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!!!!