Cult of Parthenope which is behind one of the most riveting festivals in London: Cosmic Void (and one other which will be coming this next spring called Celestial Darkness) decided to present us with a show from three bands that played last year’s Cosmic Void!! And as expected it was a hell of a journey (a word I will be using heavily in this review), which a lot of people also witnessed because the Underworld was way packed for a Tuesday night!! We got there a bit before the opening and there was a fairly big queue to get in. Fortunately, things were working fine at the door, so we got in with plenty of time to have a cold Pale Ale before the opening act.
And that opening act was one of the reasons why we were there!! UK’s FEN is back with their seventh album, ‘Monuments to Absence’, released last July through Prophecy Productions, so this was more than a chance to see them once more and listen to some of the new album tracks played live. Due to personal reasons, Grungyn, Fen’s original bass player couldn’t make it, so in came S. Vrath (from Scythian, Craven Idol fame) to hold the axe!! And must say, he did it very well, bringing his enthusiastic and intense presence to the stage. Fen’s music for me is quite difficult to describe as they go through so many different influences, and that’s one thing, that makes their shows so good!! There’s melancholy, blast beats, growls, clean passages, clean vocals and a myriad of riffs being displayed by founding member The Watcher!! It’s a journey through a tempestuous sea of feelings, moods and riffs. As expected, they played a couple of songs from the album, including ‘Scouring Ignorance’, one of the fastest tracks that night, and I would say in Fen’s discography!! One of those songs where JG blasts his way through and The Watcher’s harsh vocals rule!! The only thing I struggled this night in their set were the clean vocals, which sounded a bit lower than the rest but overall, this was another triumphant night for a band which doesn’t have much to prove!!!
Then time to go quickly to the bar for another Pale Ale, and for my surprise that was basically the only offer on tap as all others were pretty much empty!! I think the Underworld needs to stock a bit more the rest of the beer taps. And then time for the other reason for my presence in this gig: Ellende!! The Austrians were for me, the revelation of the 2022 Cosmic Void with a mesmerizing show that kept me glued to the Electric Ballroom stage. And this night, they delivered a torrent of suffering and melancholic Black Metal which resonated with the day we had had in London: cold, rainy, and miserable!! The next hour was a journey through their records, as I think they played old stuff like ‘Rückzug In Die Innerlichkeit’ or ‘Der Letze ‘Marsch’ but also songs from their most recent album, ‘Ellenbogengesellschaft’, like ‘Freier Fall’ or ‘Hand aufs Herz’. I’m not 100% sure as I was more interested in riding the tidal waves of DSBM unleashed by Ellende, than trying to figure what songs they were playing!! Honestly, when I listen to their records, there’s not one song that stands out but more the entire record that controls you, while being played!! Live, the experience is pretty much like that as well!! A steady thundering of despairing wails, sad hypnotic melodic riffs intertwined with some more brutal ones, the cadence of the drums felt in your heart!! It’s harsh and beautiful at the same time and when it ended, it was like coming out of a trance!!
Finally came on stage HARAKIRI FOR THE SKY, a band which we saw for the first time in 2016 in Portugal and that, at that time, made quite an impression on me, especially with ‘Calling the Rain’, a song that to this day still gives me the goosebumps!! After Ellende, and another Pale Ale, it was a bit difficult to get in the right mood for them!! As their countrymates, they went through some of their discography and not leaning heavily into the most recent one, ‘Mære’, which came out in 2021. Their set was also an enjoying trip, although I felt a bit drained, so it took me a while to engage in the screaming vocals (which I thought were a bit low when compared with the rest of the instruments), the melodic riffs and the excellent drum work. They got a great reaction from the audience which is a testimony to their quality and the hour and around fifteen minutes that their concert lasted passed quite decently. And yes, they played (pretty much in the end) ‘Calling the Rain’ and I enjoyed it as much as ever!!! The final song playing when the show was over was also a must: ‘Mad World’ the Gary Jules version (and one Harakiri for the Sky covers in the remake of their second album ‘Aokigahara’, released last year).
Overall, it was a very enjoyable evening, with three excellent acts, good sound (as pretty much always in the Underworld) and one more good event for the good people of Cult of Parthenope!!! See you on the 30th for Hulder and Groza plus The Infernal Sea and Stahlsarg at the Boston Music Room!!!
