SAINT VITUS, ORANGE GOBLIN AND CENTURIONS GHOST –
LONDON ISLINGTON ACADEMY 03/02/10
Had to laugh on way into venue as those on a certain mobile phone network were allowed in 2 minutes before everyone else, all 10 of them. Whether they could get a signal inside was however debatable.
Back to the task in hand it was déjà vu as far as the first two bands were concerned, until just before Xmas, or was it? Not quite, as Centurions Ghost were surprising most with a different singer. The reasons for the departure of previous vocalist Mark will be discussed in an interview after this tour but stand in Jake from Dead Existence did a formidable job if anything making the band more beastly in sound. The bass literally trembled through the venue and those coming in for the start were treated to new slabs from just out album ‘Blessed And Cursed In Equal Measure.’ No matter how many times I see this lot it always seems to surprise me just how heavy they are and with all the bands sharing the same drum-kit Milly especially seemed in his element tonight. Anybody stuck in a timewarp who had not ventured out since Vitus last came into town would have probably shat themselves to this and headed straight back out the doors again, as ‘Temple’ faded and my hearing came back I felt like I had been well and truly flattened.
Although not on the rest of the tour Orange Goblin were a more than welcome addition and spying their set list it was good to note they had a large amount of time tonight. Starting with a ballad, in this case one of Solomon Eagle, the stomp heavy ritual instantly had the crowd pumped. Joe milked his riffs like he was extracting venom from a serpent’s fangs and Ben asked for a party and certainly got one from the by now fully lubricated crowd. Tonight’s set was a great one and I got some of my favourites and boogied on whilst taking some photos from upstairs to ‘The Man Who Invented Time.’ Someone shouted out “play some Whitesnake” between songs and they may well have been taken outside and given a good slap for it, thankfully we got ‘They Come Back (Harvest Of Skulls)’ instead. Ben stood on the front of the stage and leered over his disciples in front of him but for once the children were not his, there was a certain other band to come…. (PW)
20 or so years of waiting since their last London show, the doom godfathers Saint Vitus get on the stage after a very long changeover. But the wait was worth it. When it comes to shows like this, its either going to be great or a big disappointment, hell no, this was the stuff of true legends. Dave Chandler’s guitar tone was perfect and the stage antics damn impressive for a man of his years. Wino shows how powerful his voice still is, and proving why some folk consider him to be one of the greatest front men on earth. Full of confidence, dominating the stage, willing the crowd into a more cataclysmic frenzy to what they were already expelling in the near capacity crowd, it certainly felt like it anyway. ‘I Bleed Black’ and their title tune are my particular highlights, echoed by the sing-alongs from the crowd during the chorus’ in the main. This lesson in doom continued for over an hour and the energy was simply magical. A classic/cult gig, oh yeah, and I do hope its not another 20 odd years before they come back. The challenge was laid down, no one on this night in my opinion could match the mighty Saint Vitus, these doom legends brought the house down, definitely one of those classic gigs people will talk about for years to come. (PM)
Paul Maddison and Pete Woods
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