ONDSKAPT, DEAD CONGREGATION, NOCTURNAL GRAVES, GRAVE MIASMA & SKALDIC CURSE
LONDON ELECTROWERKZ 28/11/9
It was a foul night for the combined assault of underground death and black metal hitting London Town. With half the tube network down it could have been a nightmare for the bands and promoters alike but with the venue opening on time (a first for this place) the only real casualty was opener’s Skaldic Curse playing as many stayed in the pub rather than face a queue in the pouring rain. Thorny guitars and a statuesque grimacing singer bore down before the cursers unleashed their full destructive ritual with instruments spiralling away in a misanthropic hate fuelled vortex. The lighting in this place is wan, and washed out bathing the players in cold blues and sickly green pastel shades and leaving them looking blanched. They went about ‘Slaughtering The Useless’ in style and the weird sound worked well despite the intro of ‘World Suicide Machine’ sounding suitably mangled. Contagion was spread with a cancerous tenacity and an air of negativity had those of us here grounded. They only had time for 4 songs but their impact was felt by all.
Grave Miasma formerly Goat Molester are not one of those UK bands who play at the drop of the hat and this rare performance was certainly anticipated and reflected in an audience cramming to the front. Candles and skulls were placed on stage and a slightly rotten stench arose although this could have all been in the mind. Musically this was totally bestial and barbaric sounding like it had come from South American slums where life is cheap, bands die after being executed following their second show and the after-party is a snuff show shoot. The vocals were particularly impressive and roared like caveman yells with echo and reverb blowing through the venue. After grabbing some photos and head banging action I realised just how many were behind me and wondered where they had suddenly crawled out the woodwork from. Songs from new MCD ‘Exalted Emanation’ such as ‘Kussa'u Tibtihu’ sounded completely ferocious and this was a display that will not be forgotten in a hurry.
Correct me if I am wrong but I doubt any of the three visiting bands have played here before, making this a real one off opportunity to see them. First up were Australians Nocturnal Graves a trio whose pedigree combines ex members of Destroyer 666, Hobbs Angel Of Death and Toxic Holocaust amongst others. They had come from the other side of the world and demanded audience interaction and make no mistake with their excellent and vigorous brand of black thrash they got it. It was like a manic squat party in this place and you simply do not often see a UK audience this unreserved and going for it, sure alcohol helped but fair play to all concerned. This outback thrash had everyone going so mental it took me a couple of songs to realise it was actually the drummer Nuclear Exterminator doing the singing here. Distance means nothing when guitar strings are snapped and there was a slight break as things were fixed with the vocalist resorting to audience banter. ‘Skullthrone’ saw them back at it and blazing away as fast as fuck and ‘Nocturnal Maniac’ was well named as it was night and every cunt here was mad. The three visiting bands all had suitably long set times and this lot packed as much as possible into theirs and for me a particular highlight was ‘Souls Of The Dead.’ I thought this lot were headliner material and had no idea how the next band were going to follow them.
All we saw and heard was death! The Greek band Dead Congregation were gloriously (and I hate overusing the phrase but it so fits here) old school despite the fact they only formed back in 2004. Things really were multinational here as a quick chat with the photographer I was sharing space with informed that he was actually from Chile! The group got off to a slow start with shimmering guitars but the following explosion was akin to being hit with an axe and the crowd reacted just as violently behind me. This was tighter than fitting something very large into a particularly small hole and although I am more of a black metal fan and very picky over what I like death metal wise I found that I could not help but enjoy this barbarous assault. There was an arcane and ritualistic feel to the music and the graven sound piled up one second before breaking into more moribund and reflective peaks with an air of grace about them. They also had an intense groove about them which was impossible not to headbang away to. One song had a Godfleshian swagger to it and it was evident the group could lay off the extremity and effortlessly jam away, working the crowd as they did so. Just as I though this, an old one ‘Lucid Curse’ was mercilessly battered out and brutality again prevailed. It was more akin to the likes of Angelcorpse as the galloped towards the finish line in a wall of dry ice and thick noise. A bit of traditional Greek instrumentation at the end left us with ringing in the ears before the main event.
Ah glorious Swedish black metal time and the band did not disappoint in the theatrical stakes with members decked out with bone necklaces like something out The Hills Have Eyes. Why there was a stench of burning rubber all of a sudden at the front was never discovered but it was not at all pleasant. Although not really versed in the music of Ondskapt a brief history lesson had informed me that the singer and bassist also were in IXXI whose ‘Elect Darkness’ album I had enjoyed this year and a previous guitarist was one N. Kvarforth (boy does he get around). The band did not need any of his insanity as they had plenty of their own and this combined with the audiences meant that anything could probably happen here. Despite not knowing the groups material it did seem very familiar in places, fluid, gnarly and at times epic; it was certainly a convincing sermon. Frontman Acerbus had a real character about him and a couple of times gave my camera lens direct attention looking down upon me with a wry glint of amusement about him.
I returned from the bar with a much needed drink and was absolutely amazed to see that things had taken a turn for the worst with a group at front of stage arms aloft and chants of ‘sieg heil’ being shouted. Ondskapt play orthodox Satanic black metal and have no NSBM tendencies about them and played on ignoring this idiotic behaviour. A couple of fights did break out in the pit and I actually broke one up as was not sure who to hit and then decided it would be better to watch the last few numbers from a distance. A Russian comrade came up and tried to put things in perspective seeing my annoyance with the words, ‘don’t get annoyed, enjoy life, they are Polish.’ I could only look on this as ridiculous and absurd and wonder if they actually have history books in Poland. Annoyingly this did all detract from me taking any further notes on Ondskapt and their demented performance, hopefully they will come back again and the idiots will stay at home.
Pete Woods
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