ABGOTT, NECRORITUAL & DISGUISE
LONDON BARFLY, 02/03/08
Billed as a night of pure black metal with no compromise we were not let down on this score in the slightest. It was good to see that the hordes had gathered and the venue had quite a few bodies in giving support to all 3 bands. I have to say I was a bit surprised that the visiting Italian band Disguise were 1st on, I had expected them to be the main support. However as things unfolded it seemed like a justified decision in the end.
I had forgotten quite how good the band’s debut album ‘Human Primordial Instinct’ was before I blew the dust off it the afternoon of the gig and gave it another spin. This cult convey a keyboard driven dark atmosphere and this was replicated onstage this evening. After a slight hiccup the corpse painted clan steamed into things with a good sound mix taking me somewhat by surprise as it set out to flatten the venue. It was almost as if the gates of hell had suddenly been flung open with the feral assault rife with beastly melody. Singer Vastator Mentis vomited out his parts with a rasping fury as the instrumental sturm and drang volleyed out the speakers.
Must admit I didn’t recognise anything particularly from the set, they have a newer album ‘Late’ and one cut ‘Into the black void (sea of vacuous hulls)’ was particularly impressive. One thing that was certainly recognisable though was a storming rendition of Satyricon’s Mother North, which had fists pumping down the front and the band joined by Abgott’s Agamoth for a sing-along. The stage presence was really noticeable and the band flung themselves into things as if they were the headlining act; this gradually got the audience to interact and think Disguise certainly gained a few new fans tonight and they left the stage to rabid, drunken yells of approval.
Nothing I like more than being made to eat my words. The 1st time I caught Necro Ritual said words were scathing to say the least. I had only caught the end of their set supporting Watain and didn’t have a chance to see them properly in action again until tonight. Basically this was a different class of band, far more professional and commanding and they did an excellent job delivering the goods.
They had a bit of a support group down the front too who were lapping things up and baying like beasts to the likes of ‘Beyond The Sword’. Somewhat gnarly and slow burning at start but guitars scythed into action and spiked gauntlets were held aloft as the antichristian sermon raged into action. Singer Corseth commanded the troops and the boneheads at the front of the stage were really getting into things now and by ‘Warcry’ there was even some pit action once the slow crushing gravity built up and exploded into a welter of strobes and screams.
Abgott came onto what can only be described as a downright eerie and spatial instrumental which for some reason reminded me of the Clangers but I will put that down to a cold and too much beer. Blazing into ‘Krono’s Cosmic Throne’ we were assaulted by some incredibly dextrous guitar chops that really are out of the dimension as far as their complex flow is concerned. Singer Agamoth looking particularly vampiric in a blood spattered white shirt added a theatrical flourish to proceedings and as ever guitarist Thanatos looked like a prime artefact of madness.
British Steel and Latin chants combined and intensity here was at a premium. In fact it was so damn intense that someone way too close to me dropped their bowels, cheers a lot! ‘Experiment In Evil’ lived up to its hellish premise with the drumming flying off the Richter scale as the Lovecraftian beast bit and tore us into the vacuum of ‘Black Light Scenario.’ Well they say that the female of the species is more deadly than the male and a completely unexpected pairing of Agamoth and Christine from Interlock brought the house down in spectacular fashion. Never have the words beauty and the beast been more valid and as the beer took over and my notes scrawled into illegibility thus ended another great performance with ‘Countess Bathory’ being the last thing I remember.
Pete Woods
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOGRAPHS
MTUK HOME
