Celestial Darkness Fest – Day 2 – Underworld & Electric Ballroom, London – 02.03.2024

The 2^nd day started at the Underworld, really early (like 12ish), because it also has to end early, but the first band which was supposed to go (EDENFALL) had some problems and didn’t show up!! I’ve heard something about flat tyres but I’m not 100% sure!

So next was a band we were enticed to see, as we didn’t much know about them.  Of Wonders & Sorrow arrived from Mexico, and it was a bit of a disappointment. When we got there, there was one guy and one girl on stage, both with guitars, and nothing else (drums were recorded). Everything started a bit messy with her guitar being like non-existent and his vocals very low. Things got a bit better throughout their set (we saw 3 or 4 songs) and they brought this Bauhaus kind of vibe to their music. Not impressed must say, but it’s not easy to open a festival, and doing it very early.

Moving on to the Electric Ballroom and time for The Infernal Sea to go on stage. They weren’t supposed to be in the fest, but Schammasch had some issues, and they came to replace them. And must say, after seeing them 3 times in one month, that this was the one I enjoyed the most. They opened with “Lord Abhorrent” from their new album “Hellfenlic”, and they grabbed the crowd at once with their Black Metal. At some points, they sound more like a Thrash band, but I’m not saying that’s bad eheh!! Great stage presence, and a thumbs up from me!!

Next was Ad Nauseam from Italy with their Avant-Garde and very technical Death Metal. It seems has been exporting lately some sick Death Metal (Hour of Penance, Hideous Divinity), and these guys don’t slack on the virtuoso department. Sick solos, big dissonant riffs, vocals, which seem to be more like invocations than growls, and a good set, although a bit out of our field!!

We went back to the Electric Ballroom because it was time for Isole, which in case you don’t know, has like three members of Ereb Altor, but here performing a more doomish sound. Sometimes their music brings to mind Candlemass, with great epic moments that the band knows how to sue to build the momentum and grab the audience. They brought to London their new album “Anesidora” but not forgetting older gems like “Beyond the Horizon”, which is a beast of a song.

One more round, and time for one of the best shows of the weekend. The Germans Heavy/Prog Death Metal lords, that go by the name of Chapel Of Disease!! With a new album in their bag, they came, saw, and conquered London, with heavy riffs, Death Metal hints and a great stage presence!! Their mix of the several genres is a genius play (although I can see some people hating it ahah), and even a band like Hallas came to my mind when they were playing. It’s not a band you can fit in a box so go for it if you are into bands that don’t mind bending the fences that separate genres!! We ended the night talking with Laurent and realized that he’s the sole member left from the three, that recorded “Echoes of Light”!!

Time to run to the Electric Ballroom because Vreid was next, and I really wanted to see them, mostly because I’m a huge Windir fan, and thought they were doing more of a homage to that band. But no, they were playing music created by them throughout the ages. They played a couple of Windir songs like “Saknet” and the enormous “Journey to the End” (a very nice way of ending the show), a bit of their career with Vreid and one song from Ulcus (a project they had around the time of Windir). Overall, it was a very good concert, their music is excellent, full of melody and atmosphere, but I was expecting a bit more Windir songs!! But at least the two they played were amazing to hear!!

Swedish October Tide were next with their Doom/Death Metal quite melodic and catchy. They brought their most recent album “The Cancer Pledge”, from which they played a couple of songs, and they conquered the audience. The guitar leads flowed through the Underworld, some Katatonia came to mind (I know I’m being unfair as both the Norman brothers played there) but the new songs also showed a more varied material with some fast tempos being introduced.

I didn’t finish to see them because next was a band I really wanted to see: Aura Noir!!! And they were amazing!! The trio of Aggressor, Apollyon and Blasphemer, ripped through the Electric Ballroom, and through the records of their career!! The riffs were blazing, the drums were pounded, and Aggressor vocals were manic!! It was time to headbang to tunes like “Iron Night/Tormentor Storm” or “Fighting for Hell”!! Is for this kind of concerts that it is worth getting out of the bed!!! My soul was satisfied, and my neck was hurting, so a good one for sure!!!

To calm things down came Saturnalia Temple and their slowish Doom Metal. Their music is slow, ritualistic, and entrancing, putting everyone under their spell!! I endured for a couple of songs like “Aion of Drakon” or “To the Other” but then my mind said beer was necessary, and I went to the bar, and listened to the rest of their show in there. Need to see them on a different mood, and not after an amazing show from Aura Noir!!

Last band to watch was one I never thought I would see them live!! I remember buying their debut album, “A Wintersunset…” in the mid 90’s, and being blown away by the quality of this German band!! Almost thirty years later I finally saw Empyrium live, and it was quite good!! They were playing a very old school set which comprised of the amazing “Songs of Moors & Misty Fields” album in its entirety plus “Under Dreamskies” from their debut and surprisingly “My Nocturnal Queen” from their only demo, released in 1995. It was a night for remembering, to feel the beautiful melodies of this dark Folk created by Markus Stock, and to close your eyes, and getting lost in a timeless journey!!! Priceless and something I believe a lot of people never thought it would witness it!!! A very good way to finish this second day of Celestial Darkness!!

Well, over, over it wasn’t because we still had some energy to go to the Black Heart for the after party, for some beers, chat, and annoy people eheh!!! The night was young and it belonged to us!!!

Celestial Darkness Fest – Day 1 – Islington Academy, London – 01.03.2024

The good people of Cult of Parthenope, the guys behind Cosmic Void, decided to do a fest a bit more eclectic, and not so as much focused on Black Metal as the aforementioned, but much in the same vein (venue and system wise) as Cosmic Void system has been functioning very well.

My first impression was of a very good line-up with quite a far range of bands hitting London, but maybe we are too eclectic because the only down note of the weekend was the lack of public, especially noticed in the Electric Ballroom. But that’s something, that not us, or the organizer, can control, so let’s move on!!!

First day was on the Islington Academy and as usual, due to work duties, we lost the first band. Vehement, from the UK, was its name and unfortunately, we can’t say nothing about it!! So, for us, the first band was the Romanian horde Dordeduh, and they were a nice surprise. Formed by Sol Fau and Hupogrammos after they left Negura Bunget in 2009, Dordeduh delivers a sound close to what they were creating with Negura around the time of the mighty “Om”. They released a very good album in 2012 but then waited almost a decade to deliver their second effort. “Har” is its name, and not surprisingly was the main focus on their show. Great melodies, a lot of atmospheric ambiance, varied vocals, folkish elements, all were unleashed by the four guys on stage with a very precise and calm performance. They gained for sure more fans after this excellent show, yours here included!!

Next was Ereb Altor, which we only saw a decade ago, when they played in Portugal. Their show was good, maybe not as captivating as I was expecting, but it was good. If you are a fan of Bathory (“Hammerheart or “Blood Fire Death” age) you will probably like them as their music is much inspired by Quorthon’s creation. Again here, atmosphere is the main word, as their music is built with plenty of it. They have a new album out called “Vargtimman”, and it was with its opener “I Have the Sky”, that they started their show. Epic riffs, great presence, thick bass lines, the Swedes have it all, and caught the attention of the crowd with their songs. I think they closed (if they didn’t, I’m sure they played it) with “With Fire In My Heart” which is one of my favourite songs from them. Fists in the air and sing “With fire in my heart and blood on my hands, Blood and Fire”!!!

To close the night, we had Primordial, a band I was lucky enough to see quite a few times!! And I must say, this was one of the best I’ve seen from the Irish horde!! Tight as ever but with the more enthusiastic Alan that I’ve ever seen, the man was all over the place, seemed happy, and even traded a bit of friendly banter with the audience. The veteran band (amazing that 30 years have passed since their inception) brought the new offer “How It Ends” (which I bought in the merch table in double CD for a tenner, crazy innit?) to London, and like I already said, it was amazing!! They opened with “As Rome Burns” and closed with “Empire Falls” and in the between they left a trail of corpses, riffs, songs, and a freaking excellent show. They also had time, of course, for the new album, a couple of songs, if I’m not mistaken, including the title track, but went through most of their career, which nowadays encompasses ten albums. It’s cathartic to see Primordial, you feel like you want to scream when Alan is screaming, to headbang when Ciaran delivers some nasty riff, to stomp alongside the drums!! What a fucking beginning of a festival!!!

After that, we were looking for something to eat (great Greek place close to the O2, Holy Pitta), then lost ourselves a bit in the area, found the pub where some of our friends were, the queue was big and so  we said, fuck it, let’s go home as the long weekend was just starting!!!!

Girlschool / Alcatrazz / Raven / Airforce – The Dome, London - 17.02.2024

Once more we were a bit divided on what to do on this specific Saturday but as I had never seen Girlschool before, this was the one, we chose to attend!! Our friend Rui joined us, so before going to the Dome to witness this amazing line-up, we had a bit of cheese, chorizo and a nice bottle of red wine to start the evening!! 

When we got to THE DOME (which is a 20-minute walk from our home) AIRFORCE was already midway “Fight”, their opening track as I think they started a bit earlier than it was announced!! They displayed their laidback, NWOBHM influenced music which set the rest of the evening!! Flávio Lino, their Portuguese singer, was in a very nice mood and with a bit of banter here and there kept the crowd on their feet and singing along!! They delivered songs from both their albums, “Judgement Day” from 2016 and “Strike Hard” from 2020, although leaning more on the most recent one, with great tracks as “Band of Brothers” or “Son of the Damned” bringing the first signs of headbanging!! Not too much, as the crowd was a bit already on the veteran side, so must be careful with the neck eheh!! Chop delivered the goods on the guitar, Tony Hatton maintained the beat with the thick bass lines and it’s amazing to see Doug Sampson still kicking the drums like there’s no tomorrow!! They closed with “Sniper” and left the Dome with a couple of more fans in the crowd for sure!!!

Next came RAVEN, which we saw almost a year ago at The Black Heart (weird, right?) playing the 40 years of “All For One”!! The band of the Gallagher brothers brought a ton of energy to the stage, and a lot of good humour as well, especially the faces that Mark does while playing the guitar!! They opened with “Stay Hard”, followed by “Hell Patrol” and “The Power” showing that this was going to be a set which would roam through their vast career, not forgetting their most recent one, “All Hell’s Breaking Loose” which came out in 2023!! John, always pounding the bass while running around, singing with a headset gave him that freedom, was blasting away through songs which took a lot of the people in the Dome back in time, mainly when they went for “Rock Until You Drop”, a song released more than 40 years ago, or their 1982 singe “Crash Bang Wallop” with which they closed their set!! Can’t go before talking about Mike Heller, which is been drumming with them since 2018, who is a damn freaking machine, always putting the tempo up and away!! 

The beer was flowing, the mood was very good at The Dome and next we had ALCATRAZZ, which if I'm being honest, were the band I wanted less to see!! But I also didn’t have anything better to do so I watched their show!! Although I came out of it not impressed a lot of other people seemed to have enjoyed it quite a lot, so no harm, no foul!! For what I understand there are a couple of Alcatrazz’s line-ups with this one bringing as sole founding member keyboardist Jimmy Waldo!! They delivered a good set of a Heavy Metal, a lot of show off from their guitarist, good vocal skills by their frontman, who I think used to play with Rainbow, and if I’m not mistaken, they played a couple of cover songs from that band and a bit more melodic that I wanted at that time!! Nevertheless, it was entertaining and fun, and a couple of catchy songs like “Don’t Get Mad.. Get Even’ or “Battlelines”!!

Last band hitting the stage was the one I was more looking forward to see, GIRLSCHOOL and the ladies did not disappoint!! What a display of energy and happiness!! They looked really happy to be on stage and that is contagious!! They opened with “Demolition Boys” from their 1980 album, which is a banger to start, then flew through their career not forgetting the latest album, “WTFortyFive?” from which they played “It is What It is” and “Are You Ready” (this one as encore and with the guitarist from Alcatrazz making an appearance)!! Kim’s vocals are top notch, Jackie delivered some good riffing and solos, Tracey delivered the goods in the bass guitar with a lot of energy and Denise kept everyone tapping the foot!! The concert was a breeze, it passed way faster than what I was expecting, but that happens when you are having fun!! Of course, I had a totally fan-boy reaction when they played in a row, “Race With the Devil”, “Bomber” and “Emergency” (my favourite Girlschool song), it was fun to see the crowd singing and headbanging with the band, and the Dome was lit with energy and air guitars!! It took me a while to see them for the first time but man, did I enjoy it!! Highly recommended if you haven’t seen them yet!!!

Later on, we had Sophie Woodard spinning some records at the Black Heart, and as we love her choice of music, we headed down to Camden to drink until the night was young again!! She didn’t disappoint, and I think we left the pub when it closed but I can be mistaken!! The epilogue of a very enjoyable night!!  

The Infernal Sea / Necronautical / Darkest Era / Deitus – The Underworld, London - 10.02.2024

 

The 2^nd Saturday of February brought to London quite a few concerts which we would like to go but, in the end, we had to choose one, and we chose this great package that featured four very good bands!! Before heading to the Underworld, we met our friend Galas at the Black Heart for some Lightbulbs (steadily becoming one of my favourite beers) and a bit of warming up!! Then head on to THE UNDERWORLD!!

DEITUS opened the ceremonies, and early on we were being attacked by their fast uncompromised Black Metal. Presenting a new album (which came out in 2023) called “Irreversible”, the London horde did not disappoint all those already gathered in the Underworld when they got on stage. Their Black Metal has a bit of a Thrashy sound which for me fits quite well and makes some of their songs very catchy and headbanging!! There was melody, anger, great riffs, and soaring vocals, which created a very good atmosphere for this first concert of the day!!

Second band in stage, were their labelmates (hell thinking better all the bands tonight are with Candlelight Records) DARKEST ERA, a band which we had seen a couple of months before at The Black Heart, and it was very good to see them again, and this time with a bit more people in the crowd!! They are an awesome bunch, and their music is right down my alley: a mix of Doomish Heavy Metal with their Celtic heritage and a lot of epicness!! They also released an album not long ago: 2022’s “Wither On The Vine” (which I brought home in vinyl format and signed by a couple of them) which they presented a couple of tracks here like “Floodlands” and “The Collapse”. I don’t want to repeat myself too much, but these guys are a great band, and every time I see them, I think I’m more, and more into their music!! Their songs are like a journey into older times, where vocalist Krum serves as guide and troubadour. They play as tight as you could ask, with every riff being thrown at you with all their might and precision, catchy solos, thick bass lines, and drums very steady, with just the right amount of strength. I didn’t want it to end but when it came, I accepted as a grown man and moved to the bar for a pint of cold Camden Pale Ale!!

Another known name to us, and pretty much to everyone in the UK, were the next guests: NECRONAUTICAL!! I don’t think I ever saw a not so good concert from these guys, and today it wasn’t different!! They came, they saw, and they conquered, it’s my final idea!! Their riffs haunt you, hours after they finished their set, the tempo changes are immense, Naut’s vocals are the devil in disguise, there’s so much happening but in a way that seems clear to the listener. You can feel daunted by the images which seem to come out of their music, but you can’t look away from the beauty/horror of it!! I got so immersed in their music, and so tired after it, that when The Infernal Sea came on stage, I was pretty much empty and only saw a couple of their songs and went to the bar to harass the Darkest Era guys ahaha!! The fact I was going to see them twice in the next couple of weeks made me feel a bit less guilty!!

Overall, it was a beast of a night, with a great packed The Underworld, which is always a great image, and a lot of good UK bands, giving their best!!!

 

Chernobyliser / Huginn & Muninn / Sanhedrin – The Dev, London - 28.01.2024

 

Second show in January was one of the Metal 2 the Masses heats!! For those unaware, M2M is a competition which runs across multiple cities/counties in the UK, where the winner of each city/county will have the chance to play at Bloodstock Fest. In London usually the heats happen at The Dev, and this one wasn’t different. This was heat number nine, so as you can see there’s a lot of interest in it. People buying tickets online can vote twice, if you buy it in the venue you vote once and then it’s 50/50 between judges and audience vote. One band goes to the next round and one band goes to the Pit, which is a second chance to go through, a kind of repechage. So, on this nice Sunday afternoon/evening me and Inês went down to The Dev to support our friends Steve and Javi on their new project, Chernobyliser, on their first ever concert. No shame on saying that!! A lot of people when buy online, support their friends bands, then after the concerts you can make the decision if they were the one you liked the most. We got to the Dev, had a couple of beers before the shows started and chit chatted a bit.

First band on stage was SANHEDRIN! They are a band with a bit of history has they existed between 2009 and 2013 before calling it a day and then returning in 2021. We got to know the Parmahn (guitar/vocals and only member from the first run) once when we were in Newcastle and we had seen Sanhedrin a year or something ago at the Black Heart when they opened for Necronautical and Abduction!! Being honest, I wasn’t very impressed with them that day but must say that changed at this concert. Very tight, excellent songwriting, a lot of Chuck vibes coming from Parmahn and all in all, a great way to start this. They ended with ‘Freezing Moon’, which I shouldn’t even need to say who plays the original, but it’s Mayhem, and it was very well executed and spot on, but I don't like in this kind of contests for bands to play covers, call it a personal opinion!! But as said before they had a very strong performance and were strong candidates for the win!!

After they finished, time for another beer and it was nice to find Tom Cole, one of the poor souls that endured an all-day & night Manowar, where I was as well. One day that chronicle will come out. Lots of chat, made a new friend by the name of Simon and then outside for some air and more chit chat. In the meantime, HUGGIN & MUNNIN, was getting ready to go on stage and they had a ton of props. I only saw a couple of minutes from their show because being honest it’s not my cup of tea so I had fun for a little bit and then go out for some more chit chat. They are a Morris dance crew, which I think it’s a traditional English folk dance, and it’s something I would probably enjoy being out in some fair but not on this context.

Last band to hit the stage was CHERNOBYLISER!! The band is formed by Javi and Steve (both former Seven Sisters members, and it was nice to see Graeme from Seven Sisters at The Dev supporting them as well) and must say they have become known faces to us since Inês and then me, moved to London. Here they both changed instruments, Javi is playing the guitar, while doing vocals, and Steve plays the bass while doing back vocals. Drums are held by Sergio, if I caught is name right!! They delivered a pissed off Thrash Metal in their first ever concert and it was a nice surprise as they seemed quite relaxed on stage!! Songs well written, good riffs, plenty of headbanging moments!! Hope to see them grow and follow what they will do in the future!! 

While the judges conferenced and people voted, there was a guest band also playing, In this heat was the last year’s winner in Burnley, THE DEAD XIII which came to entertain us with their mix of Horror Punk and modern Metal!! It was entertaining, they have nice songs, lots of energy, a nice visual on stage and a very charismatic frontman but between voting, drinking and chatting I did not see their entire set!! 

So, we got to the end: the announcement!! And as we were guessing by the three performances, Sanhedrin were the winners and advanced to the next round!! Congratulations to them, well deserved!! Later in February we got the news that Chernobyliser were chosen to go to the Pit so congrats to them as well!! 

The Lunar Effect / Duskwood / Borehead – Helgi’s, London - 13.01.2024

After a calm December, concert-wise, January wasn’t too busy as well!! Only had a couple under surveillance and went to both!!! First, a return to one the coolest places in London, HELGI'S!! If you have been there, you know what I’m talking about!! If you haven’t, it’s time for you to change that!! I went alone this time as Inês was doing other stuff. So, after an ok journey to Hackney, got to Helgi’s, got a Satan’s Juice lager and prepared myself for a good night!!

First band to go on was BOREHEAD, a South London instrumental Stoner Doom trio, which started the night with some heavy bass lines! I love when a bass is well heard and, on these guys, the bass is right up on your face!! They played, I think 3 songs that lasted for half-an hour, being the last one the most long one!! Sometimes I struggle to connect with these instrumental bands (I miss some vocals, although bad vocals can ruin the music so, you never know) but these guys were not boring at all and I ended up nodding to their heavy sound!!

After one more Satan’s Juice, it was time to go and watch DUSKWOOD, a four Desert Rock piece from Yeovil, Somerset. They started delivering some groovy fuzzed tunes, with an excellent work by their drummer, and their music had this grungy vibe!! Like I said to Inês, after, it was a bit like a mix of Alice in Chains with Soundgarden and Queens of the Stone Age. They were showcasing their 2023 album “The Last Voyage” and they were a very nice warm-up for what would come next!!!

In the meantime, my friend Rui arrived, just in time to see the main attraction, THE LUNAR EFFECT, but before hitting the concert room, we still had time for one more Satan’s Juice!! First surprise was they were playing as a quintet, with two guitars, which I don’t think I ever saw them playing like that!! Second surprise was that they were playing some tracks from the new album, which is coming out in April through Svart Records. Including the new single “Pulling Daisies”. I love their laidback, fuzzyish Doom with plenty of melody, classic Rock riffs and Blues, and the new songs sounded very good, making from this new album a must buy!! Although, starting to show off their new album, they did not forget some of their early works like my favourite tune from these guys: “Woman”!! After quite a bit of fun and a very good set, they were done but not before unleashing on us their Black Sabbath medley which is always the cherry on top of the cake!! I know that with a new album, probably that will become less and less but at least I was able to see it a couple of times eheh!!! It’s a trip to the 70’s but still with a glimpse of the present!!

With the concerts done, we still had time for a couple of more beers before heading home (by bus which is a long journey) for some rest!!!

Paradise Lost / My Dying Bride – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London – 01.12.2023

Very special night this one, where we for the first time went to the O2 in Shepherd’s Bush to witness Paradise Lost’s 30^th anniversary of the release of ‘Icon’, where they would play it in its entirety supported by My Dying Bride. If they had added Anathema, we would have the Yorkshire triumvirate playing like in the early 90’s  (although I have no proof that they have ever played live together but at least they did in my stereo). This time besides me, my girlfriend Inês, and our friend Inês (no mistake here, they have both the same name), we had the company of Pedro and Joana, who came from Portugal to witness this historical night. First impression of this O2 wasn’t the best one as we did not get impressed with it, it seems small, especially when you have a sold-out house. To go to the toilet was an adventure, and I had to resign to see the last 2 songs from My Dying Bride in the stairs because we couldn’t move from there to the floor without someone else doing the opposite. Weird, so I did not become a fan of this place. But well, let’s go to the good things: the concerts!! First, we had our main reason to be there: My Dying Bride!! And man, what a beginning!! They opened with ‘The Thrash of Naked Limbs’ followed by ‘The Songless Bird’, both songs also commemorating thirty years of being released!! Followed by ‘Catherine Blake’, ‘Like Gods of the Sun’, and my favourite all time My Dying Bride song: ‘The Cry of Mankind’. The band was as tight as we could ask, everything played on the spot, and Aaron vocals were amazing, bringing back the more growled parts and not missing a note!! Fucking hell, it was awesome!! And they still played ‘She Is the Dark’, ‘Turn Loose the Swans’, which is a massive song when played live, and finished with ‘The Forever People’, which surprisedly enough, at least for me, brought again the mosh to the pit. Yes, there was a lot of mosh during My Dying Bride!! How weird is that???

After them came Paradise Lost, and we were again in the front, just close to the mosh pit, lovely, innit? As expected, they played ‘Icon’ in the exact order like it came out in 1993, opening with ‘Embers Fire’ (the best song from the album) and closing with ‘Christendom’ (which for what I’ve read was played live for the first time ever just like ‘Poison’ and ‘Weeping Words’). Just like My Dying Bride, they were tight as hell, with everyone having a lot of fun on performing this mythical album three decades later. Nick Holmes, spoke like I never seen him before, although with his Yorkshire accent, we had some trouble in following him ahaha!! Again, there was quite a bit of a mosh pit, which at some times was fun to see the moshers reacting to the slower parts ahah!! Priceless!! In the encore they played some even older stuff like ‘Pity the Sadness’ (from ‘Shades of God’) and newer stuff like ‘Ghosts’ from ‘Obsidian’. I’ve missed ‘As I Die’ but well maybe they are a bit tired of playing that one!! In the end, it was worth the while, the trip from North to West London, the price of the one beer I had (no cheap beer nowadays but with those toilets of hell I did not want to risk it), and the price of the ticket!! We ended the night at the Black Heart for some Lightbulbs, Heavy Metal and to mingle with some familiar faces!!! And another one bites the dust!!! We will be back!!!