Gig Report: Fleshgod Apocalypse, Carach Angren, Nightland at Camden Underworld, 19th January 201727/1/2017 2017 is still young and yet one of the heaviest line-up's this year rolled into London on the back-end of a performance in Paris, Fleshgod Apocalypse were on the last few dates of their European run that saw them and their supporting buddies in Carach Angren and Nightland rack up over ten countries. Italy's most extreme metal band has visited London endless times, 9 or 10 if you were to count and yet the expectation was riding even higher on the Classical-Death Metal outfit as this was their first ever headlining tour. Sure they had support from the Dutch Symphonic / Melodic Black Metal horde Carach Angren and their own fellow-countrymen in the form of Nightland, this did not however make them sweat one bit - despite the cold outside the didn't seem phased by the bitter English weather at all.
Who'd have thought that a band like Nightland were virtually unheard of in this part of Europe and yet with their magical combination of Symphonic Death Metal and on-stage armour-clad outfits, they came with the ferocity of a thousand stallions rampaging through the old Roman towns and cities of Italia. Here is a band who try to emulate the apocalyptic sound that Fleshgod Apocalypse have nurtured but simultaneously try to resist becoming a fad or indeed a clone, they manage to pull it off. Sure the notable absence of a pianist helps, but truth be told Nightland dealt their cards well with this performance as the crowd bathed in their mighty, yet mesmerising performance and craft. They certainly knew how to get the party started (and this is not a P!nk reference) but more so knew how to crack the London audience, after all some of the British metalheads can be a tough crowd to arouse if not motivate to spark moshpits and related motions found within the metal music repertoire. No doubt Nightland done themselves proud and will certainly be welcomed back to these shores with open arms in the times ahead. [8/10] RHYS STEVENSON
Carach Angren are no strangers to the European circuit having pillaged and rampaged across the European plains for many years, blasting their infectious mix of Symphonic and Melodic Black Metal whilst adding horror and ghost stories to the fray. A perfect partner to Fleshgod Apocalypse, the Dutch horde demanded immediate attention when it came to their slaying performance. No show is a show without some form of theatrics (lets be honest), so when Ardek's keyboard is shown to move up, down, left, right, sideways and horizontally, the crowd practically wet themselves as the motion demonstrated is one of complete amazement but more so gives the impression of being on a ship... cue The Flying Dutchman. But given their overall performance, it would be nice to see Carach Angren grace some UK festivals this year, this was deserving of a slot by far. Ardek at one point donned a mask that was very reminiscent of The Purge artwork, so despite it's creepy nature the aesthetic was sensual and sexual simultaneously; yes there is such as a thing as a ghost orgy. As song after song came rallying out like a machine gun on endless rounds, it was time for the hauntings to cease and for the renaissance to step in... cue Fleshgod Apocalypse. [8.5/10]
Hail to the Fleshgod Apocalypse, hail to the King! This is what was chanted by the already aroused crowd as the anthemic crescendo tune of 'Marche Royale' erupted into the venue as the Italian classical maestros made their way on stage, unfortunately Cristiano Trionfera was not in attendance but his stand-in replacement (whose name one has forgotten) done justice and would have made signor Trionfera rather proud. In fact as the traditional quintet (with exception to the minor personnel change) and Veronica Bordacchini (live opera vocals) led the charge with 'In Aeternum', 'The Fool' and 'The Violation' as the stapled songs in their set-list, few could argue that Fleshgod Apocalypse are Italy's latest successful metal export and are ones who join the upper echelons that Lacuna Coil are perched on. Having the expected swig of wine during the performance, Tommaso looked rather stern at the media, suspecting his bottle of limoncello had been taken (of course this is not true... yet limoncello is undoubtedly nice). This was a performance to savour and as Fleshgod Apocalypse finished their set with the epic melodic tune 'The Forsaken', it was a night that will live long in the memories of those who attended for here were three bands who despite having different styles of symphonic metal at their very foundations, all indulge in the extreme metal faculty and do so with such admirable interest. As they would say in Italy, 'tutto è bene che riesce bene'. [8.5/10] RHYS STEVENSON
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 Skunk Anansie have announced some additional UK headline & festival shows for May 2017; these follow on from a full European tour kicking off in late January, with the band set to visit 14 different countries across a six week period, including a sold out London date at the Brixton Academy on February 4th. Support on the European tour comes from edgy, rockin’ duo, The Pearl Harts. An opening act for the UK shows in May is still to be confirmed, but the dates & venues are as follows:- May 25th – Bristol, O2 Academy May 26th – South Derbyshire, Bearded Theory Festival (‘Pallet’ stage headliner) May 27th – Manchester, O2 Ritz ‘Anarchytecture’ – Skunk Anansie’s sixth studio album, produced by Tom Dalgety (Royal Blood, Pixies, Ghost) – was released last year to much critical acclaim and impressive official chart positions, with Classic Rock magazine saying, ‘Like Queen or Muse, they’re at their best when they push beyond the narrow centre-ground of hard rock in search of something bigger, stranger and more glamorous…’ ‘Anarchytecture’ is available to purchase here via Amazon or here via iTunes. www.skunkanansie.net www.facebook.com/OfficialSkunkAnansie  Athens based Symphonic Metallers Fallen Arise are confirmed, as special guest on Paradise Lost Russian shows in May 2017, as follows: May 18th - Moscow - at Yotaspace May 19th - St. Petersburg - at Club Zal May 21th - Yekaterinburg - at Tele-Club  Watch Fallen Arise’s new vocalist Fiona Creaby making her debut on Greek soil, featuring “Never Forget Me” and “My Last Breath”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qpa5h9LelAI http://www.fallenarisemusic.com https://www.facebook.com/fallenarise https://www.facebook.com/OfficialAlphaOmegaManagement   Nail Records are happy to announce that Dalriada joins 70000 tons of Metal - the biggest metal cruise ship in the world - this February! Anthrax, Testament, Gojira, Therion, Death Angel, Arch Enemy, Testament, Moonsorrow, Pain, DevilDriver, - just to mention some of the 60 bands playing. Official statement from 70000 tons of Metal: “We've got three more solid contenders for the Cripper Award for you Sailors! Throw your horns up for Dalriada from Hungary, Striker from Canada, and Witchtrap from Colombia! They will join you and 2,999 other die hard #Headbangers on board 70000 tons OF METAL, The Original, The World’s Biggest Heavy #MetalCruise! That brings the count to 59... which means there's only one more. Who will it be? You will know... SOON!” Dalriada about the news: "70000 Tons of Metal is definitely a huge step up for us. Cruising in the Caribbean, hanging out at the pool, slurping ridiculous cocktails while literally TONS of metal are shaking the boat! We didn’t even dream about a scenario, where one day WE, a bunch of drunk guys from Bumfuck Nebrahoma :) are gonna play at one of the most prestigious and exclusive metal festivals of the planet. Well, I guess there’s still a lot more to come. " So get ready to check the leading folk metal band of Hungary! Historical themes, folk instruments, unique style. Ravishing melodies intertwined with the vast heritage of ancient Hungarian songs, thrilling legends and sagas which will make you weep and cherish life at the same time. www.facebook.com/70000tons www.facebook.com/Dalriadahu  Bloodstock is excited to kick off the New Year by announcing Megadeth as their Sunday night headliner! Megadeth’s mainman, Dave Mustaine tells us “We kick off 2017 by announcing we'll be headlining Sunday night at Bloodstock, one of my favourite, purely metal, British festivals! Megadeth had a blast last time and I can't wait to bring the Dystopia World Tour to Bloodstock this Summer. See ya at Catton Park in August!" Megadeth were recently nominated for a Grammy in the ‘Best Metal Performance’ category for the title track of their current critically acclaimed ‘Dystopia’ album. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bK95lWHl7js and grab a copy of ‘Dystopia’ at http://smarturl.it/MegadethDystopia. Also available now is the very popular ticket deposit scheme! The payment plan helps ease the ‘big lump’ shock of paying for your standard weekend ticket by breaking it up into five smaller, more manageable sums. You can sign up in the ticket store at any time from now until 28th Feb, with an initial payment of £34.80 payable on sign-up. Thereafter, four additional instalments of £27.80 will debit your bank account on 1st April, May, June and July respectively. Get full details over at http://bloodstock.seetickets.com/content/ticket-options. If you have Scuzz TV, check out Gojira's incredible full set from Bloodstock 2016 which is being broadcast regularly on the channel! Watch the trailer here: https://youtu.be/yLZT5Ao7o8M. The show will be repeated on the channel all through January. Already announced for 2017 are Friday’s headliners AMON AMARTH, plus BLIND GUARDIAN, HATEBREED, TESTAMENT, OBITUARY, BRUJERIA, WHITECHAPEL, SKINDRED, POSSESSED, ANNIHILATOR, MUNICIPAL WASTE, HELL and DECAPITATED. Many more are still to come! Stay tuned to BLOODSTOCK’s social media for the latest! Bloodstock will take place at Catton Park, Derbyshire on 10th-13th August 2017. Standard weekend camping tix are on sale at £139 (plus booking fee), plus limited VIP packages/upgrades and car parking tickets (at a cheaper price than ‘on the day’ purchase) from http://bloodstock.seetickets.com/content/ticket-options. Children’s weekend tickets are also available, priced £35 (+ booking fee). Camper van pitches have now SOLD OUT. |
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