Some gigs I went to…

Hello everyone. I’ve been a bit slack with this lately and for that I apologise. I have four whole gigs to update you on but on the plus side, because I’m so behind and because they cover a total of EIGHT bands, I’m fully intending to be brief. Hurrah! I hear you shout! Less rambling to contend with. Yes indeedy. Well, that’s the intention at least. Cracking straight on, in reverse chronological order (in keeping with general blog convention!)

Paradise Lost, Katatonia + Engel – O2 Academy 2, Newcastle, 1st November 2009

Originally billed as an O2 Academy gig, it was something of a surprise when on arrival at the venue on a wet and windy Sunday night, we were funnelled into the main room’s smaller brother instead – the pocket-sized Academy 2. Presumably indicative of poor ticket sales, this disappointingly struck another blow to the reputation of my current resident city as a live music tour de force in the UK. Where IS everyone? I’m not the hugest Paradise Lost fan and would happily admit I was there for Katatonia, but I was there, and not enough other people were.

Having a gig down-sized is not a good thing and almost felt like a personal failure (should I have tried harder to make people attend?!) However, always one to find the positives in a situation I looked at the up-side – this meant seeing one of my favourite bands in a much more intimate setting than I had previously been expecting – the room can’t have had more than 300 people in at its fullest. Beautiful!

There would have been half that, or maybe even less, when first support Engel prematurely arrived on stage. Give us a chance, people! They must have been on 10 or 15 minutes after doors open at the most, but luckily we caught most of their set. A relatively new band, hailing from Germany, Engel are an energetic four-piece, giving the crowd some humorous abuse (‘this is even worse than Wrexham!’) in between ripping through tight, heavy performances of songs from their debut album ‘Absolute Design’. It was duly noted that the lead singer had a comical bald spot and the drummer looked like Alan Carr, and all in all, they were definitely were turning up on time for.

It’s an understatement to say I was excited about seeing Katatonia. Having missed them at Bloodstock in the summer I was thrilled to be offered the chance to see them here in Newcastle, and the added bonus of being within about three feet of the stage was adding to my nervous energy. The stage was far too small for five Swedes AND Paradise Lost’s drumkit, but they owned it completely, kicking off with ‘Ghost of the Sun’ from the Viva Emptiness album and immediately drawing in the small but devoted crowd despite technical issues and the fact that the bass player was entirely hidden from view.

Their set consisted almost entirely of songs from Viva Emptiness and The Great Cold Distance which suited me fine – they came across really well live, the set picking up tempo once the technical issues had been resolved. Highlights included the sing-along classics ‘Evidence’ and ‘Soil’s Song’, both of which had the crowd singing along in unison. They also debuted one song, ‘Forsaker’, from their forthcoming release, ‘Night is the New Day’ which sounded promising. One ecstatically happy Katatonia fan proceeded to have another drink and not pay a great deal of attention to Paradise Lost, so I’m opting not to review them – I was in anti-climax mode and am not a huge fan to be honest – however others around me seemed to be having a good time so I’ll conclude that they did a good job!

Amon Amarth + Entombed – Northumbria Student’s Union, 29th October 2009

For the first time in four years of working here, a metal gig at my place of employment! Fantastic. I probably would have gone even if it had been a totally rubbish metal band. Luckily it wasn’t! Evile were due to be the third support on this tour but due to the tragic and untimely death of their bass player, Mike Alexander, they had removed themselves from the bill. Both bands acknowledged the loss and dedicated a song to Mike, and Entombed’s guitarist wore and Evile shirt – all very respectful, and rightly so.

Entombed were good fun and got the crowd going. ‘Death n roll’, as their style has been described in the past, is a genre unlikely to become the next big thing or even a big thing at all, but they have been doing their thing for a number of years and it’s easy to see why they are popular among the metal faithful. It’s hard not to move to their hook-driven, catchy songs, and lead singer Lars-Goran Petrov gives it his all from start to finish. Shame about the lighting. Never in all my gig-going days have I experienced anything quite so annoying! The crowd lights were flashing on and off throughout, repeatedly blinding everyone who didn’t have their head between their knees, true metal style. Serves me right for wanting to actually ‘see’ the band, I suppose.

Amon Amarth are mighty, battle-ready beasts of the night, gods of metal personified. Well, I’m not going to argue with them – have you seen the size of them? It’s hard not to be slightly agog when they stride warrior-like through the smoke to the front of the stage, the four non-drumming members lining up in a row like the frontlines of an ancient army, in full Viking costume and with acres of hair between them. Lead singer Johan Hegg comes complete with a drinking horn. I’m half expecting to see a warship moored in the car park after the gig. The gig itself is a riotous, rousing, foot-stomping, air-punching affair, very enjoyable indeed, my personal highlight being the anthemic ‘Guardians of Asgaard’ from the Swedes’ latest release, ‘Twilight of the Thunder God’. Their encore wasn’t half bad either. Thor and Odin are heartily applauding, I’m sure.

ISIS – The Cluny, Newcastle, 26th October 2009

It was a Monday in late October, but despite the SAD-infused autumnal gloom, made worse by the clocks going back the weekend just gone, the seven days ahead were something like heaven. Three whole gigs in my town of residence, in the space of one week!

Something about going out on a Monday seems really rather naughty. Especially when you leave the house to catch the bus before 7:00 and it’s pitch black and a bit damp outside. Our destination – the Cluny in Byker, one of the hippest music venues in the city, and host for the evening to the hipper side of the metal world. Post-metal is a strange beast, one which I am still grappling with – it bests me nearly every time I try. However, some of the leading lights of the scene itself, Americans ISIS, have managed to break through my post-resistant shell and actually penetrate my consciousness.

From the way fans of the genre talk about it, you could describe post-metal as the older, wiser brother of traditional metal. It wears its hair short and its trouser tight, and probably has a well-sculpted beard and some square black glasses. As for its musical style, it flies in the face of traditional metal values, rejecting balls-out machismo and furious, anger-fuelled rants in favour of introspection, atmosphere and, well, a bit of mood lighting. ISIS were the first band of this kind that I ever heard and at the time, I didn’t even know such a genre existed. A few years later, music critics and fans alike clamour to drop bands into neatly defined boxes, and the scene that has built up around ISIS and their ilk has been given a name.

Maybe I’m just a bit simple but I find most of it fairly dull and repetitive. It annoys me that most fans of the genre look down on plain old metallers like they are unevolved monkeys, dismissing the entire genre as the cerebral equivalent of blancmange. It’s partly why I find it so off-putting. But anyway, back to ISIS – they are a band who have survived the labelling and retained their place on my iPod; they have a harsher edge and some really breath-taking moments of intensity and this is in evidence tonight.

Following an abysmal support band, ISIS are a welcome relief (I feel it necessary to dedicate a few sentences to Mothlite, albeit parenthetically; a band who apparently think it’s perfectly acceptable to use up a third of their allocated support slot set making a monotone noise and then blaming it on a computer don’t deserve the honour of sitting outside brackets I’m afraid. Especially when their singer is a Morrissey wannabe). They create a truly vast noise, opening with material from their latest album, 2009’s blissful ‘Wavering Radiant’, and working through a good chunk of it, as well as showcasing some highlights from previous releases including 2004’s ‘Panopticon’, the album that caught my interest in the first place. Their sound really punches through, at once enveloping and crushing, the quieter moments punctuating beautifully and reinforcing the intensity of the heavier sections. It’s dynamics like this that really make them stand out from other bands of a similar style (please, if you disagree, point me in the right direction – I’m happy to be proved wrong).

It’s a solid, impressive show, and is sadly over all too quickly. Turns out that Monday nights are quite a good night to see a band on. Post-weekend post-metal. I’m so unconventional, me.

Amorphis – Camden Underworld, 10th October 2009

Despite being a relatively recent acquisition to my roster, Finnish folk/prog/melodic metallers Amorphis have fast become one of my top discoveries of the year so far, a fairly shameful admission in consideration of their lengthy career, their first album being released in the early 90’s. Perhaps not so bad when taking into account that until this gig, the band had never before appeared live in the UK, and their first gig was taking place at the fairly diminutive Camden Underworld – so it’s not just me that missed them, then. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to witness their first live performance on British soil and so made a flying visit to London to catch the gig.

Support for the night came from Before the Dawn, a melodic death metal band who I had listened to a few times before and was pleasantly surprised to discover were part of the evening’s proceedings. Fellow countrymen of the headline act, the Finns made a good impression with an energetic and dynamic set, debuting some new material as well as airing some older songs, one or two of which I was familiar with.

Amorphis themselves seemed to be all over the stage – it’s not an ideal space for five people but it’s quite entertaining watching them fit themselves in and around the available space, although the central pillar obscured some of my view for some of the time. It didn’t matter – opening with the first track from latest album ‘Skyforger’, Amorphis had the crowd in the palm of their hands straight away. ‘Silver Bride’ is uplifting and anthemic, the crowd sang along enthusiastically.

The setlist took songs mostly from the band’s three most recent albums, but there were older songs thrown in to create a really mixed, exciting setlist whichhad something for everyone. Frontman Tomi Joutsen is like a walking good mood, the man just emanates happy vibes, even when growling vintage doom classic ‘Black Winter Day’, and he was ably backed up by the rest of the band, who all put in great performances. Overall a very enjoyable night and one which I hope convinces Amorphis that we’re not so bad really, and that maybe, just maybe, they could come back and see us again sometime.