Live4Metal live review, May 2005
Live at the Electrowerkz, London, Saturday 21st May 2005 with Rotting Christ and Desolation
[View the article on Live4Metal's website here]
[Live4Metal]
There were rumours about a very special support act at tonight's show. None other than Megaduff were lined up to play. All of a sudden lead singer Mr Dave Muffstain threw a tissy fit, launching his rattle out of his pram in the direction of Rotting Christ. For some reason he got a strange idea into his head that the band had Satanic overtones and he was scared that God may strike him down if he shared the same stage as them. Mr Muffstain was asked to comment on this sad state of affairs and tried to deny these rumours as not being quite true. "Well I have to get an early night and get my perm in order for tomorrow" the poodle haired rocker told me down a very crackly phone line. "I'm actually booked into sing at church first thing Sunday morning and have to look my best". "I simply can't let all those choirboys down, they really love it when I play with them". Ahem, all I can say is luckily we had some real support bands to kick off the evening and I will further add that Mr Muffstain and his likes are not welcome round these parts anymore.
First up were Season's End who majestically flowed onto the stage and woke us all up with a crushing bombastic sound. Musically they pummelled us with a thrash-laden discourse, which was augmented with the beautiful dulcet tones of singer Becki Clark. This band may hail from Hampshire but they firmly seem to have put Britain on the map in an arena, which is normally represented by the Dutch with bands such as Epica and After Forever. As the first song gripped me in its fever I was also reminded of early day Anathema by some of the intertwined Gothic guitar structures and although I had not really got to grips with Season's End on a cursory album listen, I found myself impressed with them very quickly up close and personal. The band oozed confidence and despite the fact that debut album The Failing Light has only just been released they seemed to have the audience firmly in their grasp. With rousing chants of "hoy, hoy, hoy", it seemed as if they were going through a practice run for Europe where they will no doubt go down a storm.
Desolation are another relatively young band who have got a hell of a lot of attention from their debut album The Stone Oracles. This was the first time in a couple of years I had caught them live and on the train ride up here with the album blaring in my ears I realised how much I had been looking forward to this. They didn't disappoint in the slightest and from the second they launched into The Bright Sun Extinguished I was entranced. The thing that really grips you about this band are the pure unadulterated metal leads that they employ (and I'm not talking about dog leads smart arse, its guitar riffing I'm on about here). Desolation tweak their instruments like no others. The opening chords reminded me of Ozric Tentacles and the fretboard riffarama seemed as though it was going to explode. Blindsight led us into a feast of fast and clinical and even at times jaw dropping scything. At times things slowed down to moody proportions and vocals rather than rage had plenty of clean snatches in a way reminding me a bit of Primordial. By the time we ploughed into Wraith it really was headbang city down at the front and we were all As One With The Shadows. New song The Pain Of Regret was certainly another barnstormer and it was obvious that both support bands tonight are certainly likely to be going places.
Now I didn't order a fucking ice cream but before you could say, "crushed nuts with that sir", mine were impaled on the sharp edge of the stage. Rotting Christ had come on and everyone behind me was pushing and punching. I didn't enjoy the beginning of the set as my eyes were watering too much. I was forced to drink copious amounts of cider to make the pain bearable (well that's my excuse) and perhaps this was all Gods revenge on my heathen soul. Sakis and his merry men gave it their all and did so without pretension. Gimmicks are completely unnecessary, Rotting Christ, isolated in Greece managed to survive the first wave of black metal and still play a grandiose form of the sound they created way back in 1991. The drumming literally rattled around the cranky old hole of a venue but the multi layered guitars began to shine through and sparkle proving that with a decent sound engineer this venue is not quite ready for the wrecking ball that many consider it deserves. Lucifer Over London was a song that was definitely made for such an occasion and the Faustian excesses of the number were indeed almost worth selling your soul for. King Of A Stellar War was a blast from the past and an old live favourite that I was certainly expecting. In Domine Sathana made things quite evident that we were very much at a musical dark mass, there is no God here. The choral moments may indeed be sampled but didn't lose any of their impact, however I would love to see this in a big austere venue with the choir in place. The songs flew thick and fast and the mad pace was one that was impossible not to get caught up in. Basically Rotting Christ are a band I have seen loads of times and have never seen them play a duff one. Tonight was no exception to the rule and with new songs such as Sanctus Diavolos sitting alongside the likes of Non Servium I left happy with a ringing in my ears and a throbbing in my balls, ouch!
Pete Woods of Live4Metal
http://www.live4metal.com/
