It’s an early start today and things are quick to get underway as the first of three London based support bands kick off proceedings to the small gathered throng in the grim and grimy enclaves of the Electrowerkz. There were some bands who were new to me today but that is all the better than catching the same ones over and over again and in near darkness the oddly named Vatigal Surrd were the first of these to take the stage. Their brand of ‘Luciferian black metal’ suited the stygian dimness well and they sounded gnarly and somewhat ravenous with razor sharp guitars swirling out of the billowing icy fug. They instantly hit the mark as they oozed out a ritualistic and orthodox sound, which kind of made those of us in at the start feel the need to worship some sort of foul deity. There is more than a hint of Mayhem behind them and singer Kristian is a commanding force as he gurgles and cackles along, slashing his throat with his finger as the nihilism of the music spreads its depressive talons into us. A good and intriguing start
By name Premature Birth sound like they are going to be a death metal band but this is way off the mark as they come onto a Suspiria sounding keyboard weave and explode into a thundering drum salvo and blackened vocal rasps. There are candles and incense on the stage and plenty of dry ice adding to the atmosphere and despite the band looking very young they certainly make up for this with an angry multi-layered sound that pretty much knocks me off my feet. Blazing away with full bodied might, again I was impressed straight away as they blasted hell for leather with guitars scything and the keyboards eerily lurking in the background and adding extra textures to the heady sound. Twin vocals made up for the last part of this unholy cacophony and the now busier venue had plenty of people head banging away to the velocity driven rampage. Songs were very long and complex and some of the guitar riffs literally scorched and blistered as they were unleashed. If the last lot had a bit of Mayhem about them this lot were a youthful Emperor. Playing songs such as ‘Wandering In The Night’ off their debut EP release they certainly made their mark and were another fresh new talent giving UKBM a serious and sincere gravity.
Scutum Crux are a band I have witnessed a couple of times and the Polish exiles look suitably necrotic and really have got their make-up looking just right and downright scary, you certainly wouldn’t want to bump into them wearing it down a dark alley. But image without the music to back it up is worthless but luckily they walk the talk with songs such as ‘Chaos Ritual’ from new album ‘The Second Sun’ proving the point. It’s got an ugly uncouth feel about it, there’s some vocal reverb and a cleaving sheen of filth, grime and rot, which is no bad thing at all. Singer Demiurge rasps and barks along to the sharp, shrill guitar tones which have an underlying technical edge. This sounds old school with no real finesse but the rough edges, cracking drums and cymbal blasts drive it along nicely. Blackly thrashing away we were carried on the horns of the goat with bloodlust in our eyes. I was reminded here of a primitive and compelling sound comparable with bands like Root and Masters Hammer and it really added to the versatility of the evening.
Onto the touring bands and unfortunately there had been a casualty as Crest Of Darkness had been forced to leave the tour citing sickness as the reason. The tour bus can hardly be the healthiest of places and one would worry if Niklas played nursemaid and started handing out pharmaceuticals to everyone but luckily Sterbhaus had survived any ordeal and the Swedish band were on fine form tonight. They surprised me a great deal as they were happy and bouncy and one would not have expected that as a support act to Shining. I had a first listen to them prior to the show and had a bit of an idea what to expect. Looking like they had been rolling in coal and with singer Marcus having an impressive microphone stand there was quite a visual element here. They grooved and moved around a bit like an out of control express train coming off the rails. They struck as a bit of a crossover act not quite fitting in anywhere firmly but at the same time fitting in everywhere, if that makes sense. There was a thrashing spontaneity about their fast delivered songs and although they had a hard time getting this audience on side their first UK show was certainly gaining some new supporters, one of which was the singer’s dad apparently seeing them for the first time! Even after just one listen I am pretty sure I recognised ‘Absolutely Do Not Die’ which I had just listened to at home as it rolled over us. They have some odd song titles and plenty of chops to match them as things moved from rollocking bursts of rot n roll into some classic Swedish hardcore licks, via doses of avantinsanity. ‘House Of The Dead Dwarf’ was one of those titles and I wonder if it was a tribute to Olaf from a certain classic Danish film. Somewhere down the line was a burst of Country and Western which no doubt had even the most miserable members of the audience grinning (or cutting themselves in the toilets) and all in all this was a fun and light hearted yet heavy experience. No doubt all that was about to change.
I found myself wedged on the front of the stage pretty much unable to move as I obviously wanted to get some pictures during Shining. The audience behind were pretty volatile from the second the band start. Although Niklas Kvarforth gets the big cheers as he comes on slightly behind the rest of the players. It is quickly evident that the show is not just his and the rest of the band get plenty of admiration from their frontman during the course of the show. You never really know quite what to expect from the singer as his infamy spreads before him and at first I thought oh this could all go wrong as he came on carrying what looked like a bottle of Jack and Jim in each hand. Tonight however it was all about the music and a lesson in exactly how good the band are at it. I had perfect vantage point to watch live guitarist Euge Valovirta and bassist Christian Larsson do their stuff right in front of me but unfortunately younger guitar prodigy Peter Huss was right over the other side of the stage.
Death grunts were par of the course from both the vocalist and the crowd during every quiet part but the atmosphere seemed to change as the clean vocal chorus of ‘Ohm (Sommar med Siv)’ took hold and the mood really lightened. Niklas was even going as far as stroking people’s heads at the front and gave the impression of being some sort of divine cult leader as the rest of the band really got into their parts. This ritual was not of self- destruction that was to come later as for now things had turned into some sort of 70’s love camp, a very odd vibe but an incredibly mellow one as the music totally expressed itself. Turning things to that self-destruction it was a different affair with grunts aplenty, thumbs held down and some very flamboyant musicianship (yep the old guitar played behind head trick was trotted out and as ever impressed) and was that water being drunk on stage?
I have to admit I tranced out a fair bit during the set and it had me in its grip a bit like a fever dream with no need for any recreational drug use. The slap round the face that brought me out of it was no doubt the excellent ‘Förtvivlan, Min Arvedel’ instantly recognisable due to the dose of sunshine of its intro and the belched out grunt along with the jagged guitar weave. Yet another excellent display here and one that seemed to go down well with everyone and despite a slight disappoint at not seeing Crest Of Darkness there was nothing to complain about here and the organisation and everything was excellent. It’s great to have some fairly new promoters in town really doing the business. The only dilemma on staggering out was whether to catch the train home in a dream induced haze or throw oneself under it. Luckily the latter was the much more sensible option.
(Review and photos © Pete Woods)
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