TAAKE, HELHEIM & VULTURE INDUSTRIES
LONDON UNDERWORLD 07/03/09
After an assault by localised troops Eastern Front warms up the crowd to the extent that members of the audience are already rolling around on the floor, it is time for a three pronged Norwegian attack. The first of which are the strangely entitled Vulture Industries and believe you me, strange is the operative word. In fact if they tried to sign up for military duties they are more likely to find themselves sectioned. Singer Bjørnar E. Nilsen is one of those true showmen and puts on a totally deranged performance, completely at odds to his held together and sensible approach as tour manager of this whole shebang. The group looked like they should have been playing some Northern England working mans club, wearing suits and sporting bugger grips but the avant-garde flow of the music was confounding to many no matter what environment you placed it in.
Still many were giving it a look and a few feverish fans were really getting into numbers like ‘The Benevolent Pawn’ at the front. A certain air of haunted and decrepit Victoriana was brought out in Grim Apparitions and the ghosts from this venue as the historical Mother Redcap were no doubt restless in their graves. Comparisons to Ulver (William Blake era) and Arcturus could easily be made especially on the highlight of the set that was ‘Blood Don’t Flow Streamlined’ with its mental carnival clad keyboard peal. The sound was a bit dense and booming for the set but apart from that Vulture Industries were spot on. It was sad to hear of reports of audience members in Glasgow giving them the finger during the whole set there though, pricks!
The barbarians were at the gates and that thought was one that was changed to the barbarians have knocked the fucking gates right down, as soon as Helheim blazed onto the stage. Complete with a back projection adding a visual accompaniment to their craft this was one hell of a performance and one I thought was not going to be topped. Hair twirled, riffs pillaged and barking vocals charged out the speakers as flames leapt on the visuals behind the drummer. Apparently their VJ’ing as it was explained by the band had each video relating in some way to the text of the particular song, and are integrated in such a way that they become not only a backdrop, but also the lighting and special effects. This was nothing new and the likes of Ministry have been doing it for years but with the might behind the music it worked exceptionally well for Helheim. Three songs in and I felt absolutely like I had been steamrollered and fell out the pit where I had been grabbing photos. The crowd were really into this, worked up into a frenzy and it was obvious the band were working off and really enjoying the interaction. This was a far more dynamic display than their pervious visit to the Purple Turtle.
The sound of fury, venom and vengeance was completely overwhelming and even a slower number from the ‘Northern Forces’ culled with a heavyset flow and if you closed your eyes you could virtually hear the clash of steel. One stage reveller went over the top landing flat on his face by the guitarist and this was the signal that people were waiting for and an invasion was underway. A slightly more sane looking singer from Vulture Industries joined in on one song but it was the grandiose sweep of ‘Det Norroene Alter’ that really sparkled for me and had me thinking that this lot have the scope to equal Enslaved in the future.
After such a storming set I could have gone home quite content especially as I really did not rate Taake the last time I saw them. Well I was more than happy to eat my words as they also put on an absolutely stonker of a show. Perhaps the Electrowerkz where they played last just did not do it due to the sound and the crowd there but it was a completely different experience tonight. Being unimpressed, I had not tracked down the group’s albums before but had given things a listen on Spotify (type it into your search engine and check it out). So with this and the fact that there were no set lists for any of the groups and song titles here were barked out, I could not give you a track by track dissection (for those of you dying to know apparently according to those in the know on forums they had been playing Voldtekt, Taake (s/t): 2,3,4, Doedsvkad: 1,2,3,4, Tykjes Fele and Nattestid: 1 on other dates). This may well have been curtailed due to an annoyingly strict deadline for a crap club after, giving the band a bit less than an hour).
Hoest of course is infamous for various reasons. We were concerned about wardrobe malfunctions especially considering his tattered trousers but things seemed to stay in place. Similarly it was just an inverted cross on his chest today that caught attention although I am envious of his excellent Der Todesking tattoo (the only one I have ever considered getting done myself) as well. Dry ice cloaked the stage at times and the harsh blue lighting at others really added to the atmosphere. I was amused at the levels of death grunting coming from both the band and the crowd and was even more amused that one of the chief belchers from the audience got a song dedicated for him and named as well by the singer. The musicianship was excellent and really charged along with a violent response to it from the crowd. Primitive punked up black thrash was the order of the night. Towards the end Hoest proudly draped the Norwegian flag around himself and with the last song ringing in my ears I walked out feeling like I had been well and truly bitch-slapped. It has to be said this was a great night of Norwegian blackness, played fantastically with the music doing all the talking. No controversy was necessary here at all. Damn, still not won the lottery but Taake albums are added to the shopping list.
Pete Woods
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