Turisas and Abgott September
15th at Nottingham Rock City Review by Sam Thomas - Photo by Steve
Green
I’m not sure that the good people of Nottingham were really ready
for the hordes that follow Turisas these days, judging by the stares
and pointing fingers we seemed to attract, queuing up outside Rock
City. Anyone would think they’d never seen people with faces painted
red and black, dressed in furs and brandishing a variety of plastic
axes and swords before!
There was a time when I’d seen Abgott
at practically every gig I went to, sometimes more than twice in one
week. But that was probably about two years ago, and I hadn’t seen
them since, so it was going to be interesting to see how much (or
little) they had progressed. At first sight, two things were clear:
they had new stage cossies, and they looked slightly older (but then
we all do). Unfortunately, the sound at Rock City was not in their
favour, as everything sounded distorted (and no, it wasn’t the
effects of the beer I hadn’t drunk yet!). As ever, they put up a
good show, throwing lots of great poses (no good for photos – the
lights were crap) and attempting to work the crowd valiantly, but
they were only interested in the headliners. Abgott kicked off with
“Kronos Crossing”, “Experiment in Evil” followed, continuing through
to a cover version that we were assured “we must recognise” (I
didn’t, but then I never rated Mr Mustaine, even before his
conversion, so the fact that it was “Holy Wars” from Megadeth was
wasted on me) which had to be the absolute nadir of the evening. We
concluded with a few Abgott favourites, “Htothaza” and “From thy
Beyond” before an over-long and not inspiring set finally came to a
close with “No Mortis”. |
Turisas have been performing in the UK for a while now,
and they really have progressed. Their set was so professional that
it’s hard to believe that they only started playing over here a
couple of years ago. Everything about it was superbly done – Warlord
Nygård in particular has really done his best to improve his links
into songs (even researching Nottingham’s history so that he could
abuse us about men wearing green pants (Robin Hood, we presume)).
There were melancholy Viking horns sounding from the audience to
welcome Turisas to the stage, and delirious screams from the
audience greeted them as they appeared. One big disappointment for
the night was the lighting – it never progressed from a pretty
dismal gloom. When I go to see a band as visually satisfying as
Turisas, I would at least like to be able to see them properly.
The setlist was nicely split between the two albums, although those
from “Battle Metal” seemed to received a better reception than those
from the later “Varangian Way”. The mighty Finns marauded around the
stage in their usual anarchic fashion, with Lisko looking
particularly scary as he grimaced and writhed in his loin cloth.
Also worthy of note was the length of the guitarist’s beard.
Particularly ironic was the inclusion of “One More”, a drinking
song, as a good half of the audience were underage and the bar staff
were being shit hot at checking ids. |
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Warlord Nygård
had a not-so-subtle dig at Lordi, “the stage is much larger this
time without a pack of monsters here. This year there are no
monsters to tell us when to play, and what to do”. Seems to me that
Turisas like calling the shots, but then again, if you can produce
as professional a show as this, why not?
“Rexi Regi Rebellis” went down well, but then there was a bit of a
mid-set slump with three successive tracks from the second album
which just lack a little energy and bounce. The problem was quickly
solved though, with a deranged rendition of “Rasputin” conducted by
Warlord Nygård with the aid of a large inflatable hammer. Things got
even better with the final song of the main set, which was
unsurprisingly “Battle Metal”.
The encore had a rousing version of “Sahti-Waari”, followed by the
piss-weak “Miklagard Overture”. Personally I would have preferred to
hear something a lot more rousing as a finale, but overall this was
still a pretty special night. |
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Candlemass
+ Battered Leeds Rios 11th
September Review by Chris Davison
Well, it just goes to show how long I've been away from West
Yorkshire, because the last time I went to Rios it was in bloody
Bradford! That being said, it seems that the Leeds incarnation is a
particularly nice venue, having a cavernous aspect and being
suitably dingy. The stage, which is about the same size as a postage
stamp, manages to support a more than adequate light show, and for
the most part the acoustics seem up to the task of allowing the
music to be fully audible.
I missed Centurions Ghost due to
being a bit tardy and too fond of the beer, so I've still yet to
catch them live, which is utterly frustrating given their mammoth
commitment to appearing in the live milieu. Next up were a Norwegian
band named Battered, who gave it
their all. I arrived just in time to see them bound onto the stage,
producing what appeared to be muscular, hardcore tinged neo thrash
not a million miles away from the racket produced by The Haunted.
The similarities were also there in the biting guitar tone and the
skilful drum work, albeit that the singers voice was a tad bland,
though he made up for this with the very nature of his slightly
deranged stage presence.
The familiar Candlemass intro
heralded the mighty quintet onto the stage. At this point I was as
nervous as I have ever been at a gig. Just how good would they be?
Could Rob Lowe really replace the departed Messiah Marcollin?
Extremely and yes, were the answers. Starting with a version of “The
Well of Souls” that was so awesome that I honestly thought I would
burst into tears, what followed was a magnum tour-de-force.
Candlemass were musically tighter than the laces on a goths corset;
Lowes vocals were absolutely stunning. It was amazing what a massive
difference his voice has made to the band. Far more subtle than
Marcollin, and, dare I say it more in-tune than him in the live
setting, his vocals have made an excellent difference to the
Candlemass experience. The songs are given an even more epic tone,
and sound more serious now they are given such a powerful, though
less operatic delivery. Of course, it wouldn't be Candlemass without
the mighty Mr Edling, and he certainly appeared to be enjoying
himself tonight. The rest of the band delivered their music
professionally, although the size of the stage did somewhat limit
the visual side to the performance. As Mr Lowe himself wryly
commented, “If you're expecting on stage talk, you're looking at the
wrong man. I ain't that guy”. He let his singing do the...erm....talking.
All the classics got an airing, from At The Gallows through to
tracks from their latest self-titled platter. The stellar “Of Stars
and Smoke” was nothing short of brilliant live, and the crushing
Demon Seed showcased a band that has seemingly never been in ruder
health. My only complaint is that after a night as enjoyable as
this, just how is any other band going to compare with them in the
foreseeable future? |
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As I Lay Dying, Darkest Hour, Himsa
and Architects London Mean Fiddler 8th September
Review and photos by Samuel Munch-Petersen
Thanks to the London Underground I managed to miss
Architects who were on first.
Finding my way inside the Mean Fiddler I found myself rushing to the
front not to miss Himsa, that
ever so lovely metal band we adore. John Pettibone entered the stage
last whilst Kirby and Sammi thrashed out some goodness for the
crowds. Derek Harn |
and Chad Davis added the
pounding beats to an already beautiful screech of metal and
certainly had the audience on their feet. It was clear that Himsa
have been the band to wait for so far. A few seconds in and
photographers were snapping away whilst I snapped some myself. The
crushed masses behind me were overwhelmed by the force of Himsa
bellowing out of the PA system and it was a darn good set for them.
Old songs followed new songs and followed old songs, John Pettibone
flinging himself into the youth pits with almost every other track
and Kirby twiddling his guitar till there was nothing left to play,
allowed for the buzz of the venue to increase tenfold. It was
certainly an excellent opening (for me at least) to pave the way for
Darkest Hour and As I Lay Dying. Seems that this gig was in essence
a massive advert for all these bands new albums coming out, not a
bad thing but still quite interesting to see them form a tour of new
releases effectively.
The lights faded out and the crowds were left bleating for more
metal. It was clear that Himsa had left a bloody metallic mark in
the crowd’s throat, so now it was time for some more of that good
shit to come their way. Darkest Hour
are one of those bands that have a name and sound that don’t really
go with their image; Ryan Parrish on drums wearing small, yellow
boxers and not much more whilst the rest of the gang prance around
on stage like doe. That’s not to say that Darkest Hour aren’t good,
they’re fucking brilliant live and certainly have enough pull to
grab the ears of all those in the venue. Tracks like Demons and
Deliver Us were received with |
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| much aplomb
whilst The Sadist Nation ripped through us all like fire. Capturing
the photos as best I could in the allotted time slot (first three
tracks) I retreated to take in what the band had done to the place;
they gave such an awesome show that I doubt many people remembered
who they had come to see, As I Lay Dying or three (for me) fantastic
bands for a hearty small amount of the pound sterling. Mr. John
Henry on vocals stumbled about the stage quite often, fetching his
beer and guzzling before moving on to heavy screams and gurgles as
Kris Norris (shame it’s not Chuck) and Mike Schleibaum riffed as
much as their fingers and hand would let them. Overall it was
another smashing success to pre-empt the arrival of the headliners. |
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| It’s a new
album for Himsa, Darkest Hour and of course
As I Lay Dying. This Christian metalcore band
certainly know how to please the people below them and they love
having their pictures taken, always making a pose count for
something more. They pounded on through and gave us tasters from
their new album whilst obviously taking it back to the old school
era of what they used to be; Forever and The Darkest Nights going
down rather well on the night. Tim Lambesis jumped around on stage
as though he were pretending to be a rabbit or perhaps a kangaroo,
either way this didn’t impede his diaphragm from working how it
should. An Ocean Between Us was welcomed with open arms as Jordan
Mancino on drums couldn’t be out-hit. The show came to a roaring end
and was a truly appeasing gig with a load of good bands well worth
seeing. Always a pleasure. |
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