THE GATES OF SLUMBER + LORD VICAR
THE BORDERLINE, LONDON, 23/10/09
On paper, this gig was fantastic, not only the first UK appearance of Doom masters Lord Vicar, but the return of The Gates of Slumber, the second time this year on their way back from a German festival. Having recently released a cracking album in ‘Hymns of Blood and Thunder’, the standard had already been set high. Initial rumours were that this gig had sold out, but as I entered the venue, this was definitely not the case, but it was a healthy turnout to be fair.
Opening band Witchsorrow are one of the UK’s premier Doom bands, but having been reviewed last month we gave them a skip this time around. Then it was time for Lord Vicar, featuring ex-members of Candlemass, Reverend Bizarre, Terra Firma and current drummer of the UK’s powerhouse band Centurions Ghost, there was certainly a credible amount of talent. The live show was something of legends to be honest, I thoroughly enjoyed this set and it had me headbanging throughout. ‘Pillars Under Water’ one of their shorter tracks, is a perfect stomping number; Christian Lindersson’s vocals have not lost any of their edge over the years, there must not be many live appearances as it does appear that he is double checking the lyrics from a book prior to each track! ‘The Last of the Templars’ gives bassist Jussi and guitarist Peter a bass heavy workout, in fact the bass is so heavy it shakes the floor to bits and allows a colleague of mine to drop his drink, of course this could have been because of demon alcohol! This set was a pleasurable experience and I really do hope the great Lord Vicar return to these shores very soon.
By the time The Gates of Slumber head onto the stage, the crowd are fired up and yours truly has had a few more shandys, but in any case, they did mange to make and evening pass by in a flash and produce some memorable tunes like ‘Ice Worm’, ‘Beneath the Eyes of Mars’ and ‘Death Dealer’ and most of the crowd are head banging like people possessed at the front of the stage. What you could say is that the band have concentrated on their later material, but at least the set list is different to that we witnessed earlier this year. But the later material played brought out many soulful guitar riffs from Karl Simon. Those who were at this show witnessed some of the highest order of doom on the planet. What a great show, and a nice venue too.
Paul Maddison
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