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A number
of years ago I worked at ‘The Forum’ with a promoter who organised Sunday
afternoons chock-a-full of debauched fun. The programme, which included strip
shows, beer drinking contests and other rowdy games was dubbed ‘The Church’ – a
name no doubt inspired by the church next door to the venue. Fast forward to
last 10th February and the irony of having such a neighbour is still
a popular source of mirth. For tonight’s event must surely be the ultimate Black
Metal bonanza, a no-brainer for fans of the genre.
And so,
as the rain incessantly fell and clouds lay a widening veil over what little
sunlight there was in that part of London, a cold Scandinavian wind was about to
cement this ambience of darkness...
Svarttjern
After
having visited the merchandise stand to drool over some Behemoth shirts, I
rushed over to the pit to snap a few shots of Svarttjern, tonight’s sole
representative of Norwegian Black Metal.
The show
kicked off with a bang but unfortunately after the first couple of numbers the
press contingent was faced with a series of bizarre and frustrating security
cock-ups. As a result of this, I pretty much missed more than half Svarttjern’s
show. It was hard to give a realistic rating and review and, to a certain
extent, I decided to give the band the benefit of the doubt. The guitars sounded
like a blur from where I was, but I was unable to roam the venue and get a more
balanced idea of Svarttjern’s sonic delivery. The drums sounded quite good,
though.
Occasionally Svarttjern reminded me of the inherent limitations of the Black
Metal music genre but their stage-act was dynamic and interesting enough to make
me wish I could see more. The set showcased all of the band’s repertoire and
included ‘Ultimatum Necrophilia’ and ‘Hymns For The Molested’ taken from
“Ultimatum Necrophilia” – Svarttjern’s brand new album released only 3 days
before the gig.
Set-list:
Upon Human Ending
Breathing Soil
Ultimatum Necrophilia
Hellig Jord
Stillborn Acolyte
Hymns For The Molested
Code Human
RATING: 73/100
Inquisition
Inquisition are a 2-man band from Colombia and
U.S.A. and up until the moment before the band stepped onto the stage I was
wondering which session musicians would complete the live formation. No-one, it
turned out. ‘The Forum’ is a 2300 capacity venue and its stage is quite large so
having two guys fighting for the audience’s approval must have been daunting.
Nevertheless, the duo gave an admirably strong
performance. Some vocal effects were occasionally used to complement the
piercing screams and growls of Dagon (vocals and guitar). Inquisition have an
interesting take on Black Metal – at times it’s slow and ominous and other times
it’s ruthlessly violent. Whatever the situation, the music is always dark and
gives the impression of being a sort of requiem for someone sinking slowly but
surely though thick quicksand. The drums seem to be an important part of all
this and in fact drummer Incubus seemed to be deeply immersed in the
performance.
A small section of the crowd right in front of the
stage seemed to be familiar with the band’s material and lapped up the whole
set. Apart from this, though, there was still a relative inertia within the
venue. Towards the end, Dagon acknowledged the audience and briefly said
something about the band before then introducing the last number. It was nice to
hear him try to cultivate some sort of band/audience rapport.
An altogether engaging performance.
Set-list:
Force of the Floating Tomb
Nefarious Dismal Orations
Command of the Dark Crown
Embraced by the Unholy Powers of Death and Destruction
Those of the Night
Crush of the Jewish Prophet
Astral Path to Supreme Majesties
Infinite Interstellar Genocide/OUTRO
RATING: 81/100
In Solitude
Before their show started, the members of In
Solitude did a quick soundcheck and consequentially sort of blew the impact they
could have had when stepping onto the stage to play. As a pre-recorded intro
ended, the quintet came on (again) to make the stage their own domain. Proving
to be fantastic musicians and innate performers, the band kicked off with an
exposition of their recent “Sister” album. By this point the aforementioned
security hassles had been ironed out so I was able to enjoy all their show.
Some hecklers (Black Metal purists?) were heard
stoking In Solitude, the only band on the bill not to wear corpsepaint. I had
the impression vocalist Pelle Åhman assimilated his response to these hecklers
into the lyrics of the song he was singing. If I’m right, then that was a classy
move!
At one point Pelle introduced a song, saying “This
is a song about killing something that you love”. Suddenly I heard that
ear-splitting sound of when one takes a jack out of a guitar while the sound is
still full on and Pelle said “That’s it. It’s over.” And the band abruptly left
the stage. Later I was told that previous band's ran over their allocated time
(and COF certainly needed all the time they could get to assemble all their
props on stage…more on that later). Without a doubt that was the most awesome
parting comment I’ve ever heard (“…killing something that you love.”). It’s
ironic it wasn’t even planned to be that way. At least I don’t think it was.
In Solitude provided a different musical dimension
to the event and although darkness certainly pervades the band’s music, there
were a number of occasions where they appeared to be conspicuously out of place
tonight. And that’s a pity because their show was tight, excellently delivered
and the material was top-notch.
Set-list:
Death Knows Where
Lavender
A Buried Sun
Sister
RATING: 83/100
Cradle Of Filth
It’s been ages that I’ve wanted to experience a
Cradle Of Filth show in the flesh. Although they aren’t a personal favourite,
I’ve regularly enjoyed the depth of their music over the years. I notice the
drum kit is at the side of the stage, numerous props have sprouted all over the
stage, a huge central screen serves as a sort of backdrop (which would show cult
horror movie excerpts and band promo-clips during the show)…..all this raises
the general anticipation to fever pitch levels.
Cradle Of Filth’s show turns out to be an enjoyable
experience with the band members themselves resembling character actors in some
horror movie. Vocalist Dani Filth turns out to be the charismatic frontman I’ve
always heard him to be. His singing technique is astounding and nonetheless so
when hopping around the stage, even if I did hear him falter on one or two
occasions. I was also impressed by the (female backing) vocals of Lindsey
Matheson, who doubled up as keyboard player.
‘Haunting Shores’ and ‘Nymphetamine’ were
particularly well delivered, I thought. I also appreciated inclusion of older
material, such as ‘Born In A Burial Gown’ and ‘Her Ghost In The Fog’. Polish
guitarist Ashok made a few obvious mistakes but one can hardly hold it against
him - he filled in for the temporarily indisposed James McIlroy/Paul Allender at
very short notice. Special kudos go to Dani for acknowledging all the bands on
the bill and insisting that the audience applauded them all.
As far as live shows go, Cradle Of Filth are very
much benchmarks of pomp and drama within Metaldom…well, at least within the
Black Metal genre. And yet I cannot suppress a nagging feeling at the back of my
mind that they have also become the Kiss of Black Metal. Whether that’s a good
or bad thing is subjective I guess.
Set-list:
Cthulu Dawn
A Dream Of Wolves
Summer Dying Fast
The Principle of Evil Made Flesh
Beneath The Howling Stars
For Your Vulgar Delectation
Haunting Shores
Nymphetamine
Born In A Burial Gown
Cruelty Bought Thee Orchids
Her Ghost In The Fog
Funeral In Carpathia (encore)
RATING: 86/100
Behemoth
In English, the word ‘behemoth’ is sometimes used
as a metaphor for immensity or for scales of epic proportions. How appropriate!
The visual impact of co-headliners Behemoth was majestic but classy…and
sometimes downright scary. Not just that, but the quality of musicianship, the
performance, the visuals, the sound…..it was all incredible. And the whole
package reeked of genuinity.
Although I particularly like Behemoth’s material
that leans towards Death Metal, I never really explored the band’s music in
great depth. After tonight, though, this is likely to change. As I expected, the
band played a selection of tracks from “The Satanist”, the album Behemoth
released only one week before the gig but the set-list was actually
representative of all the band’s repertoire. The Polish Metal fans of London
were there to enthusiastically support the bands from their motherland, as they
always do, and I can’t help but admire them for that.
To be honest three letters would have sufficed to
review Behemoth’s show: ‘Wow!’
As the last notes ebbed away and an elated audience
dragged itself out, it became clear that this night would not be forgotten in a
hurry. All bands fell within the Black Metal category (more or less), but all
had something different to offer. And a pair of eyes next door looked on in
envy…..
Set-list:
Blow Your Trumpet Gabriel
Ora Pro Nobis
Conquer All
Decade of Therion
Intro + As Above So Below
Slaves Shall Serve
Christians to the Lions
Hidden In A For / Driven
The Satanist
Ov Fire and the Void
Furor Divinus
Alas, Lord is upon me
At The Left Hand ov God
Chant of the Eastern Lands
O Father, O Satan, O Sun
RATING: 100/100
All photos (except poster) by Chris Galea.
Attending:
Chris Galea |
