SIGH, WINTERFYLLETH AND WODENSTHRONE
LONDON UNDERWORLD, 10/08/10
Upon descention into the Underworld I felt a sense of bewilderment to find the main bar area all shut off. This would naturally lead me to believe that Sigh were in for a sparse crowd this evening – kind of understandable given many were packing their bags and saving their pennies for Bloodstock weekend, although it didn’t take long for the shrunken underworld to become rather packed, making taking photos and purchasing beer something of a challenge. Having seen Wodensthrone three times in a matter of months it seems they are cementing their place as one of the most consistent live acts on the UK black metal circuit and tonight was the best I have seen them. Singer Brunwulf paced back and forth across the front of the stage with an expression that if I didn’t know any better would lead me to expect him to break into an angry hardcore shout. The clean, fuzzy guitar tone lends a certain warmth and ambience to the music, while ‘Black Moss’ is a particular highlight with its storming vehemence, which breaks apart in places as some cool drum patterns surface and bring a lighter tone to things. Keyboardist Arfaest really goes for it with his head banging away, and there’s an underlying guitar line that cuts its way through the mix from below creating a rather unsettling sense of urgency. They finish with an older track ‘These Isolated Lands’ which sends a howling wind through the venue (no fart jokes) with its ambient acoustic parts. Overall an excellent start to the night which even the lengthy queue for the bar can’t put a damper on.
It would seem that Winterfylleth are very much the flavour of the month at the mo, with their faces gracing various magazine covers and new album on Candlelight getting glowing reviews everywhere. Having not given the album quite as much of my attention as I would had I reviewed it, it has nevertheless managed to make quite an impression and I was looking forward to seeing how their stuff fared in the live environment. They had a tough act to follow, but they had no trouble keeping up the high standards laid down by the openers as they storm in with some proud and mighty riffs on ‘The Honour Of Good Men On The Path To Eternal Glory’ (yes, I did copy and paste that), and the clean gang vocal lines are spot on. The crowd appear to be really fired up with lots of raised fists, although why one muppet thought it would be cool to throw a full pint of beer over frontman Chris, I don’t really know. What a waste! The show went on, with the soggy singer rather humbly introducing next song as ‘A Valley Thick With Oaks’ and asks for us not to throw any more beer at him. His intense war torn rasp tears through the enraged guitars and formidable drums which all march furiously forth with clear intent. As it all winds down the clean chorus of ‘proud spirit remains…’ sounds particularly beautiful. Winterfylleth may be the kings of English Heritage Black Metal, and perhaps for once there’s a reason to feel proud to be English.
Having caught Sigh at Damnation the other year, I had been disappointed – not with their performance, but the overcrowded venue and shoddy organisation made the whole thing an ordeal, the sound was crap and I could barely see the stage. So I was excited to see them under better conditions and tonight was anything but a letdown. As with Winterfylleth, they were going to have a job following such great supports, but to compare Sigh to the two W’s would be daft as they are very different. They make a dramatic entrance with ‘Prelude To The Oracle’ which rattles ahead at full speed fattened out with really mad keyboard sounds and the dual vocal assault. These are a fascinating entity to watch, mainly due to the stunning Dr. Mikannibal who is dressed in a skimpy angel outfit and has a magnetic charisma about her that’s hard to not be drawn to. She certainly gives the band a bit of *ahem* sax appeal, although sadly I can’t always hear her saxophone parts very well in the mix which is a shame.
‘Inked In Blood’ takes a rapid descent into chaos with its maniacal laughter and sinister fairground keyboard flurries, mixing fast, thrashy riffs with jagged staccato rhythms. The fantastic ‘Me Devil’ from Hangman’s Hymn is a real highlight for me, while ‘The Soul Grave’ sounds like a soundtrack to the fucking apocalypse with its pompous saxophone and keyboard combo, everything crashing around rather calamitously, there are crushingly heavy parts battling against skittish guitar melodies while the keyboards at times just take over sounding truly foreboding and cataclysmic. Mirai equally looks to be on form, banging his head and pacing around the stage at times appearing a little unhinged, and did a good job of interacting with the crowd between some of the songs, announcing ‘Hail Horror Hail’ by shouting “you can scream but no-one will hear you.” A cover of Venom’s ‘Black Metal’ brings the set to a close, and it’s a bit of a spectacle too with Mikannibal adorning herself with hot red candle wax. Still sober enough to remember the whole night, which makes a change, and one worth remembering as I have to say this is the gig of the year for me so far and certainly does something to lessen the blow of missing out on Bloodstock – best of all it doesn’t rain in the Underworld!
Luci Herbert
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