Wednesday 15 May 2013

AGALLOCH & FEN LIVE IN HOLLAND

AGALLOCH / FEN
Willemeen, Arnhem (NL), 12th May 2013

 


It is always a true pleasure to travel to Arnhem for some well selected black metal live treats, and Willemeen is the perfect-sized venue for an underground gig to be enjoyed close-by. The Dutch date of the Lucifer Over Europe 2013 Tour includes a performance of no less than 2 hours from Agalloch, but  to open the sold-out evening are Brits FEN with their atmospheric black metal enriched with post-rock. Abandoned the keyboards and accompanied by drummer Derwydd, the amiable Allain brothers have now found a comfortable level of confidence on stage, where performance never overpowers the intimate and evocative dimension of their music. Fen’s art has always resonated deeply within me so I am especially keen to see them perform again. While I find bass-player and artwork-meister Grungyn sporting a good new look with a shaved head and a beard, vocalist/guitarist Frank has not changed much, except looking more muscular. He has grown leaps and bounds as an artist since the last time I saw him fronting Fen back in 2010 (recently stunning me with his clean vocal performance with De Arma too) and all I want to do after the concert is to give him a huge hug for what he has accomplished so far. Through a striking balance between sobriety and intensity, their 45-minute long set reaches beautiful moments, for example with the stunning “Consequence”, opening track of their great new album “Dustwalker” (Code666), confirming their natural talent and hard-working attitude. Instinctively a huge soft spot of mine since the beginning, I am convinced that Fen has something special give to rock and metal both: potentially a band that could add a lot to British music history in years to come.





(More photos of Fen below)



A year ago AGALLOCH stunned the main room @ Tilburg's 013 with a breathtaking multimedia show for Roadburn festival. This time around no projections will enhance the mood of their music, but there are some evocative spells and rituals to be performed prior to the gig, ensuring that our minds and senses are fully receptive for what is to come. John Haughm concentrates while placing some exquisitely fragrant incense over a few propitiatory wooden totems by the side of monitors then, immersed in darkness, he begins to slowly liberate sprinkles of notes which take form in the beautiful Limbs, sweeping us into a magical, otherworldly dimension. Time-space stretches and bends within us, and when that celebratory gem of pagan/atmospheric black metal that is Ghosts of the Midwinter Fires takes shape, it resonates profoundly across the entire venue. The first part of the 2-hour long set consists of 8 pieces, inclusive of the entire Faustian Echoes EP, their latest effort. You Were But a Ghost in My Arms, In the Shadow of Our Pale Companion and Kneel to the Cross close up with a sequence that is nothing short of sublime: the dense and intense notes produced by the musicians stun and mesmerize. The band has reached an unquestionable golden caliber, a true joy to the ear... John’s guitar, conveying both clean and heavy sound at once, works wonders, adding a further dimension to their layered music even on stage!


Aesthetically, it is rather unusual (and especially cool for me) to see 3 musicians who could very well be part of a HC or indie band surround the introverted but charismatic figure of John Haughm, the only through-and-through, long-haired “metaller” in Agalloch. Guitarist Don Anderson (whom I trust is doing a splendid job with his lucky university students) in particular moves like a hardcore musician, injecting good energy to the overall band performance, in great contrast with the captivating mercurial attitude of singer/guitarist Haughm. 



As Agalloch leave the stage a roar explodes from the packed venue, demanding for an encore. They return to delight us with touching renditions of Of Stone, Wind and Pillor and the entire Our Fortress is Burning. What can I say: I know that John is a perfectionist, but I hope he realizes how good they have become in a live situation. They have worked hard from a technical and arrangement point of view to bring their complex, lengthy and layered songs to a fantastic live rendition, and undoubtedly the advice and mastery of their touring soundman, none other than legendary producer Billy Anderson!, must have helped… Today Agalloch are amongst the absolute best within the underground, and uncompromisingly so! Whilst many big labels would love to have a piece of them, they stay true to a more comfortable dimension, working hard to maintain control over their art, reaping the rewards during these grueling, intense but culturally stimulating tours. In fact John, Billy and friendly drummer Aesop Dekker (who has promised me an interview for his fantastic new project Vhöl), tell me they cannot wait for the 2 Italian dates: not only do they appreciate the expressiveness of the people and the crazy enthusiasm of the fans, but they are gagging to see the sights. A trip to the Colosseum will be on the cards, whatever happens!





























 

Sunday 5 May 2013

MY FAVORITE ROADBURN 2013 MEMORIES: NIHILL

MY FAVORITE ROADBURN 2013 MEMORIES

NIHILL



Sunday's Afterburner was fantastic. The Green Room saw the exhibition of the band of the day as far as I was concerned: NIHILL. The Dutch are co-responsible for spreading the most lethal of recent black metal plagues, together with other malignant entities such as Dodechaedron, Aosoth, Svartidauði, not to mention veteran deviant Dutch experimentalist Gnaw Their Tongues, and would definitely enflame the guts of early Deathspell Omega and Blut aus Nord fans. The band set up mysteriously hidden behind closed thick curtains, while the room began to fill up. Once again, this was to be their stage debut. When the curtains withdrew, a dark, and foggy stage was revealed, dimly lit by the black & white projection of an intricate and unsettling-looking forest. The drummer took his place, then the waif-like figure of the bass player walked on stage, his white face framed by jet black hair. Quite a sight… Hooded guitarists and a threatening-looking singer joined them, as a dense cloud of malevolent, suffocating noise-drone filled the air. Do not ask me how it all began, but suddenly I was in the midst of an exhilarating storm of ice! The starkly cold violence, the foreboding noise/ambience, the bleak and unforgiving absence of hooks or light fissures should have provoked an asphyxiating sensation, but Nihill provided nothing but pure delight by indulging us in a majestic display of fierce BM blasted almost all the way through. Few and far between were the slow paced, ominous tracks that characterized most of their 2007 monster “Krach”, while it was the über cold/fast stuff off the magnificent (sold-out) “Verdonkermaan” that sandblasted a stage sinisterly plunged in complete darkness; only a few plasma-white lights pierced the dense fog, illuminating the dark silhouettes of the musicians from behind. More than once I found myself covered in goose-bumps, aware of assisting to a top quality black metal show from the Dutch, who ended up featuring at the very top of my favorite Roadburn acts this year. 





 











MY FAVORITE ROADBURN 2013 MEMORIES: A FOREST OF STARS



 MY FAVORITE ROADBURN 2013 MEMORIES

A FOREST OF STARS

Victorian eclectics A FOREST OF STARS are a special band and if there is an audience that can fully appreciate their uniqueness and intensity, this is it. They performed the entire “A Shadowplay for Yesterdays”, which dark and gripping story was illustrated by the visuals of Ingram Blakelock, author of the stunning video for “The Gatherer of the Pure”. The novelty was that the original guitarist and founder-member Mr. T.S. Kettleburner was rejoining the Gentlemen's Club, reclaiming the position finely held for a couple of years by Sir Gastrix Grimshaw. As the show went on, as emotional and gripping as expected, I had the chance to observe once again the different and interesting personalities who make this band frankly great. If Katheryne, Queen of the Ghosts, is delightful and graceful, and The Gentleman and Henry Hyde are both very intriguing for different reasons, watching vocalist Mr. Curse performing is truly something incredible… He seems to be physically possessed by a tormented, frightened, angry alter-ego on the verge of psychological collapse and about to transcend towards a dimension too bleak and powerful to imagine. He doesn’t move much, and I do not believe that it is because of lack of space (there are 7 musicians on stage for AFOS). I imagine it is because he feels as if an impending implosion of dark energy is about to happen: he scratches his skin and tightens his fists as if a monstrous, inhuman force was pushing from within to come out. His scrawny face, when lit up by the stage lights, is no longer that of the amiable, withdrawn guy from Leeds: it turns into the archetype of an ageless, tortured being fighting against the darkest of human emotions. Because of that, and because of the flow of engaging music, AFOS are a sublime act to experience, and when “The Gatherer of the Pure” and “Corvus Corona” hit their breathtaking highs, the crowd responded with one of the warmest ovations of the entire fest. 
I hope this b/w sequence of pics can give you a hint of the spectacle that AFOS gave us.