I know I’m not alone in welcoming the shift from enforced impersonal video streams of concerts to live performance. Frankly I wasn’t really bothered who it was I went to see first in the post-soulless era but it was good that tonight’s trio offered a diverse musical perspective. Another bonus was that the concert was taking place at the extremely hospitable Portland Arms near to the centre of Cambridge.

112 tickets had been sold in advance, and a few more paid on the day. It looked like everyone was there from the start. The job of reintroducing me to live performance fell to Must Kill. This self-named killing set about their thrashing business with aplomb. Now here’s the hard part: to convey the energy to the spectators, who probably like me were weighing it all up. No problem. Must Kill hit a nice groove from the outset. The riffs were hard-hitting, solid as a rock and pleasing to the ear. Thrashy death metal is their game but with melody. Understandably there wasn’t a lot of movement on stage from this likeable band who I learnt hadn’t played live for 16 months but it was their drummer who stepped up and stole the show for me. Always a key cog in the machine and particularly so for this rampant style, he wore me out just by watching him release 16 months of pent-up energy. The band played material from their ep “Ghost Malevolent” but the highlight for me was a thumping brain-invading song which I learnt on making enquiries later is new and without title. I was not alone in appreciating Must Kill. Half an hour of headbanging – just what the doctor ordered. Well, maybe not Uncle Chris Whitty.

Cambridge band Akkadian were up next. A man in a flowing collarless white shirt subtle face artwork and a mop of black hair was the lead singer, that is when he wasn’t lying down, hopping about or curling up in a ball. He laughed later when I introduced myself and told him that I somehow how had to capture Akkadian’s set in words. White Shirt Man started in angry mode and hopped around a bit, but was drowned out by a thunderous metalcore riff and an imbalance in the sound department. Richness of sound was Akkadian’s hallmark, but these were not the only riches that the next half hour was going to reveal. The sound man had his work cut out as the band played a mixture of deep grooves, heavy metal, psychedelia and carefully constructed insanity. White Shirt Man described “Agenda” as “a bit busy”. Clearly it was a heavy agenda. Drums banged, the bass was deep, that groove prevailed and the sound, which was now clearing up after the initial fog, was subtle, having an eastern touch and giving a hazy psychedelic air.

Rising to the occasion, White Shirt Man went into a trance and managed to fall off the stage. “It’s a bit toasty in here”, he announced prior to the next song. He wasn’t wrong. A doomy sound led to metalcore thunder, and as White Shirt Man’s voice echoed in the air, the accompanying sound was like mystical black metal while the technical groove remained. I had no idea where Akkadian were going, and for this very reason I loved it. This was hypnotically good. White Shirt Man felt he deserved a lie down so he had one on stage while his mates pumped out a deadly tune. Speaking of mates, a couple of hooded zombie aliens popped up at the front of the crowd and stared at us unsuspecting audience members before joining the throng in headbanging as the deep groove continued. The ambiance became increasing haunting and mystical as “Serpentine” then brought more intrigue with its echoing darkness and watertight progressive passages. White Shirt Man remained unhinged. Akkadian finished with a combination of thumping thrash n roll and psychedelic haze as White Shirt Man spewed out his mystical vocals, culminating with blood-curdling screams. He danced like a spaced-out hippie at Woodstock. Hippies, alien zombies, mysticism, rock n roll, great riffs and grooves – what’s not to like? Deservedly, as White Shirt Man, lay prostate on the floor for the last time, Akkadian received rapturous approval for this theatrical and technically intriguing performance.

Countless Skies were tonight’s headliners and came with a strong reputation. I wasn’t so acquainted with them myself, and by way of preparation listened to their 2020 album “Glow” and a few other songs in order that I had an idea what to expect. Let’s get something out of the way here first. Everything I read about them seemed to mention that they sound like Insomnium and Be’lakor. I’ll add Opeth, Omnium Gatherum and Agalloch to that list. My hope and expectation, I suppose, was that tonight they would take me to some imaginative place with their progressively styled melodic death metal. I looked forward to it. Now I don’t know their music well enough to know everything that they played but I do know that their set featured music from their 2016 New Dawn album and ended with the appropriately stormy “Tempest” off the new album. Loftiness is the word I’d use to characterise the music. Along the way we experienced a vast expanse of ambitious soundscapes including the 20 minute “Glow”. Countless Skies took us repeatedly to higher places, but also visited the valleys below with mellow passages. Ferocious growls and clean vocals provide contrast. When I listened to the recorded version of “Glow”, I didn’t like the clean vocals, finding them a bit shrill. But here they were perfect. The pitch was right, and in the same way that Persefone’s Miguel provides clarification and clarity and enlightenment, so did Countless Skies’s Phil provide balance in this fragile and harsh environment.

But here’s the thing. The guy next to me in the audience was wetting himself with excitement at this spiritual migration. I just didn’t feel the same. I struggled to embrace the majesty. I put my pen down and tried to absorb it as a total experience, but I struggled. I looked around me and could see the crowd reaction was positive but not the same as the Enthusiastic Guy. I needed him to infect me – not literally of course, especially in current times – with his enthusiasm. Yet I knew what I was witnessing was magical guitar work from James, both pure ferocity and crystal clarity from the vocalists, vivid drumming and sublime expression from the other instrumentalists. When you’re creating lofty sounds from faraway places, then it can be difficult to interact with audiences, and many don’t, but Countless Skies do make the attempt. Forgiving the “oi, oi. oi” and the “I can’t hear you”, which are personal hang-ups and weren’t overdone to be fair, I did laugh at Phil’s suggestion that “now’s the time for a toilet break” in advance of the 20 minute epic “Glow”. I think my blockage was that I couldn’t find a flow, as each song comprised for me a series of long majestic passages which transformed before becoming more self-contained long majestic passages. The component parts, substantial as they were, weren’t making a whole. The atmosphere was summed up in a lyric from the suitably titled “Ethereal”: “Tenacious and majestic … enduring and composing”. Pompous and complex it was, and maybe a little self-indulgent too but so too was it dreamy, bouncy, rhythmic and at times hypnotising. I credit Countless Skies with their ability to turn passive scenes into ones of great import and majesty. The transitions of mood between tranquillity, gloom and storm were superb, much like the passing of one season into the next, which all made my lack of connection seem stranger. We experienced harsh scenes, self-reflection, struggle and ascendance into glory. The energy and power were not in doubt. After the crushing climax of “Glow”, “Tempest” gave us more-mind blowing guitar work from James. So ended an hour of enormity. By this stage the Enthusiastic Guy was hopping up and down as if he’d just had a religious experience. I would have asked him what he liked so much about Countless Skies but out of humanity I left it as I didn’t want to break his trance. I can ask him another time. This is a band I need to listen to more, so I need to do more homework. and look forward to seeing them again in maybe a greater state of enlightenment.

Before the event, my concern was that this was going to be like a pre-season fixture where players and spectators were finding their way. I needn’t have worried. Here were three bands with personality and great musical talents, and whilst nervousness was inevitable after long periods away, the performances were outstanding. It’s more than that of course. My experience started even before the concert began when James of Countless Skies gatecrashed my photo of the Portland Arms – I can’t for the life of me explain why I was taking one – and it led to me meeting him and Phil and having a nice conversation. And that’s it – the whole evening was convivial. Through the medium of boring live streams you can’t talk to people, watch people, observe odd things, or enjoy mutual friendship and happiness. It’s great to be back.

Review and Photos Andrew Doherty