stories
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CODE / SOTM / SOLSTAFIR / BORKNAGAR Occult Travellers Of The Avantgarde Story online since: 30.09.2009 / 10:30:27 .........................................................................................................................................................  The Rock, Copenhagen, 10-23-2009 What better way to let the autumn commence, than with the Gothic Black Metal progressions offered by this immensely seductive tour package currently crawling across the European mainland? With the only two shows in Scandinavia being played in Oslo and Copenhagen, I took a train across the massive bridge uniting Sweden with the Western part of the European continent, and found my way to the venue (where I discovered, to my great joy, that ABSU are appearing in October). After an overpriced beer in the dungeon of the gothic/alternative pub called Faust (I was probably the first customer that night, arriving an optimistic hour early), I walked down the stairs into the subterranean facilities of The Rock. Big place, many tables, small stage, a beer vending machine (which was something new to me, unfortunately it was empty). Quite a sparse crowd that evening, unfortunately - it was a Wednesday, and with no obvious crowd-pleasers (for general metalheads that is, not AGM regulars) I'm not that surprised. Like all Scandinavians it seems, the Danish crowd was more interested in drinking beer at tables chatting with friends. I'd estimate the attendance to be about 35-40 people.  So, German black metal mongers SECRETS OF THE MOON were first out this evening (rotating bill you see - I'd suppose that CODE headlined in Oslo). I had practically not heard anything from them before, and I must say that they blew me quite away. Visually nothing spectacular, but vocalist/guitarist Shammash Golden had a massive stage presence, despite invoking Satan with only a handful of interested onlookers. Such fervour! Such passion! Such possession! None of the WATAIN theatrics - SOTM wouldn't need to sink to that level; the Devil flows freely through their veins. Sound-wise, they crushed me. Mostly because I had forgotten to bring ear-plugs, so I was half deaf afterwards, but also by their sheer heaviness. Like a young CELTIC FROST (circa Monotheist) with even more Satan, SOTM is one of those bands that can just go out on a stage, and own it from the first marching beat of the drums to the last feedback of the guitars before the sound-guy jumps onstage to turn the damn amps off. And now that I realize that bassist LSK plays with HELL MILITIA, VORKREIST and ANTAEUS, and that SOTM was more or less formed from the ashes of MARTYRIUM, I am even more awe-struck at their sheer POTENCE and POWER. The Danish metalheads sitting at home scratching their beer bellies do not know what they missed out on last Wednesday.  Weary and thick-headed from the aural bludgeoning, I lodge some pieces of crumbled toilet paper in my ravaged ears - the old-school way to do it. Thus, CODE, my main reason for attending, goes on stage. By now, the sound is unfortunately a bit muddled (blame the toilet paper), and newcomer Vooren's drums are slightly over-trigged. Anyway, they perform. Despite a slight disappointment that they have discarded their Bitterfeld stage setting, the band in front of me is indeed a handsome one. Clad just like in the pictures of the Resplendent Grotesque booklet. They begin by boldly blasting off two of my favourite tracks from Resplendent; "Smother the Crones” and "Rattle of Black Teeth”. I must admit that "Resplendent..." hasn't really caught on to me quite yet. Why, I don't know (besides the obviously way-too-modern un-necro production), it just hasn't. But man, do they sound killer when performing on stage. The performance is though not top-notch, but I am quite willing to accept that on the following bases: 1. This is the drummer's second or third gig with the band, ever. 2. The "Resplendent..." material, which makes up 5 of the 8 songs performed, is very complex, and has hardly been tried by the band yet in a public setting. 3. This is the second night of the tour, and even though CODE is a very mature and singular band in the studio, they are not an experienced live act. I am quite certain that those who attend the last shows on the tour will meet a much more secure and tight unit. But I am, as I said, not at all blaming CODE for their shortcomings. On the contrary - with the lack of theatrics, and the slightly unstable performances of the individual members, it is a humble orchestra that faces the sparse crowd of Copenhagen; I almost feel as if I am alone with them, there is no distance between the audience and the band. Kvohst's vocals are wobbly; the screams were impeccable but he nailed far from all of the higher tones of the wondrous melismas and free-flight melodies he showcases on their recordings. Switching between growl and crooning is a hard task, especially for someone who hasn't toured his head off the past years. Twisting his face and arms, writhing like a serpent ghost in surreal anguish, he still rules the stage, though not with the pure demonic wrath of DHG, but rather a Gothic presence (think not of British Metal Vampires when I use that word - think of misty moors and ghost-haunted mansions and Jack The Ripper instead). The only thing spoiling the show - besides of course the poor turn-out and the present audience's dull inactivity - is that they cut Brass Dogs, the ending number, in the last second. Kvohst wanting to spare his voice that final challenge, or unwilling to ruin one of their best songs with a poor performance (by then his voice was crackling in a worrying way)? I don't know, but I was a bit disappointed. Which was made up directly afterwards, talking a bit with Vicotnik. Very nice fellow, surprisingly humble - not the tough Satanist, but rather a nice guy who shook my hand a confused three times during a two minute conversation. Afterwards, SOLSTAFIR played. Hadn't heard them before, but my voyage home was encroaching, so when they hadn't evoked my interest with their "Fields-of-the-Nephilim-goes-Viking-Metalhead”-style after ten minutes, I left, quite satisfied with what the night had had to offer. Too bad I had to go to Denmark for it. aVoid - - - Markthalle, Hamburg, 10-24-2009 Luckily, I did not have the problems of having to endure several Pagan/Power/whatevermetal because CODE, SÓLSTAFIR and SECRETS OF THE MOON plus special headliner BORKNAGAR did not play as part of a bigger festival. Othewise I might have done what our colleague Alboin of Metal.de did (thanks for the photos, mate!) and left halfway through. I did miss CODE though, because I was interviewing Cornelius von Jackhelln who decided to come to Hamburg to watch his friend Lazare with BORKNAGAR. From what I have heard afterwards from other people though supports what Thor wrote: Trigger problems, overall not so tight, but with a memorable performance of Kvohst. So my evening started with SÓLSTAFIR. Musically unknown terrain to me, they proved to be the biggest positive surprise this evening. With their roots somewhere between ENSLAVED and PRIMORDIAL, I can only underline what Thor and Alboin wrote: Their impact and demeanour – musically and visually – makes them heirs to the throne of psychedelic rock PINK FLOYD may leave empty sometimes. Let me tell you that I stood there with my mouth open, only able to close it due to puzzlement when they announced their "last song for tonight” - after only two songs? But what followed was the über-song "Ritual Of Fire” in an extended version of over 20 minutes and my jaw was back on the floor. Hypnotic basslines – Thor, this is a shameless understatement. The guy plays three notes – fucking three notes – and makes them sound like the best notes ever! For twenty minutes! Three damn notes! And it does not get boring, no! You don't want them to stop! It is cool! It is rock! It is god! These are the three notes you'll be taking to a solitary island, I swear. This was totally on another plane. Far, far out. Yes, best concert for a long time. Which made the impact with which my high expectations for SECRETS OF THE MOON landed way down on the floor even harder. I love them on CD, and I would always defend their position as one of the most avantgardistic, advanced and important german Black Metal band anytime. Yet, what happened on stage was… Well, what did happen? I am not quite sure. Nothing seemed to be wrong, they played tight, stage-acting: check, sound was okay as well. And although I had two moments where I thought they'd turn the atmosphere, one of them "Lucifer Speaks”, they did not seem to manage to bring their occult Black Metal to life. The recognizeable exterior of the demon that is SOTM stood there on stage, but the flames were out. The audience seemed to recognize that as well, as it was not as crowded as before.  Then came BORKNAGAR. And although I had gained a good position near the front, I had to back away due to the sound which was just – volume. What the hell was the technician thinking? No way I could recognize anything from there, so I went back and got what I had hoped for: 100% BORKNAGAR. What a concert… After all I was happy that their new album got postponed until 2010, this way they couldn't focus mainly on their new output (which might have happened). And this way I got nearly every of my favourite songs from every album. Yes, every album, and well balanced. I just love it when bands I love do this. And even if the focus of attention in this display of technical perfection and enthusiasm could have been Mr. Vintersorg – this guy just is an incredible live singer while upholding a unbelievable strong aura of charisma – he restrained his personality and thus blended in perfectly with the rest of the band (other than with VINTERSORG in Wacken years ago where it was clear this was HIS show). A flawless victory for BORKNAGAR. Tentakel P. - - - Turbinenhalle, Oberhausen, 10-26-2009 To make it clear right from the beginning: it’s hard to imagine a line-up more inconsistent with CODE, SECRETS OF THE MOON, SÓLSTAFIR on the one, KROMLEK, BLACK MESSIAH, POWERWOLF and the likes on the other side, but as I stated elsewhere before: this reflects the Zeitgeist of the ordinary German metal consumer. Give him noise and beer and he’ll be "happy” as long as he can still stand / sit and drink…  Since the avant-garde black’n’doom rollers insisted on playing one after the other, they all played early in the afternoon with rather ridiculously short playing times. CODE started its set with the opening track of its latest album and "Smother The Crones” already made a clean sweep – this was something different and for great part of the audience unexpected! Ab initio Kvohst’s performance was just unbelievably soulful and captivating – you won’t find a comparable singer in extreme metal. I must admit that I found myself hanging on his lips and didn’t notice too much of what was happening around me, thus I managed to suppress the shitty festival situation for some minutes and to focus on the music and especially on these awesome vocals sending shivers down my spine again and again. To listen to a song like "In The Privacy Of Your Bones” is an experience far beyond the borders and dogmas of contemporary metal, it’s more like a reflection of a louring legacy which some people carry in themselves regardless of any outer circumstances. To make it short: although Code weren’t that tight, they managed to play a really intense and memorable gig, offering a complex and malign section of their ghostly oeuvre, closing their set with the bone-crushing "Possession Is The Medicine”, ultimately proving that metal can be a form of art and sheer brutality at once. Later Kvohst told me that he actually wasn’t that fond of his performance, but everybody else I spoke with agreed that he did a marvellous job, covering a seldom wide range of vocals.  SECRETS OF THE MOON needn’t prove anything, aside from the fact that their new and fourth full length album "Privilegivm” is anything but a complaisant record. I can well imagine that the topical orientation of the band towards a slow heaviness can be experienced painfully, especially if you search for encouraging tones that lift you up again. Obviously the band doesn’t exaggerate when they’re talking about the strongest line-up in their career: with LSK on bass and Ar on second guitar they have become tight and professional like never before, yet the music is only made for special surroundings and although the quartet gave it one’s all, it didn’t succeed in creating a similar compact atmosphere like it usually does in a small club at night. With "I Maldoror” the band tied in with its early stages and it didn’t surprise me when drummer Thelemnar afterwards noted that some old songs might find their way onto the set list soon.  …and then came SÓLSTAFIR. … Stop. … Pause. … Long pause. … SÓLSTAFIR: the bunch of boys creating their own version of blackened pagan metal in the mid Nineties has finally turned into a band that needs no detailed analysis but an audience to witness the maybe coolest psychedelic rock and metal you can experience these days. Like my colleague Alboin (whom I owe thanks for contributing his photos to this article) wrote in his review on metal.de: SÓLSTAFIR are nowadays closer to early Pink Floyd than to black metal, but their charisma on stage is utterly inimitable. I mean it says a lot when a man from the audience screamed "give us some Johnny Cash” and it says even more that singer Addi replied "he’s already on stage”… SÓLSTAFIR played a gig which made me nearly speechless, again forgetting time and space, just drowning in the hypnotic bass lines of "Ritual Of Fire” and feeling happy. Life and music can be so simple… Under the aforementioned circumstances and knowing I had to work the next day, I chose not to wait for BORKNAGAR (playing five hours later), but to leave with the awareness maybe never to see such a strong package of individual metal bands again. Photos by aVoid (Copenhagen) & Alboin (Oberhausen), manipulation by Thor Thor Wanzek |
