INFERNAL DAMNATION FESTIVAL –
LONDON UNDERWORLD 24/04/10
Now in its seventh year the annual Infernal Damnation festival has established itself as a calendar highlight and is Arcane Promotions blackened parallel to their London Deathfest which we look forward to in June. Looking back on this years event I can safely say that despite the trials and tribulations of TFL (yep them again) making the journey a mission for many to even get to the venue, once there we were rewarded with eight quality bands illustrating both the cream of the British underground and those from further afield in Europe. The moan is that I would have thought the venue would have been busier; most people seemed to turn up to watch all the bands but an expected surge of visitors did not appear towards the latter acts. Shame, if you let lethargy get in the way of attending this, you seriously missed out. (PW)
Iceni were without their bass player today but that didn’t prevent them from stirring up an exhilarating barrage of pagan fury. Vocalist Hroðgar unleashed some impressive screams to spearhead the thundering heathen rhythms but within the cacophonous blast of tracks like ‘Legacy Of The Fallen’ there was always the ghost of uplifting melody that really stirred the blood. As the set progressed through the ragged glory of ‘Journey The Pathways Unknown’ it became more and more evident that Iceni are a band with tremendous potential. Even today, a member down, they set standards that the rest of the bill struggled to match. Whether it was the effectively varied drum patterns supplied by James R. or the majestic riffs of Ulfgar and Adam H., every song had something just a bit special about it. ‘The Black Birds Of Carrion’ concluded the set on a real high and hopefully we’ll be hearing a lot more from Iceni in the future. (CK)
I think it’s fair to say that tour and label mates of Negura Bunget, The Way Of Purity shocked and even horrified a few in the audience. Stage front we had balaclava wearing bassist and guitarist alongside highwayman masked front-woman xDEADgirlx. The album title ‘Crossover’ and those mischievous x’s should part give the game away and this lot straddle genres and bend them without mercy or regret. ‘Sinner’ paved the way for a chaotic half hour of punishing nu-metal bass grooves and flourishes of violent distempered grinding turmoil. It was quickly evident that they were a marmite band but unlike the foul brown goo I really found myself getting into them live and unlike the album realised that it was the female vocals that were the focal point here and live guitarist and co-howler xWITHOUT NAMEx was playing a lot more than yelling. As for the Dead ones contributions they ranged from harsh and aggressive to more operatic clean croons that were not a million miles away in style from the likes of Lisa Gerrard via Within Temptation. They certainly were no clone of a band like The Agonist although they do tread a similar and perhaps more brutal path to both them and Eths. If I was put on the spot however I would, by both performance and sound, describe them as a headlong clash between The Locust and Senser due to both the vocals and the addition of eclectic rave fuelled keyboard parts. (PW)
De Profundis are the stand-alone band on this bill today and one of the reasons to attend this event. Seasoned progressive extremists, they provide a majestic musical experience for the ever-swelling crowd that can be bothered to take a look. ‘Nocturnal Splendour’ from their latest opus ‘A Bleak Reflection’ gives the crowd much melancholy and elements of light a shade, a wondrous experience compared to the extreme music on offer today. Vocalist Craig Land towers over the front of the stage, a mass of hair and tortuous vocal talent whilst guitarists Shoi and Roman get down to business dealing with those riffs and dulcet energetic tones. These professional musicians give the underworld an air of quality today and having gained popularity around the world (including a support slot to Iron Maiden in India last year), today they showed why. A cracking set leaving you feeling torn with emotion and the sense of greatness. (PM)
I had only grabbed a first listen to Turkish horde Episode 13 courtesy of their MySpace page prior to the gig but was in no way prepared for the excellent performance witnessed here. Starting with title track from latest album ‘Pitch Black’ and a great sound, the music was good but the visual aesthetic of the band especially front-man Ozan transfixed. Quickly whipping off the hood of his monks habit the pious looking fellow had really made the corpse paint work to a necrotic rancid effect making him look like he was rotting, which combined with plumes of chalk dust coming off his head made him look like he had just crawled from a low budget 70s zombie flick. As for the music it struck as totally serious black metal, perhaps hinting towards the gurgled filthy black mass of De Mysteriis era Mayhem. The rest of the band crafted plenty of atmosphere too, although I did have the none too serious sudden thought that the bassist reminded a bit of Hagrid but the only magic coming off the stage was that of darkness incarnate. ‘Ignorance Is Bliss’ started off slowly stalking before a hammer smash drum blast had the song dashing off into a tumultuous thundering hateful flurry. Episode 13 proved a rare gem from an unexpected quarter. (PW)
Rounding off the first part of the day were London’s own Fen, a band that have impressed me for quite some time. Their set a few weeks earlier with The Vision Bleak and Alcest was, although good, slightly dulled by technical issues. Being as they were on that night, an opening band with no soundcheck, it was never going to be an easy gig for them. Tonight however, things were very different as the band flew into ‘As Buried Spirits Stir’, a song that encapsulates the whole dynamic of Fen. Aggressive, fluid, atmospheric and vibrant. They quickly got the crowd on side and fed off their energy, allowing them to surpass my (almost unfair) lofty expectations. Praise indeed, and as the show continued the band grew in confidence and stature, commanding the stage as they wove their spell to the amassed throng. As the more haunting strains of ‘A Witness To The Passing Of Aeons’ drifted by hypnotically, the familiar surroundings of the Camden Underworld seemed to fade, being replaced by vistas of desolate landscapes. All too soon though the set was over, reality returned, and Fen left the stage with the crowd still baying for more. An excellent performance. (HP)
Outside the sun shines bright, it’s the hottest day thus far of 2010, but inside things are cold and dark as a dank cellar as Necro Ritual hit the stage. They more than live up to their name in terms of image; all dolled up with ghostly white make up and with jeans torn up and dusted in white stuff they remind me of a bunch of undead grafters who just walked off a building site, sans hard hats. It’s a headbanging frenzy on stage as they thrash out a set that is more about straightforward metal aggression; icy riffs and fast as fuck drumming drive things along at a furious pace, while the vocal yells have a deathly touch. ‘Nerthus’ brings about more of a mid-paced and atmospheric streak; the guitars slow and prowling, the vocals spoken with an air of spite and anger and for me is a particular highlight. From other reviews I have read they have a propensity to throw covers into the set and tonight it’s Mayhem’s ‘Deathcrush,’ which is more than satisfactory even if I manage to not recognise it until it is pointed out halfway through. An impressive set by one of UK’s rising black metal talents. (LH)
So this was the big tester for Negura Bunget, a live show with the newer line-up sans Hupogrammos and Sol Faur. We had of course already had the pleasure of part retribution courtesy of new album ‘Vîrstele Pamîntului,’ which annoyingly was not on sale tonight but could the band cut it live? Well of course they could and expectation was high as weird and wonderful looking instruments were set up on the stage including a large picture frame with a block hanging from it to hit and drums set up around two large saplings of wood. The long didgeridoo sounding horn was what had the first voice as ‘Înarborat’ majestically swaggered in. Lovers of Om got well catered for in the set in fact but my only complaint was that, so commanding and mesmerizing was the set, that the hour literally flew by. There was lots of action on the stage with both Corb and aGer sharing the vocals whilst various traditional acoustic instruments got trotted out around the more scything metal implements that we are more used to. I was kind of surprised that rather than opening proceedings we got the fantastic first track from the new album ‘Pãmînt’ which had us swaying to the pipers call later. When the long intro part descended into the full might and force of the song it was like being hit by a truck. Special mention must also go to Inia Dinia who apart from being rather gorgeous, really got into her parts, head-banging along to her keyboard playing and in the slow parts even resting her head against the keys, seemingly as rooted to the spot as the rest of us. Whilst I thought it was criminal that the venue was not packed for this mighty show I was also torn by the fact that it’s not music I particularly cared for sharing and I was pleased for the room to move around and really enjoy things. I thought there wasn’t a snowflakes chance in hell of following this set (an apt metaphor) as Ragnarok had other thoughts (PW)
I suppose if anything I went into this one a bit cynical. Half of our camp were intent on being drunk beyond belief by the final band, while the other wasn’t entirely enamoured with their music and by default I got the task of reviewing them. Having heard only new album Collectors Of The King, I can say quite honestly that Ragnarok are one band I was entirely indifferent about at the start of the day. They far from excited me on CD and I couldn’t see it being any better live.
Well, how wrong was I? More or less the moment they set foot on stage they declared ‘It’s War’ and they fucking brought it! Tracks like ‘Certain Death’ hurtle ahead with no holds barred, thrashing away with military precision. Unsurprisingly, the crowd were going mental and it’s one hell of a contrast to the more cerebral (though outstanding) performance that preceded which saw a reserved audience. It is the likes of ‘Bless Thee For Granting Me Pain’ which really win me over; with its rolling riff and strong bassline this has almost a punk feel and it has a fluidity and vibrancy that hooks me in and doesn’t let go. Visually they are an interesting entity too; the shirtless frontman is covered in fake blood and as he bends into the microphone with an intense glare you get the impression he means whatever he is shouting about, skinny runt that he is! In contrast, the guitarist looks like he not only ate all the pies but the shop that sold them too; a pretty mean looking character and kind of hard to take seriously in his corpsepaint. ‘In Nomine Sathanas’ kicks up a hellish furore with some frosty riffs and relentlessly fast drumming as stickman Jontho blasts his way through a fairly long set. While not quite matching the standards of Negura Bunget in the originality stakes, Ragnarok well and truly gave it their all and proved a worthy headliner. (LH)
Review by Luci Herbert, Chris Kee, Paul Maddison, Howard Phillips & Pete Woods
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