WATAIN, IMPIETY & PENTACLE

LONDON FRIDGE - 13/10/07

There was a severe case of déjà vu in the air as Dutch group Pentacle took to the stage. Of course I should have twigged straight away that bassist / singer Wannes Gubbels had graced the stage a couple of weeks ago with his other band Asphyx. Seemed strange the two bands had not been on the same bill as one started their career supporting the other. The second the opening of ‘Prophet Of Perdition’ fired up, the vociferous audience who had been tearing the air asunder with preparatory death grunts, steamed down the front to worship.

Those death grunts were replicated with fetid finesse and the riffs literally slayed as they rained down upon us. This was the stuff to head bang in a frenzied fashion to and there were plenty doing just that. The group share similarities to Asphyx obviously but they also added a splash of Obituary and a certain Frostiness to their armoury as they opened the gates and took us ‘Into The Fiery Jaws.’ A sudden waft of what can only be described as what smelt like burnt vomit came from somewhere possibly backstage but it went well with the chunky bass and rancid guitar sound chundering out the speakers. Few openers get this sort of reaction but I suppose these are no local support band and many had been waiting to see them for years. ‘Black At Heart’ threw us into deaths delirium and sparked the heat, turning the Fridge into the hottest venue in town. This was an absolutely punishing performance and it was just the start of things to come.

I can confidently say that this was the 1st time I had ever seen a band from Singapore and they don’t come much faster than the Skullfucking Armageddon of Impiety. Of corpse the band are only just back to being a Singapore phenomenon as founding member Shyiathan has just re-recruited from his home country after strangely recording a couple of albums with a bunch of Mexicans. However not all the new line up were present due to work problems and it was Demonomancer and Oscar Garcia on stage apparently.

The second they started jaws dropped open and there was no pit action, it was too fast. I think many in the audience were surprised to hear this fast feudal warmongering speedy assault with the drums sounding akin to skulls being hit and bursting into fragments and guitars flailing and taking absolutely no prisoners. After this, new album ‘Formidonis Nex Cultus’ is on my shopping list and was illustrated by the downright unfriendly bestial extremity of ‘B.O.A.R (Beast of Abominable Regiments).’ Some of our Polish comrades who along with the Colombian horde had ever reliably turned out in force today were screaming and shouting out lyrics between numbers. Both on and off the stage tensions were running high to this glorious racket. The night of strange smells continued as the stench of amyl nitrate came from Christ knows where, horrible stuff thankfully it didn’t last long and hadn’t been pumped out the speakers. Impiety ended with guitars sounding like razors scalping slivers of bone, a grim baptism in nuclear fire.

Now in my humble opinion Watain have proved themselves as one of the best black metal bands around and tonight’s performance only enforced their claim to sit astride a skull decked throne. This contained everything that a black metal show should invoke. The one thing that they are renowned for is the death stench that they besiege the audience with and tonight they had done themselves proud with a cauldron the likes of which really cannot be described efficiently to anyone who has not been subjected to it. Imagine a tramp being set on fire and evacuating a sprout stew from his bowels, ugh. It didn’t help that the toilet attendant was spraying zesty lemon stuff into the mix and the bar staff were armed with air fresheners, the mix of it all was revolting, but enough of that, there was plenty more than just the carrion stench in the air.

The stage was resplendently decked with arcane artefacts, candles illuminating things and there was a hell of an atmosphere (literally) invoked even before the first pillar of pyrotechnic fire blew up and seared scared the bejesus out of those of us not expecting it.

As they embraced the ‘Devil’s Blood’ one could only look at the ghastly visages the group emit in their ichor clad glory. Erik is in a word ghastly, flanked by P & A and Set Teitan, the front of the stage was a grizzly sight to behold, certainly making them one of the most photogenic bands around.

Standing back it was like having been thrown into the pits of hell, madness was everywhere as was bloodlust, the stench was by now overpowering as were numbers like Satan’s Hunger galloping away with drummer H surely almost being consumed by pillars of flames either side of his kit. Taking us back to ‘Casus Luciferi’ ‘I Am The Earth’ sounded gnarly as hell, cadaverous, beastly and wretched as it crawled out the grave wrapped in rotting funeral shrouds.

In a way I have to say thankfully being a black metal vegetarian (we are legion) that there were no dead rats or blood actually sprayed into the audience. Mind you the rabid strobes during ‘Sworn To The Black’ may well have had anyone prone to epilepsy foaming at the mouth. Surprises were in the music and what band is there more worthy to cover Dissection’s classic ‘The Somberlain?’ This truly was the darkest of alchemical conjurations and possibly the gig of the year as far as I am concerned. Turning up drunk at a female friends and using the immortal chat up line “I smell of corpse” was never a sensible after gig move though.

Pete Woods

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