personal, BlackMetal. Wherever they play: GO!
Enthroned had not played in the UK since their tour with Primordial and the
pathetic, tired, moronic drones of Rotting Christ. They definitely have fans
on the island and the crowd was here to prove it: every tracks generated a
fury of headbanging in the pit and you can see how pro they were. If Chris
from Razor Of O. was incandescent during his performance, well, so was
Nornagest, Enthroned massive guitar player, banging and yelling, exhorting
the crowd to fucking move and fight. Impressive. Just back
from their tour in Columbia, Ecuador, Chili, Brazil etc, you can see they
have progressed again: frontman Sabathan obviously knows all the tricks in
the book to maintain a crowd in awe and make sure they bow down in front of
this Armaggeddon! The (newest) rest of the Enthroned horde is really full of
vitality and it seems Enthroned is as strong as it has ever been. After a
relatively long set of 75mn (!!) Enthroned's black fucking vomit ceased,
though fans were still screaming and chanting, begging for more. !!
After such a show, the after-party was very chaotic, in the various rooms
and floors of the Slimelight venue, and it's a small wonder how people could
keep up so hyperactive and energetic until 05.00.!!! Too bad for those who
missed this double event, next massive cermony will be the TYRANTS festival
in Rotterdam, Sat. 28th MAY (HellMilitia, NoX, Kaamos, Antaeus, WataiN,
ArkhonInfaustus, Dismember). Check tyrantsfestival.com for more info about
that.
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Merrimack ¤ Diamanthian ¤ Niroth Necro Sadistic Goat Torture ¤ Necro Ritual
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Infinity Club, London - 12 December 2004 -
(Find the venue on a map)
Well, well, well, a veritable feast of underground metal at a dingy little venue on a Sunday night – this takes me back to the good old days of the Devil’s Church at the Red Eye when this sort of gig was a regular weekly occurrence. Since the demise of the aforementioned organisation however, underground shows of this nature have been pretty few and far between and hence it’s a fairly busy Infinity on this most antisocial and indeed antichristian of evenings.
Standing in for the previously billed Pulverized, Croydon’s Necro Ritual deliver a competent set of resolutely old-school Black Metal. Early Burzum collides with Pentagram-era Gorgoroth, vocalist Corseth’s painful shrieks cutting through the rather thin mix with ease. Appropriately sombre and ghoulish, as a tribute to early-nineties Norway, Necro Ritual are certainly convincing but at this relatively embryonic stage in their career they perhaps need to more strongly define their own identity.
Necrosadistic Goat Torture are up next and clatter through a set that seems to rely on sheer exuberance alone, to convince. Sadly for them, it doesn’t really work and their uneasy mix of death, thrash and black metal leaves them rather adrift on waves of audience apathy. To make matters worse, despite the absurdity of their name they seem to be taking themselves fairly seriously. Baffling and faintly disturbing.
Youngsters Niroth have been making a name for themselves over the past 12 months and on the strength of this showing, it is easy to see why. Favouring the strum-heavy and droning end of the Black Metal spectrum, they manage to weave a captivating spell over the first few rows. Mixing elements of early Ulver with the approach of newer acts such as Drudkh, Niroth display a considerable grasp of melody and atmosphere.
Although they do occasionally fall into the trap of becoming a little repetitive at times (with some riffs vastly outstaying their welcome), in the main the band have quality material, well delivered. A honing of the songwriting and a beefing up of the stage presence (the guitarist and the frontman in particular need to work on their onstage confidence) and Niroth will be a worthy addition to the pantheon of black metal produced in the UK.
Diamanthian, to put it bluntly, disappoint. After glowing reviews for their first London performance at the Deathfest earlier this year, expectations were high for a devastating set of (what I had been led to believe was) Scandinavian styled Death Metal, laced with atmospherics and delivered with force. Alas, this evening it was not to be. From the off, they look uncomfortable and the ultra-downtuned guitars render most of the riffing unintelligible. Being without a bassplayer further adds to the sonic confusion and the band quickly become unenjoyable listening. The only decipherable moments come in the form of some slowed down death-doom sections which display very little imagination and fail to banish the sense of ennui generated by the set.
The cavernous, bleak vocals and occasionally inspired solos are the highlight of the performance, primarily because when the leads kick in it is actually possible to hear some notes being played! Maybe with a better sound and full line-up Diamanthian would be a more exciting prospect but on tonight’s showing, they need to raise their game a notch or two.
French black metallers Merrimack take what feels like an eternity to set up and the lengthy preparations, disgruntled frowns and concerned mutterings from the stage had this reviewer growing increasingly nervous as to what the quality of the sound would be like. They launch into ‘Suicide’ and as feared, the sound is a cluttered mess. Thankfully, things are tidied up considerably as the song progresses and by the time the discordant guitar trails usher in ‘Paedophylic Orgasmatron’, Merrimack seriously hit their stride, putting in a striking showing.
Vocalist Hate is an absolute monster, a towering corpse-painted figure flailing dangerously on the cramped stage and howling like a wounded animal. The band are certainly no slouches either and play with passion and precision, scything through their material and unleashing a barrage of impressive riffs. This is unashamed, unabashed black metal yet for all it’s orthodoxy it is surprisingly dynamic with frequent shifts between rhythms and pacing. As a result, and armed with an increasingly demented frontman, Merrimack make a compelling live proposition.
Momentum is quelled ever so slightly by the lengthy pauses between numbers but this is a minor quibble when compared to the power of the performance. Merrimack prove tonight that they mean business and that they are a true contender - in fact with the benefit of hindsight, this is in many ways a superior show to the far higher-profile Dissection gig that took place 2 days later. Sadly, the onset of flu meant that I had to leave before the end of the set as I physically could not stand up any longer. However, I saw and heard enough to convince me beyond doubt that Merrimack are on the rise. Black metal’s increasingly complacent elite need to start looking over their shoulders – the new breed are snapping at their heels and on tonight’s evidence, they’re hungry.
(Review by Frank)
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Aborym ¤ Arkhon Infaustus Reign of Erebus ¤ Black Lodge
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Elektrowerkz (Slimelight), London - 29 November 2003 -
(Find the venue on a map)
There are varying shades of black metal, but Reign Of Erebus are rrow painting the colour that greets your eyes when you gaze into a black hole.
The thick, aural blackness is choking, the mesmeric violence of their craft awesome to behold. No doubt those eardrum-shattering blasts of snare couldshift tectonic plates if they were directed hell-ward.
The development of aformidable stage presence testifies to the blackened halo of respectabilitythat these hoodlums have attained.
Arkhon Infaustus take the boards in inauspicious circumstances, sound checking for some ten minutes before their set begins. The studio output of these Frenchmen tends to be over-rated, and tonight their performance is little more than respectable.
Musically, its clear that the band owe much to a sickly, churning death metal vibe than to the mega-blast of base-level Norsecore. While the frontman looks strangely respectable in his red clerical
collar, the gangly guitarist’s awkward movements and Tourette-style grimaces are strangely suited to the hideous cacophony he is creating. Indeed, this is someone whose mugshot we can expect to appear on Crimewatch in the near future.
Aborym, on the other hand, are a spectacle down to the last man. Among theassorted costumes are an SS jacket, a gas mask, a balaclava and (best of all) a flashing, electronic inverted cross.
The bearded Attila, dressed in camouflage waistcoat and sporting a mohican, wouldn’t look out of place on the fringes of a ‘Guns and Ammo’ convention. At first, the sound is awful, but soon those eerie vibes are permeating the hail and the drum machine’s jackhammer rhythms are inciting some crowd movement.
Isolated cliques within black metal had been promising to evolve in this way for some time, but almost all ended up sounding infantile in the attempt. By contrast, Aborym have the knack of sounding both malevolent and comically mischievous all at once and the resulting compound of blackened violence and spectral electronica is genuinely invigorating. During the prolonged techno intermission, Attila has the stage to himself, nodding furiously to the merciless beat.
Then, before the curfew, the drum machine is unplugged and none other than Faust himself takes the drum stool, a fitting coda for a band who haven't let their ancient roots strange their vision of the new Satanic Millennium.
(Review by Terrorizer Mag)
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Enthroned ¤ Immemorial ¤ Thus Defiled Reign Of Erebus ¤ Acolytes Ruin
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The Underworld, London - 21 September 2002 -
(Find the venue on a map)
It seems like ages since a proper Black Metal gig hit the capital. This was
an excellent bill and gave us ample time to perfect our necro posturing
skills.
First up were Acolytes Ruin who proceeded to rip our faces off with
their brand of uncompromising (no fucking keyboard) violence. Unfortunately
the term "shit happens" springs to mind and everything that could have gone
wrong basically did. Firstly a monkey would have probably done a better job
on the sound desk and every band suffered from his ineptitude. The vocals
were completely lost in the mix as they snarled into The Grimness of
Necrology. This wasn't going to stop those in the venue already from
enjoying themselves though. I was amused as hell to watch guitarist Andy
posturing away and people running up to him and prostrating themselves in
adoration. Unfortunately not everyone was having a good time of it as
singer/guitarist Ewchymlaen had broken the strap on one guitar and strings
on another and had to give up on them. Strangely enough, his vocals now were
so much louder without his guitar they were actually piercing eardrums.
Drummer Andy Emmerson managed to get in on the fuck ups and lost a
drumstick, but they soldiered on with To Dance On A Grave. They won everyone
over and got rapturous applause with the obligatory Emperor cover Night Of
The Graveless Souls.
This was the second time I had caught Reign Of Erebus and again they were
completely cataclysmic. Surging forward from a grand satanic intro they
launched into a blastbeat fuelled hellfest of extremity. Funeral Of The
Nazarene has the words christ raping written all over it and the bands
corpse paint exemplifies the image without looking stupid. Guitarist Paul (I
cant remember what name he goes by in this band) (probably Fat Paul - Steve)
(sorry Paul) was playing his first of two sets and let loose with his
patented rambling solos. I tried to get singer Cthonian to raise a smile,
but he was having none of it and glowered away. He screamed out, "the
Antichrist has spoken" and we could have almost believed him. This lot
really need sending to Norway so they can teach the natives how to play
again. The tolling industrial keyboard claxons brought to mind Red Harvest.
We had a drunken idiot, (who had been annoying everyone all night), venture
up onto the stage. After he was thrown off the second time several people
put the boot in and had him slumped and passed out at the back of the venue.
I was later told he had knocked out some of the equipment and almost ruined
the set so I didn't feel sorry for him in the slightest. Stormwinds Of
Lucifer was followed by closer Warfare (Zyklon cover) and The Fog joined in
on guest vocals. This was a sterling performance of Black metal at its very
best.
Following this was no easy task, but Thus Defiled were just the band to do
so. Paul Fozzie D frantically disappeared into the toilet to get rid of the
corpse paint (we hear a good coating of spunk does the job nicely). The
intro they use is pure Russell Crowe and Thus Defiled set about unleashing
hell in their own inimitable style. It took a while for the sound to gel, as
the soundman was having problems extracting his finger from his rectum. We
got there in the end and the sprawling Fire Serpent Dawn was aired. I proved
a point from my recent review of this, as looking around I noticed a rare
thing at a black metal gig. The grim necro poses had been cast off and
people were jigging around with big shit eating grins on their faces. By
Beyond The 7th Circle Of Fire the sound was spot on and people were flocking
down the front and the pit was full of hair twirling motion. The
instrumental jam in Of Shadow And Storm was stickier than a pot of
Robinson's finest and had the air guitar well and truly out for me. Yet
again Paul Carter and his band of evil fiends won the Gladiatorial contest
hands down.
I missed the start of Immemorial and walked into rapturous applause. I
quickly discovered that the reason behind it was due to singer Karolina
whipping her top off. As she still had another layer on under it, the
testosterone fuelled crowd were able to concentrate on the music. With a
voice like she has and such a crushing stage presence it really is
impossible to concentrate on the rest of the band. It was the second time I
had caught them and the second time the sound has not done them the justice
they deserve. Due to the Polish growled introductions and the fact that
Steve has their debut album Monologue, I cant comment on the track titles.
Despite the fact they play a more death-orientated brand of metal than the
blackened variety they still had the pit whipped up in a fervour. I found
myself both compelled and entranced by the performance. The instrumentation
was brutally melodic and at times I caught glimpses of underlying Prog
tendencies that were not far removed from Opeth. Sugarcoma forget it, Arch
Enemy watch out, Holy Moses start praying. I think you have some serious
competition here. A cover of Kreator classic Extreme Aggression certainly
did them no harm either.
Headliners Enthroned were playing these shores for the very first time. They
almost made it before with Borknagar but the tour got cancelled as
unfortunately drummer Cernunnos hung himself. Now signed to Napalm they made
their intentions clear from the offset. Destroy, crush and pulverise seemed
to be the name of their game and boy did they do it well. The drums at first
sounded like they were firing out of a biscuit tin and I was forced to give
my grimmest necro glare at the soundman. He scuttled around and managed to
sort the problem out quickly. I really liked the somewhat shrill vocals of
singer Lord Sabbathan as he led them on a blitzkrieg set that was
unrelenting and magnificent. I was also taken in by guitarist Nornagest who
was an imposing figure. With one of the maddest metal hairstyles I have seen
in a long time he came across a bit like a deranged wookie. The hits were
fired out in a furious fashion and we had a whole hours worth of them Ha
Shaitan and Evil Church made their thoughts on religion all too apparent.
With Bloodline blaring out I realised just how well this lot could play.
This was definitely one of the best black metal performances I have seen in
a long while. For a second I actually thought that blood had began to drip
from the ceiling, but it was just beer and sweat. They didn't really seem to
like people sharing the stage even the girlies and one young lass (who shall
remain nameless) got rather vexed with Nornagest and even took a swipe at
him. Her ejection from the stage will surely result in a bruise. Not content
with actually playing in 2 bands Paul (FD) also wiped out some people from a
flattening stage dive (ouch). We were all in a state of drunken glory by the
time this one had finished. Enthroned cleaned up with another Kreator cover,
Under The Guillotine before we headed out to the night.
Now who the hell was it that said "all Belgians are boring ?"
(Review by Pete/Terrorizer Mag)
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