Makes sense since what... like 8 years ago or so they were touring together all across the states. that's how I saw Meshuggah down here on the coast. they opened for Tool and I never had a problem with Tool so I stayed and watched them too.

Nice review, Zodi! I'm jealous, man, Vektor for 7 bucks!

Here's the review of my evening at the Katacombes!
The great poster:
Bonus pic!


Barrow Wight
This band is a newcomer from the Canadian capital, Ottawa. A city not especially known for its metal scene but these guys
were cool. They're a mix of Venom, Darkthrone and NWOBHM mixed with Lord of the Rings. They're amateurish as fuck but that's literally what they want, the leader and founder of the band (bass/vox) is charistmatic and lead the 2 other younger than him high schoolers with an iron hand. The guitarist who were trying to be "theatrical" with his Hobbit cape was funny, he can't be more than 17 and it really is obvious than he's a new member, still, the set was very fun and I appreciate their sound and attitude. Songs like "Anvil of Mordor" and "Nine Horsemen" and a tongue in cheek stage presence made this a succesful first presence for the band in Montréal.

PS: Fuck the drummer who had to fuck his girlfriend before the show and this was apparently the reason their set was 30 minutes late and yep, I missed the metro because of this delay :/ No biggie, I went to watch a movie at HB's place, good way to end a very cool evening. but dude, you're not a rockstar!

PS 2: Thanks to Andrew for the beer and the demo, my first reward as a MA moderator! My awesomeness is finally recognized!

Metalian
Local heavy/speed metal hereos, Metalian is simply fucking awesome and a lot of people were present for them. They completely destroyed with their awesome Maidenesque leads and their soaring high vocals, their energy is really contagious and the crowd response was awesome as always (it was my 2nd time seeing them too). They finished their set with an awesome cover of Phantom of the Opera, damn this was great!


Voor
Trash metal. God, I know these guys are kvlt and all, but I really thought their set was freaking awful. It's basically 2nd rate Possessed with lame old guy punky vocals. They had some good riffs here and there mostly from their 1985 demo Evil Metal but their new songs are very poor (with lame titles like "Don't bring a knife to a gun fight"). The crowd seemed to have been pleased though, I wasn't, I was bored out of my mind for their 45 minutes set. I would like to be a chauvinist and praise Voor simply because they're local, but I can't. There's some bands that are best kept forgotten. A Nuclear War Now! re-edition doesn't make them good.

Natur
Man, I probably heard their first album Head of Death 4 times this week before the show, it's a very good trad/heavy with NWOBHM influences from New York. The lineup of the show was different from the album though (the bassist and the rhythm guitarist/lead singer were absent and they 2 other guys (albeit talented players) replacing them. The drummer Tooth Log and the lead guitarist (I wonder if it's their real names?) were great too, Tooth was the singer for this evening and there was no backing vocals, something that would had been nice. His vocals were cool but were suffering at the end, man drumming and singing heavy metal must be very hard!

Their set were cool, perhaps a bit too short though (40-45 mins). They played Head of Death, Decion, Goblin Shark, Mutations in Maine and 2 new songs. These new tracks were also fantastic and more doomy than their first album. Natur certainly has a lot of potential!

Great evening all around!

Barrow Wight! Fucking awesome band. Not just saying that because the frontman is a mate o' mine. I swear.

I am on the fence about Inquisition tonight. Would like to go but tickets are thirty-five goddamned dollars. A steep price to pay for one band.

Andrew is indeed pretty cool! The band has potential.

Attended a metal show at the Riot Room today. This is how it breaks down:

Abbot - Noisy sludgey doom stuff. All feedback and no riffs. Fine for the vibes. C

Keith Mountain - Not sure on the name. Fast stonery doom. Fine performance, singer had a nice haircut. B

Boreas - Plagued with technical difficulties the whole way. Lost a third of their set to feedback. When they did play it was excellent; they have a cool trick of starting their songs as ambient doom tracks then changing a third way through into ambient norsecore! A neat idea that I've never heard done before. The drummer also had a trick of signaling each change with a slowly quickening march beat. Technically wonk but when they played, they slayed. A

Howl - By far the most professional. Only ones who actually had correct mix despite the sound person being very methodical with every band. So they knew what they were doing. Also the best performers and had the best stage presence by far. Very correct, but not really my style. Doomy, sludgey hardcorey stuff. Seems to be the theme of the evening! On tour promoting an album that isn't their first so they're way ahead of the others in the music biz. Entertaining all around. A

I just went to a show in Northampton. Everyone fucking sucked!

Hahaha, just kidding. It was awesome overall!

Four bands played, the first was ReKindle from NJ. They played what sounded like heavy alternative rock, somewhat similar to Evanescence - meh on guitar, bass and drums. Passable vocals. The best part was the singer... how she looked. Pretty little critter :3

Speaking of pretty little critters, I showed friends and strangers videos of my bugs.

The second band was weird. They were a three piece all female band called Indefinite Dyad. I actually liked it, though it wasn't stuff to headbang to. Progressive rock is probably the best label I can come up with in my weary state. I heard them being called Estrogen Tribal Metal. lol

In between sets I showed people videos of my bugs.

The third band was Sorrowseeds - excellent performance, again the best part were the vocals of Lilith, the guitarists shredded their weight while Subrick was in the back whipping his hair in the back like some crazy guy. I was whipping my hair in front of the stage like some crazy guy. Could've used more volume on the lead guitar, though I think I was so far up front that the house speakers weren't reaching my ears. Overall, my neck was sore at this point.

After this band I showed more people videos of my bugs. I really like my bugs. They are so cute ^_^ Orchid mantises, Texas Unicorn mantises, Ghost mantises, Paraguayan Green mantises, Chinese mantises, Cryptic mantises, Indian Flower mantises.

*ahem*

Finally we had MindMaze, a band formerly known as Necromance. I had high hopes for this performance and not only were those hopes met, they were exceeded with glorious metal! MindMaze recently evolved into a full-grown progressive metal band (as Necromance they were more or less traditional metal) - they do it exceptionally well and that was by far the best performance I've seen by them to date. My neck was getting worse, but then they had one last surprise for the thirty or so eager metal fans - the song I quoted in my signature, Heaven And Hell by Black Sabbath. That just gave me whiplash. My neck is still sore but the drugs are kicking in which might explain my weirdness right now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRkOgI2eyrA

Taken from The Heavy Metal Saloon, gig review for the Hellenic Darkness Festival, Prague, March 2nd, 2013
at Klub Matrix, Praha, Czech Republic

Rotting Christ + Dead Congregation + Ravencult & some other woftage

After a night that might have been kinder to us the following day had it been curtailed before the last couple of hours of ale, Jaeger, Manilla Road and Slough Feg, the characteristically frustrating-to-find Prague venue for the Hellenic Darkness festival was discovered lurking around a corner in the vicinity of an alarmingly deep underpass. The venue itself, Klub Matrix, was pretty alright, spacious and nicely divided with, unlike Nova Chmelnice, some staff actually present and, unlike Klub Roxy, no bullshit rules about one-entry-only. Naturally, you can smoke inside. Prague is a dream for metalheads in that way. There are non-smoking areas occasionally provided but generally, proprietors assume that people will want to smoke and that those who don't will be mature enough to either put up with it or fuck off somewhere else.

As we entered there was a Czech band called Abstract Essence playing - a few passable riffs and a bit of synth but nothing remarkable from these guys, apart from perhaps the intriguing hand gestures from the vocalist who waved one hand up and down as if pretending to swim while singing. Anyway Ravencult was not long in taking the stage, and their filth-encrusted brand of convulsing, thrashing, blackened abuse translated well live. Much like their debut album Morbid Blood, no boundaries were broken and no minds particularly blown, but there was nary a dull moment and the mix of roving thrash beats and eruptive blasted onslaughts served nicely. One of Hell's Headbangers' fine signings showing just why the concept of dirty and unambitious retro metal, when done right, makes more often than not for good honest fun.

After a seemingly inordinate wait and a tentative introduction of further poisons to the still battered Cheetham carcass, Dead Congregation took their sledgehammer of old school death metal precision to a stage that wasn't to know what hit it. I've been rabidly anticipating another chance to see these guys since they slaughtered everything in sight at NWN! Live Ritual last year in Berlin, and once again I was lucky to have any bones left by the time they were done. Monstrous riffs, blasts as tight as a nun's er, budget, yes I think that's the phrase, deep and curdled growls - I can't recommend the kind of performance these guys give highly enough. Ending again with the epic and atmospheric 'Teeth Into Red', the band again held in their hands a spellbound audience.

I'd seen Rotting Christ at NWN! Live Ritual as well, performing their indubitably classic early material, but here they were in front of me, for the first time wielding cuts from across their universally lauded catalogue, including the decent new record. Recent-era staples like 'Noctis Era', 'Athanati Este' and 'Nemecic' made for enormously catchy and well-receive cuts of dark heavy metal, with the mandatory crowd chant-along for the latter, while 'In Yumen-Xibalba' was probably the highlight from the new material and should probably become a regular inclusion in their performances in its own right. 'Non Serviam' and 'The Forest of N'Gai' injected the set with some ferocity. Ironic Jesus look-alike Saktis Tolis was on top form as usual, and his vocals even sounded a bit better this time. In general, there are few bands that seem to have more fun onstage than these guys, great to bear witness to and of course absolutely massive in terms of sound and execution. It wasn't even spoiled by the presence of an enormous and highly inebriated patron who seemed to be making it his business to fall on me whenever I unwittingly drew near, then at one point approached us, made eye contact, produced a rasping, Gollum-like sound like some fell denizen of dark places, and then skulked off before his triumphant finale repeatedly spinning like an out of control 18-wheeler into and through the other attendees.

The idea of having a Greek extreme metal concert run outside of Greece is an ingenious one, I hope it becomes an annual and I think they should take this shit on the road. Rotting Christ, Dead Congregation and Ravencult is one hell of a line-up but that's just skimming the surface of the country's well of extremity.

Nile kicked major ass last night. Two 45-minute sets and nearly flawless throughout. Great sound with the guitars and bass. Vocals were clear. My first experience seeing Nile and it was fantastic. They take you on this ride of mystical evil, insane guitar leads, pummeling drums and vicious vocals. The cleaner guitar leads from Karl were pumped up with some heavy, quality effects but shined brightly as a major showcase within the bands music. Often the two guitarists would have that old-school Metallica/Maiden/Megadeth/Slayer days harmonic duality to them which was very cool to see and masterfully executed. Introductions to many songs were effected with a dark, evil twist which added to the already intense atmosphere the band, stage setup, and background noises helped to create.

Another interesting note is that all the opening acts were local bands. I'm not sure if it was Nile; the fact local bands were opening; or the combo of all of them, but the place was absolutely packed wall to wall. The crowd was very into it with circle pits, crowd-surfing, and plenty of fist pumping metal action among a large majority of the spectators. Smart management and planning it seemed to me.

One thing that really stuck with me about Nile is they genuinely looked to be really enjoying themselves. Playing music is clearly a love and passion of theirs. I never got the impression that I detect with some bands that playing shows is a burden or viewed as a job. Nile were smiling and having a great time throughout the duration. They were precise, well-practiced (obviously), and very cohesive throughout all the twisting, winding turns of the many songs they played. Someone stated before the show that they were due to play 24 (or 26?) songs in total. It's rare to get that kind of time with a headlining band these days in smaller venues. I have nothing but good things to say and will certainly be following this band and when they come to town more closely now. It was a great experience. Portland tore it up and Nile destroyed Portland for over an hour and a half.

Review of this show: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=96262
Also published here: http://contaminatedtones.blogspot.com/2 ... herry.html

Cherry Street Station hosted a group of black metal bands on a Saturday night, with a unifying theme of the occult, headed by One Master. As I walked in, I was greeted by the smell of incense and a small group of people that included quite a few band members, as it was early. The venue is intimate with a bit of space due to the merch/setup area being tucked away and the bar being separated, and it brought in a solid crowd for this type of show, with some people in and out throughout the night.

Grue consisted of two men wearing robes, a guitarist/vocalist and a drummer. Their style was reminiscent of more recent Finnish black metallers who emulate/worship the second wave. Melodies playing in a typical black metal riffing fashion, impressive drumming, and a nice feel that's not very dissonant but has a distinct black metal feel. It takes a bit of a stretch to make a comparison, but they reminded me a bit of Perisynti. Quite entertaining and enjoyable

Bog of the Infidel is a five-piece band that mixed black metal with melodic death metal and a bit of power metal flair in the solos - their lead guitarist had more Manowar patches than I could count, though he really needed some better clothing as his ass was hanging out for most of their set. There were clearly quite a few influences coming out at various times here - both black and death metal ranging to thrashy and melodic varieties, even some American heavy/power metal in the solos. The mix was a bit too busy and noisy to get a clear picture of what the band was capable of, but it was interesting nonetheless.

Haxen played fast black metal at a relatively constant pace. I'm a bit foggy on remembering exactly what they sound like since both them and Morgirion were very fast and vicious. I recall Beherit worship, a few classic black/heavy styled parts, and some more fast, relentless black metal. Good stage presence too, considering how little of a stage there was.

Morgirion were very fast and sharp, playing a style with lots of blast beats and a fair amount of dissonance. They were very fast pretty much all the way through, with a very full sound as a three-piece, led by a very good bassist who was an energetic and enthusiastic frontman. A bit more tasteful and less mechanical than blast-happy bands like 1349, they were relentless, but not to a fault. Great show, I'd love to see them again.

One Master were the headliners for a reason - they're really good at what they do. If you're unfamiliar with them, think of the riffing of Under a Funeral Moon mixed with the hypnotic sense of Burzum and the ritual feeling of Unanimated's most recent album. The band was very focused, appearing very serious and having fun as well. Their first two songs were extremely loud, something I noticed despite earplugs, and admittedly they couldn't hear much of anything, which made their sharp performance even more impressive as the few slips were quickly corrected for. The loudness was up there along with the impact of the band's performance, which had a certain feeling of determination and direction propelled by their style and concept around the occult. The band's four-piece lineup had two new members and one filling in (though he fit into the band and matched up right along their frontman), and they were tight, rough but not sloppy, very befitting of the music. An excellent band that I'm looking forward to seeing in Connecticut again.

This show was a great concept to gather bands around, all five bands were excellent choices, and it turned out to be a very nice evening.

Back from the first day of The Metal Fest: Lock Up + Arcturus + Corrosion of Conformity + Sodom + Morbid Angel + Twisted Sister + Down.

Now going for the 2nd leg: Brutal Truth + Nile + Brujeria + Symphony X + My Dying Bride + Carcass + Devin Townsend Project. Tomorrow will be posted a mini review, but from the first day Morbid Angel easily raped everyone.

I saw Carcass yesterday, awesome sound, Walker/Steer still got it. The set went from the early grindcore days to their late death and roll melodic approach, nicely executed, with the energy and the precission needed, nothing fancy. Cool!
Dia de los Muertos was opening for Carcass, nice band, and what an ass the singer has!

THE METAL FEST 2013 - CHILE

Day 1

Lock up: Missed.

Arcturus 9/10: The performance was solid in general terms - even Vortex sounded in tune - Sverd, Skoll, Knut and HH were tight as fuck. The sound had a couple of problems that were quickly fixed. The setlist had a bit of every album but I missed the first 2 songs, because the van was a piece of junk and we had to fix it in the middle of nowhere. What I saw was:

Painting My Horror
Shipwrecked Frontier Pioneer
The Chaos Path
Raudt Og Svart
Alone
Master of Disguise

Missed:
Nightmare Heaven
Hibernation Sickness Complete

Corrosion of Conformity: I went to the 'chilean' stage to see a local band instead, so my wife and I went to eat some stuff and talk with some friends, since the international stage would take a bit of a break for a while.

Sodom 8/10: The performance was good, not mindblowing. Tom's vocals were decent so far, but the bass was way too loud and you couldn't hear the riffs properly. It was way more energetic than the previous gig they played here but still it lacked some bite especially the second half. The guys look old as fuck but still they can play. The setlist was no short of classics, although I missed a couple of 90's tracks (like Tapping the Vein stuff) instead the newer material that don't do much for me.

Morbid Angel 10/10: I'm not exaggerating. They opened with Immortal Rites with no presentation and the sound was overwhelmingly heavy. Dave said they won't be talking much cause the time was too short so they could play more songs for us. He sounded simply incredible, as well as the rest of the band. Tim Yeung once again proved to the a more than worthy replacement for Pete, nailing every bit with excellence. The setlist was heavily focused on Altars, which was like this:

Immortal Rites
Fall From Grace
Rapture
Maze of Torment
Existo Vulgoré
Nevermore
Lord of All Fevers and Plague
Chapel of Ghouls
Where the Slime Live
God of Emptiness
World of Shit (The Promised Land)

The Illud tracks were played faster than the studio versions and with the huge sound of the gig they sounded truly excellent. Dave's cleans were deep as fuck (both in tone and depth) and he added some of them on the Altars tracks where you could sing along, adding atmosphere in replacement of the missing keys. Did I say the sound was crushingly heavy? A lot of people were talking before about how gay was Dave and how shitty the gig would be since they play 'disco music' now. Morbid Angel just shut they mouths and everyone was shocked about how great they sounded and played. The best band from the day 1 by a mile.

Twisted Sister 9,5/10: I wasn't overly excited for seeing them but hell, the show was inmensely fun! Dee is a great frontman, he put the crowd to his kneels with ease, sung with the confidence earned by decades of rocking and his voice was spectacular! everyone was singing along every song. The band was also tight was fuck and thanx to a proper sound, the whole set sounded quite heavy but clear enough to understand everything. This should have been the perfect closure to the first day, but 1 band left.

Down: 5/10. I'm not a huge fan of them but I don't hate them either. Twisted Sister proved that you couldn't be much into them but still they assure a hell of a time, so I waited for Down with an open and optimistic mind. The show started like 30 minutes after the programmed time (which every single band before respected as never happens here). That and being the last band settled a bad feeling about it: people was a bit of tired for being all day long into the venue. This is not the reason of my 5/10; it was Anselmo. The guy can 'sing/shout' still and the band can play but it wasn't very tight, the sound wasn't the best at all and Phil dedicated his words to trash over the crowd: the show itself wasn't very engaging IMO and after the 2nd or 3rd song he said: 'this is the last time you'll see Down here'. Some people was pretty upset about the bad reaction of Anselmo for his band not being able to earn the crowd and make them bang their songs. Anselmo insisted on crying like a baby and was a total ass.

A bit of a bad taste to finish the day but Arcturus, Morbid Angel and Twisted Sister were pure gold.

DAY 2:

This time I arrived in time!! the heat was high but it didn't stop us to band our heads against the walls.

Brutal Truth 8,5/10: Again, I wasn't there for them but they ripped. I felt unfair to have them opening for so 'few' people (like half of the arena instead fully packed) but the sound, performance and charisma of the guys were enough to provide a truly brutal and classy show. The guys were very thanful for people moshing and screaming their songs; even Kevin jumped to the crowd which was a bit funny to see, given his height. My only gripe is that the snare a bit of low in the mix so sometimes they went full on speed but I couldn't understand well some sections.

Nile 9,5/10: Nile was about to NOT play, since American Airlines missed the whole Kollias's instruments and accesories, but Tim Yeung saved the day lending him his whole kit to play. Not surprisingly, George sounded brutal and crystal clear thru all the gig. The performance was epic, majestic and utterly brutal, everyone excepting Kollias provided vocals to enchance some sections, which reminded me a bit to newer Behemoth in terms of atmosphere and brutality. The sound was mostly great, excepting Karl's leads sometimes that overpowered everything for the abuse of delay and gain, which is my only gripe. The performance was tight as a 1-month age girl pussy and to see Kollias playing was a show by itself. Karl also had some nice words for the public (in spanish sometimes) and he looked truly impressed by the ferocity of the crowd, something he praised more than once, swearing they'll return asap.

Brujeria: Skipped, went to the Chilean stage to see a couple of local bands, eat something and join some friends.

*While this happened, my wife and I were walking around and came across Dave Vincent who was just walking around. Both of us took a pic with him, which was very humble and nice to everyone - I asked about to take a picture with my wife and he said: sure, bring it on! - although not much people noticed him. After a while he went to the interviewer's set to share a couple of words and left the arena. My wife who's a huge Morbid Angel fan was frozen and the pic added to the exceptional performance of the band made her proclaim them the best of the bill so far.

Symphony X: we weren't interested on them and saw some songs but again we went to the Chilean stage. The sound wasn't the best btw but Allen's vocals were epic.

My wife to this point was very tired and she asked me if she could sleep a bit while My Dying Bride was playing. I said: sure, try it. Then they came in

My Dying Bride 10/10: I like MDB and I was waiting for this, cautiously. The last albums, while good, have lacked bite and Aaron's vocals in studio aren't the best anymore IMO, but I wasn't prepared for a such flawless, passionate and utterly crushing performance, which eclipsed even to Nile.

Kneel Til Doomsday opens and the sound greatly benefits the song, giving it a much necessary heaviness on the guitar dept. Aaron's cleans comes emotional but not cheesy at all, his mannerisms were very theatrical without looking gay or weird. He's bald now and use some creepy makeup, oddly reminding me to Nemtheanga from Primordial. When the heavy part of the song started, Aaron's growls filled the whole arena. Seriously, his growls were inmense, deep and full of anger, just like in the mid 90's. The whole band played the songs flawlessly with great conviction, both guitars were weeping while the new Violinist/Keyboardist was also incredibly good. Like Gods of the Sun came then and, as an oldie, it was sung and banged properly, especially that it was played way faster and the chorus sounded heavy as fuck.

Aaron then gave thanx and praises, announcing the title track from TLTS. Needless to say, it was overwhelmingly crushing. Aaron's growls must have come from somewhere else, the guy was possessed. I would say his growl was even better than the Darkest Eyes DVD. The whole band, again was very tight. From Darkest Skies was a beautiful addition to the setlist, it was very emotional and well played.

Aaron again gave thanx to the crowd, saying they'll return asap to play here since everything since the fans, the organization, the reception were beyond their expectatives and felt truly well. Then he announced The Raven and the Rose, which was played again a bit faster than the studio version, with Aaron's growls and almost black metal grim vocals dominating the arena, while the blastbeats of the middle section were hitting us with tons of power.

Then came the mandatory Classic 'She is the Dark'. Again, devoided of any flaws, the guitars were shedding tears harmonizing beautifully, until the heavy part was again dominated by the 'brutal' delivery of Aaron.

People were asking for Cry Of Mankind loudly, then Glencross started to play the endless tapping intro. Again, Aaron's performance was very theatrical and for a while you could really think the guy was suffering singing that song. His voice felt touched, a bit broken if I may add, which if it was true or just his ability as a singer, it was very heartfelt andwell done.

Aaron announced they had time for only 1 more song, so the drummer started 'The Forever People'. This one was delivered with full force, both Glencross and Andrew headbanging wildly, while Aaron unleashed some of the most powerful growls of the day.

The show was beyond mere words and easily the best from the Day 2. It was simply in another level. Even my wife who doesn't like MDB much said it was above everyone else's, even his favorite Nile.

Then we took a bit of a break to buy some albums and eat some stuff.

Carcass 6,5/10: Both of us were waiting for this one and after the incredible performance of MDB, Carcass should finish us off... but the show was disappointing.

First, the sound wasn't good. The drums were a bit buried in the mix and the guitars were kinda muddy. The vocals were a bit drowned, thing fixed a couple of songs after the beginning.

Second: The setlist. I don't like Heartwork and Swansong, but sadly they played more of those albums than the old ones. Even if the setlist could be considered 'balanced', it sucks when they focus on one of their worst albums. Since the setlist lacked several more worthy tracks and added those shitty groovy melodic farts from HW and SS, I was bored to tears for most of the show.

Third: The performance. Walker's vocals weren't strong enough and he lost quite of time talking in 'mexican'. Only with the oldies where Bill provided vocals I felt some real threat from the stage. The new guy (Ben Ash) was quite energetic playing tho. Steer's vocals were very good, he should have sung the entire show instead Jeff.

Setlist:

Intro/Buried Dreams
Incarnated Solvent Abuse
No Love Lost
This Mortal Coil
Reek of Putrefaction
Keep on Rotting in the Free World
Pyosisified (Rotten to the Gore)
Death Certificate
Exhume to Consume
Corporal Jigsore Quandary
Heartwork

Less HW, more Reek and Symphony could have been way, way better IMO.

DTP: Skipped, we needed to leave to return home at a decent time, since the travel was 2 hours and then I needed to wake up at 5 am to work.

ABSU @ the DNA Lounge, SF.

A conquering show. If anyone has yet to see them on this tour, yell hello to them from San Francisco because they leveled us.

Unfortunately, I was returning from a trip, missing Cyanic entirely, and only catching the last three songs from Pale Chalice while poring over shirts and getting my drink. Then some men in corpse paint shuttled gear, the banner was unfolded (a black and green print of the sigil above), and it was four songs later that the band introduced themselves. By then it was clear there was no escape from the wicked pestilence. Rest is for the weak. The only question was when/how to go back to the bar, and would anyone take your spot? Nope, apparently not. Man, SF metalheads are a polite crowd. Considerate, accommodating, friendly. Good company.

Absu's 92 minute mephitic marathon was remarkable. Apart from the the guitar being low in the mix, (which was unfortunate, but the sound desk was to the side of the stage, so he can't be blamed entirely) this was a perfect show. Everyone was in chief condition with practiced team work. The endurance of the band is dumbfounding! They were playing at a consistently ass kicking standard throughout the entire 92 minute show with only brief water/beer and interlude breaks, no intermission. Imagine my surprise when the guy from the merch table filled in for Proscriptor two thirds of the way through while the man of the mythic head band donned a heavy wool and leather jacket and took the front of the stage for a couple songs. Then he took the set again and the infliction continued to pervade. They did a two song encore with savage potency, but for a proper set list, you'll have to ask someone else. I'm still astounded, even though my hangover is the worst in recent memory.

Absu is fucking official. They will contaminate your village. Worth every dime and second.

10/10 - outstanding performance

Fueled By Fire, Nile, Morbid Angel, Kreator
2013-12-10
Fryshuset (Stockholm, Sweden)

I arrived late to the show and missed all but the last three minutes of FbF. Did catch a glimpse of them on stage, saying their thanks - they seemed like alright guys. A friend of mine that went to this same show - arriving on time - said that they rocked.

NILE

But the main reason I came was to see NILE. Have been obsessed over this band since 2007 - both worshipping their early discography and following their latest releases (Those Whom The Gods Detest, At The Gate of Sethu) with delight. After years of watching old and new live footage on YouTube, I finally stood physically in the same room as them.

Their set was not opened by 'Kafir', to my surprise (many shows have been), but instead with 'Sacrifice Unto Sebek'. Think it might have to do with their set being so short (~45 minutes, I expected them to play for an hour at least) but I didn't mind - the song always gets me going. Speaking of which, Nile had a real small audience: there was a chunk of people at the very front, a few on the sides (older men, but they wore nile shirts) and then me + a few others in the back.

Best parts of the set were Defiling The Gates of Ishtar (Karl/Dallas/Todd re-created the chanting part live; epic as fuck and one of the highlights of the evening since this song means a lot to me as a Nile fan) and Sarcophagus. A pleasant suprise was to hear 'Enduring the Eternal Molestation of Flame' LIVE, with the kind of guitar tone I imagined for the song in the first place [...Sethu as a whole suffers from thin tone] - this made me actually enjoy the song for real.

Moment of the night that I won't forget: Prior to going on stage (with sound guys/crew testing the gear) Karl could be seen in the back. I flashed the horns for the hell of it - and he made eye contact with me, flashing them back at me. This meant the world to me since I'm such a huge Nile fan (and did not stand at the very front during their set). I have experienced some sort of contact with Karl FUCKING Sanders.

Which brings to mind how fucking happy the guys in Nile are when playing. Karl couldn'ẗ stop smiling!

In conclusion, I was fucking happy finally having seen them - even if they didn't play a single Ithyphallic song (Ithy happens to be my favorite album of theirs) they made up for it by including 'Defiling...'. So I'm more than pleased.

I certainly agree on that!

[b]Morbid Angel
Did I tell you how Nile had a small crowd? Well, when Morbid came on all the people from the back (and the smokers from outside the venue) flooded the place. ~15 minutes prior to the band appearing on stage and it was packed.

I don't listen much to MA, but do know Immortal Rites, Chapel of Ghouls and Maze of Torment. Those songs fucking slayed, with Immortal Rites being the opener. As for the rest of their set, I'm not familiar with which songs come from which album.

Now, I've read a lot online about how Morbid Angel (or at least David Vincent) are posers and Illud Divinum Insanus a shit album... But they did play Existo Vulgore which was alright. Poser or not, Vincent has a great voice these days, at least to me (fits with the heaviness of the music), with a great stage presence to boot.

It felt nice being in the presence of pioneers of Death Metal. Definitely paying more attention to Morbid Angel from now on.

Also worth mentioning: Somewhere in the middle of the set, one of the guitarists did a nice and noisy solo while the rest of the band went backstage for a break. Sounded real cool.

Kreator

I'm new to Kreator. Prior to attending this gig I had only heard Phantom Antichrist the album, and the singles Hordes of Chaos + Enemy of God.

Well, after it was over I left the place a new excited-as-fuck fan. Spent a week and a half listening to the band's entire discography (and now put them above Slayer). I headbanged like fucking crazy (sore neck that-was-not-able-to-bend-comfortably-in-all-directions for nearly a week. Worth it.). The songs off of Phantom Antichrist worked surprisingly well, the audience singing along just as if they were playing the older, more well-known songs. Highlights of the entire set were (without a doubt) Hordes of Chaos, Phantom Antichrist, PtK and Coma of Souls/Endless Pain.

Mille is the fucking man, my favorite frontman in all of Thrash Metal.


FbF - N/A
Nile - 4.8/5 (deserved a bigger/better crowd + one Ithy song (preferrably The Essential Salts, but they only played that one back in 2007)
Morbid Angel - 3/5 (not my taste, save for a few songs. But insanely heavy wall-of-sound)
Kreator - 5/5 (Thrash perfection)


edit: LG Petrov (Entombed) came out on stage during 'Black Seeds of Vengeance', singing along in the ending chants of the song. Metal as fuck.