Winterfylleth @ the Waterfront
My first black metal gig, but unlikely to be my last.
Despite having been to hundreds of gigs over the years, with many of them falling into the camp (pun intended) marked ‘Metal’ I have never been to an actual real life black metal show. Time to put that right then with a trip to see three UK bands currently making waves. At the ludicrously early hour of 7pm the aural pummelling began with a set from Colchester’s The King Is Blind who had the job of warming up the growing crowd of early arrivals. I’m pleased to say they managed this with ease, helped largely by an enthusiastic frontman in Steve T. The sound was resolutely old school – breakneck blast beats and guttural vocals with slower moments of heavy riffage to allow everyone to get their nod on. This slower pace worked especially well on Mourning Light which I thought was the best song of the set. With a new album due out later this year, the future looks…DARK…for these guys.
Next up were London’s Voices, self-styled purveyors of ‘negative music’ and bringers of a more artful, avant-garde approach. That’s not to say the music wasn’t brutal and challenging, but it had a technicality and an edge of psychedelia that reminded me of Voivod or even King Crimson. The harsh vocals were offset by some inventive guitar work from Sam Loynes and everything was underpinned by the legend sitting behind the kit – Mr. Nick Barker. The former Cradle Of Filth & Dimmu Borgir drummer is a world class musician and his double bass drum work left me open mouthed. Staggering to think he is only sitting in on this tour because Voices’ regular drummer has prior work commitments. The use of spoken word pieces from their album between songs only added to the sense of the otherworldly. A brilliant thirty minute set performed with maximum wide eyed intensity which ended with a killer version of the unhinged Last Train Victoria Line.
Winterfylleth have something specifically British about their sound; whereas so many bands try and sound like their Scandinavian or American brethren, Winterfylleth’s songs evoke a sense of place, and there is something unexpectedly beautiful about their music. Just beneath the wall of noise is a hypnotic ambience that spoke to my musical receptors in the same way that dance music does, or a Hawkwind concert; that same mesmeric state that comes from repetitive, intense music. Only briefly did I come out of the trance but on the whole I was completely lost in the soaring majesty of the music, as was the whole crowd. Even though the band have released four studio albums this was their first proper headline tour and I’m fascinated to see how far they can take this. Although the music stands on its own I would love to see them with some visuals or creative lighting...just to take it even further out there. The Swart Raven was colossal, Forsaken In Stone was massive and A Valley Thick With Oaks more than did that awesome song title justice.
I knew it was going to be a good night, but I hadn’t anticipated an almost out of body experience. This really was a genuinely interesting and exciting night, with each band putting their own distinct stamp on the music. Things have clearly progressed since my days of listening to Venom and Bathory. My first black metal gig, but unlikely to be my last.
@StuPres
